I Am Heat, a Poetryaction to A River of Dust

Poetry Friday logo by Linda Mitchell

 

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I am so excited! We got snow last night! My husband Randy is out right now at the airport picking up family that’s visiting from Georgia. They were so hoping for snow! And we got some. It’s our first snow since late October, I think. THIS is the beauty of winter that I love. Whew!

And I want to remind you of a free Zoom about my upcoming picture book, Oskar’s Voyage. This is aimed at classrooms, but all you book lover friends are welcome to register and attend also! (I received a couple of questions about that and wanted to make that clear.) Also, please feel free to let your colleagues or local elementary schools know. Thanks!

Okay, now poetry :>) I’m sharing another poetryaction this week. This one’s inspired by A River of Dust, a gorgeous first-person account of the dust that connects Africa and South America. It’s by by Jilanne Hoffmann and Eugenia Mello, and it is lovely. And so informative! When Maddie lived overseas in Cyprus, they would get dust storms there with dust traveling from North Africa. I’ve only thought of dust as negative, implying the increasing desertification of some areas. But this book highlights the power and necessity of it too.

Here’s my first draft poetryaction. (You can see all my poetryactions here.) I chose to write about heat because I was so depressed about the lack of snow. Maybe today, I’ll write a new poem!

And for lots of wonderful poetry, don’t miss the Poetry Friday Roundup with educator and poem whisperer Margaret Simon.

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14 Responses

  1. The action words you used, weigh, drip, lumber, are fresh ways to describe heat. Happy Snow! And Happy Family Time!

  2. Ooh…weigh down the wind! Laura what a perfect addition to the voice of Dust.

  3. I am so happy that you got snow to share with your family! Such an interesting contrast from the snow to thinking about sweltering heat!

  4. What an impressive collection of poetryaction poems. The combination of poetry and action is genius. Isn’t it fun to share the best of your home area with family? I live in No. Va. and we love sharing the wonders of the metro DC area with our family and friends. The phrase, “weigh down the wind.” is so rich. I love it.

    1. Yes–it’s SO depressing to know how beautiful MN can be, only to have it decked out in drudgery when people visit!

  5. I’d like to find the book, too, Laura. My son & daughter-in-law live in North Texas and get constant dust so I wonder if there’s a positive in it as you wrote. I love “lumber through summer”, not my favorite time except for the gardening. Hoorah for your snow! We had a little dusting last night!

  6. Laura, your snow picture share the beauty and serenity of winter. (and I love the snowflake art that you added around today’s post. It is fun to read the contrasting thoughts about snow and summer. Heat is a great poetryaction blends language arts with nature and the summer season. ” I drip into your days.” ‑great line.

  7. Ooh, dust as a positive! I’m intrigued! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com

  8. I’m basking in the heat of your poem with a few inches of new snow outside my window!

  9. We just got a beautiful snow here also! Light and feathery, lots of snow pillows. It won’t last, but the surprise and beauty are enough. Enjoy your snow, and thanks for reminding me of the slow heavy days of summer.

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