I Love Granny Square Afghans
(I buy them at thrift stores...)
Photo by Amy LV
Students - Valentine's Day, the holiday of love, is just around the corner. And today's poem is a celebration of love. The other afternoon, I was walking with my husband, and I loved kicking a round rock down the sidewalk. Yesterday evening, our daughter said, "I love drinking water!" And always, I love black ink and cheese.
One of my favorite poets, Billy Collins, has written a poem (and a book) titled "Aimless Love." This poem is about loving the small things of life, and am quite sure that his poem planted a poemseed in my mind, a poemseed that grew into today's "Did You Know."
Writing is very much about love and falling in love with feathers and pumpkin muffins, socks and bike rides. And Valentine's Day is a cozy time to think about how many good things there are to love in our world. There are many many.
Today's poem does not rhyme, but you will notice some repetition. Sometimes writers repeat lines throughout a poem and sometimes at the beginning and end of a poem. I've done both in this one, and you can try repeating in one of these ways too should you wish. Writing techniques are free for the sharing. I love that.
What do you love?
If you write a poem today...will you play with repetition?
Love
Repeat
Love
Repeat
Love
Repeat
Last week I was honored to host teacher Holly Van Epps and her eighth grade poets with their haunting free verse poems written in refugee voices. Please be sure to read their words if you have not yet done so. And Tony Johnston's beautiful book, VOICE FROM AFAR: POEMS OF PEACE, will soon be on its way to giveaway winner Linda B. Please send me snail mail address, Linda, and I will get your book in the mail to you.
Katie is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup over at The Logonauts. Head over there for poems, ideas, and community. We are a welcoming group....and we welcome you!
Please share a comment below if you wish.
My OLW is cherish for 2017. I haven't felt much like cherishing lately. This poem is one to cherish as are granny square afghans and poems about love. Thanks for helping me feel this way today. I'll try to cherish, repeat, cherish, repeat.
ReplyDeleteSome small things I love: buttons, a rock from Lake Michigan, ladybugs, a barnacled stone from the Pacific Ocean, miniature books, earrings, eyelashes, snowflakes... Thank you for your poem, Amy! xo
ReplyDeleteSo many small things to love...a mug of hot cocoa, snuggling under warm blankets, a visit home from my college daughter. Thank you for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteI love small things, too. I see many of them wandering the gift shop of a science museum, colored stones, fossils, flashlights, shells. So many good things in the world. Your poem is one.
ReplyDelete"You can love something small." What a delicious prompt. I love hummingbirds, rocks, flowers, and cookies!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many things (and people) that I love - my family has been going through a tough spot recently, and I've been really touched by the simple but so very meaningful ways that our friends have been showing us their love - sometimes just sitting with a friend and eating greasy pizza can be a perfect expression of love. :-)
ReplyDeleteAll those small things make my life a lot better, I know, Amy. Your poem, that 'small' thing is something else to love, too. I'm excited to win Tony's book, know it is a just right one for this time in our lives. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteA good reminder to enjoy the little things in life that are so important...nicely done, Amy.
ReplyDeleteI love coming to The Poem Farm to find your warm, generous words and heart waiting. Thank you for this reminder that there is much in this life to be cherished, despite the worries of the wider world.
ReplyDeleteIt's true! There ARE many many!
ReplyDeleteAmy, I love granny square afghans too. I made one for each of my grandchildren and my grandnephew. I love crocheting and used to do it often. Now, my fingers aren't quite so flexible and holding a hook has gotten more difficult. Your poem is a good reminder to take time to notice and enjoy all the things we love.
ReplyDeleteAmy your poems are always full of love....not romantic love...but love of what you come into contact with. And, I LOVE how they inspire me to think of what I experience. I admit to NOT loving the granny square afghan. I have memories of itchy, scratchy afghans in my past. LOL! But, there are many hand-knit and crotched things that I adore.....mostly those made by my mom. In fact, I am cozied up under an afghan crotched by my mom, that when I washed it years ago was destroyed....but then mended by her. It's my favorite way to feel connected to my mom's love. Hugs to you this Valentine's Day.
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's, Amy. Life is full of small things to love. Thank goodness for small things.
ReplyDeleteWe need to flood the world with love repeat love repeat love repeat love.
ReplyDeleteThat's the beauty of loving small things, you can carry them around with you, and glory in the power of love your very own pocket: that button, shell, bit of ribbon.
ReplyDeleteLove love love. Especially that "brown moth/with soft tree bark wings." Thanks for always being a voice for the small and notice-worthy - XO
ReplyDeleteAnd not just small *things* but small moments, of course, like that moment when every one in the class has a buddy and a book that they love, or the moment when the whole family is in stitches at the dinner table and you can't remember why you're even laughing so hard, or the moment when you see that the photo is of the camel's shadows, not the camel...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.moillusions.com/national-geographics-shadow-camels/
Wishing you LOVEly Valentine's Day, Amy.
Thanks for this cozy reminder that we need not be stingy with love--there's enough for all the big and small things!
ReplyDelete