A to Z on a Plate - Z

AmaZing!!!!
I can't believe April is over! No more A to Z Challenge.  National Month of poetry concludes.  What will we do with our time?
Z is the final letter embrace that graces our plates for 2016.  And the month is done.  But let's not finish without a bit of ZEAL!

Here are two zealous acrostic poems - forward and backwards each....for A "to Z" Finale....
(And after that, there is the Progressive Poem... so if you are here only for that... keep scrolling down!)

Zip and
Energy in
All of
Life, with
Laughter
Abundant and
Especially
Zestful.

Zest or zeal to
End this ordeal
A to Z- no
Letters to go. None
Left in the
Alphabet - the
Eventual outcome -
Zero!

The plates were full.  The plates have been licked clean.  They are parked just as they were found, so we can start over next year!

Zero left!!
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

But now there is one LAST piece of "poetic business" to attend to....

This is the final line of the Progressive Poem.  Thank you Irene Latham, for beginning this wonderful group poem idea, nurturing it and coaxing it's growth!
It was begun on the first day in April with a single line.  Then line by line, poet by poet, it has grown into a living, breathing poem that has never been here before - a new creation birthed in and of the minds of 30 writers in one month's time.
I've checked in on the poem's progress a number of times over the month, checking its pulse, height, weight, motions and timing. I looked into its eyes, listened to it breathe, mulled over the sounds it made. Yes, it was alive. Yes, it was growing. And, yes, it had something to say.
It was/is amazing!

I hope my line can fill the need for summary,
for enlightenment,
for more wonder....
I felt the need to change the title and a few of the areas with quotes.  I also took out the stanza breaks and added indents where there were quotes.

So here it is:

Thoughts Take Flight

A squall of hawk wings stirs the sky.                               Laura at Writing the World for Kids
A hummingbird holds and then hies.                                Joy at Joy Acey
     “If I could fly, I’d choose to be                                  Doraine at Dori Reads
      Sailing through a forest of poet-trees.”                      Diane at Random Noodling
A cast of crabs engraves the sand                                   Penny at A Penny and Her Jots
Delighting a child’s outstretched hand.                             Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
     "If I could breathe under the sea,                               Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass
      I’d dive, I’d dip, I’d dance with glee."                        Janet F. at Live Your Poem
A clump of crocuses craves the sun.                               Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
Kites soar while joyful dogs run.                                     Pat at Writer on a Horse
     "I sing to spring, to budding green,                             Buffy at Buffy's Blog
     to all of life – seen and unseen."                                 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty
Wee whispers drift from cloud to ear                              Linda at TeacherDance
and finally reach one divining seer                                   Jone at Deo Writer
who looks up from her perch and beams —                   Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
     "West Wind is dreaming May, it seems."                    Violet at Violet Nesdoly
Golden wings open and gleam                                        Kim at Flukeprints
as I greet the prancing team.                                           Irene at Live Your Poem
     "Gliding aside with lyrical speed,                                Charles at Poetry Time
     I'd ride Pegasus to Ganymede."                                 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as
To a pied pocket, the zephyr returns.                              Jan at Bookseedstudio
Blowing soft words the seer discerns                              Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
     "from earthbound voyage to dreamy night,                 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
     The time is now.  I give you flight!"                            Amy at The Poem Farm
Yet I fear I am no kite or bird –                                      Mark at Jackett Writes
I lift!  The world below me blurred                                 Renee at No Water River
by tears of joy.  I spiral high,                                          Mary Lee at Poetrepository
     "I hum, I dive, I dip, I hive!"                                      Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe
     "Behold, Spring is but a dance away!"                       Sheila at Sheila Renfro
I grasp my pen, then capture this day.                             Donna at Mainely Write

As you can see by the ending, this was all a writer's observations, interpretations and emotions; some seen, some spoken.  It seemed that the poem embodied all the things a writer would see and say... and so a writer it was.  I only came to see this after the line "Yet I fear I am no kite or bird"... which we can even fear as we are writing, as we try to become that kite or bird for just a little while as we write "blowing soft words", and even have some "tears of joy"!
I took the liberty of illustrating the poem.  I started to put everything in the picture that was mentioned in the poem, but then decided against that.  The words paint their own picture!  I painted the hands and cut them out to superimpose on the large sheet, adding a real pen before photographing it.
I offer it again here with its illustration:

I don't think I will do this, but anyone who wants to print out a copy is free to do so.  No problem with me...it isn't copyrighted, nor is it worth a million bucks!  So print it as you see fit.  I would have the names of all the contributors on the back.