Poetry Friday--Library of Congress Challenge

When I don't have a photo of my own to illustrate a poem, or if I'm in need of a subject to write on, I often turn to the Library of Congress collection of photographs. They have 14 million photographs! Currently, an exhibit curated by Anne Wilkes Tucker, is appearing at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles, CA. The exhibit contains a selection of 440 LOC photos. They are projected digitally, or appear in gallery print format, for the exhibition titled, "Not an Ostrich." (Margaret Simon, if you're reading this, take a look here for the photo that inspired the exhibition title.)





For today, I've chosen a Library of Congress photo in the public domain (rights information is included on the image description page), which I've paired with a cherita.

© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved. "Geese on the farm of a French-Canadian potato farmer in Soldier Pond, Maine" by Jack Delano (1940).

Text:
The New Flock: The Riddle in the Pun

One day the chicken
jumped out of the way
of a sickening array
of hell-bent and honking,
frantic, full-feathered fowl.

"Who are they?" she shrieked.
"Answer! Answer me, Farmer!"

"My clever chick!" said Farmer.
"You ansered your own question!"

He went on to advise her,
"Don't get in a tizzy!
They only get hissy
when you stand in the
way of their supper."


Anser anser domesticus is the scientific name of the domestic goose!

I'm posting a challenge for you to visit the LOC collection of images find an animal, and use it as inspiration for a poem of your own. Perhaps the easiest way to do that is to decide on a particular animal, for example, I selected "goose," then put the name in the search box. "Goose" resulted in 287 images ("geese" returned 121, there is significant overlap). Some of the hits are photos, some are drawings, some are photos of a baseball player whose first name is Goose. For the purposes of this challenge, use whatever strikes you as being poem-worthy!

Come back on August 24 where I'll have "mounted" a virtual exhibition of participants' work. I've decided to title it, "Surprise! A Goose." Let me know in the comments if you're interested, and if so, email a link to the LOC image and include the poem by Tuesday, August 21 [dianemayrATdianemayrDOTcom]. Or, if you combine the poem with the image, send me the LOC link plus the jpg for your project. Let's do it--it'll be fun! If no one participates, it's going to be just geese poems, so please anser my challenge! Please note: I'm be traveling this week, so I may not acknowledge your email for several days.

And, if you're participating in Christie Wyman's bird challenge--do a LOC search, find a bird image, and then use your poem for both challenges! You'll kill two birds with one poem! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone is this week's Round-Up hostess!