I see the Nuthatch. It's choosing a nut
to bring to crevice and crack with its beak.
Its body shows its pedigree somewhat,
short tail, stout body, and long bill's sharp peak.
Nuthatch, Oh Nuthatch
so little, so small
on tree trunks, we'll see you
go upside down
Your home's like a porthole in a tree
a cozy place to lay a clutch of eggs,
that's lined with sap from forest evergreens.
I see the Nuthatch. It's choosing a nut
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Author Notes
This is a White-bellied Nuthatch that is one of many that frequents my back deck's feeder. They come all years long weathering winter in pine trees. The Nuthatches constitute a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds. Characterized by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet. Most species exhibit grey or bluish upperparts. They forage for insects hidden in or under bark by climbing along tree trunks and branches, sometimes upside-down. Their habit of wedging a large food item in a crevice and then hacking at it with their strong bills gives this group its English name. Most nuthatches are woodland birds and the majority are found in coniferous or other evergreen forests. All nuthatches nest in cavities. Most use natural holes or old woodpecker nests. Several species reduce the size of the entrance hole and seal up cracks with mud. The nuthatch makes the nest secure by daubing sticky conifer resin globules around the entrance, the male applying the resin outside and the female inside. The resin may deter predators or competitors (the resident birds avoid the resin by diving straight through the entrance hole). The white-breasted nuthatch smears blister beetles around the entrance to its nest, and it has been suggested that the unpleasant smell from the crushed insects deters squirrels, its chief competitor for natural tree cavities, and most predators. Source: Wikipedia.
This poem is a Dorsimbra.
I was introduced to it today while reviewing Flylikeaneagle's poem, Shining Lights.
The Dorsimbra, a poetry form created by Eve Braden, Frieda Doris and Robert Simonton. So, by combining their names you get Dorsimbra. It is a set form of three stanzas of four lines each. Since the Dorsimbra requires three different sorts of form writing.
Stanza One: Four lines of iambic pentameter, rhymed abab.
Stanza Two: Four lines of short and snappy free verse.
Stanza Three: Four lines of iambic pentameter blank verse, where the last line repeats the first line of Stanza One.
Not a particularly creative format. To me, it seems like the rhyme fades away. It does blend a transition from rhymed verse to blank verse.
This photograph was taken by the author himself on July 10, 2016.
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