Good evening, morning or afternoon, depending where you are on the planet, and welcome to the dVerse Poets Pub Poetics Tuesday. I’m Kim and I’m writinginnorthnorfolk.com. I recently came across this lovely poem by John Clare, whose works are well known for his admiration of nature:

The Thrush’s Nest

Within a thick and spreading hawthorn bush
That overhung a molehill large and round,
I heard from morn to morn a merry thrush
Sing hymns to sunrise, and I drank the sound
With joy; and, often an intruding guest,
I watched her secret toils from day to day—
How true she warped the moss, to form a nest,
And modelled it within with wood and clay;
And by and by, like heath-bells gilt with dew,
There lay her shining eggs, as bright as flowers,
Ink-spotted over shells of greeny blue;
And there I witnessed in the sunny hours
A brood of nature’s minstrels chirp and fly,
Glad as the sunshine and the laughing sky.

Thrush image by Vincent van Salinge on Unsplash

I love the way he describes the thrush singing and building her nest, and the eggs, and thought it would be fun to write poems about other creatures that build homes, such as nests, dens and burrows. No birds, as Clare’s example is perfect. Think insects (bees and their hives, spiders and their webs, or termites and their enormous towers with hidden functions), rodents, and larger mammals such the hammock-building great apes and beavers.

Image by Mathias Elle on Unsplash

If you want to write about something unusual, you might have to undertake a little bit of research – it will be worth it! A good place to see animals’ homes for yourselves is in any programme by my favourite British broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author, David Attenborough.

You can write a sonnet, like Clare’s, if you wish, or any other form of your choice. It must, however, focus on a creature building its home.

If you are new, here’s how to join in:

• Write a poem in response to the challenge;
• Enter a link directly to your poem and your name by clicking Mr Linky below;
• There you will find links to other poets, and more will join so check back to see more poems;
• Read and comment on other poets’ work, we all come here to have our poems read;
• Please link back to dVerse from your site/blog;
• Comment and participate in our discussion below, if you like.   We are a friendly bunch of poets.
• Have fun.