Tuesday, March 7, 2017

DMC: "Ode to Spring Soil" by Michelle Kogan




ODE TO SPRING SOIL

You feel soft and squishy, as her
shoes ooze over with clumps of your midnight mix.
Your earthy scent magnifies, as she moves toward you.
Swish, her foot slips and she sloshes down,
sliding to the ground; savoring your richness between her wet lips.
Why have you softened so early? Spring Soil,
for centering and slowing her, before the rush of summer.
 
© 2017 Michelle Kogan. All rights reserved.


Helen Frost has challenged us to write an ode poem this month, following these instructions:
Choose an object (a seashell, a hairbrush, a bird nest, a rolling pin). It should not be anything symbolic (such as a doll, a wedding ring, or a flag). Write five lines about the object, using a different sense in each line (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). Then ask the object a question, listen for its answer, and write the question, the answer, or both.
Click HERE to read her sample poem, "Ode to a River."

Post your poem on our March 2017 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, March 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her latest novel-in-poems from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/Macmillan:






16 comments:

  1. Nicely done, Michelle! I love the attention you paid to Helen Frost's sample, and all those squishy, slip-slidy "s" words. I'll make sure to watch my step. :)

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  2. Thanks Michelle, Helen Frost's Sample was marvelous, and inspiring! Thanks for featuring my spring poem today.

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  3. Oh, Michelle, I'd love to have some "soft and squishy" right now. Love it all, and that word "centering" is meaningful for what we wish for spring.

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    1. Thanks Linda! The soil is definitely soft here, I don't think we're going to get another hard freeze, but you never can tell in Chicago . . .

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  4. Spring Soil is good for the soul, Michelle. Love me some earthy squish. =)

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  5. OK, that's the prettiest description of a face plant I've ever read. Isn't the early spring delightful?! I love this. Thank you!

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    1. Thanks Linda M., a face plant for an earthy soul!

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  6. Wonderful, Michelle. I love the playfulness of your words. And anything about spring makes me happy.

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    1. Thanks David, I think those that are fond of soil find the fun in it too!

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  7. I agree with Linda, best description of the face plant ever. I also love "midnight mix" and all the consonance.

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  8. Thanks Brenda, the sssquishy sounds are so much a part of spring!

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  9. The alliteration is delightful, Michelle. Spring is a centering agent.

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  10. Thanks Carol, I'm looking forward to Spring!

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  11. Oh Michelle, This makes me remember how Spring soil is like clay! It becomes a medium of artistry for the gardener. Appreciations & happy planting!

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  12. Thanks Jan, I'm looking forward to planting!

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