30 Poems in 30 Days with 30 Forms
Sort of a cheat…
So a Zappai is a variation of haiku, sort of. In fact, Writer’s Digest hilariously casts Zappai as the not-haiku, not-senryu form that “all those haiku people write that haiku poets recognize as not being haiku.” Apparently Zappai allows for looseness both in syllable counts (as in, 17 is not mandatory) and the seasonal reference.
So for my last poetic form celebrating National Poetry Month, I offer a variation on the variation. A Zappai’d Zappai? Here is a two-stanza’d, 34-syllable’d consideration of an important desert pollinator.
Doesn’t its name – Lesser long-nosed bat – evoke poetic looseness?
Lesser long-Nosed bat. Photo by Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International.
Lesser long-nosed bat
cinnamon gray
desert migration
agave, saguaro labor
brush-tipped tongue arrives
night-blooming riot delight
pollen powdered face
©2023 Patricia J. Franz
Patricia Franz is a kidlit writer and published poet. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
I was reading throughout April. Your posts have been a course in poetry forms- many I want to try. The poems and images taught so much about the desert. I look forward to the collection being published in a book!
You are so kind, Diane. Thank you for stopping in. I learned a ton, too, this month!