Planting a Draft

The wisteria is blooming, the peonies are almost open—and a new draft is taking root. There are weeds to pull, and a fair amount of watering needed, but I like this dirt-under-my-nails phase of writing. We’ll see what grows. I’ll be in the garden if you need me.

NESCBWI This Weekend

New England commuters, are you wondering why everyone seems to be heading out of town today? That stream of cars and buses you’re passing includes many talented writers, illustrators, editors, agents, librarians, teachers, and possibly a marching band or two, all heading to Fitchburg, MA for the New England SCBWI conference. So honk if you love children’s literature! I’ll be among the crowd heading up tomorrow. Looking forward to it!

And happy anniversary today to my sweetie <3  I’m the lucky one.

Pure Nonsense

You know when you comment on someone’s blog, there’s that window where you type in a word verification? Mostly they’re not “real” English words, but they are fascinating little constructions. So I decided to try my hand at a nonsense poem, using word-verification phrases I’ve come across at fellow bloggers’ sites recently. I’ve had fun thinking about which words sound most like nouns, which verbs, etc., what they possibly could mean, and how they might play together. Here’s what emerged:

THE VIATAINE SHIPTI

Down on the queburn,
where the trowshe often nest,
ablizing from the buctu,
a migratory guest:
a viataine shipti,
grand, fannedly trath,
prooting before me,
feathers wafting on the path.

It gazed at me aloofaced,
and paused its dectine show,
then from its plorm, a mournful song,
“Lubrifie sernagro!”
“Lubrifie sernagro!”

Was it lost in the fasbati?
Had it strayed too far from home?
Was it searching for its bednerst
but had found itself alone?

I may never know the answer,
for with a snest — ’twas gone!

Golessing through the fogym,
a bromi mystery.
If you visit, look and listen for
the viataine shipti.

“Lubrifie sernagro!”
“Lubrifie sernagro!”

###

Happy Poetry Friday. Today’s roundup is at Family Bookshelf. Enjoy!