A Quadrille, as we celebrate the rejuvenating return of The Poet’s Pub at dVerse. The prompt that Grace gives us for our 44 words is ‘Flicker.’ I’ve been a life-long birder, so it should come as no surprise the direction I took this!
Flickering sounds of a woodpecker’s call bound
along the waves of heated
air toe dancing gingerly
just above the blades
of indecisive grass
Echo
The mate’s reply
sifts and simmers
peppering the breeze
yoked to that ancient
Unlock
Acknowledged
the journey is now complete
© Jilly’s All Rights Reserved
Jilly's 
I liked the idea of the journey and that it can be completed.
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Your photos tell me that you see that full-circle journey every time you go out the door to walk, Frank. Glad you stopped by!
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“air toe dancing gingerly
just above the blades
of indecisive grass”
Great wordplay, Jill! I heard and saw that woodpecker… just wish I didn’t see the snow! 🙂
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Ignore the snow; ’tis but a figment.
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Lovely poem in word and photo, Jilly. I like that you focused on sound and that line peppering the breeze works so well.
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Thanks! Tired to toss in a few of the words from previous quadrilles.
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I love the ‘flickering sounds of a woodpecker’s call’ and the echo of the mate’s reply – I can hear them :o) xxx
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Ah, then I was successful. Thank you!
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☺💖 xxx
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You and Victoria both went the way of woodpeckers…but such different poems. I love the full circle of journey in this. And the picture of the bird in the snow – I dream of snow. I like how you used words to separate the steps in the journey. Gorgeous!
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Thank you! I have nightmares of snow. Haha!
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This is so wonderful.
Here’s what really grabs me:
“bound
along the waves of heated
air toe dancing gingerly”
Beautiful work.
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Thank you so much!
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i like how the circle closes when they start communicating
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Funny, that. Thanks for flying in!
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It always amaze me how they can find each other…
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Exactly! The ancient unlock…
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The way you describe the call tripping lightly over the grass like light flickering is so very vivid 🙂
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Thank you!
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🙂
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Who can observe the variety of birds and plumage and not believe in a Master hand! I loved the thought of air toe dancing!
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Who, indeed, Bev! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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I like the use of “flicker” to describe sound, and I like the way the birds echo and find each other.
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Thank you, Sarah!
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“air toe dancing gingerly
just above the blades
of indecisive grass”
Wonderful play upon words here!❤️
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Thank you!
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Love the bird sounds and specially this: air toe dancing gingerly-
Thanks for being part of our journey Jilly ~
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It is my pleasure!
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Wonderful word play, a delight to read. Love the blades of indecisive grass.
Anna :o]
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Thanks! When I look at my unmown lawn, the grass seems very indecisive about its direction in life! Ha ha!
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As they did for others, these lines stood out for me:
toe dancing gingerly
just above the blades
of indecisive grass
Also, “Unlock” which shifted my perspective to from onlooker to a more intimate view.
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Thank you! I struggled for that word, stuck at 43, knowing not the right ‘something’ for that spot.
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It’s funny how the quadrille can push you both ways, trimming and stretching. I find it yields some great breakthroughs like that.
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That’s a beautiful love story. Of course, he’s hen pecked. lol
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pffft! Ha ha!
Nice to see you, my friend 🙂
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I recently had a giant woodpecker greet me in the morning. It sat high on a telephone wire. I am pondering what his message might have been.
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hmmm… Pileated Woodpecker, I suppose. Usually their message is, ‘Write poetry; pound your head against a tree.’ Wait… that’s what we already do! ha ha
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I like how the journey is complete that begins with a call. Very much fulfilling. Love that sweet woodpecker.
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Thank you for stopping by!
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Wonderful imagery! I love the last line “the journey is now complete.”
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What kind comments! Thank you.
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Beautiful imagery and sounds throughout. I’d actually welcome that snow right about now. It’s so stinking hot!
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I have friends who just moved from Minnesota to Tyler (north of Austin?) – they are dying. I recommend hanging out in the orange juice concentrate section of the grocery store. 🙂
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Oh man, what a drastic change for them. Yes, I think Tyler is about 4 hours north east of Austin, 2 hours east of Dallas. I definitely need to stick my head in a freezer. 🙂
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Ah, how I love the happy endings… I think, at times, we’re like these woodpeckers. 🙂
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We call to one another and we need one another – yep! Like those birds, are we. I am so glad you are here, my friend!
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I love the flickering sounds of your Quadrille, with the ‘Echo’ and ‘Unlock’ and the evocative:
‘air toe dancing gingerly
just above the blades
of indecisive grass’.
A circular Quadrille in its completion.
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Thank you, Kim!
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The sounds peppering the breeze — love these words that bring sound to my ears through my eyes! Wonderful photo too!
So late to my reading—you’ve provided wonderful imagery and sound to me this morning. Thank you, Jilly!
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Thank you! So many poems; so little time. I discoved that I had used several of the words after I finished writing. Subconsciously, I guess 🙂
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Flicker as in the bird, a popular response to today’s prompt. You do it more than justice.
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Thank you!
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I’m overwhelmed by the volume of responses to this first prompt after the break; poets champing at the bit, words crowding together, yearning to spill out on pages. It is a good time to be a poet, & to use words as our canvas. Your words, all 44 of them, are fabulous.
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Thank you
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A wonderful series of moments…call and response paced …unlock has so much potential … one thing it made me think of is the sound of a woodpecker’s beak in wood
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Rat a tat tat – the happy sound of finding ants for breatkfast!
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How delightful to find yet another diverse poem about the Northern Flicker from this prompt. It’s such a cool bird, and you’ve captured its essence quite well.
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Thanks, Linda! They are cool birds, indeed. Love the call of the whole species. Stepped out back this morning to the sound of the Pileated. I swear they are related to the pterodactyl 🙂
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We have a small red-headed woodpecker in our neighborhood and we hear him every morning. It’s a wonder he doesn’t have a brain injury! He landed right by us on the fence the past weekend. 🙂
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Oh, cool! Lucky you! I used to have one work over the metal vent pipe on my roof at dawn. Sounded like machine gun fire. Maybe he DID have a brain injury. HA!
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I really like the creativity of the first stanza. ‘Peppering the breeze’ is a delicious line.
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Thanks, Victoria!
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A dose of the rustic from you lot is the best medicine to retain my sanity in the overcrowded cage. I like how the blurry edges of your line arrangement painted the pastoral imagery with an impressionistic feel wherein highlighting the abstract “echo” and “unlock” with a solid touch. Nice, Jilly!
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Thank you, Colin!
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The circle of life…i think I feel a song coming on….
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Great word play with using flicker both as the bird and as a verb. I like indecisive grass too!
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Thank you! My own grass tends toward indecisiveness, so it worked 🙂
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