Picasso pig poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Jone Rush MacCulloch for Roundup.

We've been in the north Georgia mountains this week exploring the little railroad town of Blue Ridge. Actually, mostly, we've been walking and talking and sleeping and eating! (We needed a break!)

Of course I took a little time out to write the next installment of ArtSpeak: Animals. This week Picasso has a pig for us! 

Friends, I wrote a DARK poem. 

But it does a lot of the things I hope a poem will do, so I am sharing it first... and THEN, because I don't want to leave anyone in a dark place, I've got a more joyful pig poem for you. Thanks so much for reading...see you in November!

It looked so happy,

the prancing pig on the ramp

to slaughter

- Irene Latham

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

with a snout like that

young pig can't help but follow

every fresh scent

- Irene Latham

 

Picasso Dachshund dog poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Bridget at wee words for wee ones for Roundup.

Last weekend we had our community fall festival. It was so great to see friends and neighbors enjoying pumpkin painting, scarecrows, food & craft vendors, hayrides, and so much more... I was in charge of the silent auction, which brought in over $800 to turn back around into community programming. DH Paul was in charge of grilling 200 hot dogs. :) (This is an oddly appropriate thing to include in this post! Read on!)

Irene & Dahlia
(in front of Floyd Cooper art)

A few days before that, I was at Highlights, where I met for the first time in person my friend Dahlia Hamza Constantine. Joy! Dahlia and I have written a picture book together that celebrates the joyful relationship between a girl and her grandfather "Giddo"— and traditional Egyptian arts like the Tentmakers of Cairo. It will be released by Nancy Paulsen Books in 2025. :)

Dahlia brought me issues of a new-to-me magazine from the UK called Daphne's Diary. It is full of whimsy and just thumbing the pages is an Artist's Date. This week I played with butterflies from inside the pages...and I'm still playing!

Irene & Charles hanging out on the
porch of cabin #10, where Poetry Friday
friends Laura Shovan, Linda Mitchell,
and Rose Capelli stayed before me!

More about Highlights: It was my first time to visit, thanks to Charles Waters, who has a long history at Highlights. His enthusiasm was absolutely my favorite thing about the experience—especially as everything he's ever said about the people and place is 100% true. Beautiful, beautiful! And our group was so kind and brilliant! We really bonded over words and risk-taking and dreams...also, the fabulous Carol Hinz was there. I took so many notes during her talk and had a breakthrough on a wip. :) I'm so, so grateful and look forward to the beauty this group will be bringing into the world and especially into the lives of children. 

And this just in from that amazing publishing duo Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell. I loved writing about friends both far away...and furry!

Today's Artspeak: Animals poem reminds me of the one Dachshund we ever owned, a black-n-tan cutie named Chester. Perhaps you have or have had a Dachshund in your life?? Do tell!

Meanwhile, the end is in sight for this Picasso mini-series...I'm thinking I'll write 2-3 more and then move onto something else. Thanks so much for reading!

whole long body

a smile perched on stubby legs

this dog

- Irene Latham

Picasso Ostrich poem

Whee!

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme for Roundup.

Oh my goodness, what a wonderful time at Highlights! More on this next week, once I've had a chance to unpack. Old friends, new friends, adventures, inspiration, delicious food, fall...my heart is full. :)

I didn't do much writing while there, but wow, on the (14 hour) drive home, I voice-recorded many many many notes, breakthroughs, and new ideas. I'm excited to sort through everything and share more.

I don't know what an ostrich has to do with Highlights (or anything), but I did tackle Picasso's drawing as the latest in this mini-series as part of my ArtSpeak: Animals project.

 Actually, now that I'm reading it again, it's kind of exactly where I am in my writing life as described above! Ha! How our poems reveal us... 

Thank you so much for reading.

ostrich swerves through grass

a blur of fluffy feathers

far from flightless

-Irene Latham

Live from Highlights!

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure and visit Sarah Grace Tuttle for Roundup.

The header is actually wishful thinking...but I am en route (driving!) to Highlights, where Charles Waters and I are leading a retreat on Poetry for Kids: A World of Publishing Possibilities. We're excited to share this time with other passionate poetry peeps!

 Earlier this week I posted about ghosts of AFRICAN TOWN over at Smack Dab in the Middle. Read the poem here.

And here's my latest ArtSpeak: Animals poem. Yep, another Picasso-inspired haiku! (The 10th, actually. I just counted. :) Thanks so much for reading.

on dark autumn morn

rooster will not be silenced

the sound of sunshine

- Irene Latham

p.s. Whatever's happening in the world, however dark the day...we can all be roosters! xo

Picasso Fox poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference for Roundup.

Now that we are entering the last quarter of the year (!), I've got my One Little Word on my mind... WHIMSY. How has whimsy played into my life? When I look around my house, I see a whole lot of whimsy! Here's the latest addition:

Yep, I repurposed a leaky canoe into a raised bed garden! Don't you dig the blue paint? I planted kale for fall, and I kind of love it. :)

I think I've added some whimsy to my writing life, too...taking more chances, being more playful, stretching my imagination... 

For this week's ArtSpeak: Animals, I've got another Picasso for you! And a bonus poem, too. It kind of emerged as I was trying to write about the fox. (Don't you love when that happens?!) Thank you so much for reading.

a lone duck calls

and from the tall grass a fox

sets world ablaze

- Irene Latham

...and speaking of foxes...here's the bonus poem, just right for this time of year! :)

with a fox for

a soul, it blazes all hours

this autumn maple

- Irene Latham

Picasso grasshopper poem

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

I'm on the road today, heading home from my mom's. She's about halfway through her radiation treatments, and we are in the process of getting her moved closer to us. It's a big undertaking!

I'm also in the process of querying agents for a big sweeping novel for adults. (My agent doesn't represent adult projects.) It's not my favorite way to spend my time, I'll tell you that! But I love this book SO MUCH. And this is just part of the journey, right?

For this week's ArtSpeak: Animals project, I am still really enjoying this Picasso mini-series! (This is #8.) I'm just going to keep going until I get tired of it, or until I run out of Picasso's animal drawings—whichever comes first. Thank you so much for reading!

Little grasshopper

springs from stalk to stalk—playing

hide and seek with sun

-Irene Latham

Picasso Elephant poem

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Kathryn Apel for a Down Under Roundup.

This month while the tv runs college football games, I've been piecing a quilt! 

I realized a while back that I had quite a lot of black fabric in my stash. Black is not the most popular color to include in a quilt—which has made a black quilt project all the more enticing! I decided to use strips and construct squares on the diagonal—kind of a "crazy" quilt—and then arrange 4 squares to create some sort of funky block. 

(I am not a precision quilter! More of an improvisational quilter, ala the Gee's Bend quilters.)

As I've been sewing, a name for the quilt popped into my head: "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Glorious." 

No "evil" in this quilt! But lots of midnight. And my sweet friend Donna gave me some beautiful black-horse fabric, so I'll be incorporating it into the back— which I haven't figured out yet! I'll keep you posted.

In ArtSpeak: Animals news, I'm still having fun with Picasso. Today I have a sweet little elephant poem for you. Thanks so much for reading.

how jubilantly

elephant calf welcomes dawn

parade of mothers

- Irene Latham

Picasso Mouse poem

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink for Roundup.

with Daniel on his first birthday,
September 1995

September is a big birthday month in my family. Both my parents were born in September. One of my brothers. My eldest son. A niece. A nephew... actually, I learned that more babies are born worldwide in September than any other month. 

In recent decades in the U.S., that month is August, followed by July. Interesting, yes?

So this month has already held some birthday celebrations, and we're not done yet! 

Switching gears...this week's ArtSpeak: Animals continues my Picasso mini-series. Meet Picasso's mouse, who has quite an impressive tail! It just seems wrong to write anything lengthy about these simple line drawings, so I am getting some practice as a miniaturist/haiku poet lately. It's been fun...and challenging! Thank you so much for reading.

just behind the door

a mouse parades down the aisle

bride of shadows

-Irene Latham

Picasso Owl poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Linda at TeacherDance for Roundup.

Holy September, it's football season. That's a pretty big deal 'round these parts! On Friday nights we really enjoy supporting our local team—a small 1A K-12 school with a stadium perched atop gorgeous Straight Mountain. Lupita's ice cream truck is usually there, too, which is always a treat. 

I'm continuing my ArtSpeak: Animals Picasso mini-series with an owl! Owls are one of those subjects well covered by poets, so it feels like quite a challenge to write something fresh about them...but how could I NOT tackle it, when Picasso's art is so dang adorable?! Thanks so much for reading.

the mystery is

how owl so round and ruffled

learned to drink moonlight

- Irene Latham

p.s. Here's a site featuring 51 owl poems, some familiar, some new to me. Enjoy!

Picasso penguin poem

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Tanita at fiction, instead of lies for Roundup.

I'm away from my desk this week, but I do have for you the latest in my ArtSpeak: Animals Picasso mini-series. 

This week, a penguin! Picasso's penguin reminds me of the Penguin Books (one of my publishers!) logo, which is pretty basic:

...and it makes me think of the book Mr. Popper's Penguins, which I love. 

And who can forget the penguin dance in Mary Poppins? (Makes me smile every time!)

And...it's not my first time to tackle penguins. WHEN THE SUN SHINES ON ANTARCTICA (Lerner, 2016), with illus. by Anna Wadham, features nature poems about four kinds of penguins who nest on the frozen continent: Adelie, gentoo, Emperor, and chinstrap penguins...for which I was able to cover penguin courtship, nesting, fledgling, and play time!

Other have found inspiration in penguins, too. Pablo Neruda in his poem "Magellanic Penguin" includes this stanza:

Penguin, static traveler,
deliberate priest of the cold,
I salute your vertical salt
and envy your plumed pride.

read the complete poem here.

Finally, here's today's effort. Thank you so much for reading!

penguin surveys waves

only one leap between ice

and deepwater flight

- Irene Latham

Picasso Flamingo poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Dave at Leap of Dave for Roundup. 

You know that feeling when you finally finish a big, consuming project, and experience the relief and euphoria of being DONE—only to find yourself floundering a bit, lost and confused, not knowing where to send your energy next?

That's been me this week. 

It's just weird to not have focus after being ultra-focused for several months. I've tried to be gentle with myself, reading a lot, letting whatever's next find me, instead of pressing so hard into the (writing) wind...it's okay to take it easy sometimes. 

Perhaps it's these thoughts that influenced my latest effort in my ArtSpeak: Animals Picasso mini-series. Please meet Picasso's flamingo...thanks so much for reading!

flamingo poses

in shrinking summer puddle

rain dance

-Irene Latham

Picasso Dog Poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Margaret at Reflections on the Teche for Roundup.

I'm continuing my ArtSpeak: Animals Picasso mini-series this week with a dog drawing. 

I'm not sure what Picasso intended when he drew this dog, but to me, it looks like a dog vigorously scratching—on the side that we cannot see. (What do YOU see?) Thanks so much for reading. 

dog can't stop

tiny itchy visitors

summer picnic

- Irene Latham

Picasso Cat poem

 

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone for Roundup.

Earlier this week BE A BRIDGE was released! It's the 4th book Charles Waters and I have created together (brought to us by Carolrhoda/Lerner, illustrations by Nabila Adani), all about acceptance and inclusivity, with some really concrete ways even very young kids can practice being a bridge. It's got some fun, useful back matter, too, to extend this topic through activities and a Bridge Builder Pledge. 

We can all be bridge builders!

This week's ArtSpeak: Animals poems begins a new sub-series I'm doing. Recently I spied in an antique shop a framed set of 6 of Picasso's simple line animal drawings. I took a picture, and when I came home, I discovered Picasso did 24 of these! 

I'm excited to write poems for them....starting with this cat. :) Thank you so much for reading.

old cat wakes

stretches snow out of bones

morning prayer

- Irene Latham

If Cows Were Red or Yellow (poem)

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Marcie Atkins for Roundup.

A bit of a rough week here in LathamLand, traveling to help my mom through round of chemo, only to have those plans foiled by covid—which has delayed her treatment until next week. In the meantime a series of other unfortunate events, but nothing that can't be overcome. Thanks for your prayers and well wishes...my mom is a trooper!

I decided to write about cows, because my mom LOVES cows. She has a long history with them, not the least of which was her 4-H Grand Champion dairy cow, Penny.

Mary Hedden (16) & Penny

The art I found invites imagination, so I was able to bring in some thoughts/ideas/imaginings I've had lately about the word "someday."

I've always loved the promise of "someday," but recently I read/heard (somewhere) that "someday" is a meaningless word, because there's no real date/time associated with it. It's all pie in the sky, as any future could happen—or not. Which begs the question, what in the world is certain anyway? Not that got my cows making the long walk home!

What are your thoughts/feelings on the word "someday"? 

Here's my poem. Thank you so much for reading.

Someday

cows will be red or yellow
we'll fill our pails with orange milk

escape the swelter, take shelter in a barn
where cool dirt curls between our toes—

remember brown cows, sweet milk?
our together-breath will purple the air

such joy a secret delicious thing
in the land of what may or may not be

- Irene Latham

Camel poem

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit marvelous Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading for Roundup. 

I'm at a doctor's office this morning—bleh! (Just yearly check-up time, so no worries.) Hope all of you are doing well and surviving the heat. (Another 'bleh!')

This week's ArtSpeak: Animals poem features a camel.

For a long time, I thought camels carried water in their humps. Not true! Also, I didn't know that camels are born without a hump. The hump develops as soon as the came begins to eat solid food. Here's a great list of other camel facts.

I'm drawn to camels for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was the camel ride our family enjoyed (when I was a child) in front of the Great Pyramids in Egypt. "Our" camel was named "Florida"... at least until the next tourist-family came along and told the camel handler where THEY were from. :)

If you'd like a great dive into the mind of a camel, check out ONCE UPON A CAMEL by Kathi Appelt. 

And now here's my poem. I wanted to include facts about the purpose of a camel's hump(s), but in a roundabout apply-it-to-humans way. Thanks so much for reading.

Be a camel when you travel

carry inside you
        a suitcase
packed with provisions—

that way you'll weather
any delays with grace

you won't be distracted
by grit of hunger

your teeth won't chitter
no matter how bitter
the sandswept night

wherever you wander,
whatever your adventure

          you will be filled

- Irene Latham

Daffodil, Crow...and a Poem Grows

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Elisabeth at Unexpected Intersections for Roundup.

You're invited to read my brand new post over at Highlights blog on How to Revise Poetry: 20 Questions to Ask. Hope you find it useful!

I've got my head down this week, closing in on a revision of a BIG historical novel, so my mind is full of the puzzle pieces that must fit together just so...

No wonder I wanted to write something short for this week's ArtSpeak: Animals poem.

 Well. You know how challenging the short form can be, right? And with my brain a bowl full of mush, I've had difficulty deciding which effort is the best effort...so I decided to include ALL my efforts here today. :)

Maybe this gives you a bit of a picture of the poetic pathways in my brain, the imaginative leaps, the way I like to play with sounds and images...I think this kind of sharing can be useful for any poet studying the craft—how do we get from idea to poem? For better or for worse, here's this week's path.

Please let me know which version you prefer! (I formatted the last one, since that's where I stopped.) Thanks so much for reading. 

Here's the art I selected:

untitled by Sohrab Sepehri 
(who was also a poet!)

1. 

Hope is a crow
finding a daffodil
in the snow

2.
snow-dusted daffodil
smiles at a passing crow—
hello! hello!

3.

eager daffodil
throws off blanket of snow—
hello crow

4.

daffodil lifts head
from pillow of snow—
hello crow

5.

crow doesn't know
to call it daffodil—

another sudden sun

6.
what we call
daffodil
crow calls hope

7.
Daffodil in Love

She throws off
blanket of snow—
hello crow

8.
trembling daffodil
throws off blanket of snow
hello crow

9.

crow is first
to notice daffodil rising
from snow

10.
crow is first
to notice new sun
climbing out of snow

11.
crow is first
to notice daffodil rising—
snow queen

12.

crow is first
to notice bold bloom
breaking free of snow

13.
crow is first to notice
yellow petals burning
through late winter snow

14.
crow folds its wings
before yellow snow queen—
hello spring

Goldfish Party (poem)

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit beautiful Jan at bookseedstudio for Roundup.

Today's ArtSpeak: ANIMALS poem features fish! I wasn't sure if the fish in the art were goldfish or koi—or something else! But the information I found here made me go with "goldfish." 

I've always loved fish ponds and aquariums...this art is my kind of party! Thank you so much for reading.

summer wind

stirs a party of goldfish—

orange confetti

-Irene Latham

Flamingo School of Dance (poem)

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

I'm traveling today, but I do have an ArtSpeak: Animals poem to share with you. 

This art screams two things to me: "Florida!" And, "summer." 

I had a lot of fun playing with words to write a flamingo-dance poem. Thank you so much for reading!

Flamingo School of Dance

It may take
two to tango

but flamingo
prefers a tangle—

six legs
three long necks
one pool full
of fluffy
feathered skirts—

flamingo
     flamango
            flamenco!

- Irene Latham

Peacock in Love (poem)

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Catherine at Reading to the Core for Roundup.

Big news! After a long covid-induced delay, Charles Waters and I will be in-person, teaching a workshop at Highlights October 8-11, 2022 called Poetry for Kids: A World of Publishing Possibilities. We'll be talking about many things, including:

 1) finding your voice in the wide world of children's poetry

 2) revising poetry (one of my most favorite things to teach!)

 3) performing poetry (for school visits, online outlets, and other events)

Please join us for fun, fellowship, learning, and inspiration! Click here to learn more.

Today's ArtSpeak! Animals poem is a love poem. I think love poems are my favorite comfort food! And...we saw a peacock in love recently when we visited Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, AR. (If you are in the area, please do not miss it! Acres of gorgeousness!)

As for the peacock in love, his name's George. The photo does NOT do him justice at all! (too shady) 

But Walasse Ting's art does. :) Thank you so much for reading!

Peacock in Love

two eyes aren't enough
so with a gentle rustling
of feathers
he pops open his parasol,
trains a hundred more eyes
on her and her alone

a benediction
bright enough to eclipse
hunger, sickness,
doubt

all his iridescent attention

hers

- Irene Latham

After Sorrow poem

 

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Michelle Kogan for Roundup.

On the eighth day of kindness, I will give to you...

celebrating next Tuesday's release of THE TWELVE DAYS OF KINDNESS (Penguin Random House, illus. by Junghwa Park) with a series of kindness quotes. Enjoy!

Today's ArtSpeak: Animals features one of my favorites: horses! Thank you so much for reading.

[untitled]

after sorrow
comes a tower
of blue horses

they carry
one crescent
moon
for each thing
you have lost

it's time,
they say
fill your belly
with stars

 - Irene Latham

The First Day of Kindness + Donkey Poem

 

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Buffy Silverman for Roundup. 

So...exciting news! I've been named an Alabama State Council on the Arts Literary Fellow for 2022!

You guys, I have applied for this fellowship many, many times over the past decade. In fact, I looked it up, and this was my 9th time to apply. Wanna hear the story?

The very first year I got a "close by no cigar" note from the director. I thought for sure I'd get it the next year. I didn't. Or the next or the next...

A few years in, I said, forget this, I'm never going to get it. I didn't apply that year. 

Lo and behold, one of the program directors Anne Kimsey invited me to instead sit on the panel to review submissions. She knew I'd learn a lot! And I did. 

I thought, oh I'll get it next year for sure! NOPE. I didn't get it that year. Or the next or the next. 

But one of the main reasons I kept on submitting is because I read a study that found men are more likely to get literary awards not because they're better (duh) but because they keep submitting. Women, it turns out, are much more likely to give up MUCH sooner than men. 

So I decided: I'm not going to be one of those women. 

And I gotta tell you, this year I had SO MUCH on my plate come submission time I really didn't want to make it a priority. But I did. And I'm so glad.

So: here's my message to all my Poetry Friday (women!) friends: don't be one of those women who throws in the towel too soon. KEEP GOING. 

In other news, and on the same theme... I have a new picture book releasing this month: The Twelve Days of Kindness (Penguin Random House) with illustrations by Junghwa Park.

I wrote (and sold) this book 6 1/2 years ago...which wins the "longest time between sale and publication" award for any of my books so far. The book came to be because of a series of kindness quotes I shared in the days leading up to Christmas 2015. I just knew there was a way to adapt "The Twelve Days of Christmas" song to a picture book about kindness! 

Fun news: the audio version of the book features a spoken and a sung version of the book, which I absolutely love... and know families and groups are going to have so much fun with!

The book might not have happened without a little help from my local SCBWI critique group. Big thanks especially to Claudia Pearson who helped me tweak the "first day of kindness" verse, which of course is everything, because it repeats twelve times!

Anyway, since then there have been about a billion kindness books! Which is great, because what better message is there to share with kids of all ages?

As a way to celebrate, I'll be sharing on social media over the next 12 days those quotes from my original blog series. Here's the first:

And now switching to ArtSpeak: ANIMALS.

A dear friend of mine collects donkeys, so I am always on the hunt as I visit antique stores, thrift shops, and yard sales. Surely that's why I couldn't resist writing a poem about this donkey art! Thanks so much for reading.

Donkey Frieze

So many donkeys

parading a pasture

can't be wrong:

the sky is not falling;

no disaster awaits.

Today is simply—today.

Kick up your heels,

graze with soft eyes.

Joy nuzzles

as often as it brays.

- Irene Latham

Swan Poem

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

It's June! How can that be? I always think of June as wedding season, although I've actually not been to many June weddings—and Paul and I were married in April. But someone's getting married in June, yes?

That's why today's ArtSpeak: ANIMALS poem features some wedding imagery. Thank you so much for reading!

Swans

The bride arrives
dressed in silk feathers
and wedding lace

promises to love
and cherish the pond
forever—

or at least as long
as summer surrounds
her with admirers,

swaddles her
in warm gurgles
and ripples of light.

- Irene Latham

p.s. For more swans, try "The Swan" by Mary Oliver. 

Who doesn't remember Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars? (I still have my childhood copy!)

And one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever: "The Swan" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott.

Frog Haiku

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit lovely Linda at A Word Edgewise for Roundup.

It's been a rough week in the news. My heart is with all those families in Uvalde, and with all of you. There are no words.

Meanwhile, rain blows over, flowers bloom. Memorial Day weekend marks the start of lake season—hurray! And that's got me thinking about frogs.

And thinking about frogs got me thinking about haiku. Perhaps you've read Basho's oft-translated frog poem... Seriously. So. Many. Translations! You can read many here.

Here's the one I see most often, translated by Robert Haas:

The old pond —
a frog jumps in,
sound of water.

Beautiful, yes? 

I also love Kermit the Frog's "It's Not Easy Being Green."

And then I found this gorgeous art in my ArtSpeak: ANIMALS file, and voila! A frog poem! Thank you so much for reading.

pond shrinks to puddle

mud cracks—still

five frogs sing

- Irene Latham

Sheep in the Snow Poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Carmela at Teaching Authors for Roundup.

I'm on a just-me writing retreat all week, so I've actually prepared this poem ahead of time. And to continue the "out of time" theme, I've got a snow poem... I know! But I am told by a Montana friend that she has seen snow fall every month of the year.  (Ultimately the poem is about faith, so why not snow?) Thank you so much for reading!

Sheep in Snow

What is this wet
mess?
Where did
the green go?
Shall we follow
these trails,
leap these rails?

Wait—sun always
comes back.
Surely pasture
will, too—
I believe in light.
Just look
at all this bright!

- Irene Latham

Butterfly Poem

 

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

I'm on the road today, heading for Murfreesboro, TN, where tomorrow I'll be part of the Southern Kid Literary Festival. I can't wait to share D-39 and The Cat Man of Aleppo with 3rd-5th graders! And...I get to hang out with my mom and the Tennessee contingent of my family. YAY!

I'll leave you with an ArtSpeak: Animals spring-y butterfly poem. Since the collective noun for sharks (shiver) was so well received last week, I decided to include one of the collective nouns for butterflies. Thank you so much for reading.

Meadow Kaleidoscope

A hundred butterflies
arrive

find flower-dish
after delicious flower-
dish—

O sippety-slurp!—

enough for you and you
and you!

What is spring,
but a smorgasbord

of wishes
come         true?