Today is NCTE’s National Day on Writing. This year’s theme is #Why I Write. As I thought about how to respond to this, I realized there isn’t just one reason. There are as many reasons as stars in the sky. I write to remember the moon winking at me in the morning as I stand at my kitchen sink. I write to feel the warmth of my grandmother’s hand in mine once more, and the sweet smell of her kitchen when she baked pies. I could go on and on. Or maybe there is only one reason: love. I write because I love watching people and the world around me and trying to capture the beauty of it all in words.
This poem was inspired by a lone ladybug crawling along my porch railing last weekend. As I watched, I realized it’s just about time for the invasion of the ladybugs.
As red as ripe berries,
a horde of ladybugs
swarm every room,
crawling on walls,
buzzing over chairs,
scuttling into corners
where walls meet ceiling
nestling into beams of warm October sun,
punctuating autumn’s golden days,
declaring summer’s end.
© Catherine Flynn, 2017
Please be sure to visit Leigh Ann Eck at A Day in the Life for the Poetry Friday Roundup.
Reading to the Core 
Wow. I’ve never seen an invasion of ladybugs! And yours (those pictured) are so red! (As ripe as red berries, indeed!) Ours are more orange – even paling to yellow. (It’s kind of funny that I’ve never imagined ladybeetles red – since they always are, in picture books.)
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And so summer should end in riots of color! Love the ladybug photo….it’s kinda creepy too.
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we had a ladybug swarm last year and watching them on the white brick of our house was fascinating. Love your poem with all the action verbs. What better reason is there for writing than love?!
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There is only one reason. Love. YES YES YES! Thank you, Catherine, for sharing your love, and of course ladybugs. xo
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I adore these reasons to write. Your grandmother’s hand once again. Thank you, Catherine. I do love ladybugs too. Happy end of summer (still feels like it here) – and maybe fall – we are looking at possible snowdust next week. More to love, more to love… xx
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Yes, it is time for the invasion of the ladybugs. I much prefer your poem to their actual invasion!
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I love the way you expressed your reasons to write. I write for many of the same reasons. Your line “red as ripe berries” is a perfect description!
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Your intro is a poem, too, Catherine. Oh wow, do you really have the ladybugs in your house? I’ve seen many on a south-facing wall, but not inside, like the spiders! I love that “red as ripe berries” too!
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Catherine, love is a wonderful reason to write. “Punctuating autumn’s golden days” struck me. I was going to use that word today but I chose another. Punctuating has a strong distinction. Those ladybugs are so adorable.
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Those last two lines! And the ultimate reason to write: Love. Yes, yes, yes.
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I agree with the others, surprising, colorful, and perfect in its choice of words. I love this one.
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We have been invaded by fruit flies, so a ladybug invasion would be a welcome. They are certainly cuter! You have captured their invasion perfectly with your choice of words!
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What a colourful invasion, I’ve never seen ladybugs in those kinds of numbers before, must be quite a sight to see!
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Somehow I missed reading this last week. I love your thoughts on writing, so beautifully expressed, and your verb-rich ladybug poem. We have in-home ladybug invasions but those ladybugs are typically of the orange variety. The red ones usually travel alone 🙂
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