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| re-cycled papers collage. Linda M. Jan '22 |
Hello, 2022 Poets,
Thank you, Carol, for hosting the first round-up of this year. The Inkling challenge for this month comes from Heidi.
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| Read the rest here |
This poem has lots going on with a rhyme scheme and meter and stanzas -- and its tone is of a long-ago memory for young readers. All of us charged into writing only to find out that there was an ingredient our efforts left out of early drafts. This, of course, made the challenge more fun! In the end, we encouraged each other to drop rigidly sticking to the recipe and just "write the thing." That ends up being the most fun.
Here's my latest revision.
We sit on the stairs
top step of today
still in jammies but wide awake
wiping sleep-spun webs away
a whole sun’s rise to share.
We climb up the stairs
after a morning of play
lunchtime yummies, toys put away
Mom says, after nap time today
there'll be long shadow hours to share
We run downstairs
into late afternoon
recharged and refreshed,
set to zoom
to the swingset –
we fly to the moon
spaceship adventures to share
We sit on the stairs
bottom step of today
after bath sleepy – still awake
we read storybooks before we pray
then sleep ‘neath starry sky we share.
Linda Mitchell. All rights reserved
Find more Inkling responses to the Lost Lagoon challenge:
My one-little-word, star, is on a new padlet for 2022. Right now, it's a little lonely single poem. Friends will join soon. A couple of snow days after winter break provided time for extra play-time at my craft table. Thank you, Mother Nature! Have a look at Star's new padlet:
https://padlet.com/mitchellhubeimom/4bzbfu2cg5k7awk5
Linda, I just posted. I thought I would be able to post earlier but my family came to dinner and arrived later than expected. It took us until a half-hour ago to have the children fall asleep but I do so appreciate that they the entire family is here and under our roof. I do so love what you wrote and the dreamy, endless possibilities that your word star presents. Thank you so much for the fabulous poetry postcard. It goes beyond expectations as does the power of voice in today's poem. May the stars shine bright on your journey this year. Off to read your SJT now.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I love this final version. It's just right, like a tuck in from Mom at the end of the day. I grabbed your star logo. Can I use it, too? I love your collage work.
ReplyDeleteOf course you...and anyone who wants to use it for Poetry Friday may use it.
DeleteI love your Star logo, Linda. Thank you.
DeleteIt's a lovely capture of a child's day with a nostalgic old-fashioned tone, Linda. Best wishes for visiting the sky with your star all the year!
ReplyDeleteDear Linda, you ARE a star! I love your collage and look forward to all the brightness and gentle glow-y-ness this word will bring you (and us!) during 2022. xo
ReplyDeleteThis was quite the challenging challenge! You did a great job bringing this day to life. I can see those little loves scurrying up and down the stairs, savoring each moment of their "whole sun’s rise to share."
ReplyDeleteWhat a rhythmically wonderful poem Heidi offered, Emily Pauline Johnson really draws you in and paints an image with her words. You did a grand write with you poem Linda! I love this line, "wiping sleep-spun webs away," and the playful use of stairs and title "Stairsteps" taking us through the day—as the mentor poem takes us through the lagoon, lovely. I'm headed to take a peek at your star poem, beautiful collaged star also, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis model poem is such a gift. I love the way it captures the magic of a childhood spent outdoors, which you reflect so well in your poem, Linda. "After nap time today/ there'll be long shadow hours to share" -- I see and feel the lazy afternoon spent in play. --Laura Shovan
ReplyDeleteLinda, I love the way your poem takes us through a child's day. The imagery and language are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou really managed that rhyme scheme well, Linda. The poem helps me recall that joy that siblings share. Thanks for introducing me to Johnson's work. It really so dreamlike, other worldly.
ReplyDeleteLinda, I just adore that Poetry Friday star! May I snag it for my own sidebar? (I see I'm not the only one asking.) The stairsteps conceit is wonderful--a place but not a place, a time but not a time--in the treasured day of young childhood. Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteOf course—the star can be used for poetry Friday by anybody.
DeleteLike others here, I'm in awe of your Poetry Friday star collage, Linda. Marvelous!
ReplyDeleteLove the way the Stairsteps poem helps us enter into a child's day.
Your first Star poem is wonderful as well. I especially like these lines:
>>
following
what sparks your soul.
<<
Happy New Year!
So much STARlight from you here in this new year, Linda - Thank you! Also, I'm struck by how similar this poem by Emily Pauline Johnson is to the one you shared on your postcard by Sara Teasdale - same general time period, too. All sigh-worthy!
ReplyDeleteA poem about stairs just goes to show that you are always 'up' to something, Linda! Like your awesome PF star - you are SO 'bright'! :)
ReplyDeleteThe fourth stanza to stretch out the journey down the stairs made this just perfect! I love it SO much, especially the language you use to mark time. Huzza!
ReplyDeletePS -- thanks for sharing the PF Logo for 2022!! Shine on, Fellow Poets!
DeleteI love your response to this challenge, Linda, and how you take us through the day on those steps. I'm especially fond of that first stanza. Your star poem is a delight and I'm excited for this next journey of yours--how nice of you to invite us to tag along! I love the energy and optimism in your poem--"following/what sparks your soul"--what a perfect way to begin the year. PS I'm also a huge fan of your PF star. Your collage art is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI love how the day progresses down the stairs. And that rocket stanza! So much love in this.
ReplyDelete