I received an advance copy of a new poetry book from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. Have you ever read a book that just feels good in your hands?
Poems for Every Season: A Year of Haiku, Sonnets, and More by Bette Westera offers a number of different poetry forms translated by David Colmer. Each page is a comforting woodcut design by Henriette Boerendans.
Each poem is a delight of language, form, imagery, and the miracles of nature.
The final poem is a sonnet for February. Just when you think it’s warm enough to go outside and sow some seeds, winter makes another appearance.
Prompted by Susan Brisson in Laura Shovan’s February Challenge to write a Cento poem, I turned each page of this book to find a poem.
Roaming the Seasons
Pale petals drift down
Green buds will soon be showing on trees.
Velvety bees
Carving a nest
Buzz by
Among the yellow buttercups
Clear
I need sun
Under a blanket of leaves
Gathering growing sheltering
All curled up in my cozy bed.
We like it here and we stay.
Cento by Margaret Simon from Poems For Every Season by Bette Westera, translated by David Colmer.
Reflections on the Teche 
Margaret, your Cento tour thu the seasons of this lovely looking poetry collection is a mighty fine trip. Appreciations for introducing me to Bette Westera translator David Colmer & woodcut designer, Henriette Boerendans. Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Beautiful and rich new poetry book, lovely art too, thanks for sharing “Poems for Every Season!” And your nature filled cento poem helps to chase away some of February, I love the sun ☀️ in there!
Margaret, thank you for the poem from the new book. I especially liked the ending. I have not finished my Cento poem yet but love how the lines in your poem flow so beautifully. “I I need sun” is a line that I cherish. As I woke to find another gray sky day, I wanted to shout out that line. Thankfully someone heard it and the sky opened up to a sunny, melting-down-snow afternoon. Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.
Lovely cento, Margaret. I also received a copy of that beautiful book but didn’t think of using it as creatively as you did. I also wrote a cento this week, so we must be on the same wavelength. Your postcard arrived today (thank you!) which is why you weren’t included in my post. I’ll try to remember to fix that next week.
No worries. I got mine out later than I had hoped to. Cento poems are fun to do.
Eerdmans creates such gorgeous books! Lucky you to get an advanced copy!
Your cento turned out beautifully! Slowly, slowly our snow is melting away. I’m anxious for spring, but I don’t want plants and animals to get too far ahead of themselves!
Margaret, thank you for your cento tour of these pages. Lovely! xo
What a nice idea for this book, to write a cento. It’s a beautiful review of the poems, as I found myself reading each line and pondering it, thinking of the poems from which they came. Lovely post.
Margaret, don’t you love the way a cento can become a review of a book? Reading yours, I KNOW I’d like the book it came from.
Wow! What gorgeous pages. I definitely want to get my hands on a copy. Your cento is such a lovely way to review this book. Thank you!
late to your celebration of this new book, Margaret, a busy day, but now I’ve so enjoyed knowing this new one, then reading your sharing of your love of nature in a cento. “We like it here and we stay.” brings a big laugh. I don’t blame them!
Nature is such a tease! Thank you for sharing this collection, Margaret.
I like thinking about those velvety bees, carving a nest. So tactile. Thanks for the cento and the postcard!
I love “velvety bees” and the whole cento is lovely. The book, too, is gorgeous!
Adding my thanks, along with others, for your postcard!
“I need sun,” too! We are expected to get a tease of spring later in the week, but it won’t be the real thing quite yet. But I’ll take it. Thank you for your creative poem and for sharing this book – what gorgeous woodcuts!