This is my fourth year participating in the Summer Poem Swap, the brainchild of Tabatha Yeatts.
Today, I'm going to share, with permission of the swappers, the first three poems I received in the swap. (Please click on the images to enlarge for easier reading.)
The first came to me from Buffy Silverman.
If you click on Buffy's name above, it will take you to her blog. The banner picture is of a dragonfly. I took inspiration from that dragonfly and sent an illustrated poem to Buffy. She sent me a dragonfly poem in return. Look at the fabulous photo and you will see the skin that the insect has molted. It's an amazing photo, and an amazing poem! Many thanks, Buffy.
The second is from Linda Baie.
The sun is a cut paper illustration created by Linda. She also told me that where she lives in Colorado, there are no fireflies! I am stunned! I thought fireflies could be found everywhere except Antarctica!
And the third is from Margaret Simon.
Margaret sent me a little haiku notebook. She knows I write a lot of haiku and other short poems. Her thoughtfulness is much appreciated, as is this haiku she included:
I'm so very pleased by the gifts of poetry I've received! There are two more rounds of swaps before the end, so I'll be posting more later in August. I will also post the poems that I sent this summer.
Head down to Mississippi to visit Keri Recommends where Keri is rounding up this Friday's poetry links!
These are so nice, Diane! I especially love the haikus. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Matt! Have you melted yet? ;-)
DeleteThese are beautiful Diane. I think I like the Dragonfly one the best, but I love them all!
ReplyDeleteImagine finding these in your mailbox!
DeleteI am wowed by these poems, Diane! I love all those fresh images. The tastes and smells of Margaret's, Buffy's "whisper of light" (her poem seems straight out of a nonfiction magazine), and Linda's "callings of un-played games," "pink laughter," (and that wonderful last line!).
ReplyDeleteI'm particularly drawn to "a madness of red"! What a great way to describe a watermelon!
DeleteSummer poetry swap is my favorite part of summer! Love Buffy's poem that teaches as well as inspires. And Linda's slow summer days with drippings of watermelon. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, my friend, for the haiku journal!
DeleteThese are all just marvelous, both in composition and presentation, but my favorite I think is Linda's with its tiny specificities of daily summerness. I love her madness of red, Buffy's darning needle stitching future from the past, and Margaret's lemonade breeze. Isn't summer wonderful?
ReplyDeleteYes, it is, and I'm looking for to more surprises!
DeleteThanks for sharing my poem, Diane. I do love summer swap and writing for others! I love Buffy's "from pond to air" and Margaret's 'dancing on bamboo". I guess summer fills us up with nature's magic, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure to share your work! Nature really is magical and it's a shame more people don't slow down enough to absorb it.
DeleteEach of these is a particular and beautiful treasure, Diane. What a lovely thing to participate in!
ReplyDeleteJoin the next one!
DeleteThese are treasures, indeed, Diane! I imagine you filling the special haiku notebook with more timeless images. Love "lemonade breeze," "listen to the locusts sing the day's elegy" and "whisper of light." Magical! Thanks for sharing these special poems.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back? Are you home from Greece? I hope you had a great trip.
DeleteThanks for sharing my damselfly, Diane. And I love the colors and dribbles of Linda's summer day, and Margaret's lemonade breeze.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, it's a damselfly! They have longer, skinnier bodies, don't they? We used to call them darning needles when I was a kid, so I caught the reference in your poem. Thanks again!
DeleteA wonderful collection! My favorite thing about seeing these three poems together is that they each reflect the poets I've come to "know" through their weekly work. I've come to expect insight into the natural world from Buffy, heartfelt reflections from Linda, and striking wordplay from Margaret!
ReplyDeleteGreat observation, Keri!
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