Poetry Friday: Stars (Rebecca Kai Dotlich)

This week, I wanted to choose a poem for my daughter, Maddie. She was at camp a few weeks ago, and she loved it so much that this week she’s back there as a S.W.E.A.T. That stands for a lot of really nice stuff, but the reality is she’s doing a lot of grunt work. Serving food, doing dishes, etc. I know she’s having a great time with her friends, though. I wanted to find a poem about summer camp, and I was looking through a few sources, not finding anything. Then I thought, "Oh, Lemonade Sun might have something." That’s an amazing collection of summer poems by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, by the way, published in 1998 by Wordsong.

Of course, I got caught up reading the book instead of skimming, and while I didn’t find a summer camp poem, I found the perfect poem for Maddie. In fact, back in 3rd grade, when she got to pick a poem to memorize and say for the class, she chose this poem. It’s perfect for her because not only is it a gorgeous poem, but it captures Maddie’s awe and joy in life.

Stars

One thousand and eight
One thousand and nine–
I’m counting the stars
one
at a time;
like splinters
of diamonds,
like slivers
of pearls,
like sequins of light,
they sparkle
the world.

–Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Maddie, you sparkle our world. Have a fantastic time at camp!