one blue note, two poems, and a thousand boxes

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Susan at Chicken Spaghetti for Roundup.

For this week's ArtSpeak: FOLK ART, I've got not one but two poems for you today! In honor of my orchestra weekend, I selected a music-themed piece of art created by Clarke Coe. 

The cello is, in essence, a box with strings and a couple of holes. That got me thinking about other boxes-that-aren't-boxes I have loved....and that became a poem!

Boxes

I've slept in a van—
box with four wheels

I've flown a Piper—
box swaddled by infinite sky

I've cuddled a cello—
box where a thousand
nightingales nest

- Irene Latham

The weekend was amazing, but I did get some sad news of an extended family member's passing. She lived a long life, and was a bright light...and a poet too! So I ended up writing a death haiku. Thanks so much for reading.

blue note
held in the arms of rhythm
death comes softly

- Irene Latham

51 Robins poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure and visit Rose at Imagine the Possibilities for Roundup.

I am celloing with my amateur orchestra friends at the University of Alabama this weekend. Fun!

Be sure and check out the latest offerings from Georgia Heard at The Poet's Studio. Among other fabulous sessions (shape poems! memoir writing! revision!), she invited me and Joyce Sidman as guests for "The Art of Nonfiction Poetry" (January 9th & 14, 2025). We'd love for you to join us!

Today's ArtSpeak: FOLK ART poem is based on a piece entitled "51 Robins" by Florida folk artist Margot Warren, whom I discovered in this book. 

Don't you love that title?! And guess what? There actually are 51 robins in the painting! And also a lone blue jay... of course my poem had to include him! Thanks so much for reading.

51 Robins

51 robins
flock the spring lawn.

They hop,
flutter
         splash,
mutter—

wake up, worms!

1 blue jay stays
still, silent—

not like a blue jay at all.

He'd hoped for a quick dabble,
a dip and paddle.

why oh why
did those robins
start their party today?

51 raucous robins.
1 bemused bluejay.

- Irene Latham

That Darn Dog poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Janice at Salt City Verse for Roundup.

I've been reading Grace Notes: Poems about Families by Naomi Shihab Nye. It's a deep dive into Naomi's relationship with her mother—rich and powerful and relatable! Here's a smattering of lines that landed in my notebook:

Silence wider / than all mistakes.

If you know someone well /enough you don't / ever have to miss them.

The space around the poem / is best.

Today a field of gossamer full moons.

The cat's tail sweeps me up.

If we spend more time with the dirt / everything will hurt less.

I told the boy / I had a bad dream. / He said, have a new one.

Today's ArtSpeak: FOLK ART poem features a dog! A while back I ordered a book about Florida's self-taught artists, and this week I pulled it off the shelf. The artist I've selected, Rodney Hardee, is from Lakeland, where I once lived...and in the area I will soon be traveling when I drive my mom to her 60 year high school reunion. A cat piece of Rodney's is currently on sale at Ebay. Maybe you know the dog I've written about. :)

That Darn Dog

our neighbor's dog barks
all night

what is he saying?

lake laps its usual music
garden goes on unfurling
moon makes no answer

we hear you, Dog,
I say inside my head

go to sleep now
I'll bring you doggie treats
in my dreams

for a moment
the night is still, serene

but it never lasts

our neighbor's dog barks
all night

- Irene Latham

I Can Fly poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit lovely Molly for a dose of joy over at Nix the Comfort Zone for Roundup.

I've been writing A LOT this week. Yay! Over at Smack Dab I posted about being an "Embodied Writer," if you'd like to check it out. I've also been reading...of course!

In poetry collection reading, I discovered A Planet is a Poem by by Amanda West Lewis, illus. by Oliver Averill. Inside the book we learn that A Poem is a Planet. Cool, yes? This book travels through the solar system and has these fun fold-out pages with more facts and notes about the poetry forms used. Pair with The Day the Universe Exploded My Head by Allan Wolf, and perhaps my own The Museum on the Moon, and you've got a lovely little journey into space-poetry!

Also—and this totally made my day!— inside the book was a note from one of my long-time librarian friends, Katie Jane. See below. Isn't she awesome?!

This week's ArtSpeak: FOLK ART is simple and joyful and based upon a piece by Anchorage, Alaska artist Barbara Lavalee. 

Aside: In my "Alaska" reading this week I met A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans. It's a true story about a friendly wolf in Juneau, AK. Isn't there something so special about wild animal encounters? I also read John Muir's Travels in Alaska.

Back to my poem! I adore this art. I mean, how JOYFUL?? And we were just talking with our youngest son about going-back-to-school time, and how glad he is to be past that stage of life...he recalled soul-crushing school rules, like "don't touch the walls." I mean, he's got a point. He's a solo dancer for sure! Thanks so much for reading.

Solo

when no one

is around

to tell me hush

 no

         don't

I kick my feet

swing my arms

  so high!

        I CAN FLY

- Irene Latham

Train Songs

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Laura at Poems for Teachers for Roundup.

I've got a couple more books for you!

In and Out the Window by the incomparable Jane Yolen, illus. by Cathrin Peterslund. This collection features more than a hundred poems, across several sections "At Home," "School," "Animals," "After School"...and each section is divided into "In" poems (inside) and "Out" poems (outside). 

One I really like is "Hook in the Water," which is an invitation... "Come, little fishes..." Another one called "The Poem in Your Heart' starts "The poem in your heart / is beating." Yes!

The Color of Sound by Emily Barth Isler. About a girl who has synesthesia and is struggling to figure out who SHE is, apart from her parents' expectations. I love this quote:

"The library smells like a symphony. Every imaginable word housed in the building's books mingles in my head to create something full and rich. It's not a song I recognize, but it's using every instrument.

The automatic doors whoosh purple..."

Yes! That's a library!

And here's a winning picture book about something I still love to do: swinging! Touch the Sky by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic, illus. by Chris Park. A beautiful read for anyone trying to learn any new skill.

Today's ArtSpeak: FOLK ART poem features a train painted by George Voronovsky (same Florida Highwaymen artist as last week!). 

What kid at some point doesn't love a train? I remember fondly the Thomas the Tank Engine days with our oldest son in particular... so sweet! Poetry, too, has been known to host a few trains. Perhaps you know "Song of the Train" by David McCord? Or Clackety Track by Skila Brown, illus. by Jamey Christoph (Candlewick, 2019).

Also, here's a song I am in love with that features a different kind of train: "Land of Hope and Dreams" by Bruce Springsteen. (We saw Bruce in concert last year and all night I waited for him to sing this song, but he didn't. Boo!)

Earlier this summer I wrote a poem playing with a metaphor for summer: "Summer is an Aligator Eating an Ice Cream Cone." That was a lot of fun! So today I decided to try "train" as a metaphor for summer. Thanks so much for reading.

Here comes Summer!

Toot-toot!

Instead of track

this train rides

a sunny satin ribbon

Instead of smoke

this train puffs

a kaleidoscope

of bubbles

instead of graffiti-

stained boxcars,

this train pulls

flower boxes

in blooming colors

instead of chugga

chugga

choo choo

this train sings

la-de-dah!

- Irene Latham