#NPM17 - 4/30 Plus Slice of Life

Join us on Tuesdays with the Two Writing Teachers and others who post. 

"Imaginary gardens with real toads in them.       Marianne Moore's definition of poetry
      

       Poetic things of interest:  
See Irene Latham's  Progressive Poem's schedule on the page above.  
        If you'd like to see what everyone is doing for Poetry Month, look HERE at Jama Rattigan's post at Jama's Alphabet Soup.

      

         It's April,  and I am immersed in poetry. Each day, among all the other posts I'm trying to connect with, I'm writing a poem. My goal for Poetry Month: TINY THINGS. My choices may surprise you, and I'm excited to write, share, and read how everyone writes to meet their special goals for celebrating poetry month.

          Being immersed not only means writing but reading. Today I'm happy to share a new poetry collection and my poem about a "tiny thing."  Michelle Schaub has written a book about a summer activity I imagine all of us look forward to. I hope my sharing about it, that it makes you want summer markets to come soon, and you want more poetry delights.

A Promise

peach pit recalls  

over-bursting ripeness

of summer - 

skin-tearing, fuzz-dancing,

senses-squishing

sunlit green

Linda Baie © All Rights Reserved

            Just in time, a farmer’s market celebration that’s as fun as you can imagine. With Michelle Schaub’s rhyming poetry varies as much as the vegetables, and sweet as all the fruit gives Amy Huntington a chance to illustrate the happiness of all the kinds of people who come to the market, including their dogs. The opening poem, “Market Day Today” is the welcome: “Farmers chat./Musicians play./A neighbor-/stroller-/dog parade.” Amy’s illustration begins with a truck full of the goods. They’ve risen “by silver light”, ready to offer all the bounty they have. There’s humor when Farmer Rick, who “places all his items/into stacks precisely planned.”  has a customer, Miss Mallory, who “picks her produce from/the bottom of the pile!” Oh my, the peppers begin to roll. . . 

             The poems describe the activities we know well, not only what’s there to purchase. For example, there’s a poem about choosing what’s ripe. “Can a tap on an apricot/help you to choose?/How do you pick fruit/that’s ripened just right?” The answer: “Just ask the farmer--/she'll give you a bite.” This is one page I loved and copied.

         There’s also the aroma and tastiness of the fresh-baked goods (“a hint of cinnamon dusted on cupcakes”) and roasted corn on the cob (“Wipe the butter off your chin./Ear to ear, you’re sure to grin.”), a  nod to the live musicians (“fiddles pluck/and banjos strum”), and to the beekeepers’ honey (“liquid gold alchemy"). Not only is every page filled with delicious words, but the colorful and entertaining illustrations by Amy show all kinds of activities being enjoyed by a diverse group of people, including one family’s dog “running” through the book with a few hilarious results. I enjoyed them very much.

         I won’t share every exciting thing, but there is much more. And on this early April day, Michelle’s book makes me want to hurry the time for real “Fresh-Picked Poetry” at the farmer’s market.
          You can find more about Michelle here at the publisher, Charlesbridge.