Poetry Friday - Winter Is Here, Sometimes!

    It's Poetry Friday, and Laura Purdie Salas is hosting HERE at her blog.  Be sure to stop by to see her two new adorable board books, which are coming very soon! Thanks for hosting, Laura! 

  

         First, another thank you for the special postcards from many of you. They certainly warmed my heart during our cold, cold days!

💖There are cards from Margaret Simon, Molly Hogan, Mary Lee Hahn, Mona Voelkel, Joyce Uglow, Jone Rush Macculloch, Robyn Hood Black, Gail Aldous, Tabatha Yeatts Lonske, Tricia Stohr-Hunt, Patricia Franz, and one new poem from Carol Varsalona.

    

Yes, winter has returned. It was 14 degrees below zero Tuesday night, rose to 21 the next day. I know that for Denver, it's not unusual, but I noticed places in the south were also very cold. I hope all of you made it through okay! My Texas son and family were fine, but they've told me some in their town have no heat, using only space heaters sometimes.

       It's snowing tonight, headed for 60 on Sunday! That's February!

it's a slippery go

of cold and snow

a minuet

winter does not forget

cooldown at sundown

bring out the eiderdown

now a cup of tea

ah-h-h, 

sweetened by me

glee! 

        Linda Baie © 

          I also want to share an older book found at the used bookstore where I volunteer, a poem loved, and illustrated by Susan Jeffers, published in 1978, re-issued in 2001. It certainly seems fitting for this week's wintry days! Susan illustrated many others, winning a Caldecott Honor for Three Jovial Huntsmen, then another favorite of mine, a beautiful book of the story, Hansel and Gretel. She also illustrated Brother Eagle, Sister Sky, another gorgeous book and more! Susan passed away just a few years ago. 

 Here's a link to seeing the book read so you can love "seeing" the poem through Susan's imagination, boldly shown in her art. "Her" woodsman stopped once to play in the snow and made a snow angel! I hope you enjoy it!

Poetry Friday - A Poetic Invitation

 

It's Poetry Friday - Goodbye 2022

   Poetry Friday is with Patricia Franz HERE on her website, Reverie. In it, today, she offers a poem that shows the many ways we are blessed. Thanks for hosting, Patricia!

               First, I am excited to share that Editor Bridget Magee's anthology, Two Truths and A Fib will be available on 1.1.23. I have yet to see it, but it is available for pre-order wherever you purchase your books! You can watch the trailer HERE! I am proud to have some poems in this book along with others whose names you will recognize. And, I want to thank Bridget for the idea, the opportunity, and for all the work in the production! Congratulations to Bridget and all the poets!

               It's time to ponder the new year, as Rilke wrote, "full of things that have never been". I've wondered what to share and this week, keep returning to Robert Frost, a longtime favorite because of his love for nature. If you ever see my posts on social media, you know I often use the hashtag, #getoutside. This poem feels like an invitation to us. Wishing you a Happy New Year full of love, happiness, and the beauty outside.

The Pasture

                   Robert Frost

I'm going out to clean the pasture spring; 

I'll only stop to rake the leaves away 

(And wait to watch the water clear, I may): 

I sha'n't be gone long.—You come too. 

I'm going out to fetch the little calf 

That's standing by the mother. It's so young, 

It totters when she licks it with her tongue. 

I sha'n't be gone long.—You come too.