Celebrating the Sixth Anniversary of WORDWALK
Celebrating the Sixth Anniversary of This WORDWALK Blog
by Alice Jane-Marie Massa
Six years ago, on the Saturday of January 19, 2013, I initiated this WORDWALK blog. On that Saturday afternoon when my friend Jenna helped me to set up this blog, the weather in Wisconsin was much better than this weekend. Last night and today, instead of writing, I have been shoveling, shoveling, and shoveling snow. Now that the snow has finally stopped for a while, the temperatures are dropping while the wind chills are increasing. Oh, winter in Wisconsin! However, this blog is to celebrate six years of blogging. So, we will shovel aside the snowflakes to focus on WORDWALK.
With this post being my 323rd, the average number of blog posts per year is 53.83; thus, I am achieving my goal of at least one blog per week. The most visits one of my blogs has welcomed is 384. This past year, I, with my keen interest in preserving family history, am delighted to announce that the post with the second most views was “Remembering Grandpa Store on the 142nd Anniversary of His Birth” (posted on October 3, 2018). In first place for the number of views is the following poem, which was part of my April 11 post during National Poetry Month. Since this poem was so popular in 2018 and since it is one of my favorites, I am sharing the poem once again as part of this sixth anniversary celebration. I do appreciate all of my readers and am delighted that your visits to my blog rated the following poem as my “Top Post of 2018.”
What Is the Name for a Group of Poets?
a poem by Alice Jane-Marie Massa
A colony of beavers
must know something
about colons and semicolons.
A sleuth of bears
hibernates to envision
the highs and lows of detective stories.
A kaleidoscope of butterflies
flutters around fictional fantasies.
But, what do we call
a group of poets?
A murder of crows
sounds appropriate for
a group of mystery writers.
A flight of doves
must develop
many creative ideas.
A convocation of eagles
must ease into
historical fiction.
A cast of falcons
must focus on
TV scripts and stage dramas.
A stand of pink flamingos
perches upright and ready
to present
behind any podium.
Perhaps, you can think of what to call
a group of poets.
A cackle of hyenas
have to turn to comedy.
A troop of kangaroos
can write military history.
A leap of leopards
jumps into a variety
of genres of literature.
A charm of magpies
channels their talents
into romance writing.
A watch of nightingales
knows when to write
bedtime stories for children.
Before the end of this night,
please tell me the name
for a group of poets.
A parliament of owls,
a pod of dolphins,
a pride of lions,
a company of parrots,
a kit of pigeons,
a litter of puppies–
all meet to ponder
the predicament of naming
a group of poets.
Near the Poetic License Branch,
a chattering of squirrels
may reveal the choice.
A game of swans may select
the winning name.
A descent of woodpeckers
may tell us their pick.
A dazzle of zebras
strongly endorses:
“a passion of poets.”
However, I vote with
an exaltation of larks
and their proclamation of
“an exclamation of poets.”
We will write,
discuss, recite, and critique
poetry:
welcome, and come join my
Exclamation of Poets.
[copyright 2018]
As I raise a cup of hot tea, I say,
“Cheers to all of my WORDWALK readers!”
With much appreciation,
Alice and Leader Dog Willow
January 19, 2019, Saturday
alice13wordwalk 
Happy anniversary! The time has certainly flown since your blog’s beginning. Cheers to many more years of excellent writing!
Lady Bunbury (aka Jenna)–Special thanks to you for taking the time to read and comment on this post in particular!
I hope that your weekend plans did not have to change due to the snowy weather.
Unbelievably, a fireworks display was set off while I was posting this blog–only in Milwaukee, fireworks in January!
HELLO to Harper!
Stay warm, and enjoy your Sunday–Alice and Willow
Celebrating the Gregariousness of Poets – a fellowship of convivial comrades.
Happy 6th Birthday dear Friend.
Hello, Lynda–A thousand thanks for your alliterative and creative comment about WORDWALK’s sixth anniversary!
Enjoy your snowscapes in Pennsylvania!
Take care–Alice and Willow
Dear Alice,
With a series of exclamation marks, I send congratulations to you on six years of Wordwalk!!!! Your dedication to your readers in posting your blog every week without fail, and your endless creativity in writing interesting poetry, prose, and more are admirable! Thank you for making Wednesday a special day for all of us who eagerly check our e-mail to see what amazing ideas you have to share with us.
Love, Mary
Hi, Mary–Many thanks for your too kind and generous words for WORDWALK’s sixth anniversary! I appreciate your being a regular reader and weekly commenter. In one way or another, to one degree or another–I use my blog to try to preserve some of our family history. Just yesterday I received another comment from someone who was pleased to find the blog post of the Polenta Dolce recipe; the person who commented had a connection with Turino and wrote that the recipe was almost identical to her recollection. Preserving our family history has also helped others to find or re-connect with a bit of their own family history.
With our gratitude, Alice and Willow
Cheers, Alice! Your six-year efforts of creativity have been quite amazing! This poem is also a favorite of mine and helped me to solve the “Pod of Dolphins” puzzle on Wheel of Fortune last night, which was ironically the anniversary date of your blog. We have become avid viewers of the game, which I remember was a favorite of your father’s.
Keep warm and safe during your Arctic blast of snowy days and wind chills.
Love,
The Morgans
Hi, Carole–Thank you for posting this comment about WORDWALK’s sixth anniversary. Also, I enjoyed reading your anecdote about WHEEL OF FORTUNE. What a coincidence! Yes, both Dad and Mother were big fans of the television program WHEEL OF FORTUNE. When my nephews were much younger, we played the “board game” of WHEEL OF FORTUNE that belonged to my parents. In recent years, each day at the close of JEOPARDY!, I think of my parents when the opening of the WHEEL is broadcast.
Best wishes from chilly Milwaukee–Alice and Willow