Happy Thanksgiving! (poem)

 Hello and Happy Thanksgiving! When Friday arrives, be sure to visit Tanita at {fiction, instead of lies} for Poetry Friday Roundup. I'm posting a day early because I am so very thankful this year! 

Also, for this week's ArtSpeak: FOLK ART series I have a Thanksgiving-ish poem inspired by art created by Alabama artist Trés Taylor. 

I wrote a poem earlier this year after Trés' gorgeous work: "Casting for Dreams."

Today's poem employs a "4 x 4" form I *think* I learned about on Linda Mitchell's blog A Word Edgewise. It has the following rules:

4 syllables in each line


4 lines in each stanza
4 stanzas


4 times repeating a refrain line – line 1 in the first stanza, line 2 in the second, and so on.

I wanted to try short sentences. And I wanted near-rhymes, not perfect ones. Thanks so much for reading!

The Sharing Table

We gather round.
We feast for days.
We offer thanks.
We dream of rain.

We close our eyes.
We gather round.
We nuzzle up.
We burrow down.

Our bellies fill.
Our hearts expand.
We gather round,
stars in our hands.

Time to warble!
Wear a sky-crown!
Bless this table
we gather round.

- Irene Latham

Poem for a Loved One's Return

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Ruth at There is no such thing as a godforsaken town for Roundup.

It's an especially happy Poetry Friday because I'm at NCTE! Yay! More on that later. For now, I offer you a new ArtSpeak: FOLK ART poem. This one is inspired by a piece by 20th Century Florida folk artist Earl Cunningham, whose work can be seen at the Smithsonian.  It took me a while to find my poem. Thanks so much for reading.

Sunset Point

When you returned
I was like a harbor welcoming a fleet of ships
each one flying crisp blue sails against marmalade sky and melting-butter sun
A whole ocean of boats and sails and fisherfolk hauling in their nets and a thousand birds crying you're home

- Irene Latham

Yellow Dog Explains poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Karen Edmisten for Roundup.

I taught a high school poetry workshop this week on writing poems about WATER. I mean, those young poets were flowing with words and ideas and goodness...so much fun!

Today's ArtSpeak: FOLK ART poem features another colored animal...our creative brains are constantly seeking patterns, aren't they? Sometimes they snag on certain topics or ways of expressing...Apparently, I am in a color-animal loop!

Brown Dog

Yellow Chicken

 And as I was writing this one I could feel a William Carlos Williams "This is Just to Say" vibe sneaking in...thanks so much for reading! Be sure to check out more art by Jodi Queenan at her website. Love!

Yellow Dog Explains

I dug

the tulips

because

your voice

was full

 of raindrops

and I couldn't

fetch

the stars.

- Irene Latham

Yellow Chicken poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Cathy at Merely Day by Day for Roundup.

Perhaps, you, like me, would enjoy a bit of whimsy today? Check out my post over at Smack Dab in the Middle, which features the whimsical world of poetry and nature and THIS POEM IS A NEST.

Also, here is a graphic with my NCTE details! I am looking forward to connecting with poetry peeps IN PERSON! (The last NCTE conference I attended in person was Baltimore in 2019.)

Today's ArtSpeak: FOLK ART is a fun one! As soon as I saw Bill Traylor's yellow chicken, I knew I had to write a poem about him! And no surprise, turns out Yellow Chicken has understandable motivation for his antics. Read on!

Yellow Chicken Has Pluck

Whenever Black Duck 

wades out of the muck,

Yellow Chicken struts and clucks—

a showman 

in a yellow tux.

Could it be?

Yes! Yellow Chicken 

is LOVEstruck!

Let's all wish him 

Cockadoodle—Good Luck!

- Irene Latham

In related news, I am currently casting about for my ArtSpeak theme for 2025. So. Much. Art. It's hard to choose!! I welcome your ideas. 

Brown Dog poem + Election Day poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Patricia (who shared the "Bride Squad" in her last week's post about her Year of 6 Weddings!) at Reverie for Roundup.

No weddings around here! Though I was remembering yesterday the year my now-grown-married-mom to 4-niece dressed up as a bride for Halloween. So sweet!

Here's a poem (originally published in 2012 Scholastic's Storyworks magazine) I post every year in advance of Election Day.

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

Today's ArtSpeak: FOLK ART poem features a piece by Mary Flach. I looked at this art, and I thought "stray." 

One of my daily habits is to look at the posts from our local Animal Shelter. Lots of strays, lots of "critical" posts asking folks to take in a plain-looking dog, or a dog overwhelmed by shelter-stress who doesn't "show" well to potential adopters. My favorite favorite-favorite posts are the ones that feature happy adoption photos! I love seeing the hope in those dogs' eyes. So maybe that's where this poem comes from?

Brown Dog

Brown Dog howls all hours.

Brown Dog roams alone.

Brown Dog owns the whole wide world!

But what Brown Dog wants

is a home.

- Irene Latham