A few years ago I started a practice of recording observations that I call “Snippets.” It was a response to Mary Oliver’s suggestion to “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” I recently realized that some of my recent observations were more like diary entries than the musings or thoughts of a writer. I was inspired by Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems (Janeczko/Sweet) and Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature (Davies/Hearld) to not only be more consistent with this practice, but also to do a better job of observing through the eyes of a poet. This week I spent some time paying attention and trying to discover what it was that astonished me. Here are a few examples:
Autumn Snapshots
Lunch
squash and apple soup
chases away the quick chill—
October delight
Hornet’s Nest
papery swirls
once hidden behind lush leaves—
lanterns in the bare trees.
Intruders
the deer,
content in her reverie,
raised her head as we
drove by.
Shadows
silhouette trees
on the concrete overpass
as hidden traffic
whizzes and whirrs,
rumbles and roars.
Draft©2022RoseCappelli
I hope your weekend is full of beautiful fall snapshots. Please take some time to head over to the Poetry Friday Roundup at Heidi’s Blog My Juicy Little Universe for a special musical treat and lots of poetry fun.
Imagine the Possibilities 
Thanks for sharing your snippets! Your “Intruders” is something we experience every day…lots of deer in these parts! Happy fall. xo
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What a great poem practice! I need to find space for my own musings each day. I try when my students write to write, too. Your poems reflect attention to details and word choice. Thanks for sharing.
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Ah, Rose, I love what you have shared here. I especially love the hornet’s nest “lantern in the bare tree” and the does in her reverie. We see them on 81N a lot as we head home from Penn., especially so north of Binghamton! A tip of my “visor” to you. I have been trying to write and say hello, but I have had covid, though not bad at all, but not a walk in the park either. Glad I am better. “See” you soon!
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Thanks, Janet. Take care and continue to heal.
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Margaret, I have a notebook where I write down prompts etc I find here and wish so much I was still teaching. I have thought of a writers’ group for upper elem and or middle school students that would meet at our library. I would comb through that notebook and here to find ideas and it would be so nice to have the freedom to design my own lessons.
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Janet, I think this was meant for Margaret. You might want to repost there.
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Thanks, Rose, but I was trying to reply to her comment above and thought she might see this. But it was early. LOL.
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Lovely snippets — each so vivid and immediate. Thanks for sharing!
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Wow! I love the idea of snippets. I do this some with my nature journaling, but I need to do more.
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Thanks for thew postcard, Marcie!
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The idea of snippets. I am going to remember that. These captured autumn.
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I love your snippets! Your metaphors “papery swirls” and “lanterns in the bare trees” spoke to me. I love the deer “content in her reverie.” Usually when I see deer is at dusk on the side of a road before they run in front of a car. After we go cross country skiing, we like watching the deer eat corn in some peoples’ yards who feed the deer.
I have also enjoyed the two books you mentioned. When I walk, hike, garden, cross country ski, drive, or sometimes when I look out the window, I think of poetic phrases or poems in my head. I always say I’m going to record them on my phone, but I’m too caught up in the moment to remember. I have recorded creek sounds and tree frog sounds. I take lots of photos to remind me of the moments later on. But I think your idea of writing the snippets down is great. I do remember reading that Mary Oliver wrote her first drafts while she was immersed in nature. Thank you for your inspiration.
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Thanks for reading, Gail, and sharing your thoughts. I have a few things I recorded on my phone using voice to text, but my favorite is finding scraps of paper in my purse with thoughts scrawled alongside a quick grocery list. I’m heading to Highlights next weekend for a personal retreat. Hoping to find lots of snippets.
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Rose, I forgot to mention, after hiking a mountain I take out my notebook on the summit to write poetic phrases or poems. I just remembered when I was a child and a teen, I used to take my notebook outside with me to write a poem.
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The request to oneself to do just a little, a snippet, and to forgive when a day is missed, is the best trick I know to build a habit. My favorite line is about the hornet’s nest: “lanterns in the bare trees.” Lovely!
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I, like everyone, love your idea of snippets, Rose. I have not seen any of those ‘lanterns’ but do look for the now revealed squirrel’s nests. Each one brings a sketch for me to imagine, a poetic diary for you, too.
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I love your snippets! A little poem-album of moments!
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These are wonderful and inspiring. I love Hornet’s Nest. Those lanterns…so pretty if they weren’t so dangerous!
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Such a great practice–and Hornet’s Nest! Swoon.
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Oh, your Hornet’s Nest poem is lovely! Thank you so much for sharing– I’ll never look at them the same way again! 🙂
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These snippets are lovely. This would be such a wonderful daily (or at least regular 😀) practice.
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