Trees Dream - Uncertainty & Personification

Waving Tree
by Amy LV

Students - This morning I sat on the couch as everyone else in my house slept. The cats were awake, one-by-one rubbing against my legs, looking for snuggles. I sat in a pile of blankets, wondering what to write.  Somehow it felt like I had written everything in me already, as if there were no more ideas.  Of course I knew this was not true, but it felt like that for a little bit.  And it was scary.  But I know that ideas can never be used up, so I wrote anyway, through the fear.

I began writing in my notebook, just anything and everything about my days, and then I picked up a book - THE WAY THINGS WORK - thinking that perhaps I would write a nonfiction poem about a piano.

Then I saw the little tree in our front yard, arms reaching up to the sky.  I looked at the snow all around, and wondered if that little tree wishes for spring as much as I do.  I wondered what it would feel like to be a guardian of a nest, such an important job that trees have.  And I remembered Kristine O'Connell George's book OLD ELM SPEAKS, when Old Elm speaks to a young tree about the moon.  All of that looking and thinking and remembering brought me to write today's poem.

Shop Indie Bound

You'll notice that "Trees Dream" does not have a strong meter or rhyme scheme, but if you read closely, you will notice some similar sounds: skies/lands, chatter/flutter, wings/spring.  This is a list poem, a list of what I think my front yard tree may be thinking and doing on this chilly February day.  It is a poem with personification, because you can see that I give the tree the ability to do things that people do: dream, imagine, wave.

In honor of the idea of sticking with something, not giving up, and believing in persevering through failed attempts, today I am hosting a giveaway!  Last week, rummaging through my (messy) desk, I found two beautiful broadsides of this, my favorite Samuel Beckett quote.  This piece was hand letterpressed in muted metallic inks of blue and silver at the Western New York Book Arts Center in November 2011 and is number 289 out of a limited edition of 350. The size is about 9" by 11". One goes to a commenter, and one stays with me!

Winner to be Announced Friday, February 28!

In happy new publishing news...today I am happy to announce that my first nonfiction picture book, EVERY DAY BIRDS, will be published by Scholastic.  It is simple rhyming text identifying many common birds, and it includes extra facts to be embedded in the illustrations.  I am grateful to my husband Mark and to my friend Bill for their expert early reads and birder advice. No word yet on publication date or illustrator, but you can be sure that I will tell you when I know.

Teacher Friends: Author and poet Laura Purdie Salas is sharing poems and readings at her blog, Writing the World for Kids. One post, she shares a poem or picture, and the next post, she "externalizes her process of reading that poem or picture book." We can learn so much from how others read texts, and as Laura is an author herself, her thinking is valuable for our teaching selves. This week, she shares my "Dusk" from FOREST HAS A SONG. Thank you, Laura!

Karen Edmisten is hosting today's Poetry Friday fest over at Karen Edmisten: The Blog with the Shockingly Clever Title.  That's where you'll find this week's menu of poetry selections all around the Kidlitosphere, and we welcome everyone to join us as readers or sharers, each week.

Please share a comment below if you wish.