Welcome to my brand-spanking new blog! I plan to share poetry books that inspire me and a few poems of my own. Perhaps I’ll also write about what’s happening in my backyard, as the natural world often worms into my writing.
This post was prompted by Heidi Mordhorst’s invitation to write a winter solstice poem for her celebration today on Poetry Friday. I had given myself a goal of starting a blog in 2013, so I’m grateful that Heidi gave me the impetus to start early.
The dark days of winter mean Chanukah for my family. This year the holiday was early and Chanukah has come and gone. But that doesn’t mean we can’t light some cyber-candles and enjoy the holiday again:
Colored Candles
Frying latkes
sizzle, pop with
pungent smells that
leap and drift
from
iron skillet,
cloud the kitchen
waft through halls and
draw us in.
In the window
colored candles
dance and flicker
flame and glow,
drive away the
frozen darkness,
keep the moonless
night at bay.
Voices join to
sing of wonder,
fingers toy with
melting wax;
drizzle-drips that
sputter-spill as
candles shrink and
spirits soar.
–Buffy Silverman, all rights reserved
my class is researching current poets and we ran across your name….but we cannot find your birth date, your first published book/poem, and what is your latest published work. We would appreciate any help you can give us. Thank you. M Sullivan and my third grade Venture class 🙂
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for stopping by. I’m sending you an email to share with your class.
Buffy, Welcome to the blogosphere! I’m reading this late, but your Chanukah poem is lovely and captures the magic of the lit candles very well. I love “drizzle-drip” and “sputter-spill.” Hope to see more of you on Poetry Fridays.
I love it, Buffy. This is such a great blog so far and I always love reading your poetry.
Thanks, Amy. Glad you stopped by.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting, Lori. And glad to finally know what I was born to be!
Love this Buffy! You are a born blogger. Love the poetry.
Welcome to Poetry Friday! Thanks for the candle light and latkes!
Thank you, Mary Lee, for stopping by and reading my poem/post.
Happy to see your blog, Buffy! Lovely poem full of fantastic verbs, especially. Made me feel like I was there, with delicious grease and wax on my hands. Merry 2013–may it bring many writing adventures for you!
Thanks, Laura–I appreciate your encouragement (as always.) And a merry 2013 to you, too!
Hi, Buffy–
What a fine start! I leaped and drifted with the smells and the playing with wax is a really capturing detail. Liked how you built on the rhythm without going to the rhyme, too. Thanks for participating in the Solstice edition of PF!
Glad you enjoyed my poem. And thanks to you for including your Poetry for All buddies in your call for solstice poems!
The blog is fantastic so far. I’ll put it in my blog list so I’ll know when to stop by. I loved the Chanukah poem.
Thanks, Ann–you’re a peach (and my very first follower–maybe you can enlighten your luddite friend about how to set up a blog list? Why do I not know about such things?)
Hi Buffy,
It’s so great to see you at Poetry Friday. I love the fingers toying with melted wax, the drizzle-drips and sputter-spill. At our house playing with the wax is part of every candle lighting event.
I look forward to reading more of your posts in the New Year.
Liz
Thanks, Liz. Playing with melting candle wax is something we never grow out of, huh? That’s a tradition I had no trouble passing on to my kids.