I’m sharing S Is for Sea Glass today (Sleeping Bear Press, 2014), by Rich Michelson, and it’s completely different from his YA poetry collection that I shared here (wonky formatting–imported post).
The poems, in A to Z order,?range from light-hearted to serious, and they’re mostly, but not all,?rhyming. Y’all know I love water poems, so this is a collection I’m really glad to have in my collection! Here’s one of my very favorites, “T is for Tide.” It connects not only with Water Can Be…, but also with a manuscript I’m working on right now. I love the soft, rhythmic feel of this one, and also the awe at what our world holds.
T is for Tide
Each day the tide’s high and each day the tide’s low.
???????? The world’s full of mysteries we’ll never know.
?????????????????????????? The moon orbits Earth and the tides are affected.
????????????????? No matter its form, all matter’s connected.
??????????????????????????????????????? As sure as it ebbs, the tide also rises.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????? And each day the world is full of surprises.
–Richard Michelson, all rights reserved
A couple years back, while I was working on the beach alphabet, my wife was in a seminary program studying to be an interfaith minister. She needed a short poem to introduce a sermon she was writing on ?mother earth? and ecological reverence.? She asked if I could suggest something in along the lines of ?to everything there is a season?? Almost all my adult poetry is fairly dark in mood and complicated in form; and by contrast most of my kid’s poetry is humorous verse, but she was on deadline so I wrote this:
?????
From the dawn’s first low light to twilight’s last glow
The world’s full of mysteries we’ll never know.
?
The moon orbits earth and the tides are affected.
No matter its form, all matter’s connected.
All nature is nurtured by rays from the sun.
Our souls last forever, and our spirits are one.
As sure as it ebbs, our joy also rises
And each day the world is full of surprises.
(and then, because I am lazy, I figured I’d kill 2 birds with one stone (bad metaphor considering the topic!!) so I revised it for T is for Tide.
I enjoyed hearing about the author’s multi-use of poems. Interesting to see how well each one works for its purpose.
I know–isn’t that great?
I enjoyed hearing about the author’s multi-use of poems. Interesting to see how well each one works for its purpose.
I know–isn’t that great?
Thanks for sharing this, Laura! I’m working on doing a review of Richard’s book, as well – he’s got some nice imagery in there!
Yes! Looking forward to seeing which poem(s) you choose to share:>)
Thanks for sharing this, Laura! I’m working on doing a review of Richard’s book, as well – he’s got some nice imagery in there!
Yes! Looking forward to seeing which poem(s) you choose to share:>)
It looks like a great book, & since we’re going to the beach this summer, perhaps it will be fun to take an ocean poetry book along. Thanks, Laura!
Definitely!
It looks like a great book, & since we’re going to the beach this summer, perhaps it will be fun to take an ocean poetry book along. Thanks, Laura!
Definitely!
This is wonderful I will have to look for the book
I love the ocean but haven’t been their in a rely long time I love the poem you picked for today hope you have a wonderful weekend
It was about the only thing I liked about growing up in Fla.! I do miss the beach…
This is wonderful I will have to look for the book
I love the ocean but haven’t been their in a rely long time I love the poem you picked for today hope you have a wonderful weekend
It was about the only thing I liked about growing up in Fla.! I do miss the beach…
What a lovely poem! And thanks for the backstory. It’s interesting to me to see how writers work and think. His different types of poetry are also a type of ‘permission’ to be inconsistent–write one way for one audience, another way for another.
All the best in your water poem collection!
Thanks, Violet. And yes, I think most poets are consistently inconsistent:>) I think of poetry almost as more of a brief act of responding to the world than as a specific form or having a specific audience. If I don’t consciously write FOR a specific age, my poems come out all over the spectrum–toddler to adult.
What a lovely poem! And thanks for the backstory. It’s interesting to me to see how writers work and think. His different types of poetry are also a type of ‘permission’ to be inconsistent–write one way for one audience, another way for another.
All the best in your water poem collection!
Thanks, Violet. And yes, I think most poets are consistently inconsistent:>) I think of poetry almost as more of a brief act of responding to the world than as a specific form or having a specific audience. If I don’t consciously write FOR a specific age, my poems come out all over the spectrum–toddler to adult.
So fun to hear the poet reading this! Thanks for the interesting story of how this poem came to be.
Yes, thank you, Rich! I should have said that publicly in my post:>)
So fun to hear the poet reading this! Thanks for the interesting story of how this poem came to be.
Yes, thank you, Rich! I should have said that publicly in my post:>)
Oh, this is cool – I love that the poem worked both ways, and I like both versions.
One of my favorite things about poems is how we can rebuild them for different moods and audiences, even when many of the words stay the same.
Oh, this is cool – I love that the poem worked both ways, and I like both versions.
One of my favorite things about poems is how we can rebuild them for different moods and audiences, even when many of the words stay the same.
That’s a beautiful poem, I look forward to reading the rest. Thanks for sharing, Laura.
Enjoy it, Catherine! It’s a wide variety of moods and forms, but I think I like the more serious ones best.
That’s a beautiful poem, I look forward to reading the rest. Thanks for sharing, Laura.
Enjoy it, Catherine! It’s a wide variety of moods and forms, but I think I like the more serious ones best.
I love water poems too, especially anything beach-related–so I’m glad to know about this title. It’s a lovely poem. The rhythm is so strong right from the first line and perfect for the topic. I love hearing about poets’, or any writers’, processes, too.
Rhythm is SO important in ocean poems. I mean, I want great meter anytime, but if you screw it up in an ocean poem, you’re doomed. Glad you liked it:>)
I love water poems too, especially anything beach-related–so I’m glad to know about this title. It’s a lovely poem. The rhythm is so strong right from the first line and perfect for the topic. I love hearing about poets’, or any writers’, processes, too.
Rhythm is SO important in ocean poems. I mean, I want great meter anytime, but if you screw it up in an ocean poem, you’re doomed. Glad you liked it:>)
Great post. Love the story behind it.
I know–2 birds…gotta love it!
Great post. Love the story behind it.
I know–2 birds…gotta love it!
Loved how he repurposed the poem and loved hearing him read it too!
Glad you enjoyed it, BJ!
Loved how he repurposed the poem and loved hearing him read it too!
Glad you enjoyed it, BJ!
Thank you Laura, and everyone for you lovely comments. So pleased to share my work on this wonderful blog.
Wonderful to have you here, Rich. I hope this book reaches a lot of kids!
Thank you Laura, and everyone for you lovely comments. So pleased to share my work on this wonderful blog.
Wonderful to have you here, Rich. I hope this book reaches a lot of kids!
Lovely! I’ll keep my eye out for this collection — will I shelve it with poetry or ABC books?!?!
Ooh, good question. I vote ABC, and the poetry will be a great surprise (and maybe will win over a student who wouldn’t usually gravitate to the poetry shelf). I’ve been organizing my poetry books lately, and they refuse to fit neatly into categories!
Lovely! I’ll keep my eye out for this collection — will I shelve it with poetry or ABC books?!?!
Ooh, good question. I vote ABC, and the poetry will be a great surprise (and maybe will win over a student who wouldn’t usually gravitate to the poetry shelf). I’ve been organizing my poetry books lately, and they refuse to fit neatly into categories!