Poetry Inspired by My Backyard Wildlife Habitat

Sometimes I’m on a ladder in the mulberry tree picking berries and a poem starts building in my mind. All I can do is remember to carry paper and pen with me, and hope that I’ll be able to balance while I use both hands to write down my thoughts.
These poems were written as a direct result of being out in the yard, or on the deck observing. My poetry is organized on my website on one page, all alphabetical, so you’ll have to scroll down the list, but many of these poems also appear in the pages I’ve built for my annual poetry readings. I encourage you to visit those pages as well as “all poetry” so you can see even more artwork, even if it isn’t of my backyard.
I will be publishing a book of my poetry following my fourth poetry reading in February 2010.
Dogwoods
This poem was published on A Prairie Home Companion website at the very beginning of their “stories from home” series, and led to me creating an annual poetry reading and art show at Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall.
The dogwoods are blooming up and down my street.
The breaking of the cold,
The unusually warm, brilliant spring day…
Entering Paradise
This is a very short poem written right after the incident.
On the death of a downy woodpecker who ran into my window.
Father’s Day
This was inspired by watching parents raise their little ones.
She is a little small but quick
and she obviously adores her father,
following him everywhere …
Feverfew
It’s a great way to start the day…
Oh, I can’t stop looking at all the feverfew
in my garden,
I just keep running from one cluster to another …
June
It’s a haiku—an excerpt would give it all away!
Like a Tree
I wrote this sitting on my deck after coming home from a long day way back when I still worked a day job.
To live my life like a tree,
to grow steadily from small beginnings,
fervently when possible, and quietly adapt when necessary, …
Raspberry Dreams
One morning while picking raspberries I found a childhood memory of discovering a huge raspberry bush, not knowing what they were.
You can best see the constellations
by lying on your back and dreaming
and in due time the sky is filled with
cavorting gods and goddesses, …
Valentine’s Day
This really did happen on Valentine’s Day, and I learned later that this is a courting ritual with American cardinals.
He doesn’t have to give this gift to her
and she doesn’t have to receive it
as she could easily feed herself …
Read all the articles in this series
An Introduction to Backyard Wildlife Habitats
What’s in Your Backyard? The First Step in Planning Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat
What Else is in Your Backyard: The Fauna That Fill It
Bringing it All Together: Enhancing and Developing Your Habitat
Also read about my art, photography, poetry and prose inspired by my backyard wildlife habitat:
Art Inspired by My Backyard Wildlife Habitat
Photography Inspired by My Backyard Wildlife Habitat
Poetry Inspired by My Backyard Wildlife Habitat
Prose Inspired by My Backyard Wildlife Habitat
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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.
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Nice to find some poetry here 🙂 I also have a poetry site, http://www.poesiedumonde.com
Mainly French but also some in English…
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