Desperately Seeking Octopus Poems & Art #OctoNation

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

This week my mind is on octopuses. One octopus in particular: a giant Pacific octopus named Agnes... who writes (and receives) postcards. That's because Agnes' story will be released from Millbrook Press/Lerner October 1. Lovely illustrations by Thea Baker.

Illustration by Thea Baker
pre-order hereTo celebrate, I'm christening October "Octopus Month," and I need your help! I would love to feature some octopus poems and art here on this blog throughout the month.

a cuddly octopus perched in my studio!So... do you have an octopus poem or art piece? Or, would you like to write one? I do hope you'll say YES! You can send it to my email: irene (at) irenelatham (dot) com.

In fact, LOVE, AGNES started out as an octopus poem titled "Postcards from an Octopus." Greg Pincus posted it on his GottaBook blog back in April 2013. Since then I've written quite a few octopus poems -- for a time, LOVE, AGNES was a collection of poems! Here's the poem that began the collection... and when you read LOVE, AGNES, you'll still see these same themes, and even some of these very same words - just presented in a completely different way!

<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Dear World,</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'm an octopus, okay?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">An old octopus</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">nearing the end</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">of my days.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I live in the deep-dark</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">beneath the pier,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">in a crevice,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">in a cave.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">But I am not a monster.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">No need to be afraid.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Now that my eggs</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">have been laid</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I must wait</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">                 and wait</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">                              and wait.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Time now</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">to use my eight arms</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">and write.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Just like you,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I have important things to say.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>- Irene Latham</i></div><br />