A journey doesn’t have to begin
with a fluttering of wings;
I would rather not fly –
I want to leave the sky
and walk. I am not a rising lark
nor an owl that swoops in the dark;
I prefer to skitter like a turnstone
among limpets and cuttlebone,
dashing up and down the shore.
I don’t want to feather salt-washed air!
I would rather use my feet
on muddy fields and dusty streets,
feeling the grit between my toes,
free to walk where my spirit goes.
Kim M. Russell, 4th April 2024
Image by Ani Kolleshi on Unsplash
It’s Thursday and we’re Meeting the Bar at the dVerse Poets Pub with Laura, out host, who says that today is ‘Tell a Lie’ day. I didn’t even know it existed!
To illustrate, Laura found a fun poem by Judith Askew called ‘Bakery of Lies’ and a poem by Richard Wilbur that elaborates at length on ‘Lying’.
Our challenge is to write palinodes, poems that contradict or retract something the poet has previously written, in which people, things, ideas once loved, liked, admired are written with a negative or opposite connotation (or vice versa).
Laura asks us to either take one of our own poems and write a Palinode as response to it (link to original or put alongside) OR write a Palinode of contrary views, as though you have changed your mind/opinion halfway/some way through.
My palinode is a response to an old poem, ‘Birds-Eye’, which you can read here.
Also linked to NaPoWriMo on 26th April 2024 and Sumana’s contradiction prompt at What’s Going On? on 4th June 2025.
writing in north norfolk 
I love the contradiction, and I actually think the earthbound alternative is more attractive… (and I don’t mind dirty feet)
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Thanks Björn, I agree.
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you have added such fun to this Kim and made the Palinode look easy, a lovely read and the rhymes were good too
“o skitter like a turnstone
among limpets and cuttlebone,”
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Thank you, Laura, and I’m so pleased you like it!
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Love both poems, and the perspectives of both are pleasing to me — Beautifully crafted, Kim!
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Thank you very much, Dora!
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Ah Kim….you’ve chosen the perfect poem to palinode (if I might verbify that word). I love especially these words
” prefer to skitter like a turnstone
among limpets and cuttlebone,
dashing up and down the shore.”
and then the happy ending, free to walk where your spirit goes!
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Thank so much, Lill!
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Love these lines especially:
“I would rather use my feet
on muddy fields and dusty streets,
feeling the grit between my toes,
free to walk where my spirit goes.”
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Thanks Melissa. That was me in younger years.
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Kim your poem makes me think of a person with great potential who talks themselves out of trying. Very effective flip on your original.
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Thank you so much, Lisa. And you’re right.
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You’re very welcome.
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A lovely lively reminder of Frost’s “To Earthward,” sticking to truths of the soul with one’s soles.
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Cheers Brendan!
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Hi Kim,
A delightful contradiction, though I liked both poems.
‘I prefer to skitter like a turnstone
among limpets and cuttlebone,’
These lines so crunchily delightful 🙂
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Thanks so much, Shirley!
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“I prefer to skitter like a turnstone
among limpets and cuttlebone,”
Great stuff, Kim…JIM
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Thank you, Jim!
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I’m increasing loath to fly as well, Kim…
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I’m sticking to trains for long distances.
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What a delightful flip, Kim! I love both the poems. The imagery is so vivid.
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Thanks very much, Punam!
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Ha, I think I would rather fly if I could!! An interesting poem, Kim!
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Thank you, Mary!
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“A journey doesn’t have to begin / with a fluttering of wings” But wings help! Interesting how each assertion suggests its opposite in your poem.
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Thank you, Susan.
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I love your birdy poem. Especially the turnstones skittering along the shore, as they do here, too.
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Thank you, Sherry!
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What a beautiful poem – in both style and message..always best to forge our own paths perhaps – Jae
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Thank you very much, Jae.
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Interesting how the palinode works and how you’ve built the contradiction into this poem…I wonder about the history of why these were written…will do some research!!! Thanks Kim.
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Thank you for noticing that, Rajani. Let me know how the research goes.
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Yes, of course. Your poem says this most eloquently! It’s only when I have my feet solidly on the ground that I can allow my soul to soar upwards.
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Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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This poem flows very nicely and makes you love to be with two feet on the ground.
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Thank you, Marja.
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I think this line, “free to walk where my spirit goes.” is the best takeaway from this wonderful poem, Kim. How lovely!
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Thank you so much, Sumana.
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So much freedom and bliss and growth
When we are “free to walk where our spirit goes”.
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Thank you for reading and commenting, Anita.
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“I prefer to skitter like a turnstone
among limpets and cuttlebone,
dashing up and down the shore.”
I love this imagery. I hope your spirit finds lovely places to go.
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Thank you, Sara.
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