by
Kate Coombs
chocolate fudge
face smudge
shoe suck
wheel stuck
seed sowed
worm road
kid slip
spring drip
Earth blood
mud
© Kate Coombs. All rights reserved.
Kate Coombs might be best known for her picture books... or maybe for her middle grade novels... but boy, oh, boy look what she can do with only 19 words! I mean, I don't think I'll ever look at mud again without thinking "earth blood," will you? Of course, if you look at her other work, you'll see the same skills on display... even if you won't see a worm road (be it a one laner or a superhighway). 
The Poetry Friday roundup is over at Anastasia Suen's Booktalking blog today. There's a TON going on this month, so be sure to check it out.
Yesterday we saw My Pencil from Robert Weinstock. Tomorrow... The Rock Climber by Michael Salinger. For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.
21 comments:
I just love Kate Coombs. WATER SINGS BLUE is just gorgeous - she identifies something so vital in everything she writes about.
You are right, doing what she did in 19 words is pretty slick (see I'm thinking in mud words). I have "Hans, my Hedgehog" but still not the "Water Sings Blue" book. Soon!
The Water Sings Blue looks fantastic, thanks for the review.
The Water Sings Blue looks fantastic, thanks for the review.
Always a thrill to see another Kate poem. Was mud ever so glorious?
That poem is filthy good.
Earth blood! Kate just nails it. Again. Thank you both...makes me want to go outside. a.
Fabulous poem! I loved making mud pies as a kid, so the opening lines sing "mud pie" to me.
I was tap tapping my feet to the rhythm of this...great poem!
I ordered a copy of "Water Sings Blue" a few weeks ago--but it hasn't come in yet. I'm dying to read it!
I love the simplicity and the depth. Mud. Ha!
What a wonderful poem! What kid doesn't love mud?
Oh boy, ooey gooey goodness all the way through! I experienced a shoe suck on a field trip in second grade, that can definitely make mud memorable. Love the poem!
Best words, best order - this is a perfect example. Kate makes it look simple when it's not - that takes a lot of talent! Thanks, Kate - and thanks for posting it, Greg.
Kate is a favorite. Thanks for sharing this.
I don't mind being dragged through this kind of mud - wonderful! And I just got my copy of WATER SINGS BLUE. Kate's words sing no matter what she writes about.
Oh my, earth blood is perfect. So perfect I wish I had come up with it. Lovely, Kate and Greg, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for bringing us Kate Coombs and her delightful mud!
'Earth blood' - fantastic. Wonderful.
Straight to the point. Something we all need to be aware of when writing children's poetry. Valerie Worth would be impressed.
Great combinations on such a sludgy subject. Yes, earth blood IS perfect.
Gotta love Mud! :P
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