Irene Latham's Blog, page 18

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