Happy December 1st! A new month brings a new Inkling challenge, and this month Molly challenged us to write Luc Bat poems. I found this form of interlocking rhymes to be pretty tricky. Thanks to my extraordinary Inkling pals, though, my attempt adheres to the format.
All summer, a thick cloak
of emerald shields oak and ash,
hiding cracks where critters stash
ripe nuts, shrouding a cache of seeds.
A hole where owl can feed
her brood good meals they need to thrive,
or honey-laden hives
tucked deep within, alive with bees.
Walking by, you will see
a quiet, stately tree. Its heart
holds secrets uncharted.
Draft, © Catherine Flynn, 2023
Read how the other Inklings responded to Molly’s challenge here:
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
Be sure to visit Anastasia Suen at her blog for the Poetry Friday Roundup.
Reading to the Core 
I think what I love about the form is how it feels like it is spoken – there’s a lilt and your enjambment carries me through the poem as though I’m reading prose. Really lovely, Catherine.
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Such a tricky form! I love how you applied it to your autumn theme, Catherine. I especially like “emerald shields of oak and ash/hiding cracks were critters stash…” It is very fun to read!
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Oh, Catherine! I love this so much–it’s almost worth having missed our last meeting for the joy of reading it for the first time here! I love your focus on the tree and the secrets it holds. Your rhymes are so precise and yet still it all flows so beautifully. You’ve created such a wonderful mentor poem of this form and what it can be when beautifully and thoughtfully crafted. Brava!
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The last two lines just make this poem. I love leaving on that feeling. Beautiful.
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You make it look easy, but I know how much effort you put into this poem. I love how you notice little things in nature and let your mind wonder out loud. Lovely!
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I am so charmed by the tension between hidden and revealed in this poem, and you created that all while sticking to the form! Impressive and tender.
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I love finding the secrets that the trees have been hiding with leaves! There’s a tree down the street that has six (SIX!) squirrel nests snuggled in its branches, and I now know where there are two wasp nests!
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Simply beautiful, Catherine, while I look at the trees out my window, I wonder at the secrets they hold. Your ‘cloak of emerald’ is a wonderful description.
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I love how this form makes the words jump off the tongue. It is both fun to read and say out loud. Love thinking about the secrets the oak holds.
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I love the mix of sounds with the hard c/k and the shhh of the sh. 🙂 Lovely.
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Wow! What a great turn at the end, Catherine–lovely!
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“Its heart / holds secrets uncharted.” Love this ending, Catherine!
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This beautiful, Catherine. I love how you start out with the elm, move to the critters, to the owl, to the bees, and go full circle back to this beautiful ending
“Walking by, you will see/a quiet, stately tree. Its heart/holds secrets uncharted.” Your imagery is so clear that as I read, your poem reminded me of all my walks looking up at trees and looking for all kinds of treasures or as you say secrets like you have written about. Wit all the extra sounds you wrote in this poem, it reads like a picture book! You have made this challenging form look easy-excellent. I love your poem. Would you mind if I put your poem in my journal to study as a mentor poem on the Luc Bat form? I would put a copyright sign by your name.
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