Wood Duck Diary is Margaret Simon’s love letter to her home on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana.
In this small volume of twenty haibun (prose + tanka) poems there is:
History – 22 years of passion for the flora and fauna of her home.
Community – woodworkers who build boxes in anticipation of nests and eggs
Nature – fog and cypress and shavings and rain and hope
Wonder –when we are humbled by the miraculously simple—or the simply miraculous moments of our world’s more-than-human life.
Cover art by Michelle Kogan!
In lyric English and elegant French (Caroline Ancelet’s back cover blurb praises the inclusion of the translation as “a lovely gesture, making them accessible to the Louisiana Francophone community), Margaret adapted communal observations of the local wood duck nesting into prose, adding inspired tankas, thus transforming a wood duck diary into poetic haibun.
We journey with people of the Teche from preparations to hope; from worry to relief; from eggs to Jump Day – in all their worry and joy.
TREAT YOURSELF!
Purchase a copy of
WOOD DUCK DIARY
and you will be supporting the TECHE project, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the Bayou Teche.
Gorgeous photos by nature photographer Dan Womack
After several readings, I am left with a sense of awe. I spent last January through June watching eaglets in a California forest survive the kind of perils we humans take for granted: shelter from enemies, finding enough food, learning to fly! I know the elation of watching nestlings fledge. Wood Duck Diary brought it all back to me –in poetry, no less.
Here is a cento poem, each line gathered from Margaret’s tankas:
Wonder of Wood Ducks – A Cento
Make ready for spring
Dawn, when sunbeams stream,
maze-bank of cypress knees
parade of courting couples
shimmy-shimmies in,
wings of black and blue-
not yet green of spring.
Eggs safe and snug below
wait, sit, stir, settle, wait, wait…
featherless skin made for warmth.
the still pillow of her breast
her dark silk shelters
mother’s quiet nest.
scoots around, feathers her eggs,
Rain, rain, rain! Rising
Clutch is dry and safe and warm.
Baker’s dozen hatch.
Like petals on a pinwheel
One by one they leap and splash
choo-choo-train across bayou.
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Join the Poetry Friday round up, hosted this weekend by Irene Latham!
Irene will be sharing more about the latest Latham/Waters poetry anthology and her delicious ArtSpeak poem.
Patricia Franz writes picture books and poetry. 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. 
Gorgeous! I love the cento you created from Margaret’s beautiful book! Now go write that eaglet book….xo
You captured the beauty of Margaret’s work in your Cento, Patricia! Thank you.
Patricia, Thanks for featuring The Wood Duck Diary on your blog post today. It was a love song to these amazing birds. Thanks for the beautiful Cento poem. I am honored.
I’ve enjoyed wathcing Margaret share about her own wood duck box and the need for patience, “wait, wait”, then celebration. Thanks, Patricia, for bringing Margeret’s book to us in your cento! Now, I want to know more!
I have a copy of Margaret’s book and I can’t wait to dive in and savor it. I love how you used her lines to inspire your poem! I’ll echo what Irene said…time for you to write a companion eagle book!
Thank you for this review and recommendation for Margaret’s new book. I must now get it. I love the haibun form. Your cento compliments the book.
Hooray! The Wood Duck Diary is making it’s way into the world. I just love the whole idea of this book and of course, Margaret has been working toward publishing this for a while. I’m so proud of her and the words! A cento is such a perfect way to highlight and review this book. Bravo and thank you!
I love your review of WOOD DUCK DIARY and am putting it on my list! I also love your cento-what a wonderful way to celebrate a book you love!!!! That fabulous last line, “choo-choo-train across bayou.” was a perfect image to end the poem. Lovely!!!