Feb
2020
Poetry Friday: Monster Catch
This month I am taking part in the February Daily Poem Project hosted by Laura Shovan. For her birthday each year, Laura invites poets to write daily in community. This year participants are sharing prompts exploring the theme of water. From photos to videos, from songs to news articles, the prompts have been rich and varied, as have the poetic responses to it.
So far I’ve mostly kept up with the prompts. I’ve missed a few days here and there that I’d like to catch up on with. I’m also at that point where I sit down to look at the daily prompt and think, “I’m not sure I have any more poems left in me.” But somehow I manage to put a few words down on paper. Some of them surprise me. Some of them are words that might lead to something I want to say later on. Either way, I look forward to reading the contributions from everyone else and being part of the community. Thank you, Laura, for letting us all play along with you for your birthday!
Today’s poem is one I wrote in response to the prompt I shared. For the past 15+ years, my husband, daughter and I have joined with the Friends of the Muscatatuck River Society to pick up trash from the rivers in our community. Through its beginnings in 1998 through 2019, volunteers have pulled 273,026 pounds of trash and 2510 tires from the Muscatatuck River (and every year volunteers can cover more miles of the river since fewer people seem to be littering). For our daughter and her friends, it is a day of fun. When they were younger, they competed to see who could get the wettest/muddiest or who could dig the biggest/most tires out. This photo is of my husband the year we used canoes to float out larger items (tires, iron from cars and other machines) to a place they could be removed.
Monster Catch
Went fishing today
but took no bait.
I didn’t have too
long to wait
‘fore I reeled in
a monster catch
of iron and tires
along this patch.
As FMRS says, “Mother Nature thanks you!”
Each Friday, I am excited to take part in Poetry Friday, where writers share their love of all things poetry. Cheriee hosts the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Library Matters. She introduces Avis Harley, a children’s poet from Vancouver, Canada. Hurry over and check out all the poetry morsels offered up today.
Michelle Kogan
February 25, 2020 at 7:34 pm (4 years ago)I love this poem Kay, and when you posted it too! I think it needs to find a larger audience it’s fun and also sends out an encouraging message to all about taking care of our water. I’m wondering how your husband balanced all those tires too… thanks!
Mrs. McGriff
February 28, 2020 at 9:09 am (4 years ago)Thanks, Michelle. I should at least share it with the FMRS group! Thanks for the inspiration.
Karen Eastlund
February 24, 2020 at 3:17 pm (4 years ago)Woohoo for cleaning up the river, and another one for your poem. Thanks for sharing…
Kay Jernigan McGriff
February 24, 2020 at 8:30 pm (4 years ago)Thanks, Karen
Michelle Heidenrich Barnes
February 23, 2020 at 10:05 am (4 years ago)Holy moley, that’s a lot of junk! On behalf of the river, thank you. Such a great pairing of photo and poem, Kay!
Mrs. McGriff
February 23, 2020 at 10:15 am (4 years ago)Thanks, Michelle. It’s amazing how much trash we’ve pulled out of the river.
cheriee weichel
February 22, 2020 at 4:58 pm (4 years ago)Thanks for sharing the story behind the poem, and thanks for doing this work. Like Jama, it’s inconceivable why people dump their garbage like this.
Thanks also for this poem. I love that beginning.
Went fishing today
but took no bait.
Mrs. McGriff
February 22, 2020 at 6:07 pm (4 years ago)Thanks, Cheriee. We look forward to the river cleanups and still go back as often as we can. At least things are getting better. There is definitely less trash than when the group first started.
Ramona
February 22, 2020 at 1:39 pm (4 years ago)So glad your river has friends to help out yearly. The pic makes your poem come alive. Thanks to you and family for your efforts.
Mrs. McGriff
February 22, 2020 at 6:06 pm (4 years ago)Thanks, Ramona. The Friends group is pretty amazing. We are (they are, we were since we moved) in a small community (less than 30,000 in the entire county) but they can still do great things.
Linda Baie
February 22, 2020 at 9:30 am (4 years ago)As others have written, Kay, this was a favorite prompt. I love the way you crafted it with that heavy surprise at the end! And the title is just perfect!
Mrs. McGriff
February 22, 2020 at 6:04 pm (4 years ago)Thanks, Linda. I’m glad you like the end–I find those so hard to write.
Molly Hogan
February 22, 2020 at 7:56 am (4 years ago)This was a great prompt and your response poem was perfect. I love that title! I can so relate to the keeping up part. I was doing well…
Mrs. McGriff
February 22, 2020 at 6:03 pm (4 years ago)Thanks, Molly…you are still doing well! I always look forward to seeing what you contribute.
Laura Shovan
February 21, 2020 at 9:43 pm (4 years ago)Kay, this was one of my favorite prompts so far. Thanks for being part of the write-in community this year. I feel the same way — just when I think I’m all poemed out, I come up with something.
Mrs. McGriff
February 22, 2020 at 6:02 pm (4 years ago)Thanks, Laura. I was debating between a couple of photos and hoped this one would spark some creativity. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to write together.
Laura Shovan
February 24, 2020 at 9:33 pm (4 years ago)I look forward to it every year! So glad to have you in the group.
Linda Mitchell
February 21, 2020 at 7:12 pm (4 years ago)I love this poem, photo and project. Well done! And, whew….keeping up. It’s hard to do.
Mrs. McGriff
February 22, 2020 at 6:01 pm (4 years ago)Thanks, Linda. I am in awe of what you come up with each day. There are a few days I missed and want to catch up on–it may be in March, though.
Ruth
February 21, 2020 at 4:49 pm (4 years ago)Thanks for cleaning up! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Mrs. McGriff
February 22, 2020 at 6:00 pm (4 years ago)Thanks, Ruth. It’s not much, but is something I can do to make my corner of the world a little better.
jama
February 21, 2020 at 12:02 pm (4 years ago)Good for you and your family participating in this project for so many years! I don’t understand why people pollute the environment this way.
Mrs. McGriff
February 22, 2020 at 6:00 pm (4 years ago)Thanks, Jama. I do not understand why anyone would through trash out the window. I suspect it’s just a few people who cause most of the trash.