Star by Sarah Hazel
In a field of bluebonnets,
cockerpoo smiles for the Sky.
Royal Star of prairie grass.
Joy twinkles in his Star-eyes,
Inspiration for Sarah’s
hand to oil majestic poise.
–Margaret Simon, (c) 2018
This pet portrait looks just like my childhood dog, Lucky. I was drawn in immediately, but the poem was elusive. When I struggle with a poem, I often turn to form to guide me. This one became a septercet, stanzas of three lines with seven syllables each. Jane Yolen created the septercet.
Words are another hurdle, so I Googled bluebonnets and collected words. The dog’s name is Star, but I decided to also capitalize Sky as if it is a character in the poem. Sarah is the artist, and Joy is one of her daughters. To see more of Sarah Hazel’s art, click here.
Reflections on the Teche 
Beautiful portrait and poem that remembers Lucky, too. I like that “Joy twinkles”. Dogs are so precious to us.
I love the “Star-eyes”–and the process notes here. I’ve been trying to write about my dog since last month and it’s not working. I am going to take a note from you and try FORM to help me. Thank you! Such amazing joy in this portrait.
I look forward to reading about your dog. I wanted this poem to be about Lucky, but that didn’t happen. We have to follow the muse.