Assonance--A Donkey Poetry Challenge  

April is National Poetry Month. Today I want to issue a challenge to post a donkey or mule  (or horse) poem here in the comments, written by yourself or another poet.  When I host Writing with the Herd here, I find snippets,  poems and sections of writing to be jumping-off topics for writing practice. Many wonderful horse poems exist, but I have not been able to find resonant donkey poems. I would love to see some!!! 

This month I challenge you to write a long-ear villanelle, a hee-haw haiku, a sonnet for a jennet, Burros by Basho, a mule ghazal, a paint pantoum, a poitou prose poem, free-roaming free verse, asinine rhyme, a molly melody or a burro ballad. Please share in the comments and attribute the author. 

I mention several verse forms. Form is a simple way to create a structure for myself—clear and kind directives to alleviate anxiety in the poet, horse or donkey. Rhyme and repetition in many of the forms can also help to guide a frisky mind. The easiest form is the acrostic in which you spell a word down the page, using each letter  to form words which will join up to create an acrostic poem! The other forms can be looked up by search engine. Have fun. 

Making
Up
Long Ear
Elegies

Here is my poem which is a sonnet.  Many of the lines came from Writing with the Herd. Next gathering is April 30 from 10 to 12:30 and will include drumming and writing. See Events Page for more information. 

Prayer Blanket

As if prayer were an inquisitive burro
Turning over the haycart of beauty,
Or one stout mare—a psalm of earth,
A balm, a tongue, a gong for you.
My prayer is one of distraction—
Heat lamps, duct tape and PVC,
Damn wind and winter reactions,
Crinoids, stone mollusks and pollen seed.
What yucca spears stand to offer,
Basket strings and drawing tools.
“Kestrel”, my burro’s, radiant fur,
Pictures in the sand. We are all God’s mules.
Fools? What part of the desert will sustain?
Lichen, limestone and the donkey train.

Kate Bremer