Poem for Poetry Thursday

I attempted this week's prompt, which was a good one BTW, and this is what I got. Blue is my favorite color, so maybe this month I'll do a blue series in honor of Dodge Poetry Festival. As for the poem, I don't know how to tab over in Blogger (or the html coding for tabs), so this is not the true formatting for the lines.

Like many of you, I'm having trouble with the Blogger beta. I plan on getting to as many poems as I can. But if they can't get it together, I may go medieval today. (see definition #3)


Skeptic

I love how you think the world is flat
swooping and gliding over the pines
down the road and back again.
You put up with me, the interloper,
with my picnic table and paved walking path.
This is how you roll: stealth,
swooping down, patrolling for chipmunks
I am no threat to you, which leads me to ask
what are you doing here?
Where is your open country, your high perch?
You’re a red-tailed hawk gliding on exhaust fumes.
I’ve heard your cry only in movies as the
piercing background sound denoting wilderness.
As September ducks into a passing cloud
the late heat of summer taken by hydrangeas,
those big-headed flowers stealing cerulean
from the sky. Going. Going. Gone.
Roam rusty red high above tree tops.
I’ll eat my bagged lunch and leave you
to your prey. I have not forgotten
your ability to kill.

Feeling blue? Check out the poetry at Poetry Thursday!

Comments

Jsnuary! Such a great start for a series! And hey, you could use this for RED as well. (I don't know how to do lining tricks here either, so all mine are just even at the left margin.... (I think lynn has discovered how, tho'.)
Writer Bug said…
I love the definition of midevil. TOo funny!

So many great imagse here--birds flynig on exhaust fumes, Sept. ducking into a cloud, flowers taking the heat. Beautiful!
claireylove said…
killer of a closing line!

but don't ask me about tabs,

you KNOW the problems I've had today :-(
Jen Rouse said…
You paint a powerful picture.
Jim Brock said…
The address to the "you" is what wins it for me, as well as the great imagery, the blue flowers bleeding out the blue leaving all this intense red. You got it!
Unknown said…
Awesome. "Roam rusty red high above the tree tops." I love the imagery of the hydrangeas stealing color from the sky, too.

I read this a few hours ago and keep wanting to come back... it's very good.
paris parfait said…
Great zinger of a poem, with so many layers! Brilliant! We saw red-tailed hawks last month in England - five of them together, flying overhead.
wendy said…
the imges of wild and civilazation are nicely entwined here. Very fresh perspective.
mareymercy said…
Very nice, with a strong, solid voice.
Deb R said…
I love this, Jan, especially the line about "stealing cerulean from the sky" - aaahhhh.

I find formatting poems in Blogger really frustrating. I know a certain amount of HTML and still have trouble with it, as Blogger always wants to override the code I write in order to "fix" it for me. Gggrrrr....
Jennifer S. said…
love it! incredible, love the hydrangea lines.
Catherine said…
I love the flowers "stealing cerulean from the sky". There are so many great words for blue, I had forgotten cerulean.

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