ArtSpeak: RED poem "Priorities"

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to "float" on over to visit Jan at bookseedstudio for Roundup. (Sorry I didn't do anything float-y!)

I'm delighted to be back at my desk today, and I am eager to read all of your offerings! Before I get to my contribution, I've got a couple of newsy bits to share:

1. THIS POEM IS A NEST got its first review, and it's a ★ from Kirkus. Yay!

2. I recently picked up in a thrift store QUILTING: Poems 1987-1990 by Lucille Clifton. Here's one that speaks to me:

photograph

my grandsons
spinning in their joy

universe
keep them turning     turning
black blurs against the window
of the world
for they are beautiful
and there is trouble coming
round and round and round

- Lucille Clifton

3. On our pilgrimage to North Dakota in memory of my father, a dear friend (who loved and worked with my father) said she didn't want to be like him in the end, because he "died in the chair." Meaning, he worked until the day of his death. And it's true: nothing was more important or gratifying to my father than his work. And while that is admirable, it's also... sad. I'm grateful for every moment he gave me over the years, and I should say he gave me maybe more than he gave anyone else (besides his work). Paul and I talked about it a lot on our (24 hour) drive home, and it inspired this week's poem.

Priorities

If I say red

and you say morning

are we talking about

sky

or strawberries?

If I say red

and you say forever

does it indicate love

or intolerance?

If I say red

and you say yes

let's think later

and dance right now!

- Irene Latham