Poetry Friends! I have a new book coming out next month: Wood Duck Diary: Tanka poems in English and French.
I wrote the book of tanka and haibun poems to capture the miracle that my husband and I have witnessed each year by watching a Ring camera in our wood duck house.
Irene Latham wrote: “Readers of all ages will JUMP at the chance to celebrate the life of wood ducks in this inviting volume. Delightful verse, scientific facts, and striking photographs combine in this heartwarming tale of real-life animal adventure (and the humans that make it happen).”
The humans that made this book happen are my dear friends David Dahlquist and Mary Ubinas, through a donation to the TECHE Project. All proceeds will benefit the TECHE Project. One of the goals of the TECHE Project is to promote the well being of wood ducks along the 135 miles of the Bayou Teche through educational workshops and placement of wood duck houses.
My hope is this small book will inspire others to take the time to notice and wonder about nature and our environment. Wood ducks are beautiful birds that were once considered endangered. When we watch the dozen or more ducklings jump from the house a mere 24 hours after hatching, we do not know their fate. I don’t like to think about all the dangers lurking in the bayou waters, so I write poems about them. I’m sharing a few here. The book is available now on Amazon. I will receive my first shipment in a few weeks, so you can also order from me.
February 24
House Hunting (Haibun)
The hens are showing up! Now that the drake scouts have identified a safe nesting box and area, it is time for the hen’s approval as they begin to inspect the boxes for themselves.
Dawn, when sunbeams stream,
an expectant glow invites
a wood duck couple—Female shimmies through the hole,
Chatter-chipper to her mate.la maison de chasse
L’aube, quand les rayons du soleil coulent,
une lueur d’attente inviteun couple de branchus—
La femelle se trémousse dans le trou,
Chatter-chipper à son compagnon.Margaret Simon, from Wood Duck Diary
New Chicks
Gentle peeps echo.
Jumping onto mother hen,
New chicks jitterbug.
Like petals on a pinwheel
fluffy down spins together.
Nouveaux poussins
Doux piaulements résonnent.
Sautant sur maman canne,
Nouveaux poussins font le jitterbug.
Comme des pétales sur un moulinet
duvet moelleux tourne en rond.
Margaret Simon, from Wood Duck Diary
Reflections on the Teche 
When William was 5 or 6, the BBC series Planet Earth was broadcast for the first time and we became enamored of the scene describing mandarin ducklings leaving the nest, just like wood ducks.
This connection has had me coming back to your duck cam to watch their miraculous journeys. I’m so glad you’ve written about it! Can’t wait to see your book.
Please email me your address so I can send you a copy.
How exciting! Congratulations Margaret and thank you for your worthwhile efforts to promote and preserve wildlife. I love the cover art from Michelle – adorable! So wonderful that you include both French and English versions; it’s fun to look at them side by side.
So many congratulations, Margaret! Writing a new book here in your early retirement is a way to jump from a nest. A beautiful way. Knowing you have been watching the wee wood ducks through a camera brings me a lot of happiness. And so cool to collaborate with Michelle. Many happy new adventures! (And too, thank you for your tip about the Enneagram emails – I subscribed!) xo, a.
What is your number?
4. You?
Same!
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Okay, this is ridiculously exciting – TWO of our Poetry Friday stalwarts together! And I love that you wrote them in French as well – so those of us can drag out our creaky college French and brush it off with such a delightful topic. Lovely!
Ha! I am no French speaker, so the translation was done by some trusted friends. It leans more to Cajun French as that is the dialect of our area.
Tanita, I am finding it ridiculously hard to comment on your blog. WordPress wants me to sign in and when I do, it doesn’t recognize my password. I want you to know that I read your post this week and marvel at the magical way you put your words and ideas together. I hope to figure out how to leave a proper comment on your blog.
Thank you!
I’m sorry that WordPress is weird… the issue is, I believe, a variance between the platform of WordPress.com and WordPress.org – which came from a long-ago split between the original WordPress people. Neither will recognize the other’s passwords and the average person can’t tell which is which. I added Google and FB password logins to use to help smooth that over, but it doesn’t always work. Apologies!
Looks wonderful Margaret, many congratulations!!!🎉 I look forward to reading all the poem adventures!
Congratulations, Margaret! I’m excited for you! Michelle’s cover art is so adorable! It’s just like your photographs! I love your haibun’s beautiful imagery, facts about the ducks, sounds, rhyme, and word choices. Chatter-chipper! Jitterbug! I’m looking forward to buying your book and reading the rest of it. 🙂
Congratulations, Margaret! Wonderful that Michelle provided the art. Looking forward to reading all your poems.
Hooray! I love that this book exists in the world, AND it’s bilingual. I need a copy for our French teacher. We are planning visualization lessons in the library. This would be a perfect text to read from.
How wonderful. Congratulations. They look like they’d be wonderful to watch each year.
Congratulations on the new book. What a wonderful project to be a part of (and Michelle’s cover is adorable)! I love the idea of chicks jitterbugging. 🙂 Yes to wildlife conservation!!
Margaret, a new book to kick off your retirement days-Congratulations! Michelle’s artwork is adorable. I never heard of wood ducks before but they look so adorable in the cover and they jitterbug. I look forward to seeing you in Denver. Your grandkids must love your book.
HUZZAH! Congratulations to both you and Michelle! She captured the joy of the jump perfectly! Love that your poems are in both English and Cajun French. Perfect.
Beautiful book, beautiful project, and beautiful that you’ve included French translations too! Michelle’s cover is beyond charming. Congratulations, Margaret!
P.S. to you and Amy: I’m an Enneagram 4 too. 🙂
Fours tend to be poets. I love the good things about 4’s but some days the emotions are just too much!
I’ll give an amen to that, Margaret. 😀
I adore wood ducks! My parents get them on their little lagoon in Wisconsin 🙂 And how beautiful, writing these bilingually!
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