ARTSPEAK! 2016: Poem #21 "Fruit Jar"

Hello, and welcome to day 21 of my National Poetry Month poem-a-day-project ARTSPEAK! in which I respond to images found in the online collections at the National Gallery of Art. Please join me, if you feel so inspired!

But first, please visit Jan at Bookseedstudio to see how our Progressive Poem is progressing!

This year's ARTSPEAK! theme is "Plant. Grow Eat." It was inspired by the release of my latest book FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market.

Here are the poems so far:

"Child in the Garden" after The Artist's Garden at Vetheuil by Claude Monet
"Math Lesson (from the Garden)" after Still Life with Lemons and Oranges wit Blue Gloves" by Vincent van Gogh
"Gardening Basics" after The Watering Can/Emblems: the Garden by Roger de La Fresnaye
"Mary in the Garden" after Reading in the Garden by Pompeo Mariani
"This Wheelbarrow" after A Woman Emptying a Wheelbarrow by Camille Pissarro
"A Dream of Sheep" after Warm Afternoon by Winslow Homer
"Harvest" after The Last Days of Harvest by Winslow Homer
"Anticipation (in the Garden) after George Moore in the Artist's Garden by Edouard Manet
"Gathering Fruit" after Gathering Fruit by Mary Cassatt
"Bread's Lament" after Boy with Basket of Fruit by an unknown American artist
"After the Fire" after Ruined Farm by Hubert Robert
"Cow at the Gate" after Landscape with Open Gate by Pieter Molijin
"I Am the Plate" after Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit by Paul Cezanne
"Courtship (According to the Cat)" by Winslow Homer
"Courage" after Planting Corn by Stanley Mazur
"Orchard Barber Shop" after Gardener Pruning a Tree by Jacques Callot
"Gardener's Companion" after The Watering Can by Georges Seurat

"Man, Reading" after Denoisel Reading in the Garden by James Tissot

"At the Vegetable Market" after Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

"Triolet for Planting Day" after The Artist's Garden at Eragny by Camille Pissarro

Today's poem is such a simple, lovely image... "Fruit Jar" by J. Howard Iams. I decided my poem should be simple, too. And since today is also Spiritual Journey, Thursday, and the topic is REJUVENATION, I thought I'd try to incorporate that idea into today's poem.

The truth is, I'm in dire need of rejuvenation. It's been a busy season, full of wonderful things, but my most authentic self is far more solitary and private. 

One thing that helps me during these busy seasons is to remember that it is indeed, just a season. Sometimes I can blow a thing up so big in my mind, and then, when I really look at it, it's not season, but 6 six weeks. And not even 6 solid weeks, but 5 trips. And when you add up all those days, it's actually less than two weeks! 

The other thing that really helps me is to take care of myself each and every day – to make sure I take breaks and look at the sky and meditate and get good sleep. These moments help to rejuvenate me in small ways, while still allowing me to appreciate the experience of each day. 

I'm so, so grateful to be invited to do the thing I love best – connect with readers. I don't want to X that out of my life, just because my most authentic self is far more solitary and private. I just need to keep being in touch with myself, and with the moment. AND, it's important for me to schedule major rejuvenations when possible! Which is why I am retreating with dear friends at the end of this month/first of May.  

Fruit Jar

When winter

comes

pull me

from the shelf

pop

open the top

and catch

a sudden

breath

of summer.

- Irene Latham

Listen to the poem on Soundcloud!

ARTSPEAK! 2016: Poem #20 "Child in the Garden"

Hello, and welcome to day 20 of my National Poetry Month poem-a-day-project ARTSPEAK! in which I respond to images found in the online collections at the National Gallery of Art. Please join me, if you feel so inspired!

But first, please visit Ruth at There is no such thing as a godforsaken town to see how our Progressive Poem is progressing!

This year's ARTSPEAK! theme is "Plant. Grow Eat." It was inspired by the release of my latest book FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market.

Here are the poems so far:

"Math Lesson (from the Garden)" after Still Life with Lemons and Oranges and Blue Gloves" by Vincent van Gogh
"Gardening Basics" after The Watering Can/Emblems: the Garden by Roger de La Fresnaye
"Mary in the Garden" after Reading in the Garden by Pompeo Mariani
"This Wheelbarrow" after A Woman Emptying a Wheelbarrow by Camille Pissarro
"A Dream of Sheep" after Warm Afternoon by Winslow Homer
"Harvest" after The Last Days of Harvest by Winslow Homer
"Anticipation (in the Garden) after George Moore in the Artist's Garden by Edouard Manet
"Gathering Fruit" after Gathering Fruit by Mary Cassatt
"Bread's Lament" after Boy with Basket of Fruit by an unknown American artist
"After the Fire" after Ruined Farm by Hubert Robert
"Cow at the Gate" after Landscape with Open Gate by Pieter Molijin
"I Am the Plate" after Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit by Paul Cezanne
"Courtship (According to the Cat)" by Winslow Homer
"Courage" after Planting Corn by Stanley Mazur
"Orchard Barber Shop" after Gardener Pruning a Tree by Jacques Callot
"Gardener's Companion" after The Watering Can by Georges Seurat

"Man, Reading" after Denoisel Reading in the Garden by James Tissot

"At the Vegetable Market" after Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

"Triolet for Planting Day" after The Artist's Garden at Eragny by Camille Pissarro

Today's poem is kind of mysterious to me... it was inspired by "The Artist's Garden at Vethuiel" by Claude Monet. There's a stanza there (about sky!) that I don't know where it came from, or what it means exactly... and it may need to be cut. But for now I've left it in there. A big part of what draws me to poetry is how it helps me discover things about MYSELF. I think these lines are a perfect example of the poem speaking to ME. I try to really slow down and pay attention when this happens. I can always edit (or expand!) later. Also, the "flower"? It's in honor of the skunk in the movie Bambi. :)

Child in the Garden

Sometimes Papa

calls me Flower

but I am drab

compared to these

sun-topped towers

that swoop and sway

and rustle and droop –

all day they whisper

to each other

while I walk

unnoticed

beneath them.

I want to tell them

the sky isn't always

blue,

the same dirt

that cradles their roots

sleeps between

my toes –

I have secrets, too.

- Irene Latham

Listen to the poem on Soundcloud!

ARTSPEAK! 2016: Poem #19 "Math Lesson (from the Garden)"

Hello, and welcome to day 19 of my National Poetry Month poem-a-day-project ARTSPEAK! in which I respond to images found in the online collections at the National Gallery of Art. Please join me, if you feel so inspired!

But first, please visit my partner-in-poetry Charles at Poetry Time to see how our Progressive Poem is progressing!

This year's ARTSPEAK! theme is "Plant. Grow Eat." It was inspired by the release of my latest book FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market.

Here are the poems so far:

"Gardening Basics" after The Watering Can/Emblems: the Garden by Roger de La Fresnaye
"Mary in the Garden" after Reading in the Garden by Pompeo Mariani
"This Wheelbarrow" after A Woman Emptying a Wheelbarrow by Camille Pissarro
"A Dream of Sheep" after Warm Afternoon by Winslow Homer
"Harvest" after The Last Days of Harvest by Winslow Homer
"Anticipation (in the Garden) after George Moore in the Artist's Garden by Edouard Manet
"Gathering Fruit" after Gathering Fruit by Mary Cassatt
"Bread's Lament" after Boy with Basket of Fruit by an unknown American artist
"After the Fire" after Ruined Farm by Hubert Robert
"Cow at the Gate" after Landscape with Open Gate by Pieter Molijin
"I Am the Plate" after Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit by Paul Cezanne
"Courtship (According to the Cat)" by Winslow Homer
"Courage" after Planting Corn by Stanley Mazur
"Orchard Barber Shop" after Gardener Pruning a Tree by Jacques Callot
"Gardener's Companion" after The Watering Can by Georges Seurat

"Man, Reading" after Denoisel Reading in the Garden by James Tissot

"At the Vegetable Market" after Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

"Triolet for Planting Day" after The Artist's Garden at Eragny by Camille Pissarro

Today's poem is after a van Gogh piece. I'm traveling (hello, Houston! hello, TLA!), so not a lot of time to devote... which brought me to a closer look at the painting itself. What's there? How many? That's how I arrived at a math poem of sorts.

Math Lesson (from the Garden)

It takes

two blue

gloves

plus one

wicker

basket

to hold

nine

just-plucked

suns.

- Irene Latham

Listen to the poem on Soundcloud.

ARTSPEAK! 2016: Poem #18 "Gardening Basics" & Our Progressive Poem!

Hello, and welcome to day 18 of my National Poetry Month poem-a-day-project ARTSPEAK! in which I respond to images found in the online collections at the National Gallery of Art. Please join me, if you feel so inspired!

But first, it's Progressive Poem time! I gotta say: I am really loving our poem this year! I appreciate how everyone has taken up the rhyme scheme challenge started by Laura and Joy... and how many have used previous lines and stanza structure to inform their own lines. I've also loved reading about efforts to make one's line a good jumping off spot for the next person. Such a kind, compassionate community of writers... I love it! We're really in a groove this year!

ETA: As for my line, we had a bit of a shake up! I started with "My heart speeds as I climb astride," as I thought our speaker was surely ready for some action after all this dreaming of action! But then Kim let me know somehow Violet's line got lost when Kim wrote her line... so we had to get Violet back in there, which shifted things! But not to worry: words are moveable, changeable, and that's a big part of the fun! No wrong answers here, and we're all accounted for. What will our speaker do now? I leave it for the next poet(s) to unravel. It's all yours, Charles!

A squall of hawk wings stirs the sky.

A hummingbird holds and then hies.

If I could fly, I'd choose to be

Sailing through a forest of poet-trees.

A cast of crabs engraves the sand

Delighting a child's outstretched hand.

If I could breathe under the sea,

I'd dive, I'd dip, I'd dance with glee.

A clump of crocuses crave the sun.

Kites soar while joyful dogs run.

I sing to spring, to budding green,

to all of life -seen and unseen.

Wee whispers drift from cloud to ear

and finally reach one divining seer

who looks up from her perch and beams --

West Wind is dreaming May, it seems.

Golden wings open and gleam

as I greet the prancing team.

-------------------------------------------

And now for that other poetry project in my life this month. :) This year's ARTSPEAK! theme is "Plant. Grow Eat." It was inspired by the release of my latest book FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market.

Here are the poems so far:

"Mary in the Garden" after Reading in the Garden by Pompeo Mariani
"This Wheelbarrow" after A Woman Emptying a Wheelbarrow by Camille Pissarro
"A Dream of Sheep" after Warm Afternoon by Winslow Homer
"Harvest" after The Last Days of Harvest by Winslow Homer
"Anticipation (in the Garden) after George Moore in the Artist's Garden by Edouard Manet
"Gathering Fruit" after Gathering Fruit by Mary Cassatt
"Bread's Lament" after Boy with Basket of Fruit by an unknown American artist
"After the Fire" after Ruined Farm by Hubert Robert
"Cow at the Gate" after Landscape with Open Gate by Pieter Molijin
"I Am the Plate" after Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit by Paul Cezanne
"Courtship (According to the Cat)" by Winslow Homer
"Courage" after Planting Corn by Stanley Mazur
"Orchard Barber Shop" after Gardener Pruning a Tree by Jacques Callot
"Gardener's Companion" after The Watering Can by Georges Seurat

"Man, Reading" after Denoisel Reading in the Garden by James Tissot

"At the Vegetable Market" after Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

"Triolet for Planting Day" after The Artist's Garden at Eragny by Camille Pissarro

I selected today's piece by Roger de La Fresnaye for it's wild depiction of all the garden tools. I approached the subject several ways before I decided that maybe the wildness of the garden was the thing I wanted to write about. We like to think we have so much to do with the success of a garden, and yes, our efforts can make a difference, but the biggest thing I've learned as a gardener is that you can't stop growth. You can do everything right, and given rain and sun, the garden will GROW, often out of control. The earth explodes, in spite of our best efforts. And isn't that the miracle?

Gardening Basics

Even without

trowel

and scythe

the garden

gets dressed

in a fuzzy

green vest

that soon

               pops

its buttons.

- Irene Latham

Listen to the poem on Soundcloud! 

ARTSPEAK! 2016: Poem #17 "Mary in the Garden"

Hello, and welcome to day 17 of my National Poetry Month poem-a-day-project ARTSPEAK! in which I respond to images found in the online collections at the National Gallery of Art. Please join me, if you feel so inspired!

Also, be sure and visit Kim at Flukeprints to see how our Progressive Poem is progressing!

This year's ARTSPEAK! theme is "Plant. Grow Eat." It was inspired by the release of my latest book FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market.

Here are the poems so far:

"This Wheelbarrow" after A Woman Emptying a Wheelbarrow by Camille Pissarro
"A Dream of Sheep" after Warm Afternoon by Winslow Homer
"Harvest" after The Last Days of Harvest by Winslow Homer
"Anticipation (in the Garden) after George Moore in the Artist's Garden by Edouard Manet
"Gathering Fruit" after Gathering Fruit by Mary Cassatt
"Bread's Lament" after Boy with Basket of Fruit by an unknown American artist
"After the Fire" after Ruined Farm by Hubert Robert
"Cow at the Gate" after Landscape with Open Gate by Pieter Molijin
"I Am the Plate" after Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit by Paul Cezanne
"Courtship (According to the Cat)" by Winslow Homer
"Courage" after Planting Corn by Stanley Mazur
"Orchard Barber Shop" after Gardener Pruning a Tree by Jacques Callot
"Gardener's Companion" after The Watering Can by Georges Seurat

"Man, Reading" after Denoisel Reading in the Garden by James Tissot

"At the Vegetable Market" after Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

"Triolet for Planting Day" after The Artist's Garden at Eragny by Camille Pissarro

I selected today's piece because it's an image of how I'd like to be spending my time in the garden. :) As I was thinking about what to write I had this memory of the first day of fifth grade. My teacher Mr. Mac read my name during roll call -- Mary Dykes -- yes, I am one of those who is called by my middle name! This has caused all sorts of confusion over the years, and I don't recommend it. So Mr. Mac said, "are you Mary Had a Little Lamb" or "Mary Quite Contrary" ? I said, "I'm Irene." :) So, obviously, sometimes, a bit of real life creeps into these poems when I am least expecting it.

Mary in the Garden

When I'm contrary

I grab a book

and sit awhile

in the garden.

While I feast

on words,

the plants grow green

and greener.

Some stories

are essential as rain,

and oh,

how they sustain me!

- Irene Latham

Listen to the poem on Soundcloud!

ARTSPEAK! 2016: Poem #16 "This Wheelbarrow"

Hello, and welcome to day 16 of my National Poetry Month poem-a-day-project ARTSPEAK! in which I respond to images found in the online collections at the National Gallery of Art. Please join me, if you feel so inspired!

Also, be sure and visit Violet Nesdoly to see how our Progressive Poem is progressing!

This year's ARTSPEAK! theme is "Plant. Grow Eat." It was inspired by the release of my latest book FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market.

Here are the poems so far:

"A Dream of Sheep" after Warm Afternoon by Winslow Homer
"Harvest" after The Last Days of Harvest by Winslow Homer
"Anticipation (in the Garden) after George Moore in the Artist's Garden by Edouard Manet
"Gathering Fruit" after Gathering Fruit by Mary Cassatt
"Bread's Lament" after Boy with Basket of Fruit by an unknown American artist
"After the Fire" after Ruined Farm by Hubert Robert
"Cow at the Gate" after Landscape with Open Gate by Pieter Molijin
"I Am the Plate" after Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit by Paul Cezanne
"Courtship (According to the Cat)" by Winslow Homer
"Courage" after Planting Corn by Stanley Mazur
"Orchard Barber Shop" after Gardener Pruning a Tree by Jacques Callot
"Gardener's Companion" after The Watering Can by Georges Seurat

"Man, Reading" after Denoisel Reading in the Garden by James Tissot

"At the Vegetable Market" after Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

"Triolet for Planting Day" after The Artist's Garden at Eragny by Camille Pissarro

I selected today's piece because it made me think of that famous Red Wheelbarrow. What new could I say about a wheelbarrow? I don't know, but there's something so empowering about a woman in the garden, using the tools to work the land... so my poem kind of turned into an empowerment piece.

This Wheelbarrow

It could be any color,

this wheelbarrow

that rolls with me

across the mornings

of whack and weed

and shuck.

Sometimes we both

get stuck –

I blow the hair

out of my eyes

and we sit

together for a while

under the hickory tree.

Soon a breeze lifts

my bonnet

and the wheels

shift once again,

each squeal and groan

an affirmation:

you can do it,

yes, you can.

- Irene Latham

Listen to the poem on Soundcloud!

ARTSPEAK! 2016: Poem #15 " A Dream of Sheep" & a Visit from J. Patrick Lewis

Hello, and Happy Poetry Friday! Woohooo, we're halfway there!!!
Be sure to visit Michelle at Today's Little Ditty for Roundup. AND... welcome to day 15 of my National Poetry Month poem-a-day-project ARTSPEAK! in which I respond to images found in the online collections at the National Gallery of Art. Please join me, if you feel so inspired! I'm so pleased to have J. Patrick Lewis as my guest today -- he's written a poem inspired by this piece:

The Sleeping Gypsy by Henri Rousseau

But first, please visit Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme to see how our Progressive Poem is progressing!

Okay, now for Pat's poem:

The Sleeping Gypsy

Surprised by Moon, but at his ease,
The imperturbable lion sees

A water jar, a mandolin,

The wooden woman in her skin.

He does not put on brute display
His fascination for the prey

That other nights on other dunes
Ruthlessly reddens other moons.

He must be fed but must be full;

No doubt his appetite is dull

From ravaging the wicked part

Of his corrupted lionheart.

Whatever reasons there may be

For this pastoral scenery,

Midnight capitulates to dawn.

The lion lingers . . . and moves on.

- J. Patrick Lewis

As I told Pat: so glad that lion moved on! Could have been an entirely different poem. :) Thank you, Pat, for sharing!

This year's ARTSPEAK! theme is "Plant. Grow Eat." It was inspired by the release of my latest book FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market -- which was featured yesterday in Paste Magazine as one of 7 Farm-to-Table picture books. Yay!

Here are the poems so far:

"Harvest" after The Last Days of Harvest by Winslow Homer
"Anticipation (in the Garden) after George Moore in the Artist's Garden by Edouard Manet
"Gathering Fruit" after Gathering Fruit by Mary Cassatt
"Bread's Lament" after Boy with Basket of Fruit by an unknown American artist
"After the Fire" after Ruined Farm by Hubert Robert
"Cow at the Gate" after Landscape with Open Gate by Pieter Molijin
"I Am the Plate" after Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit by Paul Cezanne
"Courtship (According to the Cat)" by Winslow Homer
"Courage" after Planting Corn by Stanley Mazur
"Orchard Barber Shop" after Gardener Pruning a Tree by Jacques Callot
"Gardener's Companion" after The Watering Can by Georges Seurat

"Man, Reading" after Denoisel Reading in the Garden by James Tissot

"At the Vegetable Market" after Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

"Triolet for Planting Day" after The Artist's Garden at Eragny by Camille Pissarro

Today's piece is inspired by Pat's piece... instead of lion, lamb! Warm Afternoon by Winslow Homer. I guess I am sort of stretching the theme yet again... but that's part of the fun! (And yes, there is a typo in the graphic -- and no time to fix it. Alas. I know my Poetry Friday friends will be forgiving. :)

A Dream of Sheep

Sometimes I think

a sheep

has the life

meant for me:

how untroubled

the days

in the shade

of this old tree.

I like their woolly coats,

the way they bleat

and how they eat

whenever they please.

Yes, I should have been

a sheep.

But then who –

or what –

would have been me?

- Irene Latham 
Listen to the poem on Soundcloud!

ARTSPEAK! 2016: Poem #14 "Harvest"

Welcome to day 14 of my National Poetry Month poem-a-day-project ARTSPEAK! in which I respond to images found in the online collections at the National Gallery of Art. Please join me, if you feel so inspired! 

But first, please visit Jone at DeoWriter to see how our Progressive Poem is progressing!

This year's ARTSPEAK! theme is "Plant. Grow Eat." It was inspired by the release of my latest book FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market.

Here are the poems so far:

"Anticipation (in the Garden) after George Moore in the Artist's Garden by Edouard Manet
"Gathering Fruit" after Gathering Fruit by Mary Cassatt
"Bread's Lament" after Boy with Basket of Fruit by an unknown American artist
"After the Fire" after Ruined Farm by Hubert Robert
"Cow at the Gate" after Landscape with Open Gate by Pieter Molijin
"I Am the Plate" after Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit by Paul Cezanne
"Courtship (According to the Cat)" by Winslow Homer
"Courage" after Planting Corn by Stanley Mazur
"Orchard Barber Shop" after Gardener Pruning a Tree by Jacques Callot
"Gardener's Companion" after The Watering Can by Georges Seurat

"Man, Reading" after Denoisel Reading in the Garden by James Tissot

"At the Vegetable Market" after Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

"Triolet for Planting Day" after The Artist's Garden at Eragny by Camille Pissarro

I selected today's piece The Last Days of Harvest by Winslow Homer because it's what our gentleman in yesterday's poem was yearning for.... the fruits of labor! But it isn't that simple, is it? The harvest takes work, too, as these boys are well aware.

Harvest

While our fathers

pluck pumpkins

we shuck

and shuck

and shuck.

With a little

luck

we'll be done

in time

for lunch.

Meanwhile

the corn sings:

rustle, crinkle,

crunch.

- Irene Latham

Listen to the poem on Soundcloud.

ARTSPEAK! 2016: Poem #13 "Anticipation (in the Garden)"

Welcome to day 13 of my National Poetry Month poem-a-day-project ARTSPEAK! in which I respond to images found in the online collections at the National Gallery of Art. Please join me, if you feel so inspired! 

But first, please visit Linda at TeacherDance to see how our Progressive Poem is progressing!

This year's ARTSPEAK! theme is "Plant. Grow Eat." It was inspired by the release of my latest book FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market.

Here are the poems so far:

"Gathering Fruit" after Gathering Fruit by Mary Cassatt
"Bread's Lament" after Boy with Basket of Fruit by an unknown American artist
"After the Fire" after Ruined Farm by Hubert Robert
"Cow at the Gate" after Landscape with Open Gate by Pieter Molijin
"I Am the Plate" after Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit by Paul Cezanne
"Courtship (According to the Cat)" by Winslow Homer
"Courage" after Planting Corn by Stanley Mazur
"Orchard Barber Shop" after Gardener Pruning a Tree by Jacques Callot
"Gardener's Companion" after The Watering Can by Georges Seurat

"Man, Reading" after Denoisel Reading in the Garden by James Tissot

"At the Vegetable Market" after Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

"Triolet for Planting Day" after The Artist's Garden at Eragny by Camille Pissarro

Today's poem is another love poem of sorts. I wasn't sure what exactly to do with George Moore in the Artist's Garden by Eduoard Manet, so I gave him some feelings. About the garden. :) He looks like a nice enough fellow, doesn't he?

Anticipation (in the Garden)

The seeds are in,

the sun beams down

rain has pitter-pattered

the gentle mounds –

and still no vines,

no cascading flowers.

When, oh when

will the leaves unfurl?

When will the tiny fruits

drape like pearls?

Not now, not yet.

Soon:

my garden may be shy,

but I am a patient suitor.

- Irene Latham
Listen to the poem on Soundcloud!

ARTSPEAK! 2016: Poem #12 "Gathering Fruit"

Welcome to day 12 of my National Poetry Month poem-a-day-project ARTSPEAK! in which I respond to images found in the online collections at the National Gallery of Art. Please join me, if you feel so inspired! 

But first, please visit Michelle at Today's Little Ditty to see how our Progressive Poem is progressing!

This year's ARTSPEAK! theme is "Plant. Grow Eat." It was inspired by the release of my latest book FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market.

Here are the poems so far:

"Bread's Lament" after Boy with Basket of Fruit by an unknown American artist
"After the Fire" after Ruined Farm by Hubert Robert
"Cow at the Gate" after Landscape with Open Gate by Pieter Molijin
"I Am the Plate" after Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit by Paul Cezanne
"Courtship (According to the Cat)" by Winslow Homer
"Courage" after Planting Corn by Stanley Mazur
"Orchard Barber Shop" after Gardener Pruning a Tree by Jacques Callot
"Gardener's Companion" after The Watering Can by Georges Seurat

"Man, Reading" after Denoisel Reading in the Garden by James Tissot

"At the Vegetable Market" after Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

"Triolet for Planting Day" after The Artist's Garden at Eragny by Camille Pissarro

Today's poem was tough for me! I adore work by Mary Cassatt... all those lovely domestic scenes, often of mother and baby... and I wasn't sure what fresh and surprising I could bring to this piece. Then I thought about the title, how there are all kinds of "fruit"... I'll want to revisit this one in the future, but for now, here's where I've landed:

Gathering Fruit

Skirts swish

awake

the day

as she climbs

the ladder

and pears

peal

like churchbells:

Please, O please

Pick me!

But Baby

doesn't hear

or see

anything

except

one face

going away,

coming back again –

Mama, Mama.

- Irene Latham
Listen to the poem on Soundcloud.