Today is Sugarcane Festival Farmer’s Day in New Iberia. I have watched the cane grow all summer. It is over 8 feet tall. Should be a good year!
Sugarcane stalks standing tall,
side by side,
guarding, swaying
swish, swish!
Hear the sweetness?
Smell the burning field?
Anticipate the haul-
Slow, slow.Moving to the mill,
Grind, Grind
Just in time
for Christmas candy canes.
–Margaret Simon
Poetry Friday is being hosted today by Amy at The Poem Farm.
Happiness is a new poetry book. Announcing the release of Illuminate, a book of my poems with my father’s drawings. Here’s what others are saying:
“John Gibson, the father and artist, and Margaret Simon, the daughter and poet, have teamed up to communicate the beauty and mystery of the manifestation of God in the world in this small volume. Finely honed lines by both artist and writer will cause readers to ask for more, as the creators of Illuminate have, with light and deft strokes, captured the gift of the Incarnation.” Diane Moore
“In the imaginative, graceful and grace-filled poems of Margaret Simon, we are taken into her experience of faith through a vision that is clear and a voice that is authentic. Each poem, lovingly crafted, is homage to her father’s art and to her God, and resonates with her love of and enchantment with words.” Clare L. Martin, poet and author of Eating the Heart First (Press 53, 2012)
Reflections on the Teche 
Congratulations again, Margaret. From the few examples you’ve shared, I know it must be fabulous! Now you’ve taught me something; I don’t know anything about sugarcane. Makes me wonder if there are any little animals sheltering in those tall grasses? I like the end result of candy canes, will now think of you when we hang ours on the tree!
Yes, when I was taking the pictures, I was on the lookout for snakes. When they cut the cane, little critters lose their homes and sometimes try to move into ours. That’s why we have cats.
Congrats, Margaret! Where do we buy Illuminate? (Also, thanks for leading us to think a bit about where our sugar comes from!)
Tabatha, the book should be on Amazon in a few weeks. I’ll let you know. It is small but precious.
Ooh, a father-daughter project! How wonderful!! Also, your sugar cane poem reminds me of the new middle grade novel SUGAR by Jewell Parker Rhodes. That cane is a beast! Congratulations on your new book.
Thanks, Irene, for the book recommendation. I have her book Ninth Ward but didn’t know about Sugar.
Congratulations, Margaret! That sounds like a very special book, indeed. What a blessing to be able to collaborate with your dad. Happy Sugarcane Festival Farmer’s Day too!
Congratulations on the publication of your book Margaret…and the Sugarcane poem – such beautiful plants!
Have you read Sugar Changed the World? I think you’d be really interested in it.
Happy cane harvest and congratulations! A book with your father must be such a dear thing.
Many congratulations! What a treasure to have a book with your father. It looks like a jewel, and I look forward to reading more. Thank you for this sugar cane poem. We are surrounded on two sides by cornfields, and it is fun to take this little trip to fields of sugar cane. Imagining that turning to candy canes is such fun! Happy Poetry Sunday!