The first month of school is in the books and it was a hectic one! Now that I’m back into that routine, maybe I can find a way back into a writing routine. Fingers crossed!
This month, Margaret challenged the Inklings to write a poem inspired by a photo shared by a fellow Inkling. I was lucky to receive three options from photographer extraordinaire, Molly Hogan. While all the images were intriguing, I couldn’t stop thinking about this one:
Here is my response:
In September,
dried filaments of
Queen Anne’s Lace
curl inward
like careworn hands
folded in prayer.
A dragonfly, maybe
a wandering glider,
lands on the boll
of seeds and stems
to rest,
reviving, reenergizing
for the journey ahead.
Draft © Catherine Flynn, 2025
Please be sure to visit the other Inklings for their responses to Margaret’s challenge:
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Mary Lee @ Another Year of Reading
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Then head over the Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme where Matt has the Poetry Friday Roundup.


”careworn hands folded in prayer” is a lovely simile. Your poetry always leads me to a deeper level of appreciation on nature. This one matches the photo beautifully.
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I can see why you kept coming back to this photo! The lacy wings, the lacy boll (GREAT word!!), the pause before the next part of the journey. Your poem is a meditation — calm and precise.
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Great match of photo and poem, Catherine! Well done.
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[…] Reading to the Core, Catherine Flynn’s response includes a dragonfly and Queen Anne’s […]
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“folded in prayer” is lovely, Catherine, I enjoyed your response to the challenge!
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That’s a photo I keep intending to write about, too. I’m so glad you chose it. I love your use of “boll” and really, that whole first stanza wowed me! What a lovely pairing for the photo.
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Love “careworn hands/folded in prayer” — a perfect image for an anxious journey-er. Exquisite photo, too!
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