Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)
Well, I thought my life was in sufficient order that I could be a contributing member of Poetry Friday again, but I seem to be lacking! At the end of June, my Poetry Sisters posted tangled poems. That is, found poems that we doodled on. You can find Tanita’s lovely examples and links to all of the poems here. I goofed my schedule and totally missed the boat.
My husband Randy and I were driving home from Madison, WI, to the Twin Cities just after the Fourth of July. I didn’t have my Zentangle pouch of supplies with me (yes, I’ve Zentangled off and on for years at a very basic level), but I had some magazines to catch up on. So I decided to do my Zentangle poem on the ride home. I’ve gotta say it wasn’t too enjoyable. I hated trying to doodle OVER printed text. I like a lot of white space when I doodle, and this activity didn’t allow for it. But…I did it. And I finally remembered to add the blue highlighter just now and post it this week! This is a spread out of the April 2021 National Geographic–an article about the habitat destruction of the Florida panther. As a Florida native, this one caught my eye.
And for less whining and some wonderful poetry, don’t miss the Poetry Friday Roundup with Kat Apel!
16 Responses
Wow. I’m first of all astounded that you have panthers in Florida. Real panthers, even. Also, you whine so cutely.???? I love zentangle poems, though sometimes I regret that a poem with so much potential gets lost in my art — which is very hit-and-miss.
Laura, I love your zentangle poem about the panthers in Florida, especially “wilderness along the fringes.” They definitely walk along the fringes of society too because crazy money hungry people keep building in FL encroaching on panther habitat. What happened to panthers being the FL state animal? I love FL panthers and in the past I have done research on them. (In fact, mountain lions have been my favorite big cat since I was little. I read and loved Carl Hiaasen’s MG novel Scat.) I will have to read the article on them in April National Geographic. I don’t get Nat. Geo anymore. Maybe it’s on their website, or I can find it in the library. Thank you for showing your love of panthers. 🙂 PS Did you know that in the mtns. in LA they have mountain lions roaming on people’s decks? Again, encroaching on the big cat’s habitat.
Gail, I did know about the mountain lions in LA. In fact there’s a newish or forthcoming kids nonfiction book about one of them I think. I didn’t know they were on people’s decks. Wow, what a surprise that would be!
This is so cool, Laura. There is something about zentangling that does soothe. I have not tried it on text before, and now you have me thinking. Patch…pines…palms…fringes…what words you have elevated from this text. You remind me of the power of such culling. Yes, less can be more. (You also remind me of the video my daughter shared with us from a friend…a MOUNTAIN LION on her back porch! Aaaaa!) Happy Poetry Friday! xx
Laura, I’m glad you’re at a point where you’re able to think your life is in sufficient order for, well, anything! Florida nature: pines, palms, and fringes … yes! Thanks for sharing this. {smile}
Laura: I will whine along with you… I mean… who can keep up? Haha. Probably you don’t need my 72-yr-old whines, but what the heck??? I can’t keep up! Nonetheless, I thought this poem was pretty cool once I figured it out. Now I’ll have to try it! Thanks…
I’ve gotten hooked on making zentangle poems this summer. I found it a creative and meditative exercise. Some great p‑words in your zentangle poem, panther, patch, pines and palms.
Laura, you shared a fact about the panthers that I did not know and shared it at the end of your zentangle poem- a tropical style wildnerness in balmy Florida. I also loved your zentangle art. It takes patience to make a doodle turn into art.
Your poem wound up being more poetic than mine! Hope there was some joy for you in clearing all the hurdles to make this poem happen!!
You can only do what you can do! Permission to give yourself grace. LOVE the panther tangle and, as Margaret also pointed out, your alliteration!
You can only do what you can do…and look at you…doing all you can! Love your zentangle, especially, as Margaret also noted, your alliteration.
Laura, I love that welcoming to “a patch lucky of pines and palms:” Such a fun way to express a lovely thought. I like your doodles and they do show you are experienced. I love that upper right hand corner design.
I really like that “wilderness along the fringes,” too, Laura. It really evokes the Everglades.
Yea I love this form of found poetry I will definitely have to try myself. I also feel like sometimes I need to wait for the right conditions for poetry. But then when I sit down to write the inspiration is gone. Thanks for sharing. The article and picture makes me think of Lauren Groff’s short story collection Florida amazing book!
Thanks for coming by, Jonathan! Usually I can write anywhere, anytime. Long years of conditioning–ha. But this past few months during moving has been really challenging for me. Ah well.
Your zentangle poem-art feels very much like a safari, the p’s echo their paw prints traipsing over their terrain–hope the panthers aren’t left to far on the fringes though… Thanks Laura!