Greetings, Poetry Lovers!
Happy to share one last New Year's Poem Postcard Project gift that stalked its way to my mailbox this week (part of the annual swap organized by our wonderful Jone Rush MacCulloch, whom I get to see soon as she graces this side of the country with a visit!)
This card celebrates the Lunar New Year - The Year of the Tiger (as I chose to do with my own card featured a couple of weeks ago in the mix). Michelle drew a stately tiger in brown with subtle washes, and added a jaunty message on the right side. On the back is this poem:
Tiger tiger
by twilight
are you there
within the night?
Heed their call
prevent their plight
©Michelle Kogan.
You can learn more about Michelle and her art (she's a fellow Etsian!) here.
And you can learn more about the plight of tigers, and efforts to save them and many other animals, here.
Speaking of animals, ones who would generally prefer to be far away from tigers, did you know this weekend is the annual Great Backyard Bird Count? I'm going to try to participate some again this year - it's been a while since I joined in. The event, sponsored by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, and Birds Canada, is now quite smart phone-savvy, with apps (Merlin and EBird), making ID'ing and reporting easier than ever. No problem if you'd rather use less technology - the organizers welcome results in a variety of forms! I "attended" a webinar this week in preparation for the Count, and it was nice seeing the dedicated faces who help pull off this oh-so-important project. (I also stocked the bird feeder and cleaned out the bird bath!)
The time commitment is up to you - submit as few or as many results over the weekend as you'd like. The only requirement about that is that they ask you to devote at least 15 minutes to each counting session. Learn more about how to participate here.
Now, I have to go do a little research or app-perusing to learn about those lovely birds pictured above; I saw them on Thursday, blending in with the rocks at Hunting Island here, and flying off in a short frenzy before settling back down in front of the foaming waves....
In honor of the Count, here are the opening stanzas from a famous poem by our dear Emily Dickinson (1830-1886):
A Bird came down the Walk (328)
A Bird came down the Walk—
He did not know I saw—
He bit an Angleworm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw,
And then he drank a Dew
From a convenient Grass—
And then hopped sidewise to the Wall
To let a Beetle pass—
...
(Read the rest here.)
Now flap those wings and soar on over to Small Reads for Brighter Days, where the ever-delightful Laura is rounding up this week. Thanks, Laura!
