Poetry Friday -- Beyond Thrilled

National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry
edited by J. Patrick Lewis
National Geographic, October, 2015

I am beyond thrilled to have a poem in this gorgeous book! To have my words share covers with some of my favorite poems of all times, and to be included with so many of my favorite poets (some whose words-on-page I know, but some whose handshake-hug-or smile I know)...wow! And to be able to page through this book savoring the pictures as much as the words...wow! Thank you, Mr. JPL, for this opportunity, this gift.

My poem is in the ocean section, and to write it, I did exactly what Pat encourages in his forward:

"You needn't leave your chair to write a poem about the wilder shores of creation. A book is your ticket to ride; a photograph is rapid transit to the brain. What kind of poem would you  write if all you had in front of you was an image...?"

I've never been to the Great Blue Hole off the coast of Belize, so I went there through pictures and research. I gazed into its depths and wondered (both with questions and awe). When I finally wrote, I let the Great Blue Hole speak, giving its tribute to the water that created it one drop at a time with the eternal power of erosion.

Flickr Creative Commons photo by Eric Pheterson

I Owe it All to Water

Back in the ice age,
I became a cave.
In my hollow heart, I meditated
on my maker.

Water’s three little atoms have such power:
dripping steadily,
grinding microscopically,
sculpting artistically.

Suddenly
(or so it seemed)
the oceans rose, my ceiling fell, and I was completely
submerged. Filled to the brim. Literally.

Now I am a deep, indigo blue. A circular
sapphire in a turquoise sea: singular.
Breathtakingly spectacular.
And I owe it all to water.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2014



Heidi has the Poetry Friday roundup today at My Juicy Little Universe.