Two Prompts in One
prompt: travel/journeys
prompt: "Please write about waiting."
I was inspired to write this by the many news items about the baby bison in Yellowstone recently who got tired and lay down to nap in the road. A herd of cows circled the little one to keep it safe while it slept. Vehicles lines up both directions, and amazingly no one honked or tried to drive on. I couldn't find an image to use legally, so here's a link to the video. It's adorable.
https://mybighornbasin.com/baby-bison-gets-sleepy-in-the-middle-of-traffic-video/
One last thing, I ran my 4th line through two syllable counters (one SodaCoffee) and both gave me 7. I thought it was 6, but I'll go with what is used on Tanka Tuesday!
baby bison naps
in the middle of the road
take a breath - downtime
on-time arrival scrubbed
Instagram story awaits
©2021 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved
One of the most precious stories I have ever heard ... thank you so much for sharing and for your poem.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it just adorable! I loved how nearly everyone just waiting patiently. I wonder what that man was saying to that first driver in line? "Just go slow, they'll move," maybe! There's always one idiot.
DeleteWhat an amazing event! I loved seeing the video. And yes, bound to be on Instagram soon.
ReplyDeleteI count 7 syllables in your last line. Ah, but only 6 in your fourth line. Occasional small variations are acceptable, even among those who stick to the syllable count.
Thank you for the correction, I changed it. I thought it was 6 also, but since both
Deletehttps://www.wordcalc.com/
and
https://www.sodacoffee.com/syllables/
which Tanka Tuesday uses to check
showed 7, I went with that.
I think the "scrubbed" is the problem. One syllable for me, but maybe not everyone? Like striped is one for me, but a lot of people say it like it's stripe-ed.
PS I am thrilled to find out there is a site called Tanka Tuesday. For many years I hosted Tanka on Tuesday, first on MySpace then on facebook, and only finally retired it a few months ago. (We didn't have prompts, though.) It's nice to know that there are still people writing tanka on Tuesdays!
ReplyDeleteIt's not always a word prompt, sometimes it's an image, or free choice, or synonyms for prompt words. And not only tanka, any syllabic forms.
DeleteI wish I could have been there to witness this beautiful sight in person. But your tanka paints a vivid picture, and my soul is satisfied. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMe too. I've seen adults, but never babies. And few wild.
DeleteHi Lisa, this is so beautiful, I love your description, I could see the baby softly sleeping on the road. You capture it perfectly with your words and poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I love how the cows all just waiting patiently, not trying to force the little one to get going. Until the second time it lay down, then mama kept going. She must have known he'd follow that time.
DeleteThank you so much! I strive to follow the "rules" of forms! Actually, I'm pretty much a "rule follower" in life, and expect the same of others. I'm disappointed a lot!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic event. Nature and her creatures sure work in mysterious ways.
ReplyDeleteAnd it looks like 7 syllables to me.
It was so cute and awe inspiring to see them tend to that baby. I think "scrubbed" is pronounced a bit differently depending on location. I say it as 1, but if I try I can do it as 2!
DeleteWhat a great story!
ReplyDeleteWe can't do much when nature makes us wait! No hurrying bison!
Delete