There are collections of one sort or another in every room in my house. The tops of the kitchen cabinets are filled with antique and vintage crocks and kitchen wares. Baskets filled with seashells are everywhere. Bottles, books, McCoy pottery line bookcases and shelves. Is there a word for serial collectors?
Some of these items are quite small, and as I dusted a shelf in my kitchen yesterday, I started thinking about Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s challenge to readers of Michelle Heidenrich Barnes’s blog, Today’s Little Ditty, to “write a poem about something small, an animal or object you see every day and do not usually give much thought.”
I’ve been working on a poem for this challenge for most of the week and had hoped to share it today but it’s not ready. However, the objects on this shelf made me wonder if I’d chosen the right subject for my poem. Then I realized that it didn’t matter. I could write more than one poem if I wanted to. I certainly have enough small objects to write about!
Here’s a draft inspired by a ceramic figurine that sits on a shelf in my kitchen.
“Pig”
A ceramic pig
sits in a shiny
green wash tub,
his ears and nose
the pale pink
of a winter sunrise.
Like Wilbur
as he licked
the buttermilk
trickling
into his mouth,
a blissful smile
spreads across his face.
© Catherine Flynn, 2016
Thank you to Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna, Beth, Kathleen, and Deb for this space for teachers and others to share their stories each Tuesday throughout the year and every day during the month of March. Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts. And don’t forget to stop by Irene Latham’s lovely blog, Live Your Poem, for the Poetry Friday Roundup.
Reading to the Core 
That is a cute little pig with a blissful smile. I hope to take Amy’s challenge. I like that we have a whole month. What can I dust off to discover a poem?
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Such a great poem about an interesting little trinket. I love the way you compared it to Wilbur, one of my all-time favorite pigs. Have fun dabbling in the wonderful world of poetry.
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Oh, I love your little Wilbur with his winter sunrise nose! Lovely. And YES, you can write many poems, and I hope you will — because I want to read them. xo
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Your Wilbur is adorable. And good for you that you are giving your poetry identity so much room to grow.
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Were you born in the year of the pig? Loved the “milk dripping” simile in your poem.
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I have an E.B. White connection today too, and love that your little “winter sunset” pig connected to Wilbur, Catherine. It’s a wonderful poem about a little thing. I collect things too, and have a lot of old crocks, but sold some in my sale. Some are special, some I found, etc. I think we would make good neighbors!
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Adorable! I love how he is sitting up in the tub and how you capture the winter colors of a subtle sun.
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Your pig poem is so fun, just like your delightful ceramic pig. I was hoping you would include a picture.
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Catherine, I like the way that your little pig has features the color of a winter sunrise. Your pig does look quite blissful. Enjoy your musing.
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What a sweet little pig and poem! Alas, I think I am a serial collector too. So glad I’m not alone. 🙂
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The word for serial collectors (especially collectors of tiny things)? OBSERVANT. I’ve just added two more typesetters trays to my walls to hold my tiny things! And you’ve shown me where to look to find my poem for Amy’s DMC challenge!
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I want to come see your collections and I agree with Mary Lee: OBSERVANT. Reading your poem after Linda’s post on E.B. White’s Spider Web poem was a treat. Love Wilber.
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Adorable pig. Isn’t it funny how some poems arrive without fanfare, simple and complete, and other poems struggle, pull away and flail despite lots of attention and effort? Some days are like that, too, now that I reflect a bit.
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I’m not generally a pig kind of gal, but, oh my, I think I’ve just fallen in love! How could I not with “ears and nose/ the pale pink/ of a winter sunrise.” And that smile… oh, that smile. I echo Irene’s comment, Catherine. 🙂
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[…] pie bird is another small object from my kitchen. (I wrote more about these objects here.) He’s been baked into more apple pies than I could ever count. He seemed like a worthy subject […]
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