Irene Latham - Octopus Postcards

Octopus Postcards
by
Irene Latham

1 
Twiddledeedum, twiddledeedoo
eight arms and nothing to do.

2
I spy a quarter-sized crevice.
Can I squeeze
             creep
             ease
sneeze my way in?

3 
Just look at that scuttling crab
out for a stroll.
Quick, let me turn myself
red as this rock-hole.

4 
Crunch! 
What a yummy lunch.

5 
Soooo sleepy.
See how my eyelids squint
and glint
like sliding doors?

6 
Oh no. Shark!

Does it see me?
I think it sees me.

7 
Can’t think.

Eat my ink! 

8 
Wait. Must calculate.
One two three four five six seven... 

Call that shark “Mr. Amputate.”

9 
Pardon me while I pulsate –

10 
It's okay. Just wait.
Give me a chance
to regenerate.
Soon I'll be back to eight.

©Irene Latham. All rights reserved.

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So, it's Poem in Your Pocket Day, and Irene Latham has provided us with 10 short verses in case you have many pockets that need filling. Or you can keep it all together in one pocket for an Octopoetic series, too. Sweet!

I love the way Octopus Postcards comes across as, well, an octopus' postcards - little snippets that collectively tell a bigger story than each one does by itself.  You can read 'em as fun. You can read 'em as educational. You can read 'em as a character study. No surprise, though, when you look at the rest of Irene Latham's work - a range of poems and novels with strong characters and an eye for detail that "teaches" you what you need to know to make her stories work.

Beyond bringing joy with her novels and poetry, Irene has brought a new tradition to the Kidlitosphere with her April-long Progressive Poem (with which you can follow along through her blog sidebar). Though it often confounds my expectations, I know I look forward each day to seeing what's next in the poem. A nice parallel, really, as I also know I've been looking forward to having Irene Latham here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday Robert Paul Weston brought us Freddy and the Yeti. Tomorrow... Kristin Elizabeth Clark with Pronoun! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.