Happy Poetry Friday! This is the first Friday of September, and my name came up on the spinner to offer a challenge for the Inklings. Honestly, I didn’t have an idea, so I gave it back to the group, and Molly said, “What about kennings?”
A kenning is a figurative compound word that takes the place of an ordinary noun.
I wrote a poem this week from a prompt from The Time is Now to use the line “There is always a ________ somewhere” after Marie Howe’s poem “Chainsaw”.
Hawk Sighting
There is always a hawk somewhere,
soaring low above the oaks,
hungry and hunting.You wanted to show me.
You wanted to find the binoculars,
focus on the old oak
and show me the wild thing.Almost every day I hear the high whistle
of a hawk echoing over the bayou.There is grief in that piercing call-sound,
wailing for what feels like desperation.Will you call to me like a hawk
or with a soft whisper-twitter
of a hummingbird?However you make a call-sound,
I will answer with wonder.Margaret Simon, draft
How other Inklings met the challenge:
Linda at Another Word Edgewise
Mary Lee at A (nother) Year of Reading
Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
Heidi at my juicy little universe
Beautiful poem Margaret, I love the contrast and your poems transition from the piercing, wailing of the hawk to the whisper of a gentle hummingbird, wonderful pic too, thanks!
Even more beautiful now that I know!
oooooh, that is lovely. Yes, there is grief in that sound…in the sound of the hunting. That’s a good catch of what emotion can hear. Answering with wonder…perfect.
Margaret, I love that you are in conversation with Marie Howe in developing your kenning — Your final line feels like a perfect response — and a new prompt: I will answer with wonder. Thank you for this!
Hawk and hummingbird in the same poem. Love! xo
It’s hummingbird season here. I put out my feeders and they are coming.
Every hawk I see is my father coming to check on me. Especially the ones along I-70 from Denver to Burlington.
This poem moves me to my core.
I love that the hawk is your father. What a majestic bird!
Margaret, I LOVE your “Hawk Sighting” poem, so evocative and visual and auditory, especially the “there is grief in that piercing call-sound,” and “I answer with wonder.” Beautiful!!!
[…] Today is Poetry Friday, and [edit] the Inklings are writing kenning poems. I was inspired to revise this poem to play along. Thank you, Inklings. […]
“Answering with wonder” is the perfect ending. We have so many red-tailed hawks, and I love to watch them.
“Answering with wonder” is so key, isn’t it!? I’ve been seeing and hearing so many hawks lately. Their call is such a wild lament.
“the whisper-twitter of a hummingbird” – beautiful, and so appropriate. Thanks for sharing, Margaret. When the birds call to me today, I will make a note to answer with wonder.
We have a new hawk in our neighborhood, so now I’ll remember your beautiful love poem, Margaret when I see it or hear the ‘call-sound’. Have a lovely weekend, including listening!
Margaret, I love the direct address to who seems like a young person, maybe a grandchild. No matter how they call–you are there to answer them in wonder. Beautiful! Your poem is full of peace, even with the piercing hawk call.
I guess I could have hinted that the “you” was my husband. He loves to show me things he sees. I’m reminding myself that I need to be open to wonder, even after 44 years!
Oooh, I love “call-sound” and the poignancy it conjures.
Oh the grief of a call-song. Beautiful. Thank you for pointing me to the Marie Howe poem