Friday, October 5, 2018

Meet Squirtensia and "recognition," an octopus poem by Tabatha Yeatts for #OctopusMonth

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference for Roundup... and stick around here to experience some of Tabatha's magic!

So far Agnes and I have been having a lovely time celebrating Octopus Month! Please don't miss earlier posts this week:

"Octopus" by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
The Great Southeastern Octopus Tour
"Thirty-two Tentacles" by Michele Krueger (and learn how octopuses don't actually have tentacles...)

and Octopus Month Padlet, where I'll be rounding up various octopus links all month long.

Today Tabatha is in the house... er, ocean? Anyhow, she's here! And this is her artsy octopus creation:

Mademoiselle Squirtensia
 ("Squirty" for short)


Here's Tabatha to introduce her properly:

"I looove beautiful paper! So I raided my stash to make an octopus collage and voilĂ , Mademoiselle Squirtensia. I think her head was actually made from a photo of a pincushion! Some of her limbs are from images of quilts. She is a softie :-)"


... and here's Tabatha on how she came to write the following poem: 

"I was inspired by reading that octopi can always tell which way is up & they are able to sense octopus skin, so their suction cups don't stick to their own arms."

Enjoy!


recognition
by Tabatha Yeatts

in an octopus world, gravity 
holds you like a hammock,
swaying upright, but nothing 
keeps your feet on the ground

you can feel your many arms 
stretch wide, taste your world
with delicate hands that 
can dance around each other

without ever tangling, 
never adhering, never
sinking your stride
by mistaking friend for foe. 
------------

Don't you just love that first phrase "in an octopus world"? I do, I do! And lo, a "mistake" in the last line... that's our IMPERFECT editor, all right. :) Thank you, Tabatha and Squirty for joining the  LOVE, AGNES celebration! I'm excited for next week's lineup!

17 comments:

  1. I'm really enjoying these octopus poems, Irene! Have a happy Friday!

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  2. Well done, Tabatha! You must have a gear stash of papers if your Squirtensia is any indication.

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  3. Oh, I do love that mistake slipping into the last line. I do love the poem, fullstop. And congratulations on your new book, Irene. I have been heads down, tail up, writing, so have missed all the excitement! xo

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  4. Love this "Squirty", poem & picture, Tabatha. It is rather amazing that "without ever tangling,
    never adhering, never
    sinking" It's going to be a fun month, Irene!

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  5. Wonderful combination of art and poetry! Fun!

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  6. Oh, love Squirty and "recognition"!

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  7. This is really neat - and what a great piece of artwork to go along!

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  8. How adorable "Mademoiselle Squirty" is, and her accompanying poem touché for Squirty, Tabatha, and Irene, and of Course "Love Agnes" too! xo

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  9. Oh that’s perfect! Ms Squirty is adorable. I’ve been paper crafting lately too. I need to learn a few things from Tabatha...in addition to poetry. Although I do love the lines about never tangling.

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  10. Oh Squirtensia--she's a cutie. Love the ocean view of gravity as a hammock.

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  11. Squirtensia is completely charming! I am learning so much about octopuses from these poems and posts! I love Tabatha's image of her arms dancing "around each other."

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  12. I've often felt that the intelligent, wonderful octopus doesn't nearly get enough attention, given how fascinating a creature they are! How lovely to see them finally having their moment in the sun!

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  13. Squirty and I thank you for all your comments! Octopuses are terrific subject matter. Aspirational, even! xo

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  14. Squirty and the poem she inspired is quite a delight!

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  15. Octopuses are so amazing! I love the poem and the picture of Squirtensia (what a great name, too!)

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