A Gathering

A poem about feathers

This poem is part of the NaPoWriMo 2025 challenge to write a poem a day in April. This is the prompt for April 1.

Today’s resource is the Getty Museum’s online exhibit on the Florentine Codex, a 16^th-century sort of encyclopedia created in Mexico by a Franciscan friar and a group of Nahua elders, authors, and artists. All twelve books are presented page by page, with translations into English. You can also look at individual illustrations. It’s really quite rich and wonderful.

Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write a poem that uses a new-to-you word. For (imaginary) extra credit, work in a phrase from, or a reference to, the Florentine Codex.

Feathers drift softly,  
each a fragment of flight—
the soft down of doves,  
cerulean blue of jays,
scarlet smudge of cardinals,
iridescent sheen of peacocks,  
bold strokes of eagles—
colors merging in a delicate embrace,  
an artist’s palette scattered on the ground.

With careful hands, they gather,  
each plume—a story, a memory—
to craft a coronet of nature’s jewels,  
imbued with the sky’s essence,  
that crowns a head with dreams of soaring;
to embellish a cape,
the wind’s fabric, 
draped on shoulders,
woven with the wild’s spirit.  

Here lies creation’s beauty,
a symphony of feathers,
each one a note in life’s song;
the soft swish of wings,  
the promise of freedom,  
an offering from the birds,  
who sing their songs in vibrant hues,  
as they dance above the world.

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