Poetry / Writing

Poetry Friday: What Was the Question?

Catherine Flynn28 Comments

Welcome to the Poetry Friday Roundup! (To find out more about Poetry Friday, click here.) I’m pleased to welcome you this week! How did it get to be the first Friday in December?!? And how is it time for another Inkling challenge? This month, Molly challenged us to respond to Amy Ludwig VanDerwater‘s post, “Answer an Unasked Question.” Amy suggested that we

Think of something someone might wonder, real or pretend…and then write a poem answering this question.

Pretty straightforward, right? Right. Until you start considering all the wonderings in the world!

As usual, my draft is very drafty and feels quite unfinished to me. I blame turkey.

To disappear 
into an emerald cloud,
listening while breezes
whisper their secrets.

To hide
for an afternoon,
watching 
the comings and goings
of birds and squirrels,
spiders and beetles.

To stretch
and reach 
toward the sky,
testing  
strength,
building courage.

Catherine Flynn, draft © 2022

Please visit my fellow Inklings to read their answers to unasked questions, then leave your link below.

Heidi Mordhorst @ My Juicy Little Universe
Linda Mitchell @ A Word Edgewise
Margaret Simon @ Reflections on the Teche
Mary Lee Hahn @ A(nother) Year of Reading
Molly Hogan @ Nix the Comfort Zone

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28 thoughts on “Poetry Friday: What Was the Question?”

  1. I think your poem describes a perfect thing to do when pondering a question . . . “watching the comings and goings.” Your poem made me long for summer again and it’s only the beginning of December!

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    • Oh, I want to live inside of your poem today. It is delightful, and I also love the leaving off of the title. And the post title – if this was an excercise in a book…yours would be the most perfect title! I was tickled to read your poem and too, to have been a small part of this week’s Inklings poems. Thank you for your always-generosity and for hosting today. xo, a.

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  2. Catherine, thank you for hosting, and for a great post title too. But now I have to blame turkey along with you, because that’s the only bird I could picture disappearing into the lovely emerald cloud! What a great answer, though, to the question I surmise is “Why fly?”

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  4. That darned turkey, ha! Well, I think you’ve got a good thing going there, so once the tryptophan wears off I’ll be eager to see where you take this! I like how one needs to pnder what, exactly, the question was. (And thanks for hosting!)

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  6. I am guessing that per each individual will hold a question close after reading your answer, Catherine, so poetic and personal. Thank you for hosting!

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  8. A most interesting challenge Catherine. I like how you allows us to infer the subject you are addressing. We read, we ponder. We are engaged by the lead in of each stanza. Good writing allows the reader to think a little for themselves and you have done us those honour. It seems to me like you have addressed how to blissfully commune with nature…

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  9. Oh I love your journey into the treetops, Catherine, and especially that “emerald cloud”. After reading, I suspected your question was along the lines of “Why climb a tree?” Then I saw that Heidi thought it was “Why fly?” Now I’m waiting for the big reveal! Regardless, thanks for writing a poem that felt like a breath of warm summer air on this chilly December morning. Also, thanks so much for hosting.

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  14. Emerald cloud? Yes, please! Thank you for hosting our round-up in this busy season. I blame turkey, too. Poor turkey. A wonderful stretching and reaching poem. Beautiful!

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  16. Love the dreamy, evocative images in your poem. Disappearing into an emerald cloud sounds good right about now. 🙂 Thanks so much for hosting this week!

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  18. Oh, Catherine, I have asked myself so many times, “What was the question?” 🙂
    Your ponderings here are so lovely and I enjoyed the lead-up to the blossoming of courage. ❤️

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  19. Thank you for hosting, Catherine! Your draft makes us wonder about the natural world you are describing. It also begs to ask, what are you building strength for? The upcoming season? Unanswered questions are the best!

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  21. Thank you, Catherine, for hosting and being patient with the post I added to the link-up (Friday was a very busy day and I did not get home from the holiday dinner party until 11.
    The opening stanza of your poem is poetic indeed. I look forward to reading all the responses over the weekend in between decorating the house for the holiday.

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  22. I thought I left a comment, but alas. Can I still blame turkey? Love your ethereal poem that is a nice place to relax into an emerald cloud. Thanks for hosting.

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  23. Your poem feels like retirement life. I’m still getting used to it, but your poem speaks everything this new chapter feels like. I was so glad to see you were hosting today. I always enjoy my stops in your space.

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  24. That middle stanza, Catherine! It’s as if you knew me when I was a child. I loved hiding and watching the birds.

    Thank you for hosting this week and for sharing your drafty, lovely poem.

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  25. I dropped my link but forgot to say thank you for hosting and for the beautiful poem that answers, for me, the question, “Why be a bird?”

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