Roberta Writes – d’Verse, Tanka Tuesday, Sunday Stills and Thursday Doors

#d'Verse, photography, poetry, Sunday Stills, Tanka Tuesday, Thursday Doors 2 Minutes

d’Verse

Laura’s prompt is for poets to write a Cadralor. I’m not sure if I got it quite right but I had a go at it below. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2026/10/15/mtb-imagism-in-5/

Bird Love (American cinquain chain)

yellow

fluttering wings

hovering around nests

seeking positive attention

weaver

Picture caption: yellow masked weaver bird in my garden

***

lilac

breasted roller

amazing acrobat

attired in dramatic colour

palette

Picture caption: Lilac-breasted roller in the Kruger National Park

***

sitting

silhouetted

against vivid blue sky

yellow billed toucan surveys its

surrounds

Picture caption: Yellow billed toucan in the Kruger National Park

***

blending

into background

pair of spotted thick knees

prominent yellow eyes darting

around

Picture caption: Spotted thick knee at the Johannesburg Country Club in Woodmead

***

watching

courtship rituals

birds soaring and swooping

my heart yearns for perceived freedom

of wings

Tanka Tuesday

Melissa’s challenge is to write an Alouette. You can join in here: https://tankatuesday.com/2026/10/13/tankatuesday-no-86-alouette-10-13-26/

Woolly-necked stork

black skullcap adorns

wig-style woolly neck

atop black judicial suit

reminiscent of

criminal court judge

handing down a death sentence

***

slow, silent hunters

shy and secretive

living alone or in pairs

round water sources

in arid areas

occasionally soaring

Below are my two photographs of a woolly-necked stork

Sunday Stills and Thursday Doors

Hugh is hosting Sunday Stills on behalf of Terri here: https://hughsviewsandnews.com/2026/10/11/sunday-stills-photo-challenge-steps-stairs/

Dan is hosting Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/10/15/october-doors/

My photographs are of Chateau du Chambord in the Loire Valley in France.

Picture caption: Photograph of Chateau de Chambord
Exit into the lavish gardens at Chateau de Chambord
front entrance to Chateau de Chambord
Internal entrance at the top of a short flight of stairs
Internal door in Chateau de Chambord with short flights of stairs

The Double Helix Staircase

The double helix staircase is believed to have been designed by Leonard da Vinci and is the most striking architectural featuring of the Chateau de Chambord. Positioned in the centre of the immense square-shaped keep, the celebrated staircase comprises of two sets of staircases twisting one above the other to get to the main floors of the building. When two people climb the stairs at the same time, they can see each other at intervals but will never meet. The stairs were intended to be used by each of the King’s wife and his mistresses.

The two pictures below are my photograph of the staircase as drawn by an artist and my photograph of the staircase from my visit to Chambord.

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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109 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – d’Verse, Tanka Tuesday, Sunday Stills and Thursday Doors”

    1. I did try to do that but maybe there shouldn’t be a common theme. I wanted to write about birds so I had a preconceived writing idea. Perhaps I should have used different garden topics like flowers, insects, birds, and fungi. Well, next time …

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      1. well its your effort that matters more Roberta – I only criticise when the contributor does not even bother to follow the rules. There are plenty of examples on the prompt page links if you ever want to give it a go again

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    1. Hi Thomas, Chambord is one of the popular chateaus and has an interesting history. It is highly impractical for France and was never used much because it was to cold with the high ceilings. This is were all the treasures form the Louvre were stored/hidden during WW2.

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  18. I’m still trying to get my head around how double-helix staircases work, Robbie. But Leonard da Vinci was a genius and produced lots of head-scratching stuff. I wonder how long it took to build the staircase? I think I’ve seen similar examples in court buildings.

    Thanks again for joining me for Sunday Stills.

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      1. They all are available. I am revising Bridge to Nowhere, as it was one of the books where I released a 2nd edition to bring the format in line with the others. I didn’t think I needed to redo the audio books but Amazon did. It will be available before the end of this coming week.

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  24. What a marvellous garden you have, Roberta, and I am jealous of all these beautiful birds, which keep you company:) I also remember the gorgeous “Chateau de Chambord” Many thanks and have a pleasant weekend!

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  30. Your poetry and bird photos are always a joy. I like the cadralor too, but never seem to get it right. Anyway, I enjoyed your photos as well. The allouette and rhyming… you know me and rhyming. 👻 This was a wonderful post. 🧡

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  38. Sorry for the late comment, Robbie. I thought I had commented, but I was mistaken.
    I love your musings and the delight in your imagery of the birds you discovered at Kroger National Park.

    Chateau du Chambord is stunning, and Superb image of the staircase attributed to Leonard da Vinci.

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  40. Beautiful birds and delightful poetry. I love the arched doorways and the double helix staircases. Interesting about the design coming from Leonard da Vinci. Maybe he intuitively knew something about our DNA.

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