North Idaho-Winter Wonderland

North Idaho, Spokane River

As I look out the window of my cozy, warm study while I write, I see big crystalline snow flakes fall down onto the green blades of grass and Ponderosa pine trees in front of me. The mountains are already decked in white waiting for Christmas. Winter has definitely arrived.

I notice the December writing prompt on the upper left hand corner of our website and I decide that I should write something on the topic of "A hush fell over the snowy forest."

The scene through the window brings the poet out in me and that's pretty hard to do. I am definitely not a poet! But after thinking about it for a minute I say, "Nah, not today." So I revert to a previous poem I wrote on the same topic.

A couple of winters ago, our Idaho Writer's League met with a well-known poet and professor, Carolyne Wright, from Seattle, and she gave us a task that some of you might like to try, especially if you feel as "unpoetic" as I usually do. The effort and concentration on that first word in the sentence tends to help you bypass the logical left brain and settle right into the right brain. Right? See it's already working!

Here is the challenge she gave us that I am passing on to you:
Write a poem with words at the beginning of the sentences that use all the letters of the alphabet consecutively. That means you will have 26 lines. They will begin with A B C D E F G H etc.
This was the poem I wrote at the time.

A Backwoods Contemplation

 

 

And would we have ever thought

Birch trees could be so yellow?

Calls and bugling of elk ring in the

Distance through the crisp, clear air.

Elk, young ones and old ones alike

Flounder about in the new fallen and

Glistening snow on the pathway,

Heaving in breaths of sweet scented pines.

 

 

Idaho, I say to my husband as we

Jog past the scene in the forest,

Keeping as quiet as ancient Indians who walked

Light with moccasins, and inner stillness.

More light than quiet, almost weightless,

New born to a pure white world.

 

 

Oh teach me to wonder like you did

Praising each miracle around me.

Quicken my heart like your steps, and

Restore me to be who I am.

 

Snow baptizing me from above, I

Tremble from the womb awake.

Unlike I thought I would be,

Valiant and happy I rest. I

Weep as my cheeks touch the wind and

Xylophone like music tinkles in the birch trees,

Yielding to the bugling of elk and the laughter of

Zeus' grandchildren dancing around us.