Hello and welcome to the animal kingdom!
Our challenge this month (from Laura Purdie Salas) was to write a short poem (six lines or less) describing an animal of our choice and incorporating the words spike, word and shadow.
Fun, right?
So I thought, instead of the usual suspects, what animals are unsung?
Unappreciated?
Even, dare I say, unloved?
And because hyenas are SO unsung, unappreciated and unloved, I wrote two — one a description, one a 7-word autobiography!
Here goes….
The Hyena
Hyena
looms large
casts a shadow
over warthog and antelope
under roof of Serengeti sky,
spotted coat spiked like a crown.
The Hyena’s Autobiography
I’m a scrappy grave robber —
laughing, unashamed.
Now, onward to other animals!
Laura’s is here
Tanita’s is here
Sara’s is here
Kelly’s is here
Tricia’s is here
Andi’s is here
Clever. I love ‘scrappy grave robber’. So much in so few words.
Love these, Liz! I love the mood of your first hyena poem, but that short second one captures its personality so vividly. (It was six lines or less, btw, not six words or less. But I love what you created with that compression!)
Oh, duh — I knew that! Just edited 🙂
I guess we all do what we have to do, even the hyena! Love the idea that this small unloved creature gets some love from you today, Liz, even its coat holds some beauty: “spiked like a crown”.
Nice to think of that scrappy coat as a crown! And I’m loving reading the responses to this challenge. This would be a fun one to do with kids.
Wow, Liz, EVERYONE dislikes that horrible wild mocking laughter, and you captured the laugh and added “unashamed,” and now I feel like maybe I need to rethink hyenas altogether.
You made the words work for you, and I really like this!
Both of these are so much fun. Thanks for sharing.
I like both of your poems that hold up the hyena in a more positive light. BTW I just saw a show on Planet Earth where the people of Harar, Ethiopia actually invite the Hyena’s into their town and hand feed them, because they feel the hyena’s “consumed the evil spirits every time they cackle.”
Enjoyed your poems. Hyenas rule in their spiky coats.
Your poems cause me to take a second look at those unsung hyenas.
oooooh. I love that you are writing for the unsung. Your first poem is so different from Sara’s but so sharp and crisp like hers. I like that spiked like a crown line. Great ending. Off to see the other animals.
They are scrappy shadow-casters, aren’t they? Interesting what Michelle said about them consuming evil spirits with their cackle. That’s a potent laugh!
Love that you picked the under(not a)dog!
Ha! I thought when I saw the hyena picture that you were going to go for spiked TEETH, but you totally killed instead with a coat spiked like a crown. (And gave a subtle dig at the king of beasts, too.) Well done.
“Scrappy grave robber” is so accurate, and so spare. LOVE the first poem, and the line “under roof of Serengeti sky” really sings.
I love that you picked an animal that one would not associate with spikes. My favorite line is “under roof of Serengeti sky.” And I love the form of this poem and the expanding syllables. Lovely.