Friday, March 26, 2021

Early Spring Rispetto

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Susan at Soul Blossom Living for Roundup.


I've been away from my desk this week, spending time with my mother. But I do have two newsy bits to share—D-39: A Robodog's Journey got its first review from Kirkus, and it's a good one! Here's an excerpt: 

"Latham uses an invented lexicon of delightfully creative and expressive hybrid words—jinglesnapboomblastsitchglitchy—to tell this... girl-meets-dog story of hope, perseverance, and survival."


And Miss Fancy is in the news! Yay for this new discovery. I look forward to being part of these celebrations!

 Yes, of course I wrote a new ArtSpeak: FOUR SEASONS poem... the first "spring" poem of the year. Yay! Since it's a new season, I decided to try a new-to-me poetry form. Ever heard of a rispetto? 

1. Rispetto is a short poetic form of Italian origin comprising of 11 syllables per line. 

2. It has 8 lines. 

3. Rispetto uses the ababccdd rhyme scheme.

Fun! I hope you'll try it. Meanwhile, here's mine, after work by new-to-me Aussie artist Elioth Gruner. Thank you for reading!


Early Spring Rispetto


Again frost blankets greening pasture
as cows wait for the warm-faced farmer.
Yesterday it seemed sun climbed faster,
but today shadows wear cold armor.

Cows pace alongside familiar fence—
O, Spring! That season of wild suspense!
Whether sun or rain or heat or breeze,
when the farmer comes, cows low, Yes, please!

- Irene Latham

9 comments:

  1. Wonderful poem; thanks for introducing us to the rispetto form. I love thinking about the "warm-faced farmer." :) And I must admit that at first glance, I thought you were writing a "risotto." Oh, a poem about rice !!

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  2. I have walked to help a grandpa feed his cattle & yes, they do come, some run, too. I love that final line, Irene. And how fun to read about those discovering more about Miss Fancy & starting to recover her statue. Have a lovely weekend!

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  3. Thanks for sharing your rispetto, Irene. I like the shadows with cold armor. So many poetry forms to try~ you have shared a great model with this one.

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  4. Thanks for sharing your good news and your rispetto, Irene. I'm looking forward to all that spring has to offer: "That season of wild suspense!" :)

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  5. Hooray for the good review from Kirkus! The rispetto does sound like a fun form to try. I'll add it to my list. I love the way you capture the fickleness of early spring: "sun or rain or heat or breeze." It is "the season of wild suspense!"

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  6. Oh, those cattle pull on my heartstrings. That warm-faced farmer, that familiar fence. Thanks for the entrance into spring. It's lovely.

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  7. What an interesting article about Miss Fancy! And no, I've never heard of a rispetto, but I like yours. I love thinking of spring as a "season of wild suspense."

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  8. Hi Irene,
    I looked at google translate and Rispetto means respect in Italian. Being 50% Italian I was curious. I like this form and your poem a lot. Oh that cold armor. We are going to have some of that later this week! We have lots of farms (some quite large) but many small in my area and we definitely see the cows all gathered and waiting. They KNOW it is time for their dinner!! I am glad to be learning new forms so thanks for this. Happy Spring. Also I am glad Fancy's statue has been restored. This reminds me that once when my son was maybe 5 or 6 a very small one tent circus came to our small village, organized by the PTA. The owner was also the Ring Master and at Intermission he brought an elephant out to a ring and offered free rides! My husband grabbed my son and raced to get in line and I think they were first. (I am sure if he asked me if it was ok, I would have said no!! Such a nervous nellie mother!) I had no camera but they got to go for a brief elephant ride, sitting way up near the elephants head and ears. At least I have the photo in my mind. Sadly the owner was attacked by one of his cats a few years later, blamed on his showy costume with big sleeves and he died from his injuries. A really nice guy, too. However it does give one pause. Here in our natural habitat zoo we have a large elephant population and they are known nationally for breeding elephants so we get new little ones every so often and while some say, many go to other zoos. They have a beautiful habit, too. I think you'd enjoy it. Janet F.

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  9. That poem and painting are perfect for my neck of the woods this week. I describe where I live as having more cows that people, and the weather is warm, then cold. Congrats on the great review!

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Your thoughts?