Greetings, Poetery Lovers! I'm joining some other Poetry Friday-ers today celebrating the release of WHAT IS A FRIEND? from Pomelo Books. (You know, the powerhouse poetry publishing team of Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong!) WHAT IS A FRIEND? is the product of their recent Antho 401 class. [I'm now taking a reprise of their Antho 201 class, which I blogged about a few weeks ago, if you want more info about Pomelo poetry magic.] As with their other recent books, poems were written in response to photographs of children in a variety of situations.
This new book, geared toward ages 8 & up, explores many aspects of friendship. It's a Children's Book Council "Hot Off the Press" selection for October! And, as with the "THINGS WE" series, proceeds from sales are being donated to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund.
Here's my poem:
PRESENT
You didn't say,
Come on – Cheer up!
Everything will be okay.
You didn't say,
I know exactly
what it's like
to feel that way.
You didn't say
anything.
Just sat with me,
and
that
meant
everything.
©Robyn Hood Black. All rights reserved.
When editing this poem, I was attempting to follow Janet's suggestion about changing a line that I originally had right after "Just sat with me,". I tweaked and tweaked, until the haiku poet in me just struck it out altogether - making for a stronger poem. I'm so glad Janet flagged it in the first place, so I could toss it.
Learn more about WHAT IS A FRIEND? here . Happy Book Birthday, Sylvia & Janet!
For more FRIEND-ly posts for Poetry Friday this week, and lots of other poetic treasures, check out the Roundup hosted by Sara Grace Tuttle. Thanks, Sara Grace!