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| Lupin Light: sunrise at Lake Tekapo, by Chris Gin |
WAITING WORLD
To read is not like folding socks,
it's like a folding chair
you carry to the garden
to taste the fragrant air.
To write is not like counting words
or seconds on a clock,
it's packing up a picnic lunch
and going for a walk.
A poem doesn't live within
the confines of a room.
You step inside its waiting world
to watch its sunrise bloom.
© 2017 Michelle Heidenrich Barnes. All rights reserved.
Her DMC challenge:
Write a poem that explores how writing (or a book) is like something else.
If you'd like to participate, post your poem on our May 2017 padlet. Other comparison poems featured this week were by Margaret Simon, Brenda Davis Harsham, Jessica Bigi, and Angelique Pacheco. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 26th, and two lucky participants will win either LOVING VS. VIRGINIA by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Shadra Strickland, or LOVE IS by Diane Adams, illustrated by Claire Keane, both published by Chronicle Books earlier this year.
Wonderful rhyme....that fits the tension between what a poem is not....and the looser idea of what a poem is. Very smart! I always learn something from you, Michelle.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda — I learn from you, as well!
DeleteNicely done, Michelle! And it rhymes! Happy Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteWell look at that, so it does! It's been a while since I've rhymed... who knows what else lurks within. ;) Happy Mother's Day, Diane!
DeleteLovely Michelle, yes a poem dwells outside of four walls in its own realm! Happy Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle. Happy Mother's Day to you, too!
DeleteI love that sunrise in the last line. Great poem.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brenda. I'm always tickled when I find just the right photo to go with it, too.
DeleteBeautifully concise, Michelle. To consider each part and make us yearn for that world is the nicest thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Linda.
DeleteBeautiful! I love the invitation to go out and explore a poem rather than to confine it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kay. I've fallen into the trap of trying to confine a poem so many times, you'd think I'd learn by now!
DeleteHow beautiful! I love your description of poetry - it truly is like a garden, alive and blooming, and poets are the loving gardeners!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jane. Your comment reminds me of the Marcel Proust quote, "Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." You could substitute "people" with "poems," don't you think?
DeleteI love your metaphors, your use of folding, your surprising taste the air and sunrise bloom.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Liz!
DeleteWonderful poem, Michelle! Made me feel good all over. :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent, Jama. I was hoping it would. :)
DeleteMichelle, I am in love with this poem of yours and the challenge. Would you offer your poem to my spring gallery? When I catch a breath (literally-allergy season is causing me to feel under the weather most of the days), I will try my hand at your challenge.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words and invitation, Carol. I emailed you. Hope you're feeling better soon!
DeleteOh, Michelle! I adore this poem! It is so true. You have to live if the words are going to flow. Thank you. -- Christie @ https://wonderingandwondering.wordpress.com/blog/
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christie. I'm glad it hit home with you.
DeleteIf I were still teaching, I'd find a nice little spot on the classroom wall for this.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely compliment! Thanks so much, Monica.
DeleteLovely. So gentle and peaceful.
ReplyDeleteThanks, David. :)
DeleteYou've totally captured them! <3
ReplyDeleteThanks, Teresa. Hope you enjoy your Mother's Day! xo
DeleteLove to see you tackling your own challenges...and this is so thought-provoking! You handled the rhyme scheme nicely, too, as it doesn't overpower the sentiment.
ReplyDeleteI better! Occasionally these challenges are the ONLY poem I write all month long. Thank you, Matt.
DeleteYes! Read, Write, Poem!
ReplyDeleteGreat motto, Jone!
DeleteLovely images and a poetic pace in your poem, Michelle!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Violet.
DeleteAll kinds of perfection!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary Lee. I'm not sure I agree about the perfection part, but sometimes you just have to draw a line under it and say "that'll do, pig." :)
DeleteLove the use of this form and the feeling I get when I take a walk with your words.
ReplyDeleteThis is gorgeous, Michelle! I especially love those last lines. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI think "To write is not like counting words
ReplyDeleteor seconds on a clock,
it's packing up a picnic lunch
and going for a walk" would be great to have on a poster in a classroom. Happy Mother's Day, M.!
I agree, though sometimes I like the puzzle component that comes in writing--fitting my picnic lunch into a set number of words!
DeleteI love thinking of a book or poem as a waiting world! Thank you, Michelle for this loveliness... and Happy Mother's Day! xo
ReplyDeleteAppreciations for the fragrant air, surprise walk & glorious sunrise, Michelle.
ReplyDeleteAnd, in rhyme!
Hope your Mother's Day enveloped you in sweetness.