Poetry Friday round up at Keri’s farm.
Poetry Friday is here. I always feel a sense of excitement and anxiety working on a post for PF. Today’s poem has been through a morphing of sorts. I started it in my notebook writing with my young writers camp. We stopped into our local independent bookstore, Books Along the Teche. My prompt was to steal a line from a favorite book to write from.
Ava Leavell Haymon is(was) the Louisiana poet laureate. Her latest poetry book, Eldest Daugther, was sitting near the front of our bookstore watching me and my students. I opened her up and found a line. “I am the light, standing in the kitchen window.”
I love to watch the light change from my kitchen window. This morning it illuminated a blue bottle on my outdoor bottle tree. Using PicMonkey, I altered the image and typed in my poem.
Well, first, it’s a beautiful poem, those many layers of light considered, and second, what is that ‘bottle tree’? I am so intrigued. I hope you’ll post about it sometime.
I love the quiet beauty of this poem, Margaret – I’ve been trying to “give in to the quiet” this summer, too. Much needed.
Magical picture, so much mysterious light and colors. And the poem is beautiful with a twist ending. Lovely post!
I’ve been intrigued by bottle trees ever since I read a book by Anne Tyler, The Tin Can Tree. That led me to bottle trees and Japanese poems tied to trees. I like the effect you used with your photo–it gives it a whole different emotional effect.
Beautiful!
It’s a lovely poem, and the ending is just right. Borrowing a line is sometimes all the inspiration one needs! Thanks for sharing about PicMonkey. I’m eager to try it out!
Very thoughtful, comforting poem, Margaret. A friend and fellow SCBWI member is currently pitching a middle grade novel about a little Southern girl and a blue bottle tree, so I’ll have to share this with her!