Roberta Writes – W3 #92, Puente poem, Thursday Doors, The bush at night, another monkey #W3 #poetry #Thursday Doors

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This week, I’m starting with the poem. Puente was completely new to me, but I gave it a good bash. Writing about love is also not my thing. My love is too deep and too intense for words, but I have tried.

JM’s prompt guidelines

  • Poetic form (required): Puente;
    • Tone (required): Either the 1st or the 3rd stanza should have a happy tone, and the other should have a sad tone;
    • For the 2nd stanza (suggested): Use a quote, idiom, phrase, etc.
  • Theme (required): Love

Puente?

The puente form has three stanzas with the first and third having an equal number of lines and the middle stanza having only one line which acts as a bridge (puente) between the first and third stanza.

The first and third stanzas convey a related but different element or feeling, as though they were two adjacent territories. The number of lines in the first and third stanzas is the writer’s choice as is the choice of whether to write it in free verse or rhyme.

The center line is delineated by a tilde (~) and has ‘double duty’. It functions as the ending for the last line of the first stanza AND as the beginning for the first line of the third stanza. It shares ownership with these two lines and consequently bridges the first and third stanzas.

You can join in W3 here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2024/01/31/w3-prompt-92-weave-written-weekly/

For My Sons

The fear and angst of the delivery

Gives way to overwhelming love

The purpose of my life, distilled

Drop by drop, cell by cell, into

The creation of my greatest work

***

– but, the journey’s beginning does not define its ending –

***

The path culminating in a masterpiece

Is fraught with errors and corrections

My expectations of motherhood have

Required adaption and adjustment

Perfection works on a sliding scale

Thursday Doors

A few more photographs from our trip to Madikwe. You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2024/02/01/second-look/

The dining room doors in the early evening
The pool verandah with the door leading to the dining area in the early evening
The swimming pool at sunset
Coming back to the lodge in the evening
Look who was hanging out on the side of the road outside the lodge
Not a bad picture given he was hidden in the shadows in the early evening.
Sunset in the bush
Vervet monkeys on the path to the rooms
I love the light in this picture of a vervet monkey.
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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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93 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – W3 #92, Puente poem, Thursday Doors, The bush at night, another monkey #W3 #poetry #Thursday Doors”

  12. Beautifully touching poem, Robbie! ❤ Parenthood perfection is surely on a sliding scale as we learn. Great pictures, too! 😊 That majestic lion looks like he’s ready to sleep on a full stomach. Those monkeys look ready to play. The sunset is beautiful.

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  16. I think your poem fits the puente form very well. “Perfection works on a sliding scale” is a killer of a last line! That sunset is gorgeous. I’ve been meaning to ask, do you encounter a lot of insects on your trips?

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    1. Hi Liz, the last line is the essence of the poem. There are not an undue amount of insects. I didn’t get bitten by any mosquitoes although we do spray for them (and ticks). There are lots of dung beetles, bees, butterflies, and moths. There are some spiders but not that many inside the chalets. Actually, the inspect life was quite disappointing, I didn’t get one photograph on this trip.

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      1. Thank you for the insect information, Robbie. The biting insects are really bad in the spring here: mosquitoes, black flies, gnats, no-see-ums, horse flies, deer flies. . . .The list goes on.

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  17. You have captured the theme perfectly Robbie. I don’t often writ poetry and if i do0 it usually ends up as a story, but when we have had poetry workshops I like having a form to work to. I wonder who makes up the forms and their names?
    I love that pool with a view.

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    1. HI Balroop, I like these W3 challenges because the forms are different each week. Most of the time I manage to write a poem. Occasionally nothing worthwhile comes. I’m glad you like this one. I’m sure most moms can relate to these words.

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  22. For My Sons is one of your best poems. Your doors are delightful, and I had to smile at the monkeys, because my class did a play performance of Caps For Sale for the Kindergarten class.

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  24. Your photographs are amazing, Robbie. Your poem is from the heart. It may not reach the depths of your love, but it tells us the truth and helps guide us to that understanding. I don’t think any mother can truly express her love for her children. I’m not sure any father can. I know I can’t.

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  26. What a ‘complete’ post , Robbie. It has what matters: love for our children (I regard my three sons as my most proud, loved, achievements…Your feelings were so beautifully portrayed in your poem, and your closeness and appreciation to such a wealth of animal life is fascinating. Also love the photos…Cheers. xx

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  27. I love: “Perfection works on a sliding scale”

    You are so right that we can’t know in advance what it will be like to be a parent, and it is constantly changing (like any other relationship, I suppose).

    Wonderful photos! I can’t imagine so casually seeing a lion. 🙂

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  36. You pulled off that poem without a problem, Robbie. It’s beautiful and full of heart. You made it look easy! And great photos! I love the warm light on the lion, and those silver tones on the monkeys. You’re so lucky to have such wonderful creatures in the wild when so many of us can only view them in cages.

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