When Marcie asked us all to flood the internet with images and poems about twilight, I immediately searched my computer files. I found some "twilight" poems, but even more "dusk" poems! Apparently, my poet-brain prefers "dusk."
That discovery sent me on an internet search to find the difference between twilight and dusk. (Spoiler: dusk is simply one phase of twilight, defined by the degree to which the sun has set!)
Then I searched my own files again for "sunrise" and "sunset" and found quite a few of both. Here's a small sampling.
Impression (of a Sunrise)
(Elephant) Dust Bath at Dusk (from Dear Wandering Wildebeest: And Other Poems from the Watering Hole by Irene Latham, illus. by Anna Wadham)
Trunks become
dust hoses,
beasts strike poses
and preen in silhouette
created by the late,
hazy screen.
Soon skin
is powdered
in a red-grit shower
that banishes bugs
and becomes next day's
sunscreen.
One final
wallow,
one last trumpet--
all clean!
- Irene Latham
"How to Catch a Poem" (featuring dusk-y fireflies and found in The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog: And Other How-To Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko, illus. by Richard Jones). Confession: this is a favorite of my own poems!
Step into the trees
on a summer night —
follow starshine
and cricketsong.
Be still, keep quiet;
watch for the flicker.
(No chasing,
let it come to you.)
Reach. Hold it in the safe
cave of your fingers
until the wings tickle.
Marvel at the glow
then
let it go.
Mama Tree Teaches Little Tree / the Color of Time
See / Little Tree?
Dawn tree / pink tree
Noon tree / green tree
Dusk tree / blue tree
Sweet dreams / Little Tree!
- Irene Latham
Irene, these are some of my favorites! If someone handed me “How to Catch a Poem” for the first time and asked who wrote it, I would immediately know you were the poet in all of that glorious starshine and cricketsong. : )
ReplyDeleteTracey, this comment makes me smile really big. Thank you!!
DeleteThe elephants' "Dust Bath at Dusk" reminds me of my chickens! They LOVED a good dust bath. They, too, were prone to trumpeting their feelings.
ReplyDeleteThese are fabulous, Irene. Especially love How to Catch a Poem. Magical!! Dusk is my favorite time of day, and I'm very partial to elephants, so the dust bath poem was also a treat. Thanks for all!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Irene, for all these lovely poems. The punctuation in the Mama Tree poem is so unique and interesting. Love it!
ReplyDeleteThe "let it go" at the end of catching the poem is very likely key! These are all delightful.
ReplyDeleteI remember that "How To Catch A Poem", Irene, one to love and inspire! And, I love the elephants at dusk, have seen them do a dust bath at our zoo, just not at dusk! They know how to take good care of themselves! Have a lovely weekend!
ReplyDeleteI do love Mama Tree's love for Little Tree. and 'How to Catch a Poem.' Just the titles make me say, "awwwww," and read on. Thank you for the bevy of poetry to choose from here this week.
ReplyDeleteI adore the dust bath poem! SO MUCH is perspective... just lovely.
ReplyDeleteWhat a feast of twilight and sunset you have served up today. I enjoyed every one.
ReplyDeleteOh, such goodness here. I really love "How to Catch a Poem" — it feels iridescent. And "Mama Tree Teaches Little Tree / the Color of Time" is so charming.
ReplyDeleteIRENE!!! I love this whole catalog of twilight poems. So, so much to love here! And I just reread THE PROPER WAY TO MEET A HEDGEHOG this week, and I was enjoying all of the Irene poems in that one. :) Thank you so much for this beautiful array of poems! xoxo
ReplyDeleteI am def gonna need Marcie's book to keep twilight, dusk and twilight, dawn straight!!
ReplyDeleteIt's a walk through an outdoor museum-room of twilight over here this week - lovely! Thanks for your own gorgeous poems and the tribute to Marcie's wonderful-looking/sounding newest book, and all the links. It's always glowing over here....
ReplyDeleteIrene, I love how you dug into your files to share sunrise and sunset poems with us. All you shared are new to me and I especially love the one about elephants. The end reminds me of going to the zoo in the summer and watching the elephants spray themselves off with water. Thanks for a great deal of inspiration!
ReplyDeleteIrene, what a wonder you are! Your dusky, twilighty, sunset and sunrise poems are an anthology in themselves. I love the painting that inspired Mama Tree to teach Little Tree about the changes in the colors as the day progresses. So much to love about your post.
ReplyDeleteRich collection this week Irene, I especially like your elephant poem for it reminds me of an encounter with sparrows taking sand baths. Also your "Mama Tree Teaches Little Tree / the Color of Time" is lovely to read, thanks for all!
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