What the Boy Whispers to Animals—trinet poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Tricia at the Miss Rumphius Effect for Roundup.

This week I have a special treat! One of my favorite poet-librarians Mark A. Malcolm of Maynard Public Library (Massachusetts) has written a "Library" wordspinner inspired by Come In! Come In! Wordspinners to Welcome You Home.
Thank you, Mark!!!

Last week I aimed to write a trinet...but my poem had other ideas!

This week I aimed to write about an animal in the painting...but my poem had other ideas! It did, however, want to return to the trinet form. So off we went!

I learned about the (Georgia) artist Nellie Mae Rowe (1980-1982) from this Christie's article about women outsider artists. 

Side note: I recently published a chapbook about an (Alabama) woman outsider artist, The Whimsical World of Lois Wilson: Transforming Trash into Art, so I am delighted to meet Nellie!

I have several similar projects in queue...so much fun! 

Part of what appeals to me about these women is that their focus isn't fame or fortune; they create art as an expression of who they are. It's more of a calling.

Like Vincent van Gogh, their focus is on giving their gift to the world.

I, too, want to give my gift to the world...which is another way of saying: I simply want to be my most authentic self. Creating these little books is one way to do that! Thanks so much for reading.

What the Boy Whispers to Animals

You're irresistible!

I love

your shape, your voice, your scent.

Tell me more about your existence!

And then—

so sincere!—

he listens.

- Irene Latham

Praise Be, I Have a Mother Who Reads to Me poem

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink for Roundup.

First, big shout-out to Nikki Grimes, who has just been named Young People's Poet Laureate 2027-28! What a tremendous honor, and I can't think of a more deserving poet. And, in true Nikki fashion, she's already got an amazing project ready to go: 

A POCKETFUL OF POETRY PROMPTS: 

TIPS FOR TEACHING VERSE

A Blog Created by Nikki Grimes 

2027-2028 Young People’s Poet Laureate 

Hooray! So many congratulations to Nikki on this outstanding accolade, on top of so many others!

Today's ArtSpeak: WOMEN features art by Mary Cassatt. Funny thing: I wanted this to be a trinet. But a trinet requires 7 lines, and I stopped at 6. I just felt like the poem was d-o-n-e. So it was better to let go of the trinet dream and let the poem be what it wanted to be!

Full-fledged trinets I've written:

Alabama Sunrise; Key West Sunset
A Dream of Rabbits
Trinet after an Argument

 And here's today's effort—a gratitude poem for my parents who read to me...and gratitude for all parents out there who read to their kids. It's important. Please keep doing it just as long as you can.

Praise Be, I Have a Mother Who Reads to Me

Half human,

half angel

she tucks me in a nest

of words, glorious words! I sing—

half bird,

half sky.

- Irene Latham

Lois Wilson + Yayoi Kusama = whimsical art!

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Linda at TeacherDance for Roundup.

Tomorrow I'll be at the Fayette Art Festival, sharing my micropress project, The Whimsical World of Lois Wilson: Transforming Trash into Art.

It's the story of Alabama outsider artist Lois Wilson (1905-1980) and her journey—from sharecropper beginnings to the trash piles of New York City and back to Fayette, Alabama, where 2,500 of her works are housed. Lois created art from discarded items: plastic lids, table legs, drawer parts, even a toilet seat! 

Anything can be art.

Meanwhile, today's ArtSpeak: WOMEN poem is after Yayoi Kusama's Mushrooms. Talk about whimsy! I think Lois and Yayoi are somewhere right now creating art together. 

I have previously shared poems after art by both these women:

When I Ride My Bike in Spring (Lois Wilson)

A Polkadot Poem (Yayoi Kusama)

Thanks so much for reading!

Forest Wake

moon or no moon
mushrooms pop their tents

while some of us sleep,
some of us keen

they work in determined silence

soon a campfire ring
blazes the trail—

                    drifters
dancing with the dead

- Irene Latham

Jubilee haiku poem from the Eastern Shore of the Mobile Bay (Alabama)

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Patricia at Reverie for Roundup.

Last week we visited Fairhope, Alabama, where I had a book signing at one of the loveliest indie bookstores on the planet: Page & Palette Books. It was so fun seeing dear friends and making new ones! (Shout-out to Pam & Tim, Julie, Anna, and Eric!) Also, this was my first event to show off Some Starry Night in its new "literary" jacket. 

Y'all, I've learned SO MUCH from this book! While I'll be bringing my 25th (!) book for children into the world come October, this is my first foray into adult fiction. Everything feels new. And we're in the age of AI. That means things are changing pretty much daily in how readers search for books. "Positioning" a title is more important than ever. 

Some Starry Night was first positioned as a "historical romance," and the cover was designed to attract those readers. But the readers who really love this book prefer literary fiction. And so...the book has been repositioned as literary fiction, which meant a "literary" treatment of the cover was required. It also made sense to rebrand the book in conjunction with the release of the audio version, so voilà! (Audio cover below...available NEXT WEEK!)

This week's ArtSpeak: WOMEN poem is also tied to my Fairhope trip. We rented a house on the Eastern Shore, right on the water. 

For years, I have heard stories about a natural phenomenon that happens in only two places in the world: Mobile Bay and Tokyo Bay. It's called a Jubilee. You can click here to read all about the science and specific weather patterns, temps, tides, and such that must be present to create a Jubilee. 

There are websites devoted to tracking such things, in hopes of giving folks some idea of when they might happen, but as you can imagine, unless you live there, it's super tough to plan for it and actually be there when it happens. (We live 4. 5 hours away!) So I'd pretty much abandoned any hope of ever seeing a Jubilee in person. (You see where I'm going with this!!)  

And then, Saturday morning, I got up early to take Rosie out, and we decided to walk out on the dock. No devices, just me and my dog and the morning. Y'all, the water was throbbing with thousands of fish! It was a Jubilee! And I was seeing it in person! By chance! Not having any thought of it at all! Talk about magical... and so, of course, today's poem is about the Jubilee. 

Art by Joan Mitchell. I had this piece saved in my file (titled "Low Water," and it feels perfect). Thanks so much for reading!

Sunday Supper with Shrimp poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit the fabulous Mona Voelkel for Roundup.

Hope to see friends old and new tomorrow 1-3 pm at Page & Palette (Fairhope, AL), where I'll be signing Some Starry Night...with its brand-new cover! (More on this next week!)

Today's ArtSpeak: WOMEN features shrimp. 

Have I mentioned before that I love seafood? Yep. I was raised on fish fry suppers at my grandparents' house in Port St. Joe, FL, and then, for the five years we lived in Folsom, LA (just across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans), my father would take me on "dates" to fancyschmanzy seafood restaurants in the city. Lucky me! 

And then, on our first (blind) date, both Paul and I ordered the grilled grouper. Fate! We've been eating seafood together ever since.

However, sometimes, I get to feeling a lot of empathy for the food I'm about to eat. I've shared before about how when Rebecca Davis was editing Fresh Delicious: Poems from the Farmers' Market, she said there'd been some talk in-house that perhaps we didn't want little children empathizing too much with the food that was about to be eaten, that this might be upsetting. So we removed those poems. 

One of them—my favorite! "Strawberry Self-Portrait"—appears in 40 Poems for 40 Weeks: Integrating Meaningful Poetry and Word Ladders into Grades 3-5 Literacy edited by David L. Harrison and Timothy V. Rasinski. (Such a FABULOUS book!) You can read the poem here.

Anyhow, all this to explain that today's poem also empathizes with a food that's about to be eaten: shrimp! Thanks so much for reading.

Sunday Supper with Shrimp

Shrimp call out,

make last-minute wishes:

let their mouths be filled

with ocean—

salt & froth

tender & wild

No one hears.

And still the waves come.

- Irene Latham

Process note: Right before my scheduled time to write this, I was reading "Summer Grass" by Carl Sandburg, courtesy of the American Academy of American Poets. 

Peony poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Denise at Dare to Care for Roundup.

This week's ArtSpeak: WOMEN features a peonies from Berthe Morisot. Many of us love peonies, and with good reason. They're so fluffy and fragile and fleeting...a garden "must," if you ask me! 

In the language of flowers, pink peonies (like Morisot's) are said to represent bashfulness (b/c of the myth of a nymph hiding inside the flower). Read more here!

Perhaps you know Mary Oliver's gorgeous "Peony" poem? It starts with "green fists" and ends with the speaker of the poem hurrying "half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden" toward (fleeting) wildness. Love!

Also, in my research for the poem, I discovered there's a book called Peony by Pearl S. Buck. I just ordered it from my library. Hooray!

O, Peony

I think you

may be a lost cloud

come to mist

bliss on me.

- Irene Latham

Quick process note: In the first draft of my poem, the peony had come to "rain / happiness." Those words felt too expected, so I tunneled around the thesaurus until I found "mist / bliss." Not only do these words sort of rhyme, but they also better suit the fluffiness of a peony!

Afternoon Tea in August poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone for Roundup.

The fabulous Joyce Uglow recently interviewed me about all things poetry, including my new collection Come In! Come In! Wordspinners to Welcome You Home. Here's a link, if you'd like to check it out!

Also, it was so great seeing some of your sweet faces at The Poet's Studio with Georgia Heard earlier this week! So much fun learning together!!

Today's ArtSpeak: WOMEN features an oft-forgotten woman impressionist: Marie Bracquemond. 

You know how poems often take on a life of their own? I didn't intend to write a poem about a grumpy girl, but that's what the poem wanted. And not just a grumpy girl—a girl who regrets her grumpiness. Perhaps it's a wee bit autobiographical, as heat indeed makes me prickly!! And when I snap at a loved one (or a stranger), I always want to make amends. Thanks for reading!

Afternoon Tea in August

Buzz away, little bee.

Can't you see

I'm reading?

Oh sun, please leave!

You're making me

so sleepy . . .

Come back, little bee!

I'm sorry! I need

your buzzy company.

Sun, forgive me.

Won't you let me

read you a story?

- Irene Latham

Once Upon a Smelly Pup poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Ruth at Thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown for Roundup.

Just a reminder: I'm excited to be joining Georgia Heard at The Poet's Studio to talk about the secrets of our craft...specifically word-magic in poetry on August 12, via zoom! Please join us, if you can!

Today's ArtSpeak: WOMEN has me returning to Berthe Morisot. This time it's a dog poem. Hooray!

We feel incredibly lucky to share our days and nights with our 8 year old Aussie Rosie. She is such a great traveler! And this week she got to meet a horse for the first time. So much fun!! No wonder I chose to write about dog-love. 

But y'all, it's hard to write a dog poem because what can I say that hasn't already been said?! 

I tried at least a dozen entry points and REALLY struggled. I think remembering Phoebe's "smelly cat" from Friends got me to the smelly bit! (Rosie, as a 95% indoor dog, rarely smells...and has no opportunity to find smelly treasures, though I bet she'd like to!) I do love the little bit of word-magic that entered the poem, and so I pulled back and pulled back until I had very few words left at all! Thanks so much for reading.

Once Upon a Smelly Pup

All it took

was one

little

wag-whine-wiggle

for that smelly

pup

to trash-land

right

in

my

heart.

- Irene Latham

Hide and Seek poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference for Roundup.

I am traveling...again! This time to parts of Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota. I love summer. :) 

Irene Latham & Dahlia Hamza
Constantine

Here's a pic of Dahlia Hamza Constantine and me from last week at the Staunton (Virginia) Public Library. Among many joys, we saw a production of "Our Town" at the American Shakespeare Center/Blackfriars Playhouse (which is the only U.S. replica of the Globe!). Y'all. AMAZING. And oh boy, it fired me up! I have written SO MUCH this week... positively bubbling over with ideas and inspiration.  I love it.

Today's ArtSpeak: WOMEN features a piece by Berthe Morisot, one of the female Impressionists. Much has been written about Morisot and Manet, and I have this book on my TBR stack. 

Some notes: I wanted the poem to be in the child's voice. I wanted to be in conversation with the name of the piece, which is "Hide and Seek (Cache-Cache)." I wanted the poem to feel magical, to convey a sense of connection with nature. I wanted to mention the umbrella, which may be for sun or rain, I'm not sure! I'm pleased that my poem was able to accomplish some of these things—though I couldn't fit "umbrella" or "parasol" into the poem, I did get "raindrop!" And now I totally want to write more poems after Morisot's pieces! Thanks so much for reading.

Hide and Seek

I see ants
I see bees
Is that the sun
hiding
behind spring's breeze?

I see flowers
I see grass
and tiny raindrop
glistening
like shattered glass.

I see the world
World can't see me
Did you know
the sky sings
when you hold hands
with a tree?

Just Another (Sun)flower Poem

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Tanita Davis at fiction, instead of lies for Roundup.

I will be on the road today, but I did want to leave a new ArtSpeak: WOMEN poem. This week I've returned to Hilma af Klint. Did you know she did a series of nature studies? MoMA mounted an exhibition of them last year, and I love all the connections Hilma was making! I reallyreallyreally want to acquire this book that accompanied the show. Hilma wrote in her notebook that sunflowers convey "love is the greatest of all." Her certainty led me to write a (love) poem full of questions. Thanks so much for reading!

Just Another (Sun)flower Poem

What (dark) language do seeds speak?

How do they know to reach for sun?
(Is the sun singing?)

When rain comes, can a plant
anticipate its drip-drop-drizzle,
or is it always a surprise? (Surprise!)

Which part is the plant most proud of,
its roots or its bloom?
(Don't tell me.)

And what about (green, glistening) leaves,
do they know that blooms exist only
because of leaves' devotion to collecting light?

Who was the first person (Not me!)
to stumble upon yellow petals in a field
and smile?

How is it that every time I meet
a sunflower
I (smiling) think of you?

- Irene Latham

p.s. A big fat smiling happy birthday to my (daffodil) sister LTG!!!

a blessing for sorrow

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Jill Dailey for Roundup.

Wow, July is clipping along, isn't it? Charles and I had a great time in Chicago teaching at the Poetry Summit put on by the Poetry Foundation.  What a great group of educators! And, fun bonus, we got to explore the Poetry Foundation offices and library! We also got to share a meal with children's poet and picture book author Michelle Schaub. Delightful! I came away with a BUNCH of new ideas and inspirations in my notebook...can't wait to write some new stuff.  Many thanks to Sarah DeVore, Justine Haka, and Angelica Flores for all their hard work making our time together the best it could be. Oh, and if you're ever in Chicago, go to Zarella's and ask to be seated in the SpeakEasy section. Order the fried zucchini. You will not be sorry!

And now my thoughts have turned to the next trip, to Staunton, VA, where Dahlia H. Constantine and I will give an author's tea at Staunton Public Library in celebration of our book A Good Morning for Giddo. Hooray!

In "this is why we do it" news, I received the following email from a reader: 

This makes me so happy! 

Maybe that's why I started out this week's ArtSpeak:WOMEN poem as a love poem. I was thinking about a favorite African proverb and thought I'd write something about love as an early spring afternoon (because that's what the art looks like to me). But it just wasn't working! 

And then I thought: maybe this poem isn't about love after all. The next emotion to settle in my mind was "sorrow." And then the poem felt just right. Thanks so much for reading.

May your sorrow be

like a spring afternoon

rising on a brisk wind

but nestling into the folds

of a hillside warm

with grass and birdsong.

- Irene Latham

dragon cloud haiku

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Jan at bookseedstudio for Roundup.

In just a few days, I'll be traveling to Chicago to teach with Charles Waters at the Poetry Summit hosted by the Poetry Foundation. I'm excited to meet passionate-for-poetry educators from across the country! Charles and I will be talking about "poem as truth teller" and also leading a workshop on "poetry for a better world." Fun!!

For ArtSpeak: WOMEN I've got another piece by Gabriele Münter.

I've been reading Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, so perhaps that explains the appearance of dragons! And there are more dragons in my future, as I scored a complete and in very good condition boxed set of The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris D'Lacey.

Once, many Julys ago, I wrote an early middle grade book called St. Cecelia's School for Dragons. I was so excited about it! And then How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell came out.  And it became a whole franchise! So my little dragon book went into a cave.

But you know what? Those dragons have been popping out lately, asking to play...so who knows? Maybe I'll publish a dragon book yet! Meanwhile, here's a poem. Thanks so much for reading!

Who invited clouds

to storm our July picnic?

They look like dragons.

-Irene Latham

Trinet after an Argument

 

Irene Latham & Darnell Whited 

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Michelle at Moreart4all for Roundup.

Have you been enjoying all the America 250 events in your neck of the woods? I have! After months of planning...and a generous grant from the Alabama 250 commission, yesterday I helped host a community "Party Like It's 1776!" 

My DAR Warrior Rivers chapter, in conjunction with the Blount County Memorial Museum, offered entry into two of our town's most historic buildings and filled them with historic exhibits, recognition of veterans, activities (including a scavenger hunt!), food, and visits from historical figures like George and Martha Washington! So much fun, y'all. And I wanted to share a list of the books we found most valuable for helping us celebrate America's birthday, particularly in their portrayal of the American Revolution:

Cloaked in Courage: Uncovering Deborah Sampson, Patriot Soldier by Beth Anderson, illus. by Anne Lambelet

DK Eyewitness American Revolution

Farmer George Plants a Nation by Peggy Thomas, illus. by Layne Johnson

George vs. George: The American Revolution as seen from Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer

George Washington and the General's Dog by Frank Murphy, illus. by Richard Walz

George Washington's Spectacular Spectacles: The Glasses That Saved America by Selene Castrovilla, illus. by Jenn Harney

Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration of Independence by Neil Gorsuch and Janie Nitze, illus. by Chris Ellison

History Smashers: The American Revolution by Kate Messner

If You Were a Kid During the American Revolution by Wil Mara, illus. by Kelly Kennedy

Nathan Hale: Patriot Spy by Shannon Zemlicka, illus. by Craig Orback

Spies in the American Revolution for Kids: A History Book by Carla Killough McClafferty

The American Revolution from A to Z by Laura Crawford, illus. by Judith Hierstein

When Paul Revere Rode: Voices from the First Night of the American Revolution by Sarah L. Thomson, illus. by Nik Henderson

This week's ArtSpeak: WOMEN again features work by Gabriele Münter. (My record player needle is stuck, and I kind of love it!)

Some notes for those who are interested:

While this piece depicts Gabriele's artist-friends Alexej von Jawlensky and Marianne von Werefkin, I instantly saw these two as a couple. And because of their body positions, I imagined them in an argument. 

Peace-loving, conflict-averse me hates being in an argument with a loved one! So I thought that might be fertile ground for poetry.

Last week I tried (and failed) at a trinet, so I wanted to try again this week. And voila! Success! Thanks so much for reading.

*Funny: when I went to the ArtSpeak: WOMEN folder to snag the image, I found a "Trinet after Drought" I wrote earlier this year! I think perhaps the trinet is my new triolet (form I go to when I don't know what to write!).

Trinet after an Argument

Together but
not together—
hearts caught in a summer riptide,
all heat, bees, and prickly grass—
who will
be first
to reach?

- Irene Latham

Everything I Need to Know About Waiting I Learned in the Garden

 

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect for Roundup.

This week I've been thinking about waiting. Waiting for news. Waiting for the right time. Waiting for an important event. 

Life is full of waiting, isn't it? 

I remember reading something about how women are the ones who wait, and I wanted to rail against it. I don't want to wait, I want to DO!

But sometimes waiting IS doing. Like in the garden. And so, for this week's ArtSpeak: WOMEN I wrote this wee poem about gardens and life and waiting.

A couple of process notes:

I am kind of in love with Gabriele Münter right now. 

I had at least half a dozen false starts to this poem. I abandoned most of them because they were too long for this particular series....all my ArtSpeak! poems must fit and be legible on the graphic cards I create over at Canva.

(Apparently I have a lot to say about gardening...I'm tucking this revelation away to revisit another day...maybe there's a larger project I can create??)

When I realized I was going long, I decided to restrain myself with a short poetry form. 

First I tried a rispetto, but it just didn't stick. 

Next I tried a trinet, and came VERY close, but was one word too long...and I decided the word was essential enough to dump the trinet form and just go free verse. 

I like the bit of humor that emerged! 

Where I landed for today's offering is quite far away from where I started, with two lines from my journal that  I thought would be the heart of the poem:

What you call madness! chaos! obsession!

I call a devotion to beauty.

So I will save those lines for another (longer) poem. Thanks so much for reading.

Everything I Need to Know about Waiting I Learned in the Garden

Wait for
better weather.

Wait for seeds to sprout,
vines to twine
buds to blossom.

Wait, it died?!

Sigh.
Try again next year.

—Irene Latham

p.s. Another "waiting" poem: Girl, Waiting

For what are the bones of summer?

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Buffy Silverman for Roundup.

I'm away from my desk today, summering with a friend. Don't you love summer adventures? Today's ArtSpeak: WOMEN speaks to the magic of summer. Wishing you all that—and more! Thanks for reading.

For what are the bones of summer?

sun / bleached sky
craggy peaks / asleep

dreams / in bloom

- Irene Latham

Dinosaur poems!

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Linda at A Word Edgewise for Roundup.

Quick heads-up: Come In! Come In! Wordspinners to Welcome You Home is now available for you to preview on NetGalley!

It's Summer Reading time...hooray! The theme this year is "Dinosaurs," and I was delighted when my local library invited me to come share dino poetry with the kiddos! I packed up my stack of poetry books, including:

Dinos That Drive by Suzy Levinson, illus. by Dustin Harbin

Last Laughs: Prehistoric Epitaphs by J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen, illus. by Jeffrey Stewart Timmins

Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast: Dinosaur Poems by Jack Prelutsky, illus. by Arnold Lobel

Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian

In the Past by David Elliott, illus. by Matthew Trueman

...and not poetry, but my kids' favorite dino picture book: 

If the Dinosaurs Came Back by Bernard Most

And of course I wrote a few dinosaur poems, too! Here's one called "Message for a Long-Gone Dinosaur" that started as a tricube, and became an extended tricube. (Notice I started the tricube structure right in the title!)

I also helped kids create their own dinosaur poems. Fun!

I guess I still had dinos on the brain when it came to writing my ArtSpeak: WOMEN poem, because it, too, has a dino theme! I had fun exploring some drawings by sculptor Ruth Asawa. Thanks so much for reading.

What you call

watermelons,

watermelons, fresh

from the patch

I believe

are really

dinosaur eggs

ready to      hatch!

- Irene Latham

Girl Finds Power / Learning from Elders poem + Revision Notes

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit the ever-enthusiastic-for-poetry-and-life Mona Voelkel for Roundup.

me and mom at a quilt show
 photo booth :)

I've been thinking this week about the woman who've most influenced me in my life: my mother, of course. My paternal grandmother, Grandma Dykes, who taught me about love and cooking and gardening; my maternal grandmother, Grandma Oslund, who was a chemist and a librarian long before women regularly held those positions...and she was also a wizard with a needle and stayed actively involved in community leadership right up until her death; my mother-in-law Bobbie Nell Holcomb Latham who was a southern "steel magnolia" through and through, and taught me about hospitality, southern cooking, fashion, home decor, shopping, self-care, family traditions, and family business; and a host of other woman who've mentored me in one way or another. 

The one that popped into my head while writing this week's ArtSpeak: WOMEN poem is Jana Lile, the mother of the girls I babysat regularly for quite a few years. Not only was Jana a loving mother, but she modeled for me all the things women can do while raising a family. It was her attitude more than anything. She made my world bigger and helped me find my power—a process that continues to this day! So this one's for you, Jana! (I've also left a few process/revision notes below!)

Riding with Aunt Jana

Jana prepping for the 1991 bridal shower
she threw for me. :)

In a world of no
and can’t
it’s Aunt Jana
who reins the carriage
down an open road
lined with giant trees

As we bump along,
the horse’s tail
swishes yes yes
steady hooves clop
you can
you will

And the trees
bend before me

- Irene Latham

Lucky me, I was able to spend time lately with poets through Inked Voices. In those sessions, the need/desire for revision strategies came up again and again. With that in mind, I wanted to share some of my revisions on this poem:

When I started this poem, it had a placeholder name "Polly." Likely because we've been re-watching Peaky Blinders, and one of the powerhouse women characters is named Polly. But then I remembered Tom Sawyer's Aunt Polly, and I wanted to change the name. "Jana" was first to pop up for me, so there you go!

I didn't want this poem to have a lot of punctuation, so I used stanza breaks to act as sentence enders and then went back and added capital letters at the start of each stanza to help convey the "sentence" more easily for readers.

The first draft had a different ending, but I decided it was too on-the-nose (about child realizing she might rein a cart someday). Poems should show more and tell less-- and use images. That's what makes it magic! And this poem is, ultimately, about the magical moment of empowerment. And that's when the image for the last stanza came to me. Only it first came as "bend down before me." But you know and I know that we don't really need "down" for the reader to get the image, so I cut that word.

Another word choice thing: I originally had "tall" trees in the first stanza. But when I added the magic in the last stanza, I wanted it to be a more magical descriptor. Thus "giant."

Please let me know if this is useful, and I may include such notes in the future!

RSVP and other poems about writing letters

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading for Roundup.

Today's ArtSpeak: WOMEN poem features a piece by Gabrielle Münter that I've written on before, during 2020, my "Red" year. 

Thanks to Catherine at Reading to the Core for suggesting I write after Gabrielle's work! I've selected a few more of her pieces I'll tackle later in the year.

Like many of you, I LOVE sending and receiving snail mail. So no wonder this piece called to me once again. Thanks so much for reading. 

Speaking of mail, I recently received in my postal box this bewitching stitchery from our hostess/poet wrangler Mary Lee. I commissioned her to embroider a favorite line from the book I wrote with Dahlia Hamza Constantine, A Good Morning for Giddo. What a special keepsake... I LOVE it so much!!

Oh, and have you seen Little Truths Studio Snail Mail Club Subscription? Fun! Now here's the poem. :)

RSVP

My pen darts down the page

a bullet train blasting past every crossing

How delight tempers

trepidation in this blur of words

So what if we crash

yes   yes    I’ll be there

You are my favorite destination

- Irene Latham

And here's the 2020 ArtSpeak: RED poem... "When I Write to You I Put on My Red Shoes"

In 2019 during ArtSpeak: HAPPY I wrote "The Letter" after a piece by Mary Cassatt.