Welcome to Poetry Friday, this week hosted by poet Linda Biae at TeacherDance. Thank you, Linda, for hosting this week of September 11th. It’s a day to remember those who were killed during the attack on the World Trade Center, and to honor the bravery of citizens and first responders, their loss of life, and their heroic efforts. We need to teach young people the accurate history of 9/11. Not foggy untruths.
I’m going to center this post around the phenomenon of fog. Like the California fog near Pacifica where my grandson lives. Fog also can signify lack of clarity in general, the feeling we have after we hear the daily news.
I wrote a poem inspired by the fog outside my grandson’s house in California. What’s under those blobs? Is something hiding?
I tried to capture the fog in a watercolor. The forms obscured by it, inspired a poem.
THE FOGGY TRUTH
Unusual visitors,
cloaked in early morning fog,
floated up from the canyon.
Just smooth grey humps,
some big, some small,
seemed innocent.
But ha!
I knew exactly what they were:
Ghosts in camouflage!
I stood my ground.
Gradually, the wind stirred.
The porch rattled.
The “humps” shook like jelly,
their misty cover blew away,
and they peeked out of the fog!
Ha! I chuckled again
When I saw
green pointy branches,
needles,
and brown bark,
an obvious attempt of
these mysterious lumps
to hide their identity
and to make me think
they were pine trees!
But no way!
I was not about to allow
a bunch of ghosts,
no matter how clever,
to masquerade as trees,
.©Janice Scully
Moving along: I’ve had some good news. A poem, entitled BESWITCHED, that I wrote many years ago as a picture book, was published in a much shorter version at Dirigible Balloon. It’s nice to find a home for a poem homeless for so long.
Thank you Linda for hosting on this important day for the U.S.
Dear Janice, I adore your watercolor and loved the poem/story you’ve shared. It brought a big smile as you “let the cat out of the bag”! “No way!” – love it! Congratulations for your poem to be published, & really, this poem feels so much like a story in a picture book!
Janice, Congratulations on “Beswitched!” I really enjoyed the chaos of letters switching around! I also loved the blue sweep in your watercolor, and your engaging poem, especially the repetition of “Ha!” So fun and I think kids and writers of all ages would love this as a mentor poem to share the times they thought one thing was something else!! Thank you!