Personal Writing Challenge: Backyard Beasties

I write a lot. The main reason I never seem to get anything finished is because I’m always starting something new. For example, last weekend I entered the NYC Midnight Rhyming Story Challenge (Round 1) where I had to write a 600 word (or shorter) rhyming story. I haven’t done this before, but as I’m hoping to start writing picture books in the near future (as if I don’t have enough projects), I thought it would be good practice. My genre was Romance, my topic was 'Classified' and my assigned emotion was 'Unsatisfied'. Not exactly the stuff of children's books, but I had fun anyway.

So, with that in mind, I am challenging myself to write a quick (and barely edited) rhyming story about the creatures that roam my backyard. I’m testing out the AABBA rhyming scheme.

Here goes!

Bird watching sneaks up as you age.

It can strike at any moment or stage.

You'll say on your walk,

“That’s a red-tailed hawk!”

As if you were some sort of sage.

At our bird feeders we frequently see,

A Goldfinch or Black-capped Chickadee.

A Cardinal or Blue Jay,

Or a Catbird that's gray,

Or a common old Grackle or three.

Squirrels also enjoy the birdseed.

Our yells of dismay they don't heed.

We open the door,

And let out a roar,

But they seldom surrender the feed.

Rabbits hop through the grass night and day.

Racoons through the woods often stray.

A bobcat we've seen,

Sneaking between,

The houses towards the highway.

Coyotes we hear in in the fall,

They holler and howl and they bawl.

But their footsteps are silent,

And they've never been violent,

They never come near us at all.