Wind Voices, for Poetry Friday

Happy Poetry Friday!

Some years ago I published a book of poems called Water Voices. It was a collection of riddles (originally titled Water Riddles) with beautiful watercolors by Julie Downing. Each poem, or riddle, ended with the words, "Who am I?" When you turned the page, you found the answers: Morningmist, Sprinklerspray, Oceanwave, Bedtime Bath, and the like. Each riddle was spoken by one of the many, varied voices water might have.

Here's one, to give you an idea how it works:

When you wake to the banjo strumming of frogs

and the lake is a silky soup

where turtles dive from island-logs

and herons glide and dragonflies skate

and faraway ripples from distant oars

make their slow voyage out,

I trail my white net over the lake

and wait for sunrise.

Who am I?

[turn the page]

I am Morningmist -

doing a disappearing trick.

Originally the collection was meant to be one of a quartet of books about the elements, with Earth Voices, Wind Voices, and Fire Voices to follow. My publisher did not want to commit to all four, so they published the first one and said we'd see how well it sold.

Well, it did okay, but not well enough for the publisher to take a chance and publish the other three. Eventually, even with a recommendation from the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and other good reviews, Water Voices went from the warehouse to the jobber's.

I had already written Wind Voices and sketched out poems for the other two in the series. I still hold onto the hope that all four books might be in print someday, somewhere, somehow. I thought I'd offer a wind poem here for Poetry Friday. It's a bit out of season.

After leafdown, after appledrop,
when tiger clouds go prowling
and trees send long-distance messages to a sad and moanly tune,
when shadows hurry
and the red sun sinks
and pumpkins think, and think,
I sweep the leaves all scattery with my broom.

Who am I?

I am Autumngust. Last one home is a green leaf!

You'll find the rest of the poetry roundup at my juicy little universe, blog home of the lovely Heidi Mordhorst. Stop by there and see what everyone else is posting for Poetry Friday. And have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

Mint tea
is good
with
malted milk balls.