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friendquote poem #5
I pick up illinois times most weeks don’t always read all of it but here and there you know it fits exactly
the bottom of silas’s birdcage and boy that bird makes editorial
comments all over the place
©Jacqueline Jackson 2006
Newborns begin life as natural poets, loving the
sound of their own gurgles and coos. And, with the encouragement of parents
and teachers, children can continue to write and enjoy poetry into their
high school years and beyond. A group of elementary students in Detroit,
Mich., wrote poetry on the subject of what seashells might say if they
could speak to us. I was especially charmed by Tatiana Ziglar’s short
poem, which alludes to the way in which poets learn to be attentive to the
world. The inhabitants of the Poetry Palace pay attention, and by that earn
the stories they receive.
Common Janthina
My shell said she likes the king and queen of the Poetry Palace because they listen to her. She tells them all the secrets of the ocean.
Reprinted by permission from Shimmering Stars (Vol. IV,
Spring 2006), published by the InsideOut Literary Arts Project. Copyright
© 2006 by the InsideOut Literary Arts Project. This weekly column is
supported by The Poetry Foundation, The Library of Congress, and the
Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This column
does not accept unsolicited poetry.
Ted Kooser served as the U.S. Poet Laureate from
2004-2006. For more information, go to www.americanlifeinpoetry.org.
This article appears in Jan 11-17, 2007.
