WriteOut with the Daily Create
Another WriteOut* day with a prompt from the Daily Create.
An ode is a formal-sounding poem that indicates respect or love for something. Write a short ode to the Sun.
Daily Create
I backup my photos to Google Photos and so can search for “sunset,” of which I know I’ve taken many photos. I found this one from a trip to my childhood fishing area, the Missouri River as a reservoir called Lake Sakakawea, named after the Native American woman, Sakakawea, from near here who guided Lewis and Clark through to the ocean. If you’re wondering about the spelling of this amazing woman’s name, the National Park Service explains here. Being from North Dakota, I call her Bird Woman, Sakakawea.
As a child, my parents and aunts and uncles spent the day here– adults fishing and yakking and kids playing cards, catching grasshoppers, and roaming the grasslands, inventing games. We couldn’t swim because we’d scare away the fish. I remember the time my day at the lake was spent in back of the white Dodge station wagon with the mumps! Oh, I was miserable, but I slept most of the day. Playing with my cousins is still one of my favorite memories. At sunset, we’d pack up and head up to Minot where the adults would play cards most of the night and we kids would play hide n seek and other games until exhausted. Fond memories.
I love this photo I took with my Uncle Dee in May of 2019– the way the sun seems to be overtaking the dark clouds and spreads its rays over the sky and to the earth, reflecting on the waters of the mighty Missouri [as Lake Sakakawea] to spread its bright hope and strength through the coming night. And that is my poem for the day. And, I think Sakakawea was that hope and strength that led the Lewis and Clark expedition on to the ocean.
Poetry
Oh, Sun
Oh, brightly shines the radiant sun
Sheri Edwards
through the clouds darkened light
and reflects on earth as rivers run,
fiery hope with strength through night.
10.13.23 286.365.23
Poetry/Photography
Sunset on the Missouri River as Lake Sakakawea, North Dakota
May 25, 2019
*JOIN IN!
This post is part of the October WRITEOUT adventure, October 8 through the 22nd, partnership of the National Writing Project and the National Park Service — a choice to enjoy the outdoors with poetry, prose, and parks for Write Out 2023. Organized as a public invitation to get out and create, supported by a series of free online activities, Write Out invites educators, students, and families to explore national parks and other public spaces. The goal is to connect and learn through place-based writing and sharing. Check out this infographic for the flow of the two weeks.
Learn more and sign up: https://writeout.nwp.org
This is my sixth year with WriteOut with all my WriteOut posts here.
#clmooc #smallpoems #poetry23 #writeout #sun #ode #odetothesun #dailycreate