Friday, April 27, 2007

Reading: Summer


Alkelda as a little girl

I first read this poem by Myra Cohn Livingston on an old bookmark for a library summer reading program:

Reading: Summer

Summer is with it,
she’s wild,
she likes
bare legs and cutoffs
and camping
and hikes;
she dives in deep water
she wades in a stream
she guzzles cold drinks
and she drowns in ice-cream;
she runs barefoot,
she picnics,
she fishes,
digs bait,
she pitches a tent
and she stays up too late
while she counts out the stars,
swats mosquitoes and flies,
hears crickets,
smells pine trees
spies night-creature eyes;
she rides bareback,
goes sailing,
plays tennis,
climbs trees;
she soaks in the sunshine;
she gulps in a breeze;
she tastes the warm air
on the end of her tongue,
and she falls asleep
reading
alone
in the sun.
--Myra Cohn Livingston

Addendum: Check out the bat poems posted on The Miss Rumphius Effect. You know how much I love bats.

15 comments:

Lady K said...

What a GREAT poem! I'll remember that on for a long time.

Lady K said...

haha oops! "that ONE!" Come on, it's early...

Vivian Mahoney said...

The deleted comment was mine. My computer crashed. Sigh.

A wonderful poem and a beautiful picture! Is this Lucia with longer hair? Thanks for sharing.

Saints and Spinners said...

Lady K: "It's early?" Come on, the fact that you are even mustering the strength to post a comment is enough. You are one tough lady, K.

Vivian Mahoney said...

Now I'm seeing things, the deleted comment is no longer.

Saints and Spinners said...

HipWriterMama: Your comment came in through my email, and I just deleted the deleted comment (for tidiness). That photo is actually ME with the long hair. I appended an explanation at the bottom of the photo. Thank you for stopping by! I'm glad you appreciate the picture. There are times when Lucia looks a lot like me as a little girl, and times when she looks a lot like Bede. It's cool to see the nuances from picture to picture.

Vivian Mahoney said...

I love the picture. I gasped in sheer delight when I saw it. Your face says it all.

Saints and Spinners said...

Thank you, HWM!

Tricia said...

Hello Dear Lady,
Thanks for stopping by and visiting today. I have a fondness for all those animals that seem to draw looks of dread from most folks. I'm so glad someone else out there loves bats.
I love your poem for today!
Best,
Tricia

Anonymous said...

What lovely photo and poem.

Anonymous said...

Awww! That photo is excellent, and so is the poem!

Saints and Spinners said...

I'm glad you all enjoyed the poem. I shall continue to strive to find good ones for Poetry Friday.

Lone Star Ma said...

Gorgeous photo and gorgeous poem. I love summer!

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Loved the photo of you as a little girl - it's like a commercial for tissues. So sweet. Hey, what the hell happened?

Saints and Spinners said...

YP: I grew up! The summer between 5th and 6th grades, I started to talk back to my parents. I was a bit startled by it all, but I felt like I couldn't stop.

The other day, I told a friend of mine that I wanted to play the banjitar. "You need to master one instrument before you start another one," he said.

"Says WHO?" I retorted. He laughed. We both agreed that it was time to stop letting adults tell us what we could and couldn't do.