Happy Poetry Friday!
I’m in-between and so are the seasons. Winter still is holding on, but signs of green spring are pushing through the softened earth. So I’m sharing an in-between WIP painting, poem about life and flowers, and a Mary Oliver poem.
LIFE’S FLOWERS
Allure of flowers
intoxicates me–
Magically calling me
to capture their essence,
before they disappear.
A reminder of life’s,
peaks and valleys,
it’s fleeting time…
Meant for us to
desire and treasure
momentarily!
© 2018 Michelle Kogan
WHAT GORGEOUS THING
by Mary Oliver
I do not know what gorgeous thing
the bluebird keeps saying,
his voice easing out of his throat,
beak, body into the pink air
of the early morning. I like it
whatever it is. Sometimes
it seems the only thing in the world
that is without dark thoughts.
Read the rest of Mary Oliver’s poem at A Poem A Day
Thanks Michelle HeidenrichBarnes for hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup! Stop by Michelle’s blog Today’s Little Ditty for more poems! She’s featuring Golden Shovel poems this month, as the prompt from her Classroom Connections interview with Nikki Grimes!
Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting, & Writing 
These poems are a lovely preview to Spring and warmer, prettier days ahead. Thanks for sharing!!
Just that being content as Oliver writes and then “to capture their essence,
before they disappear.” as you write, something to remember well. Thanks, Michelle, a nice beginning to my day!
You’re right, Michelle. Those in-between moments never last long, do they? (At least the ones you want to.) Both poems speak well to here and now, but in particular, I was struck by the lines about “dark thoughts” and “questions.” Your WIP is lovely!
I wish I could be as content as the bluebird, although I suspect that the bluebird is just as critical as we are. The grass is always greener… Your WIP is a wonderful start. And your poem reminds me of my own hills and valleys.
Spring is waking up here in the south. I wrote a poem inspired by yours and Mary’s. Poems make more poems, like the wildflowers in the grass.
Liking your artwork very much, Michelle! We are having those in-between days here, too. Of the most pleasant kind – just a hint of coolness, a reprieve after some very sapping hot days. I could hold onto these days for so much longer! Like there are some occasions and memories I could wish to capture for more than a moment.
Your work always brims with brightness, Michelle – thanks for sharing it with the world!
(& Happy Almost-Spring!)
Oliver’s poem is beautiful, as is yours. I’m particularly fond of “calling me
to capture their essence,
before they disappear”
for disappear they do… capturing their essence in paint or poem is “of the essence”!
Thank all that is Good for the bluebirds’ song! (And the flowers!!)