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I’ve been following Elisabeth Ellington’s blog for at least 4, maybe 5 years. We’ve actually met in person a few times at NCTE, and when we’ve had occasion to sit next to each other, we talk incessantly like two introverts in the sea. Elisabeth lives in South Dakota, far north from Louisiana. Nevertheless, we connect over our love of nature. Yesterday on her blog the dirigible plum, she wrote a post with the title, “What did you Fall in Love with Today?”
As I read her post, a poem began to write itself in my head. I could connect emotionally to all that she wrote. I didn’t know anything about pronghorn, so I did a Google search (something else that Elisabeth mentions loving) and found this information on the National Wildlife Federation site.
Pronghorn are one of North America’s most impressive mammals. Not only do pronghorn have the longest land migration in the continental United States, they also are the fastest land animal in North America. Pronghorn can run at speeds close to 60 miles an hour. Even more amazing than its speed is the pronghorn’s migration. Herds of pronghorn migrate 150 miles each way between Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin and Grand Teton National Park. The only other land animal to travel farther in North America is the caribou.
I’m in Love
found poem from Elisabeth Ellington’s Slice of LifeI’m in love
with the moon
over snow-covered hills
white,
then yellow.I’m in love
with clouds
before sunrise
Venus bright
in the East.I’m in love
with a field of pronghorn
lying in the snow
legs curled beneath
for warmth.I’m even in love
with this open parking spot
right in front
of my favorite coffee shop.I’m in love
with warm fires,
curled up cats,
and always,
every day
with my mug
of coffee.What do you love today?
Reflections on the Teche 