~Kai Sinclair
Welcome! Happy to have you here for the Poetry Friday round-up.
I'm sharing two poems today. If I were a bit more sensible, the poem mentioned in the first one would be my second. But oy, I'm sharing "A Rhinoceros at the Prague Zoo" instead.
ON READING A POEM BY PHILLIS LEVIN
by Marilyn Robertson
I laughed out loud this morning.
I was reading a poem called The Buzzard
and it took me through ice storms,
evacuation routes, terrible winds—
an ominous landscape.
But where is the buzzard, I wondered,
Read the rest here
********
A RHINOCEROS AT THE PRAGUE ZOO
by Phillis Levin
While ducks and swans paddled placidly on the Vltava’s rushing waters, penguins, storks and gorillas were evacuated from the Prague Zoo, and a crane was used to lift two rhinoceros to high ground. But one turned violent and had to be killed, and keepers had to shoot a 35-year-old Indian elephant named Kadir as water rose to his ears and he refused to move to high ground.
–The New York Times, August 14, 2002
A blindfolded rhinoceros
is being lifted
out of the water.
It is important he doesn’t see
what is going on.
Please pass it on:
please pass along
his blindfold
so we can be lifted, too.
Read the rest here
********
31 comments:
lol. Buzzard. I loved the punchline. And, yes, please pass the blindfold. That poem is so perfect for today...including the cringy part of knowing animals were being shot.
I'm sharing two original poems this week -- riffing off Aileen Fisher. I'm also doing a bit of name dropping. In addition to including Tabatha's name, I name Renne LaTulippe, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Kimberly Hutchmacher and Christie Wyman. It's a power packed post!
Thanks so much for hosting. I always love posting early....but today was a snow day for me. So, I'm nice and relaxed and ready for some good reading.
Buzzard. heh. smh.
I love both of these. One made me laugh (that's the kind of mistake I would make!) and one made me nod in agreement. The second reminded me of this, seen today on Twitter: https://t.co/fZ5LpdKXj9
Thanks for hosting!
A laugh was just what I needed. Thanks for hosting and for putting it up early. Fridays never have enough hours. I'm in with another short one and some cheery blooms.
Tabatha, I love both of these poems. The first one made me laugh--what a great surprise ending. I could all too easily relate to the narrator's confusion! The second one packed quite a punch. It reminded me a bit of Tara's post from last weekend--at least tone-wise. Thanks so much for sharing both of these and for hosting this week.
These were both great, especially the buzzard, oops I mean "Blizzard" which I read and enjoyed too. And those poor animals at the Prague Zoo, wish they had thought of some other way to coax them out–I'll have to hunt down Phillis Levin's poem on "The Other Rhinoceros." BTW Tabatha I liked your post from earlier today about the "Belfast Big Fish." Thanks for hosting the Round Up!
Oh. That first one! I too joined the laughing brigade. The second poem - that epigraph! - awfully sad. I also loved your little quote at the start - especially in light of the fact that you're probably posting this in advance of Friday? (It's almost midday here - so definitely Friday!🙃) Thank-you for hosting us!
What great poems (poet is new to me). The first is so human, funny, and relatable, the second, so timely in light of our current situation, or what life feels like in general.
This week I'm happy to celebrate the release day of B.J. Lee's debut picture book with an interview and a giveaway. (my post goes live at 6 a.m.)
Thanks for hosting, Tabatha!
Ha, if ever there was a poem we can all relate to, it's the Buzzard poem! And such a simultaneously sad and cautionary tale about the elephants. Thanks for sharing these, Tabatha - and for hosting.
I so needed to laugh today! Laughter is truly the best medicine. Thank you for sharing and for hosting, Tabatha!
You always make me think about what you share, Tabatha, this time with two poems about animals, well, I 'thought' they were. What a lovely start to Poetry Friday! Thanks for hosting!
I also laughed out loud while reading the poem about reading a poem. Phillis Levin's comments about her zoo poem were amazingly detailed. I agree that it seems fitting for these times, and I also wish for a blindfold when it seems the world keeps unraveling. Thank you for both poems!
These are great! Thank you so much for sharing them. I confess I wouldn't mind a blindfold for a few minutes today, just for a tiny rest from the world. Thanks too for hosting! Sorry, I didn't mean to post twice and couldn't see how to delete one once I'd done it.
Oh, blessed humor! Thank you -- and thank you for hosting!
Love the first poem....mistakes get made.I share some of those in my post too. The "mistake" is what makes this poem so amusing. Thus, no longer a "mistake!" Thank you for hosting!
Thanks for hosting! I'm sharing Fade Into You by
Hahaha! I love the Blizzard/Buzzard. Still, I'm grateful you shared the rhinoceros poem instead of the blizzard one. It will stay with me. Thanks for hosting, Tabatha!
I appreciate that buzzard poem! That would be me, misreading something and getting all philosophical and puzzled. ;) Thanks for hosting us today!
I knew where that Buzzard poem was going...having done that myself too many times! Reminded me of Rosanna on SNL and the "violins/violence" in the streets rant!
And sometimes you just have to wear a blindfold to get to the next good step without scaring yourself and hurting others.
Thank you for these. That rhinoceros breaks my heart and lets some light in somehow. You are a generous host. xxxx
The Buzzard was SO relatable. :) Loved that. And the second poem really got to me.
a blanket
of surrender,
a curtain of bliss:
The whole thing is so interesting, and her commentary, about how (in retrospect) she was being affected, while writing this poem, by 9/11 was really moving.
What two great poems. The second one., thought provoking. Thank you for hosting.
Since I am suffering from a sinus headache, I found the first poem humorous. I needed a good laugh. Then, I read the second one and thought how insightful. This was a great pairing, Tabatha. Thank you for hosting Poetry Friday today.
I love both of these, but the blindfold one is going in my daily book. Thanks for sharing, thanks for hosting!
Oh, and here's my post for today as well. Thanks!
love both of these poems. The first one sounds so familiar. Life is often funnier when I mis-hear a word. And the poem about the blindfold is beautiful and sad. It's one I want to remember.
Thanks for sharing and thanks for hosting, too!
By the way--sorry I'm on the list twice--I accidentally put a link to last week's poem in first and I don't know how to delete it.
Thank you for hosting, Tabatha, and thank you for introducing me to Phillis Levin. The first poem made me laugh, and as others mentioned, nod in recognition. "A Rhinoceros At the Prague Zoo" is really quite stunning. I appreciate Levin's commentary on her thought process as she wrote the poem. So instructive!
I'll be chuckling over the buzzard vs blizzard mishap all day, Tabatha! And thanks for the link to the poetry site, too, a new one for me.
Showing up late...again!
Love both of the poems you shared. I can certainly identify with the buzzard/blizzard mishap. And many days I long for the blindfold too.
Enjoyed the link to the poetry site, a great place for me to learn about local poetry events.
I was nudged by Barbara Crooker's "Blue" shared by Tara to write about yesterday's hummingbird marvel.
(Ramona, I'm later than you are... ;0) )
Thank you, Tabatha - 1.) for hosting! 2.) for choosing such wonderful poems for us, as always. I could DEFINITELY relate to the first - love! - and, the second does seem chillingly timely. Hope you are having a cozy, creative weekend!
No, I'm the latest! I'm also the rhinoceros, although I've lost my blindfold and am in the midst of a dangerous panic. I am not the buzzard.
Do you know I actually thought Phillis's poem could end right where you left it and work fine? I reposted it, I love it so much.
Thanks for hosting, Tabatha.
"ice storms, evacuation routes, terrible winds—an ominous landscape" certainly describe the view of many, Tabatha. Thanks for hosting this week. Be well and warm!
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