Tag: descriptive writing

The woodpecker

Pam and BrennaLeave a comment

HIS bill an auger is,
His head, a cap and frill.
He laboreth at every tree,—
A worm his utmost goal.

~emily dickinson
Pileated woodpecker, via Wikipedia

This is a perfect little jewel of a poem. Every line conveys something essential about a woodpecker–each one tells us exactly what Dickinson is describing, though she never comes out and says it.

Your prompt, for this spring day, is to spend a little time watching the feathered denizens of your little patch of Earth. Then choose one and write four lines that unmistakably describe that particular creature, without naming it. Happy writing!

“An instinct for the hoar, the bald”

Pam and BrennaLeave a comment

LXXXI


I think the hemlock likes to stand
Upon a marge of snow;
It suits his own austerity,
And satisfies an awe


That men must slake in wilderness,
Or in the desert cloy,—
An instinct for the hoar, the bald,
Lapland’s necessity.


The hemlock’s nature thrives on cold;
The gnash of northern winds
Is sweetest nutriment to him,
His best Norwegian wines.


To satin races he is nought;
But children on the Don
Beneath his tabernacles play,
And Dnieper wrestlers run.

~Emily Dickinson

Dickinson’s aesthetic in this poem is reminiscent of the Romantics and their passion for the sublime. The snow-verging hemlock is not lovely or picturesque, but austere. Such sights, the speaker argues, humans need. We thirst for them, and seek them in extremes of climate. We crave not only beauty but have “an instinct for the hoar, the bald.”

So here is your prompt: choose a sight, scene, or object that is not conventionally lovely, and write a description that makes the reader crave the sight of it. Thorny caterpillar? Bruise-colored storm clouds? Mud puddle? It’s all good. We would love to read if you care to share in the comments!