I wrote this poem waaaay back in ~ oh, I think it was 1988!  Just for the record, I do not even pretend to be a poet ~ I just enjoy doing this type of writing as an occasional creative alternative to prose ~ my books.  

This poem as well as this page are really collages that are intended to conjure up cozy thoughts and memories which, even in the most difficult and painful times of life, can remain gifts to treasure, re-live, and even heal ~ gifts that we can keep, and at the same time pass on to those in our lives ~ who also add to the richness, meaning, and fiber of the collage.

My idea behind for doing this for Homeschool Presentation Night (HSPN), should your group want to do this, is to have each family take one verse and illustrate it on a large poster board. We did this one year, the year I wrote it, and it was SO fun!  The creativity and diversity of each "work of art" were just amazing! 

You might print out all the verses (very large print) onto paper, one verse per sheet, and give one of these to each family.  Specify the size of the poster board, and then have all the families bring their finished illustrations to HSPN and mount them all around the room, or side by side.  If you want to make this a presentation during the performance part of HSPN, you could have one person read the whole poem while each family shows their verse ~ perhaps have everyone in a line, and then they hold up their poster when their verse is read.  Or have one person in each family do the reading of just their own verse, one after another.

Mostly...  just enjoy and have FUN with it!   

Snow-kissed cheeks

     and clear crisp skies,

        red boots on slushy stairs.

Crackling logs and steaming tea  

     melt January air.

February paper hearts

     in little-hands-cut form.

The spice of love in winter's soup

     makes empty tummies warm.

Skies of March gaze restlessly

     on cold and sleeping Earth,

Hidden hope-buds fill the boughs,

     preparing for

         Spring birth.

Easter alleluias rise

     and rustle through the trees,

Newborn buds announce new life

     and dance on fragrant breeze.

Regal May, adorned with crown

     of larkspur, rose and mum,

Anoints the land with splendor sweet,

     as bees their anthems hum.

Caps and gowns, and veils of white,

     and lily-of-the-valley,

Love-born vows and June beginnings.

     Heartstring-woven gath'rings.

Dazzling sky-bursts. Watermelon.

     Swirling sprinkler-spray.

Hot pink sunsets. Carefree swings.

     July has come to play.  

Lazy lilacs, drone of mowers,

    "five-cent lemonade!"

Ice cream bells,

    night cricket songs...

      Ahhh-gust's serenade!

September's canners bubble.

     Harvest gleams through jars in rows.

Apples. Crayons. Pencil boxes.

     Summer windows close.

October's paintbrush splashes

     golds and reds upon the greens.

Trees shed their coats, we button ours.

     More time now for sweet dreams.

Bounty-laden tables

    beckon thankful hearts

       to feast,

As chilled November sun-rays

    through the frost-framed

       curtains peek.

Busy days and silent nights 

    we await the King we seek.

December gives her gifts,

            then kisses January's 

               cheeks.

© Barbara Edtl Shelton / Originally written in 1988; Slightly revised in February of 2008