Poetry Friday and Poem-a-Day: #27

Gutter ball dinner
Potato chips weigh heavy–
Greasy bowling ball

–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved

Not a thing of beauty, is it? Dinner last night did not turn out well, and I ended up eating some noodles and a bunch of potato chips. Ugh. Now my stomach is not feeling very happy.

On a happier note, it’s Poetry Friday!

I want to share a couple of haiku from October Mourning, by Leslea Newman. I received an ARC of this poetry collection from Sylvia Vardell, and I couldn’t put it down. I’ll share it again when it comes out (this fall, I think), but meanwhile…

This’stunning collection of poems imagines the circumstances surrounding gay college student Matthew Shepard’s death in Laramie, Wyoming, in 1998. Leslea uses many poetic forms to powerful effect. Here are two haiku, in keeping with?my haiku (or senryu) a day this month.

Witness

Watching in horror
wishing he could do something:
the man in the moon
–Leslea Newman, all rights reserved

Mercy

Mr. McKinney, I give you life
in the memory of one
who no longer lives.
–Dennis Shepard, father of Matthew
Shepard Court statement, November 4, 1999

At the bitter end,
a matter of life and death:
Mercy. For the boy.
–Leslea Newman, all rights reserved

Stunning, right?

Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference has the Poetry Friday Roundup today. Enjoy!

36 Responses

  1. Wow. So moving. I was so touched by the turn at “man in the moon.”

  2. Wow. So moving. I was so touched by the turn at “man in the moon.”

  3. Dear God, mercy, when he didn’t have to have any. Those gave me goosebumps.
    (As did your dinner — I know how that goes!)

    1. Yes. The collection is mostly the horror, but then therre are a couple moments of insane beauty, too.

      :>) on dinner. It was a horror, too.

  4. Dear God, mercy, when he didn’t have to have any. Those gave me goosebumps.
    (As did your dinner — I know how that goes!)

    1. Yes. The collection is mostly the horror, but then therre are a couple moments of insane beauty, too.

      :>) on dinner. It was a horror, too.

  5. all the things the moon sees… no wonder the moon seems so melancholy.

    gutter ball is also a perfect description for a weird thing i ate in the netherlands once. that didn’t sit well either.

    1. Her combination of intense personal-ness and inanimate witnesses gives this totally amazing dynamic to this collection.

      Oh dear on the Netherlands. I was in Amsterdam one day and played it safe with a grilled cheese and bakery treats:>)

  6. all the things the moon sees… no wonder the moon seems so melancholy.

    gutter ball is also a perfect description for a weird thing i ate in the netherlands once. that didn’t sit well either.

    1. Her combination of intense personal-ness and inanimate witnesses gives this totally amazing dynamic to this collection.

      Oh dear on the Netherlands. I was in Amsterdam one day and played it safe with a grilled cheese and bakery treats:>)

  7. Ugh, I have had dinners like those. They often end up with a scrambled egg followup dinner. Or a smoothie.

    Leaslea posted a poem from her book on, was it Greg’s blog this month? It was the one about the fence. Broke. Me. In. Two.

    1. Yeah, dinner came out awful. Everybody was already settled into a show we were going to watch together, and I just tossed potato chips and a Laughing Cow cheese wedge on my plate with the noodles. Ugh. Not a good choice.

      Leslea’s book will hurt. But talk about writing from the heart, getting at the emotional truth…she will resonate with you,. Susan.

  8. Ugh, I have had dinners like those. They often end up with a scrambled egg followup dinner. Or a smoothie.

    Leaslea posted a poem from her book on, was it Greg’s blog this month? It was the one about the fence. Broke. Me. In. Two.

    1. Yeah, dinner came out awful. Everybody was already settled into a show we were going to watch together, and I just tossed potato chips and a Laughing Cow cheese wedge on my plate with the noodles. Ugh. Not a good choice.

      Leslea’s book will hurt. But talk about writing from the heart, getting at the emotional truth…she will resonate with you,. Susan.

    1. She does amazing things with many different forms, Andi. You are such a compassionate person–this book will break your heart. I was reading it in public, and the tears were just streaming down my face…

    1. She does amazing things with many different forms, Andi. You are such a compassionate person–this book will break your heart. I was reading it in public, and the tears were just streaming down my face…

  9. Thank you so much for your kind words about the poems from my forthcoming book, OCTOBER MOURNING. The official pub. date is September 25, 2012, from Candlewick Press.

  10. Thank you so much for your kind words about the poems from my forthcoming book, OCTOBER MOURNING. The official pub. date is September 25, 2012, from Candlewick Press.

  11. Wow, Laura. These are hard to read, but in Matthew’s memory, I do that, as I imagine the poet Leslea wrote for him. Living in Colorado, we saw much of this story. What a sad, sad day for all of us when this happened.

    1. Leslea didn’t know him, but she has a compelling connection with the whole awful thing, which powered her writing…They are both hard to read but impossible to stop reading.

  12. Wow, Laura. These are hard to read, but in Matthew’s memory, I do that, as I imagine the poet Leslea wrote for him. Living in Colorado, we saw much of this story. What a sad, sad day for all of us when this happened.

    1. Leslea didn’t know him, but she has a compelling connection with the whole awful thing, which powered her writing…They are both hard to read but impossible to stop reading.

  13. These poems are chilling and powerful. October Mourning sounds like it is in my future reading plans.

  14. These poems are chilling and powerful. October Mourning sounds like it is in my future reading plans.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

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

Join 2,548 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 FlynnccbcCCRA.W.3CCRA.W.4CCRA.W.5centoschapter booksCharles Waterschoral 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 SweeneyLine Leads the WayLion of the Skylist poemslittle free librarylive writingLullaby and Kisses Sweetlyricsmadness poetrymagnipoemsmargaret simonMarilyn Singermary lee hahnmask poemsMatt Forrest EsenwineMeet My FamilyMelissa StewartMentors for Rentmentor textsmetaphorMichelle Myers LacknerMillbrookMinnesota Book Awardsmoneymoonmy 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)National Poetry Month 2024 (magnipoems)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 poemsrefugeesresearchreview copiesreviewsrevisionrhyming 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 conferencesYouTubeZapZap Clap Boomzenozentangle
Show More Show Less

Discover more from Laura Purdie Salas

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Join Laura's monthly newsletter for eductators

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