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 