Daffodils

I have lain and listened to coyotes call;
Their yip yip howl piercing the moonless night
As I toss sleepless; my thoughts a brick wall.

I have trudged through fog -- grey, damp, thick and deep;
Obscuring the sun and hiding my path,
Drowning defiance and welcoming sleep.

I have seen branches turn black with frostbite --
Shrivel, wither and die; misshapen stumps
Where happy growth sighed and gave up the fight.

And, still, each year daffodil leaves appear,
Green spears pushing through the icy cold frost.
Daring me to bloom, to live, without fear.



Thank you to the Poetry Palace for this award!  Check out the site for some great poetry.

Poetry Tow Truck Prompt 21: Line by Line

The prompt this week on the blog Poetry Tow Truck was to write a "line by line" sonnet.  In a nutshell, you maintain the standard structure of a 14 line, 10 syllable per line sonnet but there are requirements for each line.  These range from "line from a song" to "fruit or vegetable."  For a listing of the prompts and more examples, go to the link. 

I also submitted this poem to the Poetry Potluck since it fits with this week's theme of using a song. 



I wasn't at all sure how this was going to go.  I just dove in and traveled along - not ending up where I expected at all.  Challenging, but fun -


Amazing, Grace -- How sweet the sound of
crunchy apples eaten for lunch under
the fruited canopy of orchard trees.
"Pass me a pippin.  I saw one fall with
a thud on the grassy ground over there."
I want to bake a Julian apple
pie; an American Pie, to take in my
Chevy to the levy so the music won't
die.  Raggedy Ann will eat a piece and smile.
Bake a pie.  Fill it with fresh fruit bursting
through the crisp crust, cut by a paring knife
slanting slits slashed so sweet syrup seeps out.
Others strive to keep up with the rat race;
I eat apples and dream with my friend Grace.