This January morning is frost-crisp,
wisps of cloud streak the sky,
my boots scrape and tinkle
gravel where the field rumples,
crumples like a fresh white cover
over storm-tossed limbs, frozen furrows,
hedgerows, overgrown and winter-scented.
Tormented by tingling fingers and toes,
nose numb and coat buttons come
undone, I greet the early magpie,
high in the trees, with veneration:
generations-old spell to bind the sorrow.
Kim M. Russell, 2018
My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Fussy Little Forms: Chained Rhyme
Marian is our host this weekend and she has brought us another form challenge; we’re revisiting chained rhyme, a poem in which the last syllable or word of each line is followed by a rhyme on the first word or syllable of the next line.
Marian says it’s not really fussy or little because the poem can be anything you want–long lines or short, many lines or just a few, strict meter or no meter, whatever you like.
I have written a kind of found poem, in which I’ve played with words and phrases from a newspaper article and woven them into my own chained rhyme.
What a wonderful stroll..the sense of accepting grey skies and seeing their beauty shines through
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Thank you, Jae. No frost now – just a grey sky.
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“where the field rumples, crumples like a fresh white cover over storm-tossed limbs, frozen furrows,
hedgerows, overgrown and winter-scented”.. gosh this is absolutely stunning, Kim!💞
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Thank you so much, Sanaa!
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Great response to the challenge and an excellent feel in the words to describe a cold January.
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Thank you kindly!
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You set the scene so well in this.
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Thank you, Rommy.
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Now THAT is a poem! Love the images & the way you expressed ALL that is January.
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Thank you so much, Mary, your kinds words are appreciated.
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Ah, Kim, well done! I love the mood this sets for me. Love this line: “I greet the early magpie,
high in the trees, with veneration.” Love the whole feel of the thing and the rhymes help with that. I awoke to a new frosty morning after several weirdly warm days, so I guess I’ll be off to greet the birds. 🙂
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Thank you, Marian! My husband went out earlier to refill the bird feeders with fatballs and we had a lovely 15 minutes or so watching a robin and a mistake thrush before a flock of different types of birds descended on the garden.
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Beautiful 🙂
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You made this flow as if it just rolled off the top of your head. Stunning.
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Thank you, Paul!
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You’ve created a stroll that made me want to go along, but I do hope that there’s a blazing fire waiting to welcome us at the destination!
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I have yet to light our log burner today – I’ve been so busy writing!
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I like this. Something about the coat buttons made it much realer for me. And I love anything with magpies in!
–coal (Fireblossom)
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I’m pleased you like it. I’m a devil for not buttoning up my coat, which usually flies about me!
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Really love the feeling in this.. a breath of January, when that stroll is what you can muster before getting inside again
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Thank you, Bjorn. The best weather for a stroll, bundled up in scarf and voiceovers – I can’t bear walking in the heat.
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I could feel this cold January morning as it is below zero here. Crisp and cold. I have never tried a chain rhyme. Yours makes me want to give it a go. You truly have captured the day.
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Thank you very much!
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Beautiful!!! And fitting!!!! Love it.
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Thank you!
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I love this!!! Cold, strong, clear like a bell struck in winter.
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Thank you so much, Annell!
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You executed this form so well. Loved the word-choices, especially “I greet the early magpie,
high in the trees, with veneration: generations-old spell to bind the sorrow.” Loved it.
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Thank you, Sherry.
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Your words invite the reader along, appealing to her senses. Really like how well you worked the sounds and subtle rhymes. I, too, have been notorious for not buttoning my coat.
Elizabeth
https://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/2018/01/14/weather-or-not/
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Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Elizabeth.
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Well done with the form Kim.
My hubs was a stickler for ‘Morning Mr. Magpie’ for it was well drummed into him that if he didn’t offer greetings, bad luck would surely follow.
Anna :o]
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My husband laughs at me for being superstitious. I just love magpies!
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Beautiful imagery! I love the rhymes and cadence, well done! 😊
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Thank you! 🙂
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Nice write Kim. Happy Sunday. Warm Wishes
Much💝love
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Thank you, Gillena. Warm wishes for a good week ahead! Much love to you too! xxx
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Nice write Kim. Happy Sunday. Warm Wishes
Much💝love
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The words feel as magical and intriguing as the image, as if magic has been weaved into every line…
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Thank you, Magaly.
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Incredible. I couldn’t rhyme a line or a word if I had a gun held to my head. the pic and the words are stunning.
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Thank you, Toni!
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This is a beautiful piece, lyrical and visually appealing, the rhymes sing out.
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Thank you so much, Kerry!
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Great job with this intriguing form. A wonderful visual piece of writing. I am there!
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Thank you kindly, Wendy!
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Loved, loved this–beautiful writing!
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Thank you!
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Kim, this made me cold thinking about it. Here along the Texas Gulf Coast we are in for it early this morning and all day tomorrow. Blessed perhaps with a little snow or freezing rain on the next. Definitely not top down weather.
..
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Today was just grey and rainy. 🌂
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Excellent! 😎🥀
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Thank you, Dorna!
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Vividly brought to life, with the unobtrusive chained rhymes making a subtle music.
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Thank you, Rosemary.
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A winter walk captured beautifully Kim! I love it!
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Thank you, Carrie!
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Thanks for takjng me along your mirning walk. Such clear vivid images and feelings
Much🖤💚love
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Thank you, Gillena, and much love to you! 🙂
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