Tag: Birds

Four Spring Haiku #TuesdayTidbit #Poetry #Inspiration

Let me read them to you.

 

snowstorm predicted

rain falls followed by strong wind

but no snow appears

unseasonable

warm temperatures grace our land

all nature’s confused

 

spring storm approaches

one lone bird sings cheerful tune

unaware of fate

 

spring storm in May

snowflakes flutter in circles

wind blows cold and dry

***

The above haiku were published in the May 1st 2022 issue of The Weekly Avocet, which can be read here.

 

Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

New! Living Vicariously in Wyoming: Stories

Copyright 2025 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

Published independently with the help of DLD Books.

 

The scene shows an isolated barn off to the right in a snowy field, probably shortly after sunset. The foreground is a mixture of white, blue, and brown shades. Behind the barn is a line of dense, dark trees, many of them evergreens. The sky is the pink one sometimes sees at sunset, and a full moon hangs above the treetops to the left. The title is in plain black letters against the sky with a white glow behind them. The author’s name is in white letters near the bottom of the cover.

Image Description written by Leonore Dvorkin of DLD Books.

 

As defined in the first story, living vicariously means living your life through someone else’s. You’re invited to live vicariously through the lives of the people in these stories. There’s the lawyer who catches his wife in the act with a nun. A college student identifies with a character in a play. A young woman loses her mother and finds her father. And a high school student’s prudish English teacher strenuously objects to a single word in her paper.

In Wyoming, as in any other state, people fall in love, and sometimes relationships are shattered. Accidents, domestic violence, prejudice, and crimes all occur. Lives are torn apart, and people are reunited. Ordinary people deal with everyday and not–so–everyday situations.

The 25 stories in this collection, most of which are set in Wyoming, are about how the various characters resolve their conflicts—or not.

 

Click here for more information and ordering links.

 

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If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to News from My Corner by sending a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!

Ravens #TuesdayTidbit #Poetry #Inspiration

Let me read it to you.

 

Ravens (Nonet)

Copyright 2024 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

 

 

Edgar Allan Poe wrote about them,

dark-feathered birds, symbolizing

death, birth, and intelligence.

Protectors of secrets,

cloaked in mystery,

carrying word

between worlds,

they are

wise.

Back Story

 

The above poem appears in the November 10th issue of The Weekly Avocet, which you can read here. This edition is devoted entirely to poems about ravens.

When Charles Portolano, editor of The Weekly Avocet, first announced he wanted to publish an issue consisting specifically of poetry about ravens, I didn’t know much about these birds. I did some research and incorporated what I learned into the above poem.

This is a nonet, which is a nine-line poem that can be written in one of two ways. In the above poem, the first line contains nine syllables; the second has eight, and so on until you get to the last line, containing only one syllable. Alternatively, a nonet can be written in reverse with the first line being one syllable, the second being two and so forth until you get to the last line containing nine syllables.

I’ve written a nonet both ways. I hope you enjoyed this one. Thank you for reading and/or listening.

 


Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

For those who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled in the United States, Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me is now available in an audio format from their site. To download this book click here.

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to my email list to receive my monthly newsletter and other announcements. This is a one-way announcements list, meaning the only messages you’ll receive will come from me. So, you can rest assured that this list is low-traffic. Send a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go.

New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Copyright 2021 by Abbie Johnson Taylor.

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

The cover of the book features an older woman sitting in a wicker chair facing a window. The world beyond the window is bright, and several plants are visible on the terrace. Behind the woman’s chair is another plant, with a tall stalk and wide rounded leaves. The woman has short, white hair, glasses, a red sweater, and tan pants. The border of the picture is a taupe color and reads "Why Grandma Doesn't Know Me" above the photo and "Abbie Johnson Taylor" below it.

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

Sixteen-year-old Natalie’s grandmother, suffering from dementia and confined to a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and rarely recognizes Natalie. But one Halloween night, she tells her a shocking secret that only she and Natalie’s mother know. Natalie is the product of a one-night stand between her mother, who is a college English teacher, and another professor.

After some research, Natalie learns that people with dementia often have vivid memories of past events. Still not wanting to believe what her grandmother has told her, she finds her biological father online. The resemblance between them is undeniable. Not knowing what else to do, she shows his photo and website to her parents.

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

Her younger sister, Sarah, senses their parents’ marital difficulties. At Thanksgiving, when she has an opportunity to see Santa Claus, she asks him to bring them together again. Can the jolly old elf grant her request?

Spring Pain #TuesdayTidbit #Poetry #Inspiration

Let me read it to you.

 

Spring Pain (A Villanelle)

Copyright 2007 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

 

The bird likes the first day of spring,

but today, there’s been nothing but rain.

Her heart is unable to sing.

 

The bird should be having a fling.

Her life should be more humane.

The bird likes the first day of spring.

 

It’s time for her to take wing.

Instead, she sits in the rain.

Her heart is unable to sing.

 

She likes everything about spring

except for the driving rain.

The bird likes the first day of spring.

 

Instead of taking wing,

the bird takes shelter in pain.

Her heart is unable to sing.

 

Life can be so inhumane.

It fills the bird’s heart with pain.

The bird likes the first day of spring,

but her heart is unable to sing.

***

Back Story

 

Years ago, during one of my local Third Thursday Poets meetings, we were prompted to write a villanelle. In this poetry form, certain lines are repeated at strategic points throughout the poem. On the first day of spring that year, it was raining, hence the image of the bird in the rain on the first day of spring.

This poem was published in the March 31st issue of The Weekly Avocet, which can be downloaded here. Thank you for reading.

 

Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to my email list to receive my monthly newsletter and other announcements. This is a one-way announcements list, meaning the only messages you’ll receive will come from me. So, you can rest assured that this list is low-traffic. Send a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go.

New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Copyright 2021 by Abbie Johnson Taylor.

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

The cover of the book features an older woman sitting in a wicker chair facing a window. The world beyond the window is bright, and several plants are visible on the terrace. Behind the woman’s chair is another plant, with a tall stalk and wide rounded leaves. The woman has short, white hair, glasses, a red sweater, and tan pants. The border of the picture is a taupe color and reads "Why Grandma Doesn't Know Me" above the photo and "Abbie Johnson Taylor" below it.

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

Sixteen-year-old Natalie’s grandmother, suffering from dementia and confined to a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and rarely recognizes Natalie. But one Halloween night, she tells her a shocking secret that only she and Natalie’s mother know. Natalie is the product of a one-night stand between her mother, who is a college English teacher, and another professor.

After some research, Natalie learns that people with dementia often have vivid memories of past events. Still not wanting to believe what her grandmother has told her, she finds her biological father online. The resemblance between them is undeniable. Not knowing what else to do, she shows his photo and website to her parents.

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

Her younger sister, Sarah, senses their parents’ marital difficulties. At Thanksgiving, when she has an opportunity to see Santa Claus, she asks him to bring them together again. Can the jolly old elf grant her request?

Four Summer Poems #TuesdayTidabit #Poetry #Inspiration

Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description by

Two Pentacles Publishing.

 

Summer’s almost over. Here are four poems I wrote that appeared in the September 11th issue of The Weekly Avocet, which you can download here. You can click on the title of each poem to hear me read it. Enjoy!

 

Meadowlark

 

 

 

Its song rings out over the lake

on a sunny, cloudless Wyoming afternoon,

as our boat glides through smooth waters.

 

Dad and younger brother fish

while Mother and I enjoy the gentle breeze

that carries with it the scent of pine trees,

whiff of worms used for bait.

 

At the age of thirteen,

knowing little about the meadowlark,

I delight in the bird’s cheerful tune,

and the boat’s gentle motion,

observe, with my limited vision, the lake, grass, trees, sky,

happy in summer.

 

After a Summer Cold Front

 

 

 

The sun finally shines in a blue sky filled with white clouds.

A gentle breeze blows, as I sit in my back yard.

Birds flit about in branches above me.

With my limited vision, I can’t see them,

but I hear their wings and joyous songs.

A fly circles my head—I wave it away.

In distant places, forest fires rage.

But here, they’re momentarily forgotten.

 

Summers in My Younger Years (A Zip Ode)

 

 

I loved summers in my home town,

ice cream,

band concerts, swimming at the park,

picnicking and hiking in the mountains.

Joy!

 

Nature Hike

 

 

As I walk down the Braille Trail,

I must hold onto the rail

when it’s steep or else I’ll fail.

 

As I walk, the moisture stops

dripping from all the treetops.

 

Since there is no more spray,

I no longer need to pray

for that glorious sunshine ray.

 

I know I have nothing to fear,

but I listen with one ear

 

for the lumbering sound of a bear

or a moose with more than one ear.

 

Onward I boldly tread

till I come to a sign I can read.

 

It’s in Braille and print, and I feel

the dots that are unlike an eel.

 

I look for a place to stop

when I climb to the very top

 

of a hill where the view will arrest,

and there, I sit down and rest.

***

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to my email list to receive my twice-yearly newsletter and other announcements. This is a one-way announcements list, meaning the only messages you’ll receive will come from me. So, you can rest assured that this list is low-traffic. Send a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go.

***

New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Copyright 2021 by Abbie Johnson Taylor.

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

The cover of the book features an older woman sitting in a wicker chair facing a window. The world beyond the window is bright, and several plants are visible on the terrace. Behind the woman’s chair is another plant, with a tall stalk and wide rounded leaves. The woman has short, white hair, glasses, a red sweater, and tan pants. The border of the picture is a taupe color and reads "Why Grandma Doesn't Know Me" above the photo and "Abbie Johnson Taylor" below it.

Sixteen-year-old Natalie’s grandmother, suffering from dementia and confined to a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and rarely recognizes Natalie. But one Halloween night, she tells her a shocking secret that only she and Natalie’s mother know. Natalie is the product of a one-night stand between her mother, who is a college English teacher, and another professor.

After some research, Natalie learns that people with dementia often have vivid memories of past events. Still not wanting to believe what her grandmother has told her, she finds her biological father online. The resemblance between them is undeniable. Not knowing what else to do, she shows his photo and website to her parents.

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

Her younger sister, Sarah, senses their parents’ marital difficulties. At Thanksgiving, when she has an opportunity to see Santa Claus, she asks him to bring them together again. Can the jolly old elf grant her request?

***

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Trent’s Weekly Smile #WordPressWednesday #Reblogs #Inspiration

 

Many things made me smile this week, but none as much as reading Trent’s post. Because of my limited vision, I don’t have an opportunity to observe wildlife the way sighted people do. I can sometimes see birds soaring through the air if they’re low enough. I need to be close to deer or other animals in order to see them clearly, and most won’t let a human get that close. So, I’m sharing Trent’s post as my smile this week. If you can think of something that made you smile this past week, read his post to find out how to participate in this feature. Most important, keep smiling.

 

 The Weekly Smile for the 20th of June, 2022 #weeklysmile /

A photo of Abbie smiling in front of a white background. Her brown hair is cut short and frames her face. She is wearing a bright red shirt and a dark, flowy scarf swirled with hues of purple, pinks and blues.