Oh, the night has been nibbling the day!
We barely notice it slipping away,

Until the morning’s been swallowed by night,
And we stumble to breakfast, starving for light.

We wonder what happened to sunlight at dinner,
Finally aware that the days have grown thinner.

That’s when we welcome our families to feast,
To light the candles, and look to the east,

Knowing the night has finished its snack,
And tomorrow the day will start biting back!


For me the worst thing about winter isn’t the cold. It’s the dark. The early dusk makes me tired and ready for bed. Our ancestors were wise to establish traditions that bring light and warmth to the winter darkness. Imagine how terrible the depths of winter would seem without the candles, the cookies, and the togetherness.

Thanks to Heidi for organizing a new celebration of light and togetherness and for hosting today’s Poetry Friday.

Happy Holidays.

(c) 2012 Elizabeth Ehrenfest Steinglass, all rights reserved

 

You might think
This mobile home’s
A perfect fit
For those who roam,
But this big wheel
Tends to sag,
So, actually,
It’s more of a drag.

I confess I have this fantasy that somewhere there’s a writer who is so amazing, he or she doesn’t have to revise. But I know in my heart of hearts that this perfect first-draft writer doesn’t exist. Everyone revises. Revising is part of writing. It’s necessary, and sometimes it’s even fun. It can be a process involving play, exploration, and discovery. I like looking back at what I’ve written to see what I’ve said, what seems to want to be said, and then revising to say it more clearly or artfully. As someone who enjoys revising and as an observer of kid-writers who tie themselves in knots trying to write perfectly the first time, I’ve been wanting to share some of my revisions. So below is the first part of what happened between finding the snail and this week’s poem. This is straight from my notebook:

Maybe you think
It’s so convenient
To have a mobile home?
Actually, if it has no wheels
It’s actually kind of a drag.
Drag sag wag brag tag flag bag gag hag jag lag nag rag stag
Actually it’s hard to wag
And since it’s heavy
It’s more of a drag.
Actually
it tends to sag
and it’s hard to wag
So having a shell
Is honestly,
More of a drag.
And it has no wheels
So it’s more of a drag.
You might think
I have cause to brag

I think you can see that my first attempt wasn’t so much about writing a good poem as it was about getting an idea going—discovering a seed that I could tend and grow. I also think you can see that I found that seed there right in the first five lines—the snail’s point of view, the misconception, and the word drag. Where did these ideas come from? The snail. This poem started when I leaned over to get a good look at the little guy, and I was struck by how hard he seemed to be working to drag that shell around.
I think you can also see that I pretty quickly settled on the word drag because of its double meaning. Once I decided to go with drag, I had the voice of the poem, and I had the beginning of the rhyme scheme. I then started exploring different options that rhyme with drag, like wag and brag. You can see that after a bit of experimenting, I went back to some words I had early on—mobile home, wheel, and sag. Once I had these pieces, the rest came together without too much trouble.
When I look back at my process, I think maybe I don’t need that fantasy of the perfect first-draft writer. I think maybe that perfect first-draft writer is missing all the fun.
For more Poetry Friday see Robyn Hood Black at Read, Write, Howl.

(c) 2012 Elizabeth Ehrenfest Steinglass, all rights reserved

photo by Hans Stieglitz

Dining up high
On leaves in the sky
With the clouds
Near your eyes and the
Swifts sweeping by
Is fine, until you find your mouth is
Dry and the water
Enveloping your toes.

I’m still reading The National Geographic Book of Animal Poems. Every day. Just like a kid. This week I stopped short when I got to the two acrostic poems by Avis Harley. They use such wonderful and fun language. One thing I appreciate about them is that the vertical words are not the animal’s name; they’re about the animal, another part of the poem, another expression of the animal’s essence. The poem above is my response to Harley’s poem about giraffes which is titled “Above All” and is from her book African Acrostics.

For more Poetry Friday see Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm.

(c) 2012 Elizabeth Ehrenfest Steinglass, all rights reserved

Thanksgiving—
grateful for extra helpings
of cousins

new world
learning to celebrate
turkey kimchi flan

Around
The old table
We stretch ourselves to share
The year’s sweet and salty harvest
Again.

Last week Teaching Authors put out a challenge to write a Thanku. I’ve posted my effort above and a cinquain for dessert. It certainly was challenging to find a fresh approach to a holiday that is by definition traditional. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.For more Poetry Friday go to A Year of Reading.


(c) 2012 Elizabeth Ehrenfest Steinglass, all rights reserved