Happy Poetry Friday! Irene Latham, today’s Poetry Friday host and all-around inspiring human being, requested that bloggers share poems about the moon. Irene is celebrating her new poetry collection, THE MUSEUM ON THE MOON, about objects people have left on the moon. One of my favorite poems about the moon (and apparently also Irene’s!) is the late Karla Kuskin’s “Write About a Radish.” Here’s how it starts:
Write About a Radish. . .
Write about a radish Too many people write about the moon. The night is black The stars are small and high (You can find the rest of the poem here...if you do not know it, click away!)
I decided to copy…er, pay homage to Karla Kuskin’s poem with one of my own.
Write About a Firefly…
Write about a firefly
Too many poets shine about the moon.
Dusk has fallen
Stars are strewn across the lawn
They flicker, flash, sparkle, swoon
The field is glowing
Speckled like a newborn fawn
Whose spotlights fade when moonset greets the dawn.
–Buffy Silverman
Maybe I should have followed directions and actually written about the moon? That is, of course, what Karla Kuskin did in “Write About a Radish.”
Here’s a poem from the way-back machine about the moon (but definitely not in June!) It was published in Spider in 2014, and illustrated beautifully by Kristina Swarner:
Happy Poetry Friday! Head over to Live Your Poem to find links to all the moony delights.
I love all the “s” sounds in your 2014 poem…it still sings 🙂
You create such beautiful imagery, Buffy! Thanks for sharing both your old and new poems, as well as that lovely bit of Kuskin’s work!
Hi Buffy! Fun use of Write about a Radish as a mentor poem! I like the image of the field glowing, speckled like a newborn fawn, until moonset. (“Moonset” is a cool word!)
“They flicker, flash, sparkle, swoon” — I love this line, Buffy!
Thanks for sharing your poems, Buffy. Love “Speckled like a newborn fawn” and those webs ready to capture moon. Beautiful!
Oh I love “stars strewn across the lawn.” Fireflies make an appearance in my forthcoming twilight book!
Buffy, it is fun to read how you changed a moon poem into a whimsical piece with active word choices: flicker, flash, sparkle, swoon-very creative and imaginative. The winter poem is filled with beauty and great word choice again: shadows of trees as spiderwebs. Thanks for a different spin on the moon.
Buffy, it is fun to read how you changed a moon poem into a whimsical piece with active word choices: flicker, flash, sparkle, swoon-very creative and imaginative. The winter poem is filled with beauty and great word choice again: shadows of trees as spiderwebs. Thanks for a different spin on the moon.
You’ll be pleased to hear that there is definitely snow in June in Australia, so your Spider poem is timeless! (Just never any snow near where I live! Though we are starting to feel some chill winds blowing up half-heartedly.)
And was it intentional that you not write about the moon – and yet you mimicked and rhymed it with your use of strewn/swoon. So lovely. Too many poets shine about the moon, indeed.
Stars in the lawn are such a beautiful image. Your poetry inspires my imagination.
That’s so nice to hear, Margaret!
Thank you for writing about fireflies — I love them so much!! And the connection to spotty fawns is perfect! I saw a mother deer with THREE gangly spotty fawns this week! (She looked like a nervous wreck. The fawns were oblivious/curious.)
Wow–poor mama! We’ve had a mother deer and her fawn hanging out this week. They do a wonderful job trimming my hydrangeas, hostas, and more!
Love your riff on Karla’s poem. That fawn comparison is lovely. And thank you for resharing your gorgeous poem from Spider!
Thanks, Laura!
Yay for Karla Kuskin and how she still inspires; and I LOVE your “In the Moonlight” poem, Buffy – just magical!
Thanks, Robyn!
I love your own ‘take’ on Kuskin, Buffy, and miss those wondrous fireflies here in Colorado, have special memories of them from my growing up in Missouri. And your poem in spider has a favorite scene, the moon glow shadows on snow in winter. It’s beautiful!
Thank you, Linda!
From ‘spotlights fading’ to a light spot “on glowing snow” we bask in your luminous talent, Buffy. I hadn’t read Kuskin’s radish-ing poem, so thanks for that, too. 🙂
Glad to introduce you, Bridget!
Thank you, Buffy. Your work is delightful as always! I love your take on the Karla Kuskin poem and that you veered from instructions 🙂 Genius description of a field of fireflies “Speckled like a newborn fawn/
Whose spotlights fade when moonset greets the dawn.” Love it. And what a beautiful illustration for your moonlight web poem. Gorgeous words and image!
Ha–I’ve never been very good at following instructions. Thanks for reading, Karen.
Ooh, Buffy, I like both of your poems. Your firefly poem brought me back to being a kid trying to catch fireflies. It did seem like our lawn “was glowing.” I love the simile “the field is glowing speckle like a newborn fawn.” Great sounds and rhyme, I love how you started with the word dusk and ended with the word dawn. Thank you for reminding me about the Write About the Radish Poem. What a great metaphor “their shadows are spider webs” and I love how you continue it all the way to the end “capture the moon.” Clever! Thank you for your inspiration.
Thanks, Gail (and I had not noticed the dusk to dawn in the poem. This is why we need careful readers!)
Write about a firefly indeed! I love what you did there, Buffy. 🙂 And your wintry moon shadows as spiderwebs is so fresh and delightful. Love! Thank you! xo
Lovely poem Buffy especially “Speckled like a newborn fawn,” and all those fireflies-lots of moon-inspired shine in there, along with your snowy moon poem, thanks!
Thank you, Michelle!
Thank you for hosting and the inspiration, Irene!
Oh, I love reading Write About a Radish again. Such a nice reminder to re-read Karla Kuskin. (Have you ever read The Philharmonic Gets Dressed? It’s a favorite of mine.) I like “Write About a Firefly” and “In the Moonlight” very much. You’ve given us some treats here, Buffy.
Yes–I remember reading The Philharmonic Gets Dressed when my now 30-something year old kiddos were young!