One of the best things about summer is having time to be creative. I’ve enjoyed designing collages on marbleized notebooks as well as writing poems for the Summer Poem Swap, coordinated by Tabatha Yeatts. The third exchange I sent off a notebook to Tabatha herself. And she gifted me with a poetic zine, Today’s Poem (after me, after Cheryl Dumesnil’s Today’s Sermon.)
More about making a zine from Tabatha here.
I love this personal-to-me poem, especially the line about toy phones. I’ve been answering a lot of toy phones lately with my little grands, and I love how this one line captures the Joy of being with them in just a few words. The magic of poetry! Thanks, Tabatha, for organizing this fun and meaningful exchange and for being my partner for this round.
Today’s poem
riffles through a pile of
to-do lists,
looking for blank paperToday’s poem
answers calls
from toy phonesToday’s poem
hears sunflowers’
reminders to feed the birdsToday’s poem
clicks like a typewriter
while it’s nappingToday’s poem
refracts a rainbow
into your bathwaterToday’s poem
runs back and forth
through an imaginary sprinklerToday’s poem
Tabatha Yeatts, (for Margaret Simon, Summer Poem Swap 2021)
fills your tank
and walks you to your car
Reflections on the Teche 