a big snowman
John Terry, whose book of poems, Building Wings, came out recently, sent me this poem he wrote a few years ago after seeing my previous photo of Katie on a snowball. So here it is
A True Story
When I was five my dad showed me
how a snowball rolled in snow gets bigger.
So I rolled my snowball in the snow
until it was too big for me to move.
Then I called my friends to help
and we rolled our snowball in the snow
until it was too big for us to move.
Then my dad came out to help
and he rolled our snowball in the snow
until it was too big for him to move.
Then we called my uncle to help
and we all rolled our snowball in the snow
until it was too big for anyone to move.
It was so big
we made it into a snowman,
with a carroty nose and potato eyes,
a tattered scarf, and a broom to lean on.
He was so big
that when the snow melted
he took a whole week to run away,
and even then,
left the broom and scarf behind.
But I do know he took his carroty nose
and potato eyes with him.
Because when I looked,
they'd gone.
John Terry, whose book of poems, Building Wings, came out recently, sent me this poem he wrote a few years ago after seeing my previous photo of Katie on a snowball. So here it is
That's the best part and the saddest part, the snowman is always the last to go. I like the poem.
ReplyDeleteHave you got a collection of Katie on a snowball pictures for every year?
No, that's it for now on the Katie-on-a-snowball front. There are some very inventive snowmen appearing around the place, though. Hopefully I'll manage to photograph some before it's too late...
ReplyDeleteI see the book is already out of print---good that he sold out, not so good that I didn't order one earlier. But the poems are good, so another printing is as good as promised.
ReplyDeleteIt's not out of print yet, Larry; but the distribution leaves something to be desired. I've been hawking ...sorry, offering.... the book when I do the rounds with the other titles I look after, but that's only very local. If you really wanted a copy, let me know.
ReplyDeleteOf course it's at amazon.uk, I had only looked stateside. Thanks, I'll send you an e-mail.
ReplyDelete