Things to Do if You Are a Minnesota Summer [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)

It’s the first Friday of the month, so it’s Poetry Princesses Friday! This month was my choice, and I chose the Things to Do form with a seasonal angle. (See page 4 here for a lesson plan.) This is the poetic form of my new book If You Were the Moon and a form I’ve done a lot of over the past few years. Of course, we always mix it up, so different people interpreted that in their own ways. I think you’ll like the variety!

I am NOT really a fan of summer, so to challenge myself, I wrote about summer. 

Things to Do if You Are a Minnesota Summer

Huh. That is kind of small. :>( I wanted to use my image of a couple of people crossing the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota, where the river begins, but I guess I should have cropped it vertically. Oops. Here is the text:

 

Things to Do if You Are a Minnesota Summer
 
Arrive fashionably late, say half past July
Wear blooming colors and a clear blue cap
Bring a hostess gift of green
Spritz your signature scent:
sunscreen, campfire, and night jasmine
Skip a golden stripe across the sky
Sketch misty rainbows with your tears
Perform for swarms of adoring fans
Party from dawn to dusk,
     then slip on your spidersilk shawls and
     leave the party early
Ignore those gathered at the door,
     begging you to stay
          just a little while longer
You have other places to be,
     and time
     grows
     short
 
–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved
Don’t forget to check out the other Things to Do poems!

Kelly
Liz

Sara 
Tanita 
Tricia 
Non-poetry demands are keeping Andi away this month, but she’ll return :>)

Click here to see all our previous Poetry Princesses collaborations. 

And for the delicious Poetry Friday Roundup, visit Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup!

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

20 Responses

  1. Oh, this is simply wonderful, Laura! I love how you’ve wrapped up the essence of your Minnesota summer and given her such personality and presence. Great alliterative word choice, too–skip, sketch, spritz. A delight from start to finish!

    1. Ours are too hot, too, in my opinion. But not as long as yours…Thanks, Margaret!

  2. I would love to see the faces of children when you present to them and share that summer is not your cup of strawberry juice.
    This poem is ripe with the tease that your summer is, from “arrive fashionably late” to the clever end. Love it.

  3. Hope you don’t mind my sticking my oar in:

    Things to Do if You Are a New England Spring

    Change with the wind,
    jibe across winter,
    tack toward summer,
    set sails scented with hyacinth,
    before veering to look aft
    at the slumbering pines
    as they disappear
    into waking maples.
    Luff leeward,
    sheets flapping:
    pile snow one last time
    after the Canada geese
    honk home. Play
    hide and seek
    with the brown grass.
    Then lower the sails,
    clear the decks,
    swab the rails,
    time to dry dock and
    hit the trails.

  4. Wow, what a great poem. Love the diction, the images, the humor. 🙂 Especially like “blooming colors and a clear blue cap.” Sheer delight.

  5. (LOVE that, Brenda. Your New England spring’s parallels to sailing are quite fitting!)

    I would trade you for a spidersilk shawl a spider, Laura… but somehow, I don’t think that’s quite a fair swap…

  6. Oh how I long for summer. Ours are hot, too, here in Massachusetts, but I love escaping to the ocean to cool down. Thank you, and wonderful job, considering it wasn’t your favorite topic!

  7. I think it would be fascinating to have a collection of poems about summer in different latitudes. Summer seems universal, but it’s so very different depending on how far north or south you are!

  8. I saw images while reading your summer inspired poem, it would be fun to illustrate. I love the “spidersilk shawls.” And Minnesota is lovely in the summer.

  9. Laura, this line stands out for me. Sketch misty rainbows with your tears. The poem is so descriptive and filled with a great visual of your Minnesota summer. I really like the image poem you created and the backdrop is stunning. I want you to know that my daughter unwrapped your beautiful book, If You Were the Moon, at her baby shower. Thank you so much. I can’t wait to read the book to our little one in her nursery.

    Please save this poem for my summer gallery. I would love others to use this format and send me poems from their perspective.

    1. Thanks, Carol! So glad you will be sharing MOON with a baby soon!

      On a side note re your galleries–I’m always happy to contribute, but I don’t always see the announcement, etc. I wonder if it would save you time AND get more submissions if you had a Padlet or a Google Doc or somewhere you could have open for future gallery submissions. That way, when you see one you love, and say something, people could immediately pop the poem into wherever you have available for storage. Just a thought to use or ignore:>)

  10. I love the “swarms of adoring fans.” Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,492 other subscribers

Are You Looking For?

Poetry Friday posts

Classroom Connections posts

All my poetryactions

Go to my Poetry page for:

  • National Poetry Month projects through the years
  • Small Reads Roundups (poems grouped by topic)
  • Introductions to several favorite poetry forms
Tags
#waterpoemproject15 Words or Less Poems20for2030 Painless Classroom Poems50 State Poemsacrosticsactivity pagesactivity sheetALAA Leaf Can Be...Amy Ludwig VanDerwaterA Need to FeedanthologiesanthologyA Rock Can Be...art projectsaudiopoemsawardsbad newsBarbara Juster EsbensenBilly Collinsbiopoemsblog tourbookalikesbook festivalsBookSpeak!book spine poemsbook trailersbop poembyr a thoddaidcafepresscalendar poemsCamp Read-a-LotCan Be... bookscan be... poemsCapstoneCarol Varsalonacascade poemsCatherine FlynnCCRA.W.3CCRA.W.4CCRA.W.5centoschapter bookschoral compositionschristina rossetticinquainsCLAclassified ad poemsclassroom connectionclassroom connectionsClover Kittyconferences and conventionscrown sonnetscybilsdansaDare to DreamDavid Elliottdeeper wisdom poemdefinitosdiamantesdiversitydizaindodoitsuDot DayDouglas Floriandownloadablesdrum corpse.e. cummingsekphrastic poemsepistolary poemsequation poemsessentialethereeseventsexquisite corpseFairy Tale Garage Salefamilyfibonaccifiction picture booksfinding familyfirefightersforeign editionsfound poemsfree author zoomsfree versefrom studentsgeesegeorgia heardghazalGift Taggiveawaygolden shovelgoldilocksgratitudehaikuheart of aheart of a teacherHeidi MordhorstHelen FrostHighlightshow-to poemshow to make a rainbowI Am FromI Am poemsidiomsif you want to knit some mittensIf You Were the MoonILAimagepoemsinterviewin the middle of the nightIRAIrelandIrene LathamJ. Patrick LewisJanet WongJoyce SidmanKendraKerlanKidlit Comboslailaura's board booksLaura's booksLaura's poemsLaura's readingsLaura ShovanLee Bennett HopkinsLilian MoorelimericksLinda Booth SweeneyLion of the Skylist poemslittle free librarylive writingLullaby and Kisses Sweetlyricsmadness poetrymargaret simonMarilyn Singermary lee hahnmask poemsMeet My FamilyMelissa StewartMentors for Rentmentor textsmetaphorMichelle Myers LacknerMillbrookMinnesota Book Awardsmoonmy reading lifemy writing processN+7naaninarrative poemsNational Poetry Month 2012 (haiku a day)National Poetry Month 2014 (riddle-ku)National Poetry Month 2015National Poetry Month 2016National Poetry Month 2017 (#wonderbreak)national poetry month 2018 (haiku a day)National Poetry Month 2020National Poetry Month 2021 (#EquationPoem)national poetry month 2022 (sticky-note poems)National Poetry Month 2023 (Digging for Poems)ncteNerdy Book Clubnifty newsnifty stuffNikki Grimesnonfictionnonfiction booksNonfiction Writers Dig Deepnovelsnovels in verseodesOne Minute Till BedtimeoppositifyOskar's VoyagepadletpantoumsparodiesPatreonpeacepersonalpet poemsphotopoetryphrase acrosticspicture booksplagiarismpoempicspoemspoems for two voicespoemsketchpoetic pursuitsPoetry 7poetryactionspoetry activitiesPoetry Blastpoetry booksPoetry FridayPoetry Friday AnthologiesPoetry Princessespoetry promptspoetry sistersPoetry Tips for Teachersprogressive poempublishing processpuddle songPutridquotationsraccontinosRandy Salasread-aloudreadaloudreading poetry in the classroomRebecca Kai Dotlichrecipe poemsrefugeesresearchreviewsrevisionrhyming booksrhyming nonfictionrhyming picture booksRhyming Picture Books the Write Wayrhyming poemsRiddle-kuriddle poemsRock Can Be...Rock the Blogrondeau redoublesRudyard Kiplingsalas snippetsSCBWIschool visitsScotlandseasonssecrets of the loonSELsestinasshrinking daysskinnyskypeslice of lifesmall readssnack snooze skedaddlesnowman-coldsonnetsStampede!storm poemstorytimestorywalkstudent poemsstudent workSylvia VardellTanita Davistankatautogramteachableteacher resourcesteen/adult poemsterza rimasthankfulthank yous and referencesthe business sidethings to do iftracy nelson maurertrioletstunie munson-bensonvideosVikram MadanvillanellevillanellesWater Can Be...wealthy elementaryWe BelongWhat's InsideWhy-kuwinterwonderwonderbreakword of the yearwordplaywordsmithswork for hirewritingwriting bookswriting processwriting promptswriting the life poeticyoung authors conferencesYouTubeZap Clap Boomzenozentangle
Show More Show Less

Join Laura's monthly newsletter for eductators

Get three of Laura's favorite poetry activities when you subscribe to "Small Reads."