Friday, October 30, 2020

A Trio of Poems to Get you: Voting / Dreaming / Listening to Owls

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Linda at TeacherDance for Roundup. I've got a trio of poems for you today:

1. Election Day / Go Vote poem (first published in Scholastic's Storyworks magazine):


 Election Day

Sift through promises,
replay interviews;

step inside the booth.
Forget scripted speeches

and candy-wrapped slogans.
Weigh again each pro

and con. Remember
the teeming world,

its people who dream
of freedom —

so many denied
the right to decide.

Read the names,
imagine a future;

make the best choice.
In the space between breaths

your voice is heard
without a word.

- Irene Latham


2. A Halloween Poem (a revision of a poem I posted in August last year... time and distance helps!)


October Dreams

Inside October
waits a field
of plump pumpkins

Inside a pumpkin
nests a clutch
of white seeds

Inside a seed
echoes a breath
of fresh hope

Inside hope
exists a world
of joined hands

Inside a hand
rests a spoon
to scoop a pumpkin

Inside a pumpkin
lives a lifetime
of Octobers

Inside October
sleeps a child
with orange dreams.

- Irene Latham


3. The latest ArtSpeak: RED poem, after a (dapper) owl by Richard Jones. This is my second Richard Jones offering... the first was last week's "Night Swimming," about writing. Today's poem a pure fun, because that's what this little owl inspires in me! Thank you so much for reading. xo


When Dapper Owl Dons a Hat

he wants you to say,
look at that!
He wants you
to point, giggle,
perhaps even clap.

And if indeed
you point, giggle, clap,
that owl might even
croon for you.
Listen —

               thank-youuuuu
         
      thank-youuuuu


- Irene Latham

10 comments:

  1. Thank you for these lovely poems, Irene! I especially like the structure and connections in October Dreams. I had to read it several times just to allow the images form fully in my mind. Beautiful!

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  2. Great stuff, Irene! I reviewed your new book for Poetry Friday today. (Spoiler alert: I loved it.)

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  3. Three outstanding poems, Irene! I have started to collect items related to civics for a project. I love the poem about voting. There aren't many kid friendly ones that I have found AND like. This is perfect for my collection. Thank you.

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  4. This hasn't been an October to cherish, but there have been some lovely days, gazing at pumpkins & choosing a favorite, loving all the trees' color splashing! Love "your voice is heard/without a word" & "Inside a pumpkin/
    lives a lifetime/of Octobers" - gorgeous! And that dapper owl' sending is so cooool! Happy weekend, Irene!

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  5. What wonderful poems, Irene. LOVE all three. Can you hear me clapping for that dapper owl? Especially like the last two stanzas of "October Dreams." It's strange to feel so nervous about Election Day this year, isn't it?

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  6. I'm swooning over your October Dreams poem, Irene! I am that sleeping child (a few years older, ahem) "with orange dreams". :)

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  7. I am picking the lines that resonant with me, Irene.
    Remember/the teeming world,/its people who dream/of freedom —
    Inside a seed/echoes a breath/of fresh hope
    When Dapper Owl Dons a Hat
    Thank you for sharing your joy during writing, Irene. These are wonderful poems.

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  8. What a fabulous trio, but I love October Dreams the best. I love how it weaves and winds in, in, in...

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  9. These are all great, but October Dreams...sigh. That's the one I absolutely love. Thanks for these...

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  10. Yep, I'm with Laura. October Dreams is swoon-worthy.

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Your thoughts?