Poetry Friday - Wildlife Hiding

          Laura Shovan hosts our Poetry Friday today with snow!  Thanks for hosting, Laura!

           When I received Sarah Grace Tuttle's name for our Winter Swap I knew what I could write about, nature. Yet, re-reading her beautiful debut book Hidden City-Poems of Urban Wildlife left me a bit daunted. I read and reviewed it in the spring and loved it so much I bought it. Now I had Sarah's name and pulled out her book again, loved it again, and finally crafted a poem I thought would please. Here's my review of her book. If you haven't read and seen it, you must. 

             This is the poetry book to have for spring, as plants grow and all animals emerge more often, some not so welcome, but they are here, in the city! It is also for summer, then autumn and winter. Animals are busy all year. 
          In her debut book, Sarah Grace Tuttle has written twenty-eight poems about creatures and places of the city, finding living spaces that often vary from those in the country. And her pleasing and poetic words offer a new way to "pay attention", like to those sparrows that "chitter-cheep softly" waiting for rain to stop, or at the pond, "two ducks dabble down", and a "Falcon Fledge" where a young falcon "fumble-flies down/to a roof across the street: first flight." She includes some of my favorites, one found in wetlands by a nearby pond, the red-winged blackbirds, others in wooded areas, the great-horned owl, and those I only see at dusk, those little brown-bats. 
         The flora and fauna of Sarah's poems give illustrator Amy Schimler-Safford a wide array of places to create with her gorgeous mixed-media habitats. From outside in marshes, abandoned city lots and cemeteries, Amy's designs blend with Sarah's poetry beautifully. I especially love the page and poem titled "Sunflowers", showing all the things these beauties feed, like "bee, butterfly, sparrow, squirrel, me."
          At the back is a small paragraph of more information about each creature or place featured, plus "suggestions for further investigation".  If you believe only those in rural areas have wildlife encounters, you are mistaken. Sarah has shown that in this book of poetry about twenty-eight city wonders.

           And here is my poem. Luckily we had one snow that gave me inspiration.

Too hard to read?

Winter Blessed

Tree shadows laid

on snow displayed.

Small tracks made,

squirrel raid.

I fancy a walk this morning 

after the evening snow.

Sun-sparkled crystals light the lawn.

I venture out to see who has come and gone.

Squirrels, bunnies, crows do not hesitate

to run, leap and fly into the garden,

hungry for what can be found–

seeds and nuts, grass stems.

A meal from nature or from me– 

never ignored.

Sun melts enough snow 

for a puddle drink. 

It feels good to know I’m not alone,

wandering.

Linda Baie © All Rights