Janet Wong writes such beautiful poetry, and I was re-reading her book Twist: yoga poems yesterday.
Janet was on my mind for a few reasons (besides having just had fun seeing her at NCTE). First, though I don’t know her all that well, she generously made a connection that has led to a poetry engagement for me–thank you, Janet! The generosity of the children’s writing community, and the poetry community in particular, is always a gift!
Second, now that I’ve realized I love reading poetry on my iPhone, I’m going to buy her e-collection, Once Upon a Tiger: New Beginnings or Endangered Animals. I’ll report on that in a future Poetry Friday!
And third, I’m thinking about using her fantastic Poetry Suitcase activity in a slightly different way this spring.
Anyway. I was re-reading Twist and decided to share this poem, because Tree variations during yoga are a challenge for me (OK, just about any balance variations) and because it ties in so perfectly and funnily with yesterday’s 15 Words or Less Poems, which were inspired by a tree with some unexpected inhabitants!
Twist: yoga poems (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2007)
Tree
Trees watch.
That is why
they grow tall,
this is why they bend
and sway,
so they can see around
a house, over a hill,
beyond a fire.Look–not just on a windy day.
See how they move.
At the tip of each branch,
there is an eye.–Janet S. Wong, from Twist, all rights reserved
Lovely, right? And the illustrations by Julie Paschkis are to die for.
Robyn Hood Black at Read, Write, Howl has the Poetry Friday Roundup!
I don’t know Yoga positions so I can’t exactly relate, but I love the idea of the trees keeping watch. It’s comforting to imagine.
It is, isn’t? My dog doesn’t even bark at the Fed Ex guy, but maybe the ash tree out front is looking out for me:>)
I don’t know Yoga positions so I can’t exactly relate, but I love the idea of the trees keeping watch. It’s comforting to imagine.
It is, isn’t? My dog doesn’t even bark at the Fed Ex guy, but maybe the ash tree out front is looking out for me:>)
Laura,
Janet has been most generous in spending her time giving me help and advice about my poetry. In addition, she’s one of the people I know who I absolutely love spending time with.
I have a review and some poems from Janet and Sylvia Vardell’s new poetry eBook GIFT TAG over at Wild Rose Reader today. Your poem from the anthology is one of four that I decided to highlight.
I know Janet has been such an encouraging poetry mentor for you, Elaine–you lucky duck. And, of course, your work is totally worthy of her encouragement! Thanks for including my potholder poem:>)
Laura,
Janet has been most generous in spending her time giving me help and advice about my poetry. In addition, she’s one of the people I know who I absolutely love spending time with.
I have a review and some poems from Janet and Sylvia Vardell’s new poetry eBook GIFT TAG over at Wild Rose Reader today. Your poem from the anthology is one of four that I decided to highlight.
I know Janet has been such an encouraging poetry mentor for you, Elaine–you lucky duck. And, of course, your work is totally worthy of her encouragement! Thanks for including my potholder poem:>)
Ooo I love this! I’ve been thinking about the trees lately too, since they are bare and the birds are moving through them catching my attention. Thanks for posting this!
It’s interesting how we enjoy trees so differently throughout the seasons, right? Lushness in summer, but their stark architecture in winter.
Ooo I love this! I’ve been thinking about the trees lately too, since they are bare and the birds are moving through them catching my attention. Thanks for posting this!
It’s interesting how we enjoy trees so differently throughout the seasons, right? Lushness in summer, but their stark architecture in winter.
Laura,
This is new to me about trees, but it shouldn’t surprise us that they can do all this.
They work lots of magic while we’re not looking:>) I have a book, rhyming nonfiction, coming out in a few weeks about leaves (A Leaf Can Be… Millbrook Press). It was so fun thinking about all the things leaves really actually do in our world.
Laura,
This is new to me about trees, but it shouldn’t surprise us that they can do all this.
They work lots of magic while we’re not looking:>) I have a book, rhyming nonfiction, coming out in a few weeks about leaves (A Leaf Can Be… Millbrook Press). It was so fun thinking about all the things leaves really actually do in our world.
Yoga poetry? I’ll have to read this volume I think. Love the one you shared.
Enjoy!
Yoga poetry? I’ll have to read this volume I think. Love the one you shared.
Enjoy!
Ooh, I just love Julie Paschkis’ work…
I suck so hard at yoga it’s not funny, but I love the idea of a book of poetry sort of explaining the poses. You’ll get that tree thing, eventually – we’ve all seen you pretend to be a Viking – what’s a few roots and leaves? 😉
At least I don’t have to do yoga while carrying a huge oar! I’m dangerous enough to the people on mats next to me already:>)
Ooh, I just love Julie Paschkis’ work…
I suck so hard at yoga it’s not funny, but I love the idea of a book of poetry sort of explaining the poses. You’ll get that tree thing, eventually – we’ve all seen you pretend to be a Viking – what’s a few roots and leaves? 😉
At least I don’t have to do yoga while carrying a huge oar! I’m dangerous enough to the people on mats next to me already:>)
What fun! And I love the idea of trees keeping watch, too. And I’m also crazy about Julie Paschkis?s artwork. Thanks for sharing.
Me too! Me too!
What fun! And I love the idea of trees keeping watch, too. And I’m also crazy about Julie Paschkis?s artwork. Thanks for sharing.
Me too! Me too!
I did yoga 50 pounds ago…and do a really good Tree-Falling-Over pose. I wrote this collection as a gift for Julie Paschkis, because she does yoga every day and even goes on yoga retreats. The poem in TWIST that I wrote about me (as compared to Julie) is “Finding the Center” where I describe myself (quite appropriately, I will say)…as a doughnut! (Doughnut pose is how I spend half my life.) Thanks for sharing this, Laura!!
We were doing tree and the thing where you put one ankle over the other knee while standing and then you sit back, doing a one-legged squat, basically. OK, I’m ok with those, but then we had a block on our head, just for fun. I could NOT do that. Hehe! Thanks for sharing this story–I’m going to go read “Finding the Center” again while picturing you!
I did yoga 50 pounds ago…and do a really good Tree-Falling-Over pose. I wrote this collection as a gift for Julie Paschkis, because she does yoga every day and even goes on yoga retreats. The poem in TWIST that I wrote about me (as compared to Julie) is “Finding the Center” where I describe myself (quite appropriately, I will say)…as a doughnut! (Doughnut pose is how I spend half my life.) Thanks for sharing this, Laura!!
We were doing tree and the thing where you put one ankle over the other knee while standing and then you sit back, doing a one-legged squat, basically. OK, I’m ok with those, but then we had a block on our head, just for fun. I could NOT do that. Hehe! Thanks for sharing this story–I’m going to go read “Finding the Center” again while picturing you!