NaPoWriMo. It stands for National Poetry Writing Month, and I have challenged myself to write thirty poems during the month -- one a day! My theme has been "walking in the world". In this post I've included images from scenes that have inspired a poem (or, in some cases, two).
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| I've been in awe of blossoms this month. It's been impossible not to write about them. |
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| Spring is a riot of colour in Victoria, and that theme has appeared in my poems. |
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| And I've written about new leaves, and the cycle of life. |
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| It doesn't take long before the cycle of life continues, and petals drop -- another theme which has appeared in a poem or two. |
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| The boldness and vibrancy of some of the ornamental flowers in Victoria is amazing. I've tried to capture the extravagence of flowers in my poems, something that is challenging. |
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| I've also written several poems about birds. I don't usually carry a camera that can take bird photos, so this picture is all I have -- a tiny Anna's hummingbird in a distant silhouette. |
It has been impossible to write about spring without noting how it's changed from springs of my memory -- fewer birds, for example. While some of my poems celebrate the season, others mourn the losses.
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| I love the complementary colours of this rock wall near Government House. This is quite a long walk for me from James Bay, and in some of my poems I write about the physicality of walking. I was astonished at how tired I was after one 10 km walk. |
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| This photo features three native plants in a Garry Oak meadow -- spring Gold (yellow), Camas (purple/blue) and Death Camas (the white). I've written a couple of poems comparing the showy ornamentals with native plants. |
At least one of my poems mentions another native plant, Shooting Stars.
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| I have seen a few native Shooting Stars on my walks, but cannot take credit for this photo, which was taken in the Metchosin area by Ian Clay, a friend of my partner Ken. |
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| This is a portion of a mural in Esquimalt, my destination on one long day of walking. I've tried to write about public art in Victoria, but without the visual aid of a photo it's not easy! I included this image partly because of the boat's name... |
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| Another image from a building in Esquimalt |
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| Stunning tile work on pillars at the Esquimalt Municipal Hall |
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| Public art at Esquimalt Municipal Hall (in the background). This piece is called "Sticks 'n Stones". The artist has a statement on his website, at https://rusnakgallant.com/art/public-art/sticks-n-stones/, but I'm hard pressed to summarize it. Interestingly, the leaves at the top, which represent Big-leaf maple, are made from Corten steel, the subject of a post on this site earlier this year. |
Today I took a photo of a plant with a lot of protection around it, at Beacon Hill Park. I've researched it and have learned that it is "critically imperilled". The image is below.
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| This is Lomatium dissectum, common names fern-leaved desert-parsley, or coastal chocolate-tips. This plant has not yet made it into a poem, but I believe it needs to. |
The poems I am writing this month will be submitted to a NaPoWriMo contest, so I'm not going to jinx anything by quoting lines prematurely. I'm enjoying my poetic journey; the process is what counts.
