What a wonderful job J. Patrick Lewis did selecting poems for his new anthology, The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry. I was thrilled to see two of my favorite Undersung poets included, Adrien Stoutenberg and Robert Francis, as well as excellent contemporary children's poets like Joyce Sidman (her strange Moeraki boulders splayed by waves "like a spill of fallen / moons in sliding / surf") and Naomi Shihab Nye (in the Badlands, with "Everyone's emptiness made elegant, / even the bison, and black-footed ferret, / even the woman, even the man.") Lewis also included many poems not written specifically for children, which is such a smart decision - love to see such poets as John Clare, Wendell Berry, James Wright, John Keats, Edward Thomas - and even D.H. Lawrence! And 'natch, how exciting to see poems from all the Poetry Friday friends.
Here is the one poem I have in the book. As published, there was an editing glitch in the last line. Here's the correct version:
Mammatus Clouds
Thunder coming with its usual heavy hammer
and the sky strange, bubbled
with clouds, the air humming
and warning us away.
Tornado coming today with its terrible trouble
and the sky pouched,
pockets of ice and water waiting
for their own best moment to burst.
Hard weather coming, for the worst reasons:
warm air, cool air, thermal instability,
wind shear, sublimation---
we cotton to the calmest explanations.
Something coming. Could be okay, could be misery---
who knows which or why?
Look at that sky, filled with questions marks,
every mark a mystery.
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Today's round-up is being hosted by Janet and Sylvia at Poetry for Children. Head over there to see what other people have posted!
And I have a post today over at Books Around the Table - musings about trees, tree roots, and learning to love the bumps in the road.
Love that last stanza!!! Hope to respond to the ominous clouds as a Providential invitation to explore the mysterious invitation-questions they propose Thank you so much!!! As a child, I loved to look up at the clouds, imagining/naming their forms. Thank you for that happy reminder to look up! God bless you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, CB. The book is chock full or reminders to look up, down, in, out and any way the wind blows!
Delete"up, down, in, and out..." I love following the lead of prepositions to broaden horizons--visual and emotional. Thank you!
DeleteI'm looking forward to seeing this anthology, and savoring the wide variety you mentioned. This kind of weather doesn't happen often in Colorado, but I grew up in Missouri with those "pockets of ice and water waiting/for their own best moment to burst." Your poem shows you know this too.
ReplyDeleteAren't clouds just mesmerizing? Especially when you travel and you realize that different places in the world can have different kinds of clouds. Not many guide books tell you that! Thanks for visiting the Drift Record today, Linda.
DeleteLove your question mark-filled sky! This anthology sounds like a treasure trove--looking forward to seeing it.
ReplyDeleteI bet you'll love it, Buffy. I can't wait to share it with my grandson. There's something in it for everybody!
DeleteDifferent countries have different types of clouds? OMG, I never knew!
ReplyDeleteSo what happened with "editing glitch"? How disappointing that must have been. I like this line, for the way it sounds, "we cotton to the calmest explanations."
I'm happy you mentioned Robert Francis. I stumbled across him once and have been looking for his work since that time. I shared two of his poems on Random Noodling. Neither were his bird poems, which I find to be little gems. "The Hawk" will knock your socks off! If you don't find it, let me know, I've copied it out.
Well, it's more like different regions have certain clouds that are most common there, Diane. The clouds over southern Arizona and the Sonoran dessert don't look like the clouds over British Columbia, due to different prevailing weather systems. For a treat, look up "undulatus asperatus," more common to the skies over the Great Plains. Gorgeous!
DeleteSonoran dessert?? I didn't really type that, did I? DESERT!!
DeleteDiane, I've got Robert Francis's Collected Poems 1936-1976 - will look up 'The Hawk.' Thanks for the heads-up. Here's a link to an essay I wrote about him:
Deletehttp://numerocinqmagazine.com/2013/10/08/undersung-robert-francis-not-robert-frost-julie-larios/
I think my favorite Francis poem is "Yes, What."
When I saw that picture they had matched with your poem, I was mesmerized - so cool! Congratulations, Julie...nicely done!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matt!
DeleteLove that word COTTON tucked into the poem with one meaning, and in the photo with another!
ReplyDeleteI like that word, too, Mary Lee - such a great verb, "to cotton." I didn't grow up using it that way (as a verb) but the first time I heard it used colloquially (maybe To Kill a Mockingbird?) I thought YES! The opportunity to use it in a poem about clouds was irresistible.
DeleteThis poem made me google Mammatus clouds. In my 20s I took nature for granted, forgot how much I loved it as a child. In my 30s I find myself wanting it more. I love this poem as I love clouds and am constantly fascinated by them.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Glad to hear you are getting back into nature. Have you seen The Book of Clouds by John Day (known as "The Cloudman - he's a "cloud physicist," isn't that amazing?) The photos are beautiful.
DeleteHi, Julie, and thank you for joining our Poetry Friday gathering this week-- and for sharing your new poem from the NATURE anthology. What a gorgeous book and marvelous poem! What a bummer that your last line is not correct in the print version-- I hope they can fix that in future editions!
ReplyDeleteThank you and Janet for featuring National Hispanic Heritage month! I hope American kids grow up knowing a bit about the achievements of the farmworkers' s union - or even about labor unions in general!
DeleteI'm sure the glitch in the last line of my poem has been flagged for a fix next time around. Pat's anthology is so beautiful, I'm sure it will go into multiple printings. He's done a wonderful job as anthologist.
"Heavy hammer" is a terrific visual, so viscerally accurate.
ReplyDeleteGreat ending, Julie, and a wonderful topic.
Thanks, Tabatha - and BTW: I was really intrigued by the Amy Lowell poem you posted this week. Have been thinking about it, and about art/artist - the perception of that "unit" which isn't really a unit. And I'll keep my ears tuned for some flute music...
DeleteCor--I read your opening before I went to find out about this cloud phenomenon that I've never heard of...
ReplyDeleteThunder coming with its usual heavy hammer
and the sky strange, bubbled
with clouds, the air humming
and warning us away.
Tornado coming today with its terrible trouble
Look how you doubled all those letters (like in mammatus) and how you chose all those heavy pouches of sound waiting to burst: thunder, coming, hammer, bubbled, humming, trouble.
Real tornado music! and real poetry. Congrats on your publication!
Sorry so late to this post, Julie. What a terrific poem! I love the suspense you build right from the get go with thunder's "heavy hammer" and the sky "bubbled with clouds." Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle!
ReplyDeleteI'm WAY later than Michelle to this party. But hearty congrats, Julie - and what a glorious poem. All of the delicious language, and those haunting question marks.... I've had a quick peek at this collection but need to get my hands on it and really peruse. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete