Inside the hive mind

[new leaf]

Thanks for the sweet welcome, everyone.

Once again, it's time for the traditional poisson d'avril. Let's dive in!

[new leaf]

School Days

Fin to fin, we speed in tight formation
through the gyre. A million sequinned slivers
glimmer in the greenish light: links
that shape an armored creature,
ravenous and swift. Open-mouthed we troll,
spaced to catch the prey our neighbor missed,
while we avoid the predators ourselves.

After class we drift in shoals, relaxed,
until a shiver of sharks forces us to practice
our close-order drill once again,
distract them with our pantomime disguise.

Their ravaging passage reminds us
that none of it's a game.
;
;
;
;
;

[MEHope]

Good sounds. Nice imagery. Plenty of line to play after April settles down.

[GreaterMandalaofUselessness]

Nice word-play in the title -- I wondered when I saw the poem title, how this would fit the thread title, and now I imagine a month of flocks, herds, teams and emergent systems (oh and the Borg, hopefully!). I particularly liked the sounds and imagery of "a million sequined slivers", the relaxed fish hanging out in shoals, and the sobering ending, it may look like beautiful play but its life and death out there.

A great start. I look forward to what comes next.

[Acolyte]

I love the sonics of "spaced to catch the prey our neighbor missed", and the sobering finish was a solid choice.

[kristalynn]

I like the sounds of "a million sequined silvers" and "a shiver of sharks".

[JustMiko]

No, it is not a game. I like trolls.

[Featherless Biped]

Malinda, I know I can count on you for talking animals and vegetables with lively personalities. I love the schoolie fish. I live near the local high school, so I always see kids in their uniforms off to class, and from a distance, it is like watching a shoal of migratory fish. I love "omen-mouthed, we troll".

[Mimic_Octopus]

Love the sequinned slivers. Could practically feel them between my fingers.

[Scarlett]

What a lovely poem! It's so delightful to read outloud: "A million sequinned slivers /glimmer in the greenish light".

[Tony Hoffman]

Nice start, Malinda--I particularly liked the shiver of sharks.

[5th column]

Hi M! What no France, no garden? This latest was lovely. Tight rhyme and excellent images.

[Dunc]

Malinda

A pleasure to see you NaPoing!

Your fish play plentifully with assonance and consonance, to good effect. I like the colours and movement and your moral too.

It'll be a great month!

Regards / Dunc

[anenome]

A delicious opener, I particularly like the movement and sounds!

[new leaf]

Thank you all for coming to fluff. It was a relief to see that come together finally, after flitting through my mind in bits and pieces for so long with images and no story. There will be heavy reliance on instinct, then, this year.

Today, I'll share a tiny slice of France at 7:30 a.m., and then I'm off to the hedgerows myself, for our traditional wild food day - foraging followed by a supper prepared from our finds - with my fellow botanical nuts.

Let's hope it provides inspiration for the days to come.