Good morning, Clouds!
Surprised to see you all offshore this spin.
Headed east towards that other continent?
Good luck and safe travels – I wish brisk winds for you!
What’s that you say?
You left this continent clear from coast to coast?
What a treat! Thanks!
Spin away, Earth! Let’s do this!
First up, the marsh.
I hope Camera Lady is ready for me.
I’ll give her some misty rays
through the dead trees and reeds.
Next, I’ll light some south-facing windows as if on fire
to give Breakfast Woman a show.
After that, I’ll lure Woman in Bathrobe
halfway down the block to take pictures of my art.
Keep that spin going Earth!
I’ve got to glow awake Early Rising Writer
and then shine in a kitchen window on
Watercolor Doodler.
I can’t be late to join Morning Walker
under the oaks along the bayou.
All through the flat middle,
I’ll illuminate farmland until I flow through an east door
to warm the bones of an aging Tea Drinker.
Then I’ll light up peaks and eventually their valleys
until I get to my last window
where I peek in on Talented Twins
before the other ocean suddenly appears below.
Behind my line of sight, it’s noon, then night.
Ahead, perpetual morning.
I like looking forward,
creating all those beginnings
over and over again.
©Mary Lee Hahn, 2024
Margaret gave the Inklings our challenge for this month — to write persona poems. For Laura Shovan’s birthday month poetry group on FaceBook, Molly challenged us to write poems inspired by the game I Spy. This poem is for both challenges and for my fellow Inklings. (Can you each find yourselves?)
Here’s how the rest of the Inklings met this challenge:
Catherine @Reading to the Core
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche
Linda B. has this week’s Poetry Friday roundup at TeacherDance.
The image came from Unsplash.
A(nother) Year of Reading 
I love the cast of characters (Camera Lady, Early Rising Writer, Tea Drinker, etc) that get ‘enlightened’. Some of these descriptors sound familiar…
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When I got to Morning Walker along the bayou I realized who these characters are. So clever and inviting!
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I love the details, Catherine, and “all those beginnings?over and over again.” I always rise before the sun, will think of your poem as it moves across my landscape!
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I love this Mary Lee. What a clever and fun way to combine and personalize two challenges! That final stanza is my favorite. Perpetual morning? YES! Thanks for honoring me with a cameo 😉
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Very clever, Mary Lee. I like the line ‘I’ve got to glow awake Early Rising Writer’, even though I must confess to not being so good at getting up to write myself.
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It’s a gift poem, a clever and beautiful gift, made of what I thought was random research texts!! First read is for the tears of recognition. Second read is to admire so many lines, the voice: “All through the flat middle,
I’ll illuminate farmland until I flow through an east door”
“Behind my line of sight, it’s noon, then night.
Ahead, perpetual morning.”
Lovely, lovely, lovely, my friend!
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How cool! It feels like a play.
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Your characters are all so fun. And I love thinking about how the sunrise is just looking to impress us. 🙂
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I like clouds “forward looking” perspective and enjoyed the morning spin! Great stops along the way too, thanks!
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