Poetry Friday round-up at Buffy’s Blog.
Where do you find words? I am always in search of the right words, whether I am writing a poem or a blog post or a Facebook message. The right words in the right order.
As I sat next to Vannisa while she revised a poem to enter into a 4-H poetry contest, she and I stared at the screen. She was looking for the last stanza, the inner thinking, that punch of an ending. Where were the words she need?
I pulled out a precious Mary Oliver book from the shelf, A Thousand Mornings. Vanissa swept her hand over the cover. She knows it feels soft, like silk. I read aloud the last lines of some of Mary Oliver’s poems. I was teaching Vannisa how to “steal like an artist.”
This is the list we made:
earth-praise
temple
my heart
angels singing
I can’t share her final draft because we’ve sent it in. Maybe she will win. But we both won when we sat together with the master Mary Oliver and celebrated the right words.
As I continue to write a poem a day (Just one more day, folks!), I decided to use these stolen words in a poem of my own.
Melody
The male cardinal
wakes us every morning
with his earth-praise–
monotone,
happy tone
morning music making.I nudge the cat
to move off my foot
stretch out of bed
while you stay, softly snoring.Coffee brews.
The day wakes.
My body is still tired.But this cardinal
is determined in his glory-making.
He persists
until I turn and see
angelssinging along
in his tree-temple
making melody
of the morning.–Margaret Simon
Reflections on the Teche 
This is so gorgeous, Margaret! You’ve done a masterful job making those words your own. I’m swooning over “earth-praise.”
You’ve made good use of all those words. What a delightful poem.
Fabulous, Margaret–starting with those word treasures really worked for you!
I love the “tree-temple”, Margaret. There is a lovely thread of “tree” connections this Poetry Friday. Congrats, you’ve almost made it through with a poem a day. And how wonderful to hear of your time with Vanissa. Best wishes for her poem.
And ‘making melody of the morning’, and ‘stretch out of bed’. Very beautiful.
This is the way to begin each day – by ‘making melody of the morning’, beautiful poem, Margaret.
Oh, Margaret, I’m in awe of your way with words. So many phrases I love! “…morning music making . . . determined in his glory-making . . . ” and then the return to music – ” . . . making melody of the morning.”
Margaret, this is lovely. Your poem captures so much of what I love about morning and those wonderful avian companions. I love “tree-temple.”
That’s such an important lesson– that we can help our imagination along with words stolen from precious sources. Not everything needs to be brand new. And yet it’s a lesson that I manage to forget and relearn over and over. Sigh. Your “Melody” filled my spirit this morning, Margaret. Thank you. And good luck to Vannisa!
Love your hyphen-pairs! I found myself wishing for one in each stanza. But that might have been over-kill.
Those cardinals. And the robins. Not to mention the wrens. I miss them in the winter, so I try hard not to be annoyed when they come back, loud-proud in the spring.
You teach us too, with your gentle example, Margaret. I hope the song of those cardinals played through your day!