Water reaches to the canopy of a large gum tree – in our paddock! #notariver
After being inundated with rain (we had 18 1/2 inches – almost 500mm – in 3 days) and being unexpectedly flood-bound (but not flooded!) – my week disappeared in a gush!
But I’m singing in the rain today (err… it’s actually fine and sunny…) because – what a shock! – my name and my words are currently up on billboards around Brisbane, with thanks to @qldwriters. I never ever dreamt of that happening! (For my overseas #PoetryFriday peeps, Brisbane is the capital of my home state, Queensland.)
I’m a long way from Brisbane, so can’t see any in real life, but (YaY!) they have goacam – so I can see it, in real time! (You can too, at; http://www.goacam.com.) Below are some screenshots I’ve snapped. I’d LOVE to see any pics that folks living in Brisbane might happen to catch!
Proof that no writing is ever wasted – my #8wordstory is a reworked haiku from my first ever Month of Poetry – which was in fact a Month of Haiku.
Leigh Ann at A Day in the Life is collecting the #PoetryFriday links for today. I’m sure there will be a flood of good stuff to have you singing like a frog! 🐸
Kathryn Apel 
Love your haikus, and up on billboards to boot, how fantastic, congrats Kat! Wow, and all that water, glad you are okay. Send me your email and I’ll try posting your link, here’s mine: michellekogan@michellekogan.com p.s. I like singing in the showers too.
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You’re fabulous, Michelle. Thank-you.
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If you post a comment, please feel very welcome to include the link to your #PoetryFriday post – because for some reason I can’t view the linkie collection, to see who has posted where. (And it’s actually very fiddly trying to go by memory and do it manually – I am finding! 🙂 )
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Wow. That’s a lot of rain. And kind of ironic in the same week your poem is up on billboards! Congratulations!
I feel your pain re the link collection. I’ve been trying to find a work-around and could only think to try the list of Poetry Friday hosts on Kidlit and see how many of them have posts for today.
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Actually… I started a folder of bookmarks for #PoetryFriday, for times like this. There will be newbies who aren’t in there. And I didn’t actually ‘finish’ it – but a start-point, methinks!
I think it was the rainy weather that brought this poem to mind yesterday… so I tweeked and tweeted … and it all happened very quickly, from there!
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Another thing you can do is a Google search for “poetry friday” and then limit the search to the past 24 hours. That usually catches most everybody’s post since at some point or another almost everyone puts those words in post or title. I’ve used that strategy as roundup hostess sometimes to catch posts even before people linked up! (oops…just gave away a sneaky strategy!!)
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Haha. I had rumbled your strategy, Mary Lee. Yes, I resorted to that, too – and added some more bookmarks to my PoetryFriday folder, while I was at it. 🙂
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Hoppin’ great news about this WordStory billboard goodness.
A project for everywhere!
Brava! to your Brisbane folks for leading the way.
And I love your frogs in shower haiku.
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You are so right! It’s a fabulous project – so easily transferrable. Glad you liked the frog-song.
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Woo hoo! That is exciting to see your words sprawled across billboards like that. I’m glad you are not flooded out with all that rain.
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Well – we were flooded in, Kay. Our road gets cut both ways (in so many places it isn’t funny), so we had a little chunk of road that is just ours, for 3 days. But our house doesn’t get flooded. Just roads and paddocks.
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“Even frogssing in the shower”- love that! I also love the photos of the kangaroos. : )
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The kangaroos have been coming up close to the house after the rain two weeks ago – and were about 2 metres off the veranda in that particular photo. I was so regretting that I’d left my good camera with my boys – who were flooded – out! (On account of their schooling.)
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When it rains, it pours, right?!?! So fun that you got the shot of the kangaroo jumping! I hope the rain settles down and you get to Brisbane to see your poetry in person!
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I was hoping to get closer, clearer pics of the kangaroo before it got a bit jumpy, Mary Lee. 😛 The billboard is short-term thing. Technically up for a day – though I’m delighted to say it’s continued over the weekend, too. (I spied rain on the billboards today – appropriate for frog song.)
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Wonderful haiku. I like hearing about your life and process, too. I hope your area recovers from the rain soon. Poetry on billboards is fabulous. Makes me long to see some myself.
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The land will respond beautifully to the rain, Brenda. Just some fences and roads that need putting back together – but heading into summer, we are thankful for the rain. (And so are the frogs. :P)
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Our improvements are a thin skin that the earth can throw off in a heartbeat.
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Hmm… Turns out the approach to one of our bridges has been damaged, so it will be the loooong way to town for a little while. I confess, I’m wishing the bridge would just wash away, because it is an ongoing problem spot and much too low for the purpose.
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Happy to hear that you are okay despite the rain-wow! And wow again for those billboards. That is awesome, as is your haiku. It’s also wonderful that a city puts poetry on their billboards, something to “crow” about, too!
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It’s also wonderful how many people have responded with their own #8wordstory contributions, Linda. Thousands! It’s not limited to Queenslanders. In fact, there’s nothing to say you even have to be Australia. Here’s the link, if you’re interested. 🙂 https://8wordstory.com
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Oh, my goodness! I thought I posted my comment here yesterday. But, I don’t see it. Sorry you are hemmed in by rain! Whenever I picture Austraila, it’s sunny! But, I supposed you do need the rain sometimes….just in balance. Hopefully, you can have some cozy writing days. Congrats on the billboard. That is super cool. Proud of you!
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Never you fear, there will be sunshine and heat! It’s nice to get some moisture into the ground – and some colour. I LOVE green pastures – rolling paddocks with scattered gum trees, cows and kangaroos. #myfavouritelandscape #rightnow And thank-you for congrats and ‘proud of you’ – that is so lovely!
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How cool is that to see your words on a billboard! Tis a lot of water! Hope things are drying out for you. I am sorry you had trouble with the link-up. I have added it, so hopefully people will find their way here today. Happy Saturday.
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Thanks, Leigh Anne. There is one link widget we have problems with in Australia – and that must be it. 🙂 As to words on billboards – it is still very cool. Has been a complete buzz!
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Love your 8-word story!!! And so exciting to have up on a billboard — awesome! There’s a book of poetry on subways and buses that I have been wanting to get…it seems like poetry that has to grab people in such a short amount of time is a special challenge.
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Thank-you! I think the value of poetry is again in evidence. A number of my #8wordstories were first a haiku, or solage – both short-poetry forms that rely on the twist! There’s a challenge in bringing narrative, creativity and twist into just 8 words – with room for readers imaginations to play with possibilities. Good fun!
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WOW! How amazing to have your name up on a giant billboard, well done and congratulations!!!
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Thanks, Jane. It was pretty exciting! 🙂
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How wonderful to have your 8 word story up bold as can be, proving writing is for all! Congratulations Kat. If you have an image poem that you would like to share for my autumn gallery (like the first one in your post), please send it my way.
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As bold as can be. 🙂 The flood in the post above is a spring pic/poem – so it’s no good for your Autumn gallery. But I have some leaf pics from my visit to autumnal Melbourne in May, and am planning to write something to one of them.
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Happy to see you again, even if your words aren’t new. Sending hugs, one kid writer to another.
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