(above image courtesy of Pixabay and Clip2Comic)
It’s Poetry Friday!
We are hosted this week by
Linda at A Word Edgewise.
Please stop there and enjoy all the poetry goodness!
Big sister June gets all the attention –pomp & circumstance to end classroom days
August lays low like a sweaty toddler in need of a nap…
©draft, Patricia J. Franz
July 12, 2023
This draft was inspired by last week’s Poetry Friday post by Anastasia Suen.
July
who is looking after summer’s middle child
wearing watermelon
dancing with dragonflies in yesterday’s braid
follow her footsteps through the tall grass
she is barefoot by the creek
tip-toeing over boulders
crawdads wriggle in her fingers
a tickle, a giggle, a momentary pause
sunshine and reflection
her wandering continues untended
no thought of summer’s end
while there are still stars to count
Summer Poetry Swap 2023 continues! If you know one thing about Rose Cappelli, you know she loves flowers. So I was delighted to receive these gifts of words, seeds, and fabric flowers as a gift this week. She shared a reminder: “Attention” by Jane Yolen (mentioning a peony, of course), along with a her own beautiful composition, “Foxglove” (see below). I’m a believer in Synchronicity. I no sooner had read Rose’s words, when I found a volunteer foxglove of my own, growing just off my front porch! The BEST reminder of a friendship built on poetry and flowers!
Foxglove
Deep in the woods
By the old stone well
There’s a garden of foxglove
Where fairy folk dwell.
There’s a garden of foxglove
Where bumblebees hide
Making music while sipping
Sweet nectar inside
In a garden of foxglove
White, purple, and pink
There’s a bed of soft mosses
Where I go to think.
©2022, Rose Capelli
Patricia Franz is a kidlit writer and published poet. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
Rose and Patricia, you create smile-making, heart-warming poetry.
We are delighted to be poetry friends!
This exchange of poetry and friendship has me smiling this morning!
Thanks Verrena!
Two such kind people! Patricia, I adore the thought of July as summer’s middle child, so perfect. I love the imagery that you used. Also, thinking of August as a sweaty toddler made me laugh!
I love that poetry has brought so many new friends into my life!
Oh, I love, love, love the summer poetry swap. Rose’s flowers are wonderful. And, a volunteer foxglove? Perfect! The image of July minding a middle child in the middle of summer is brilliant. I wish I had thought of that. What a wonderful poem. This one is a winner!
Thank you, Linda. Yes, the swap is a summer delight!
I am in LOVE with July as a middle child! You’ve captured the essence of summer perfectly. And how special, the sparkling layers in this poetry swap! How many fairies did you find in YOUR surprise foxglove? :0)
Still on the lookout for fairies… they may be waiting for my grandson to arrive next week!
I read these poems and I can’t help but think how LUCKY I am to get to write poems alongside of both of you each week. Seriously. I really love “wearing watermelon /dancing with dragonflies in / yesterday’s braid.” I mean–wow!!!! And a fairy garden? Yes!
WE are so lucky!
Your July poem is filled with such vivid imagery and characterizes this month perfectly. Rose’s foxglove poem is lovely, too.
Thank you, Joyce!
I’m feeling a bit verklempt after reading through your post and the comments, Patricia. How lucky I am to have found such a wonderful community of poetry friends. I love the images in your July poem and thinking of July as the middle child is just brilliant. But I have to say my favorite line in this whole post is “August lays low like a sweaty toddler in need of a nap…” Sending hugs your way!
yes, that line was originally in my short poem and I couldn’t figure out how to incorporate it in this draft…may have to revisit!
The summer is providing a rich harvest of poetry, Patricia. I enjoyed the striking use of metaphor in your poem and the soft imagery of Rose’s poem. Together, you have encapsulated essential elements of summer. I also loved your depiction of August as a sweaty toddler in the introduction.
Both of these poems remind me of the hidden, small, magical moments of summer–thank you!
Wonderfully fanciful capture of summer in this bare-footed, free-spirited child-poem Patricia. And thanks for sharing Rose’s hidden-magical poem–all transporting escapes!
Thank you for sharing summer insights with us! I love both of these poems!