Birds of a Feather

Hello friends! Tonight’s post is going to have to be QUICK, because I was out late at dinner with friends; time flew and now I need to get to bed to shine my brightest at work tomorrow! 🙂

The last couple of posts have been a bit heavy, so I’m going to bring it up tonight. Prepare yourself for smiles and sappiness. 🙂

These have been my best friends since childhood. We even had an awesome group name: The Bubbles. It was based on something like we were in our own bubble with inside jokes and camaraderie…and we were bubbly with each other…I don’t know, it was pretty awesome at the time, and the name stuck. 😉 A few were missing tonight because of moving farther away and such, but this group of us still lives fairly close together and we’re able to get together pretty often. Of course, it’s nowhere near as often as our school days (together in the hallways during passing periods, as many classes as possible scheduled together, over at each other’s houses after school each day, Friday nights bowling/mall/movies rotation, etc.), but it’s still pretty good, considering how busy we all are nowadays with work, family, etc.

Dinner with the friends at Bar Louie.
Left to right: me, Alex, Megan, and Lindsey.

I definitely consider myself lucky still to be friends with the same people I was as a little girl. A few of us have been friends for 20 years now! I’m even more lucky how close we are. These aren’t just “hang out” friends–these are “there for you till the end” friends. They supported not just me, but my whole family, while I was recovering from my traumatic brain injury. They even cooked an entire Thanksgiving dinner for my family while I was in the ICU and brought it to the hospital. They made me feel included and welcome, even when I was unsure of my words, jokes, behavior, appearance–everything–after the injury. They helped me feel like “me” again, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

So now you understand that it is at least for a good reason that I have to cut this post a little short tonight. 😉

To continue with the sappiness, tonight’s poem will be about love and nature. It is so beautiful where I work, especially at this time of year. Marianjoy has a lot of forest, meadow, and garden areas. Everything is starting to come alive again outside, and I am more than happy to volunteer for tasks that take me from building to building so I can enjoy the sun on my face, the twittering of birds, the fresh breeze.
A few days ago, in fact, I saw something so sweet I had to stop and marvel at it. We have a small “pond/waterfall” area right outside one of our entrances, and there was a pair of ducks sitting serenely on the water. The male duck was so beautiful with his brilliant emerald chest, but the female was just as beautiful with her subdued, patterned feathers. They kept looking at each other, and they seemed so happy just to be together.
It reminded me how humans almost adopt an unnatural behavior as we get older. When we’re teenagers, it’s expected that we show our love and happiness. As we get older, though, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in everyday burdens and routines. Our loves can seem more of a partner to get through the day versus the object of our affection. Don’t get me wrong; it is wonderful to have someone to count on–perhaps the most important thing of all. However, I know I myself am guilty of forgetting to let the one I love know how much I love him, for no reason at all. I think people figure this out as they get older; it is so sweet to see elderly couples cooing over each other. I think it’s we, the in-between generations, who need to remember just to be in love and happy with that sometimes–to forget all the outside troubles, at least for a little bit. 🙂

So, I knew I had to write a poem about these ducks. Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt seemed ideal for the task. The structure seemed to frame the picture in my mind like a portrait, just how I would want to frame a beautiful nature scene like the one I saw.

Because it’s the 8th, I thought we might try writing in ottava rima — an Italian form that, in English, usually takes the form of an eight-line stanza of iambic pentameter, with a rhyme scheme of a-b-a-b-a-b-c-c.

I started with the image of the ducks, and I worked backwards with the rhyme scheme. I thought of a few key rhymes that I wanted to focus on–the end rhymes. I worked from there, painting the scene around these key words. I wrote this rather quickly, at least for me 😉 , so I think I’ll revisit this one in the future to tweak it. I also still need to think of a title.

Two ducks together, declaring their love,
looking at each other, their eyes shine bright.
Spring breezes congratulate from above.
Though the birds’ instinct may be to take flight,
they stay, their love in each other enough.
They swim so happily, they must be right.
Today, I’ve learned from my avian friends,
the best kind of love’s when no one pretends.

—

So, my dears, if you are in love, go and show your sweetheart how much s/he means to you! Even a kiss will do, or maybe a preen, if you’re a duck. 😉