Poetic Luncheon

It's the first Friday of the school year. I've had so much fun!

Literally, kids have been gasping with glee, skipping and pointing out favorite books to each other in the library. What joy. The kids are going to be alright. Really. 

Last Sunday, I had the nicest time visiting our friend Carol Varsalona at her beautiful new home in Virginia.  She was so gracious, opening the door a bit early and keeping up with my chatter. It's incredibly fun and nice to meet a Poetry Friday friend in real life.

Carol's print...and Linda's Ekphrastic Skinny

We knew we had to share our meeting somehow for Poetry Friday...talked about it and forgot and then as I was leaving to get ready for the first day of school on Monday we quickly threw each other a prompt and a wave goodbye until next time.

Carol's print...and Linda's Ekphrastic Skinny

I admired some of the lovely Harrison Fisher antique prints Carol is putting up on her walls. She sent me some photos of those and I gave her a basket of goodies to think about.

The skinny form seemed to fit these classic beauties.

Isn't that great? I wish we could all meet. 

Hamish and I found an old postcard for sale on eBay and thought it needed a good story...suitable for a Grandox. Have a peek at his padlet. 

Please visit Elizabeth at Unexpected Intersections for this week's Poetry Roundup. 

Carol's print...and Linda's Ekphrastic Skinny

Hooray for Air Conditioning!

How are we doing Poets?

There's so much going on in our world right now it's hard to keep score. From Afghanistan to Haiti to the Pacific Northwest, there are serious, life-threatening situations -- oh, and hey, a pandemic still rages. I'm trying to keep up with the world and back-to-school and an air conditioning unit broken since Sunday. Ack! I thought I'd write an ode to our air conditioner. But you know what? It's too hot! 

I do have a full and grateful heart for the lovely poetry swap items from Rebecca Herzog and Mary Lee Hahn. They are beautiful and delightfully practical for a poeming librarian.

Found Poem and bookmarks by Rebecca Herzog

old legends
constructed of layers, and
layers
turn a circle
never end
all are mysterious corridors
that take you
to distant parts of the world

~Words found by Rebecca Herzog

Mary Lee created a custom haiku/dodoitsu oracle deck of phrases from Hamish's padlet. So fun! 

Hamish and I have had many artistic disagreements already on what line goes where in our new poems. Thank you, Mary Lee! We love this so much.

Here are some haiku arranged by Hamish and me from the oracle deck.

Fun times with Hamish...who's generally agreeable to my suggestions.

There is a new poem on Hamish's padlet this week involving ancient cuneiform. Have a look: 

Make sure to stop by The Apples in My Orchard for a full dose of poetry goodness. Thank you, Carol!

PS....we just got the air conditioner back! Woot!

Birds for Christie

 Hello Poets,

I am likely packing a van or just on the road as you read this. Two out of my three college kiddos are headed to school this weekend. Wouldn't it be nice if they went to schools in relatively the same direction as the four-hour drive from home? Sigh. 

Hamish and I teamed up to find a bird for Christie who is hosting our round-up today. 

Thank you, Wondering and Wandering! 

The bird we found is the oxpecker. I had never heard of this bird before and the name kinda made Hamish giggle. 

Red Oxpecker. Botswana. Unsplash

As it turns out there are two types of oxpecker in Africa, the Red Bill of the Sub-Saharan and western region (think Senegal to Botswana) and the Yellow Bill of the east (Ethiopia). It was really fun finding facts about these birds that eat the ticks, larvae, flies, and even blood from wounds on cattle and oxen that led to the poem below.

(c) Linda Mitchell. Na naga Jam! means hello. Inideti aderiki means good morning.

Ox and Oxpecker collage by Linda August 21

Eeek! I meant to share wonderful Summer Poetry Swap gifts ... but I didn't get photos taken in time. Next week!

Inspired by Wordless Picture Book

Hello Poets,

Happy August! Thank you, Mary Lee, for hosting this week's round-up. Make sure to visit her snazzy new site for poem goodies. 

Guess what? the group formerly known as Swaggers is now Inklings! I like the name Inklings much more than swaggers...I think we all do. 

Our August challenge is to write an ekphrastic poem in response to a favorite scene in a wordless picture book. This challenge was inspired by Catherine who was inspired by a current exhibit at the Eric Carle Museum.

First off, choose just one? I always have trouble with choosing one of anything! But, I narrowed my favorites down to two along the same theme. As it turns out, I took inspiration from a favorite poem as well. Win-win.

Weisner, David. Illustration for Flotsam. (Clarion/Houghton Mifflin). 2006 (c) David Weisner

When

Inspired by Walt Whitman

I listened to the renowned marine biologist

When the slides, and statistics, were displayed on screen,

When I considered ocean temperatures, acidity levels, and deoxygenation

When I heard the scientist share findings with gravity,

How agitated and restless I became.

How I slipped away, wandered out of doors, down the steps, to the shore.

Embraced by salt and afternoon sun, I dug toes deep into cooler sand

and made my way to surf-lace bubbling over shells and rocks and weeds.

I bent down for a closer look, enchanted by tiny creatures

and I recalled myself.

(c) Linda Mitchell 8/21

Suzy Lee. Illustration for Wave (Chronicle Books) 2008. (c) Suzy Lee

More inklings responses:
Catherine
Margaret
Heidi
Molly

Hamish wrote his own poem this week. He is a bit of a cheeky ox with a word about Taurus. See it on his padlet. 

Oh, I have some Summer Poetry Swap goodies to share, thanks to Tabatha, but I'm saving those for next week. 

August Spiritual Thursday

It's August --Wow!

These weeks of summer have been sweet. I'm now preparing a middle school library for real, live students. There are new books, re-arranged furniture for cozy reading and I am ready for in-person work.

Early in 2021 when Margaret set up the schedule for Spiritual Thursday I typed in the word respect for this month. I probably had some reason for respect but I can't remember what it was (I no idea the movie was coming out this month)!

What a puzzle...how to pull those two words together? 

But, this summer I've rested and it has been good. I have respected my spirit.

July to August 

Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matt 11:28

Sacred my rest 

peace everyday 

inviting soul to solace 

renewing purpose 

I thank my creator. 

Time to renew is a treasure.

(c) Linda Mitchell 8/1/21

I look forward to seeing your response to this month's prompt. Please leave your link in the comments below. I'll summarize a link list.

Carol's thoughtful post on respect and relationship

Denise's provocative idea of walking with people instead of...
Margaret on the last day of break

Fran with a beautiful connected post
Ruth returned to Haiti minus suitcases has wisdom

Karen with what respect is

Ramona with a fabulous and different take on respect
Chris who I think is singing my song

One of my favorite places to rest...rolling hills of western, New York State photo: LM 7/4/21