Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)
This month, our Poetry Princess challenge was to write a hymn using a hymn meter around the theme of fall. This was Tanita’s choice. She’s the beautiful singer in our group! I will let her explain hymns. I’ll just tell you that as fall is my favorite season, I was very excited! My first attempt came out as a very traditional hymn to fall. I like it, though I don’t love it. It’s all pretty expected. I’ll pry share it later in the month.
Then I took Jack on his walk (probably his 5th or 6th of the day, as he needs to go outside constantly. Now, once there are snow and ice on the ground, Jack will not be happy to go outside. Nope, not at all. But give him some good fall weather and, like me, he is happy as a pig in mud.
I don’t know why everyone sees fall as death. Yes, leaves die. I get it. And annual plants. But to me, fall is a time of rebirth. It’s the start of the school year. The beginning of cool days. The reappearance of Orion in the sky. The electric energy from the snapping breezes. I adore fall! So, I decided to write a hymn to fall from Jack’s point of view. Isn’t it convenient that he shares my opinions;>)
Can’t wait to see what my Poetry 7 sisters are sharing! We did a little group sharing before today, but not a whole lot!
Kelly (fall’s secret)
Liz (middle age)
Sara (apples and farewells)
Tanita (a trio of fall hymns in different moods)
Tricia (a feast of fall images)
Andi’s not playing this month, but she’ll be back!
Click here to see all our previous Poetry Princesses collaborations.
And don’t miss this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup with Violet at Violet Nesdoly Poems.
18 Responses
Laura,
This is a wonderful form. I love the quatrains that rhyme. You’ve got a great start here with praises. Well done. Is old Jack deaf as well as blind? It seems to me Jack would notice the sounds of fall since dogs hearing is so much more acute than ours. He’d hear the squirrels, the geese heading south and the crunch of leaves under his feet. Have fun tweaking your hymn.
Hehe–thanks, Joy. Some of those sounds are in my other poem, which I’ll share in a week or two. The truth is I just had to many sensory details to work them all in. Fall is a feast! The geese and the crunch of leaves are two of my favorite autumn sounds!
YES! I have always considered fall my new year and a time of new beginnings. What is there not to love about fall, especially the apple cider and campfires and s’mores. And my old dog would most definitely Jack’s perspective. As the air cools, she seems to get a new surge of energy in her old bones.
As I read, I could start the song immediately, Laura, striding along in the wonderful fall day with “Jaunty Jack”. Well done!
“Isn’t it convenient that he shares my opinions?” Oh, yes, that’s one of the best things about dogs, haha. I love that you shared fall through Jack’s eyes, and it makes me miss my dog who departed us a couple of years ago. She loved leaves AND snow. Give Jack a pat from me, and tell him his owner writes beautifully.
“When acorns taste like chimney smoke” This line encompasses the senses a dog loves best–taste and smell! I enjoyed reading it with the tune of “Amazing Grace” running through my head!
That last stanza, Laura! This voice has such a positive outlook. I’m with you — autumn is full of life, sounds, smells, crunchy things.
Acorns tasting of smoke, scarlet maples, and golden cloaks — you have the most wonderful way of just spinning this into such beauty that can be sensed, instead of just merely seen.
I read this aloud to Ginger — a young dog in fall — as she tried patiently to attend, the birds outside the window were tormenting her. But I finally got her to listen. She especially liked and agreed with the parts about the acorns and the new scents on all the trees.
Jack’s joy (and yours!) comes through so well in all the autumn details. I too love that line “When acorns taste of chimney smoke.” Wonderful!
How fun is this! I love how you got into the doggie brain with its sensitivity to scents. My favorite: “toothpaste breath.” — Yes, that’s the human scent of an early morning walk for sure!
I love Captain Jack and adore his views on fall. I love the notion of perfume in the trees and new smells every day.
This is a really lovely poem.
I, too, totally agree with Fall as a season of beginnings! And it makes my heart happy to know that someone else is welcoming Orion back to the sky! That’s probably my favorite part! During my early morning walks, he watches over me, and sometimes we chat.
You and Jack have captured so many wonderful things about fall! I’ve always loved this season, but these days (this year in particular) I do tend to think of it more somberly, in terms of impending endings. Your poem, especially that last stanza, raises the rooftops with a rousing celebration of all that is vibrant and living in fall. Thanks to you and Jack for the perspective shift!
Oh, I do love this, Laura! The perspective is spot on…and the sentiment so true.
Laura — I, too, feel I come alive in fall. Have you read The Hidden Life of Trees (Wollheben)? I’m reading it now, and you’ll never look at a tree in the same way again! And it will flip anyone’s thinking from seeing fall as the end and death to a time of preparation and hard work for the coming year!
I too like your last stanza, I love the magical “golden cloak,” and the invigorating life that follows, thanks Laura!
I too feel I come alive in the fall, (since I was born in September, I guess I did). Your poem so perfectly reflects all the wonder and beauty of the season: early dark, scarlet blooms, chimney smoked acorns, and golden cloaks…just lovely!