Sacred Land #PoetryFriday

[NOTE: COMMENTS ARE FIXED NOW–THANK YOU FOR NOTIFYING ME!}

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

Each winter, I get to play games on 6 Friday nights with a spectacular group of creative people (some in the kidlit world, others in entirely different worlds). A couple of weeks ago, David LaRochelle was game master, and he created games around the theme of poetry. Yes, poetry! We solved hinky-pinkies, played guess the song from a tiny number of scattered words, and wrote riddle-ku. Be still, my heart. And in between games, volunteers read a favorite poem. Here’s my friend Vicki Palmquist:

Vicki Palmquist reads
Vicki Palmquist reads “Sacred Land”

Dressed in Northwoods style and using a canoe paddle as her prop, Vicki read a gorgeous poem. I loved it. And it wasn’t until she neared the end that I thought, “Wait a minute. Is that MY poem?” And it was.

What a gift to hear my own poem read aloud, allowing me to hear it without any of my own criticisms and baggage. Thank you, Vicki. I will remember that.

And here’s the poem:

From The Poetry of US

You can read more about that poem and anthology here.

For more poetry joy, don’t miss the Poetry Friday Roundup with the awesome Linda Baie at Teacher Dance!

8 Responses

  1. What a gift to hear a friend read your poem and have it resonate with you before realizing it was your own. Talk about affirming! It is a gorgeous poem–so hushed and reverent. I’m glad your comments are working now. Thanks for hosting this week and for persevering through the bumps!

  2. I love this poem. I feel that same sacred feeling when I canoe in the bayou. Church.

  3. After hours of exploring I’m sure, happy to see that commenting is back! Tech issues drive me crazy sometimes. It would be lovely to be in your canoe, that “pew, with a timebered view”, Laura. The poem is a beautiful celebration of nature’s beauty & how it lifts us always.

  4. Lovely poem that glides us across the lake–and what fun to to have it sneak up without knowing, thanks Laura!

  5. Such a blessing to be caught off guard and enjoy your own words without being critical. I love this poem, too, Laura.

  6. What a gift your friend gave. And your poem is a gift to us. I love it and feel similarly when I look out my window each day.

  7. Laura: It is a gorgeous poem… I feel the same way about the BWCA…So nice to meet a sister/fan. We canoed there a good number of times when we lived in MN. I miss it, but also I think my days of carrying a Duluth pack and portaging are over. So… still love the BWCA, but from afar. Did you see my post about Sig Olson? If not, you can find it at: https://kceastlund.blogspot.com/2020/01/book-talk-featuring-sig-olson.html. Hope you like it as much as I like yours!

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