POND

Every day, at different times, I visit our pond with notebook and camera. I jot down some notes, and take a picture or two, if a good photo op. presents itself. Then I head home and write a four line acrostic using the letters P, O, N, and D. The other caveat, which makes the project so interesting to me, is that I cannot use any of my first words more than once. I need a different P, O, N, and D word every day for a year.



6.11.19
7.53 a.m.
57 degrees

Profundo bullfrog bellowed all the pre-dawn hours,
overtures of the deepest resonance, calling out for love,
nobler than the green frog’s soprano squawk, and now he
dozes in the shallows, wide and less skittish than the fleeing tadpoles.
















John L. Stanizzi a former Wesleyan University Etherington Scholar, is the author of the collections: Ecstasy Among Ghosts, Sleepwalking, Dance Against the Wall, After the Bell, Hallelujah Time!, High Tide—Ebb Tide, Four Bits, Chants, and his newest collection, Sundowning. John’s work has been translated by Angela D’Ambra into Italian and appeared in many journals in Italy. John is a former New England Poet of the Year, and teaches literature at Manchester Community College in Manchester, CT. He lives with his wife, Carol, in Coventry. http://www.johnlstanizzi.com

You can see more of his work in 7.4