by David L Harrison form VACATION

Hi everyone,

Here’s my word of the month poem. I hope you enjoy it.

Three Balls, Two Strikes, Bottom of the 9th

by David L. Harrison

His eyes claw mine,
talons piercing me where I stand,
prey doomed,
nowhere to dive
nor will to move.

He leans toward me
(I’m not breathing),

straightens,
rocks,
kicks the air,

arm cocks,
hurricane force
catapults.

Bullet-ball.
White blur.
White knuckles.

Eternity.

We’re nearly packed and will probably get away this afternoon or in the morning for seven weeks at Bella Vita in Florida. I’m not wired for WiFi there but my smart phone provides a hot spot that allows me to use my laptop so I’ll be able to stay in touch and get my work done. My agreement with Sandy is that I’ll work from 6:00 to noon or 1:00 and then knock off for the day. I need more time than that but there’s a lot to be said for keeping one’s marriage.

Since I announced that I needed to back off from spending so much time on my blog for a while, I’ve been at work on several projects, one of which will require 100 new poems for a series of five books. As of yesterday, I’ve completed 58 so that’s good progress. I’m also back on a nonfiction manuscript that I started years ago. It’s far enough along that I hope to wrap it up in Florida.

Today I hope to return to my ETERNITY poem for this month. I keep pecking away at it so maybe today’s the day to make it happen. Mary Nida Smith has provided the word for February and I think you’ll like it. I’ll announce it on the first of the month.

My thanks to all for making my blog a friendly and useful place to visit. Keep coming and tell others.

David

Thanks for joining WRITERS AT WORK this month. Sandy and I posted four segments: on the 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th. We appreciate your comments and hope that you will return to the chats now and then to think further about the topic.

Now I want to share information about two upcoming workshops that are part of the Highlights Founders Workshop program. Look them over and tell others who might be interested in the subjects.

814 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431 • (570) 253-1192 • Fax: (570) 253-0179
www.highlightsfoundation.org

For Immediate Release

Contact: Andy Boyles, Science Editor of Boyds Mills Press and
Highlights for Children magazine
Phone: (570) 251-4557
E-mail: contact@highlightsfoundation.org

Nature-Writing Workshop Trains Children’s Authors

NORTHEASTERN PA – In a workshop titled “Nature Writing Boot Camp,” award-winning authors, illustrators, and editors will teach the craft of writing nature books and articles for children.

The workshop will be held by the Highlights Foundation from April 16 to 19, 2012, near Honesdale, Pennsylvania.

“Kids need great reading in nature subjects,” says workshop leader Andy Boyles. “In the tradition of Rachel Carson, John Burroughs, and Jean Craighead George, we need to help kids develop a lasting connection with nature. We’re here to help writers succeed in that work.”

Through presentations, one-to-one writing critiques, and ample writing time, the faculty will help authors propel their writing careers to new heights. The workshop will also feature nature-journaling techniques for improving observational skills and recording details.

The faculty includes accomplished professionals.

Dianna Hutts Aston is the author of many books for children, including the award-winning An Egg Is Quiet and A Seed Is Sleepy, both illustrated by Sylvia Long. The Moon Over Star, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, received a Coretta Scott King Honor Award in 2009. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama chose The Moon Over Star to read at an inner-city school in Washington, D.C., in February 2009.

Robert Hynes has been illustrating nature subjects for both children and adults for decades. During this time, he has created more artwork for the National Park Service, National Geographic Society, and the Smithsonian Institution than any other illustrator in the United States. His illustrations are also found in the Skipping Stones award-winning title for Exceptional Multicultural and Nature/Ecology Books, Muskrat Will Be Swimming.

Nature-journaling expert Mark Baldwin will lead nature walks centered on the techniques of nature journaling. He is education director of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in Jamestown, New York. An avid naturalist and educator, Baldwin has been keeping nature journals for twenty years. Since 1990, he has taught his craft to more than 3,000 students, teachers, and amateur naturalists.

Andy Boyles is science editor at Highlights magazine and the company’s trade-book division, Boyds Mills Press. He has worked with Jack Myers, Sarah C. Campbell, Pamela Kirby, Laurence Pringle, Dougal Dixon, Sandra Markle, and many others.

The workshop will be held at the home of the Highlights for Children Founders, situated in scenic northeastern Pennsylvania. Surrounded by a 1,300-acre forest, the property is home to whitetail deer, timid black bears, and a variety of birds and other wildlife—a naturalist’s delight.

“Nature Writing Boot Camp” is cosponsored by the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History (RTPI) of Jamestown, New York, and the Highlights Foundation, Inc., of Boyds Mills, Pennsylvania.

RTPI is a national, nonprofit nature-education organization with headquarters at the birthplace of world-renowned artist and naturalist Roger Tory Peterson (1908–1996). Dedicated to preserving the collections and legacy of Dr. Peterson, RTPI’s mission is to create passion for and knowledge of the natural world in the hearts and minds of children by inspiring and guiding the study of nature. The mission reflects the belief that people who develop awareness and passion for the natural world will become committed to its preservation.

Roger Tory Peterson saw himself first as a teacher. He used his exquisite skills in painting, photography, and writing to bring the wonders of nature to everyone. Workshop leader Mark Baldwin continues this tradition, emphasizing that “sharing your sense of wonder about nature with children takes special skills. It takes an alert mind, a keen sense of observation, and a passionate heart to translate nature’s language into words that come alive on a page.”

The Highlights Foundation created its Founders Workshops to raise the level of the offering of writing and illustrating for children. A variety of programs are presented for all levels of writers, from those just getting started to those who are published but wish to hone their skills. These workshops are led by successful, supportive authors and editors determined to help writers achieve their goals.

Limited to thirty participants, the intimate setting is unique. Participants are housed on-site in fully-furnished and comfortable rustic cabins.

For more information, contact the program assistant, Jo Lloyd, at 570-253-1192 or jalloyd@highlightsfoundation.org.

***

814 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431 • (570) 253-1192 • Fax: (570) 253-0179
www.highlightsfoundation.org

For Immediate Release

Contact: Andy Boyles, Science Editor of Boyds Mills Press and
Highlights for Children magazine
Phone: (570) 251-4557
E-mail: contact@highlightsfoundation.org

Science-Writing Workshop Trains Children’s Authors

NORTHEASTERN PA – In a workshop titled “Science Writing Boot Camp,” award-winning professionals—authors, editors, and a photographer—will teach the craft of writing for children in the areas of science and nature.

The workshop will be held by the Highlights Foundation from April 19 to 22, 2012, near Honesdale, PA.

“Kids need great writing that takes them into the realm of science,” says workshop leader Andy Boyles. “It’s a huge challenge to create books and articles that capture kids’ imaginations and give them insight into how science works. We’re here to help writers take on that challenge.”

Through presentations, one-to-one writing critiques, and ample writing time, the faculty will help authors propel their writing careers to new heights. The workshop will also feature photography instruction.

The faculty includes accomplished professionals.

Catherine D. Hughes is science editor for National Geographic KIDS and NG Little Kids magazines. She has authored two books in a popular new series for preschoolers: National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Animals and NGLK First Big Book of Dinosaurs. A third book, NGLK First Big Book of Space, is scheduled for publication in October 2012.

Sally M. Walker is the author of many popular nonfiction books and series for children of all ages. Her name is often found on nonfiction award lists, librarians’ best-in-science lists, and teachers’ bookshelves. She is best known for writing Fossil Fish Found Alive: Discovering the Coelacanth and Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland.

Scientist, photographer, and author Doug Wechsler will present the basics of nature photography. He is the director of VIREO (Visual Resources for Ornithology) at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. As part of his job, he explores rain forests to photograph native birds. Wechsler’s books include the award-winners Frog Heaven: Ecology of a Vernal Pool, Bizarre Birds, Marvels in the Muck: Life in the Salt Marshes, and many others.

Laurence Pringle has written more than one hundred books for children about animals and insects as well as humanitarian and environmental issues. Among his many honors and awards, he has received a lifetime achievement award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2006, Larry was awarded the Guggenheim Foundation fellowship for science writing. His new book, Billions of Years, Amazing Changes: The Story of Evolution, debuts as a result of this fellowship.

Andy Boyles is science editor at Highlights magazine and its trade-book division, Boyds Mills Press. He has worked with Jack Myers, Sarah C. Campbell, Pamela Kirby, Laurence Pringle, Dougal Dixon, Sandra Markle, Doug Wechsler, and many others.

The workshop will be held at the home of the Highlights for Children Founders, situated in scenic northeastern Pennsylvania. Surrounded by a 1,300-acre forest, the property is home to whitetail deer, timid black bears, and a variety of birds and other wildlife—a naturalist’s delight.

The Highlights Foundation, Inc., created its Founders Workshops to raise the level of the offering of writing and illustrating for children. A variety of programs are presented for all levels of writers, from those just getting started to those who are published but wish to hone their skills. These workshops are led by successful, supportive authors and editors determined to help writers achieve their goals.

Limited to thirty participants, the intimate setting is unique. Participants are housed on-site in fully furnished and comfortable rustic cabins.

For more information, contact the program assistant, Jo Lloyd, at 570-253-1192 or jalloyd@highlightsfoundation.org.
Filed under: A workshop I recommend, Highlights Foundation Tagged: Highlights Founders Workshops ]]> http://davidlharrison.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/opportunities-for-writing-workshops/feed/ 0 davidlharrison http://davidlharrison.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/writers-at-work-regarding-the-emperors-new-clothes-part-4/ http://davidlharrison.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/writers-at-work-regarding-the-emperors-new-clothes-part-4/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:00:59 +0000 davidlharrison http://davidlharrison.wordpress.com/?p=7154 Continue reading →]]>

Hi everyone,

Here we are again with WRITERS AT WORK. This is the fourth episode of the month’s topic, which is about the ways in which today’s authors strive to promote themselves and/or their books. It’s my turn. The previous episodes were posted on January 3, 10, and 17.

WRITERS AT WORK
Topic 10: REGARDING THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES
Part 4: David

Good grief, Sandy! Recycled energy theory? I’m going to need help from readers on this one! But off the top I’ll say that I love lists and yours is brief, to the point, and provocative.

So the answer to the author’s self-promoting dilemma, as you say, is to discover ways to promote ourselves that feel comfortable and are fun to do. Hmmm. Well, everyone is different and comfort levels are going to differ too. A list of options that are available to enterprising and energetic authors isn’t all that long. One can visit schools; speak at PTAs and other local groups; hand out business cards and flyers; attend conferences to meet, greet, and sign books; get interviewed on local radio and television stations; be reviewed or interviewed by local magazines and newspapers; and ask at local book stores and libraries about signing and speaking opportunities. The list should include sending letters and e-mail notes to those who might like to know about an author’s latest accomplishment. One can also enter a variety of contests and, for the higher rollers, there’s the possibility of renting a booth at conferences and selling wares directly to the conference attendees. That’s a little like standing behind a fruit stand hawking your own melons, but what the heck. For some, it’s the very ticket.

And these days there’s a host of Internet-based social media options: websites, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, podcasts, videos, YouTube, Skype and so on. Sandy, so far I’ve tried several of these so let me tell you more about my experience with blogging.

When Kathy Temean created my website in 2009, I was proud of the way it looked and glad to finally join the rapidly growing number of authors who present themselves to readers who routinely search the web for people who write and illustrate books. When Kathy urged me to establish a blog presence, I said no but it didn’t take her long to persuade me to give it a try. I never imagined how time consuming and exhausting it can be to maintain a decent, on-going blog.

For one thing, writers write. So give us a blog, it’s like handing out free paper to write on each day and share with an audience of mostly anonymous readers who might or might not drop by to check out what we have to say. It doesn’t take long to begin to feel pressure to make the most of the opportunity. This isn’t Twitter. You have more than 140 characters. It isn’t Facebook. Blog readers don’t want to know what movie you like this week. A writer’s blog is about content and the merit of the content says a lot about the writer. I may write my blog in my pajamas and robe, but I want what I write to be decently dressed and have its hair brushed.

Early on I established a series of interviews of people I know or want to know who are in the business of writing or illustrating or editing or publishing or agenting or teaching or professoring. It has been a fascinating experience and I’ve learned much along the way. But fun though it is, interviewing someone is neither simple nor quick. So far I’ve done about five dozen and look forward to adding others when my time is less restricted than it is at the moment.

I also started a program for poets of all ages called Word of the Month Poetry Challenge. Until recently, I recruited judges who agreed to read entries and select their picks for monthly winners. These days, poets continue to post their work on my blog but we’ve dispensed with judging. In addition, I’ve posted writing tips on poetry, fiction, and nonfiction and, of course, you and I have engaged in several months of chatting in our WRITERS AT WORK series.

All of this takes time – hours of it. Sandy, you may observe that these blog activities have little to do with promoting my work. Like you, I usually find it far more comfortable to cheerlead for others than to wave my own baton and hope there’s a parade behind me.

The benefits of social networking (yes, I also tweet and have a Facebook page; sigh) include the meeting of many fascinating people. If you call this a “circle of influence,” then I suspect that mine has grown. I hope that some of my words and those of others who have appeared as my guests or left comments have been beneficial to readers who drop by.

Am I selling more books as a direct and measurable result of my blogs and tweets and LinkedIn connections and Facebook friends? Sandy, it beats me. I want to say yes but I don’t have a yardstick (blog-stick?) for this situation. I think the answer is yes. Certainly I’m busy with books to write. I’ve made meaningful contacts with additional publishers. My publishers know that I’m out there trying to do my part. The price of the effort? It can be hours a day. I’m fortunate in that I have no “second job” to go to and can spend up to twelve hours on good days working at my trade. But not everyone can afford to give up an hour or more of their writing time to add Internet-based efforts to their marketing campaign.

So, my friend, we’re back where we started. Every author is expected to help promote his or her work. The trick is to choose ways that feel comfortable and fun so that it generates energy. Then, according to Sandy Asher’s theory, we can use that energy to fuel more writing! I’m good with that.

David

We got in last night from California. I attended an education leaders summit sponsored by Teacher Created Materials in Newport Beach. People from all over the United States plus at least three other countries attended to exchange views and seek information. Tim Rasinski gave the keynote address. The whole event was most impressive. Tim and I are partnering on a number of new books so I enjoyed the opportunity to spend time together. He and I spoke briefly about poetry and read some of my poems for two voices at the banquet on Friday night so that was fun too.

Sandy and I will be home for a few days before leaving for Florida on Thursday or Friday to stay at the condo. I have an office there too so once we get settled I’ll get into a regular schedule. I plan to work from 6:00 – noon or so and spend afternoons and evenings with Sandy. I have a lot of reading to catch up on, we will walk the beach, and I’ve promised myself to spend some time each day at the gym on the floor above our place.

Thanks for all the poems being posted this month. I’m enjoying them! Mary Nida, I hope you see this because I’m going to send you a note to ask you to provide the word of the month word for February.

More soon.

David

On January 16 it was my pleasure to feature Cory Corrado’s new book of poetry. I met Cory last June when she and seven other poets joined me in Honesdale for a delightful experience of thinking, talking, writing, and sharing poetry for a few days.

I’m so happy that Cory is returning this year for an expanded version of our poetry workshop. Not only is Cory returning, but several others are coming back too. Last year we topped out at eight but this time there are three poet leaders — Rebecca Dotlich, Eileen Spinelli, and me. We will also have three special guests — Melanie Hall (award winning artist), Marjorie Maddox (director of creative writing at Lock Haven University, English professor, and published author/poet), and Rebecca Davis (editor-at-large for WordSong) — so we can handle sixteen instead of eight. Right now we have eleven signed to come and have room left for five more. If you have an interest in joining the fun, or know someone who really ought to attend, please sign up or pass this along.

Dates are May 13-17, 2012. The place is in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, home of the founders of Highlights for Children. For a few days we’ll live, work, and play together in the wonderful new conference/workshop center and stay in comfortable cabins a few yards away. Here is a brief description from the Highlights Founders Workshops page. For more information, here’s the link.

http://www.highlightsfoundation.org/fw-sched/2012/poetry-for-all

Whether your passion is writing poems for little ones or a more mature audience, our goal is to bring together poets to play with words and sounds. Polish your poetry skills by discussing, writing, revising, and working on the craft of poetry. This workshop offers plenty of interaction, direction, and creative writing time. We’ll focus on the essential elements of poetry and the importance of word choice, with plenty of writing exercises, followed by group and editor evaluations. As a group, we’ll explore poetry from morning till night. We’ll examine the use of poetry in children’s books, including collections of poems and picture-book stories written in verse. Our days will include exercises, brainstorming, optional nature walks, journaling, quiet writing, shared writing, read-alouds, and group discussions.

I look forward to seeing many of you in May!

David

Hi everyone,

Today it’s Sandy Asher’s turn to add to our informal chat about writing. This month’s topic, Regarding The Emperor’s New Clothes, deals with how writers are coping with the need to promote ourselves and our work to keep in step with the economic stresses on publishers. Parts 1 and 2 were posted on January 3 and 10 respectively.

We think this is a timely subject and one that impacts on most authors at least to some extent. Please join the conversation with your own observations. Mara Rockliff added some very savvy remarks last Tuesday to my Part 2 so be sure you go back to reread what she has to say on the subject.

WRITERS AT WORK
Topic 10: REGARDING THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES
Part 3: Sandy

David, I think you put the key to sorting out our feelings about this writers-as-marketers situation right there in your Afterthoughts, where you said “But I’m lucky. Not everyone gets to do what they love most.”

Many moons ago, Beverly Cleary became a much-discussed legend among teachers, librarians, authors, and event planners, not only for her wonderful books but for her absolute refusal to speak to groups of children. Finally, she wrote a piece for the New York Times explaining why: As a child, she’d loved a series of books – until the author showed up at her school and completely ruined them for her. As an adult, she had no desire to come between her readers and her stories.

Good for her! Knowing herself and her limits, she bucked the prevailing author visit trend and went her own way, doing what she did best: writing books for children. Of course, she’s Beverly Cleary, creator of Ramona, and, gossip about her though they might, nobody else could come between children and her books, either.

You and I love to write, David, but we also love to visit with children, teachers, librarians, other authors, and anybody else who wants to talk about writing and books and young readers. So that part of marketing is a nice fit for us. But sharing what we do and know and love is one thing, and tooting our own horns is another. The latter makes us very uncomfortable. You rarely distributed your brochures; I made several stabs at designing one, but never printed any copies.

I actually do have experience in PR. My first job out of college was copywriter at an advertising agency. So I’ve got plenty of ideas. Not all of them fit me very well, though, and those that don’t rarely get done.

The question has become, “Are we having fun yet?” And fun, for me, is promoting the entire field, with myself as one small part of it. Hence, my ten years as SCBWI Missouri Regional Advisor, organizing annual workshops at Drury College (now University) that brought in other authors and editors to talk to emerging children’s writers. Hence, also, the America Writes for Kids website, which began small as Missouri Writes for Kids, and has grown to include links to the websites of nearly 500 published authors and playwrights.

And, David, remember our brief period of TV stardom? Fifteen, 30, and 60 seconds at a time? As you’ll recall, after being interviewed on TV for some event or other and not passing out from sheer terror, I found myself thinking about how TV could be used to bring Missouri children closer to Missouri authors. School and festival visits with young people had shown me how much they adored having “their very own” authors and how they went on to read books by authors they’d met with a real sense of friendship and ownership. It seemed important to me that young readers realize more authors than the few they met in person were neither dead nor stranded on a distant island, but living and writing nearby in hometowns just like theirs.

But could I see myself going on TV alone to advance this cause? Absolutely not. So I ended up in your office, laying out my plans, and you hopped on board. Together, we read excerpts from other Missouri authors’ books (and, now and then, from each others’ books), gathered books from authors to give as prizes to kids who wrote to us about their favorite authors, went library-to-library giving after-school programs about Missouri authors, and roped a few of our colleagues into doing 15-second TV spots themselves when they visited Springfield.

We offered our idea – free – to other authors in other states, receiving much approval but no takers. Nobody else opted to do all the work we were doing – also for free. But we were having so much fun! I don’t know about you, David, but it never seemed like work to me. How many retakes did we do because we couldn’t stop laughing?

Trading blog spots with you is also great fun. And I’ve just recently created a Facebook page and am enjoying reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. But what motivated me to join Facebook? The possibility of promoting my husband’s blog, my son’s editing service, and America Writes for Kids, along with my books and plays.

I am who I am, and marketing pressures notwithstanding, that has to be taken into consideration. I have a friend who recently published a book and went whole hog with the self-promotion bit because the small publisher he’s with no longer has a marketing department. He’s invested a good deal of time and money in a publicist, a book trailer, Facebook, etc. When I asked if sales were affected by his efforts, he said he couldn’t be sure. Then he added that HE was being affected, negatively, with feelings of anxiety because he felt he was supposed to be a writer and writer’s write, they don’t crow.

We may have been left on our own to market our books, David, but we’ve also been left on our own to nurture our writing, which means nurturing ourselves. So I’ve reached some conclusions that seem right for me and may be helpful to others:

1. Life is short.
2. I need to write. Emphasis on the “need.” Not “should write.” I need to write because I am very unhappy if I don’t write. (Ask my husband.)
3. Marketing, as my play publisher once said, is a happy thing. It means you have something to market. But it’s not a happy thing if it means doing something that makes me seriously unhappy.
4. The answer is to find – or invent — ways to meet the demands of the current publishing situation that are fun. Fun is energizing. That energy can then be used to fuel the writing.

You’re the one with the science background, David. What say you about my recycled energy theory?

Hi everyone,

I want to tell you about a special accomplishment by Cory Corrado. Cory was one of the poets who attended my poetry workshop last June in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. She, like the other seven members of our 2011 group, brought her own voice and sensibilities to the party. One of Cory’s passions is nature. She takes gorgeous pictures and writes about what she sees around her. She has a spirit that seems as one with the natural world.

Now Cory has brought out a beautiful collection of her work called, NATURE INSPIRES, Poems and photographs by Cory Corrado (copyright by Cory Corrado, 2011).

Nothing could seem more “Cory.” In this group of poems, you learn to know the author and see the world through her own loving filters. From her opening lines (“The soul of nature ignites./The buzz of wild harmony reigns -”) to her last words (“Nature – my breathing space/A sacred place: where I glimpse the divine”), Cory guides me through her world and leaves me nodding my head in appreciation. How can I not love a flower described like this? “Flamboyant cape, snugly draped over her shoulder/Robes billowing, breeze blowing, layers flowing/Ribbon wings flutter, hula fingers ripple . . . ” or a bee “Strawing juice/from pollen wells/on dripping-gold feet?”

Cory’s photographs are stunning. A picture of golden fall leaves moves her to write, “My eyes caress the gold . . . I feel whole.” Looking straight up into another magnificent tree, she sways with the moving boughs: “Mesmerized, I join the ballet.”

Cory, you brightened my day by sharing your new collection. Congratulations! May you write many, many more.

All best,
David

Last year, Gregory Pincus invited me to participate in his April celebration of poetry on his splendid blog and I kicked in an original poem. Here it is (again?) in case I haven’t shared it with you here.
http://gottabook.blogspot.com/2010/04/david-l-harrison-lookit.html

Lookit!
by
David L. Harrison

Lookit!
Lookit me!
My toes grew roots!
I’m a tree!

You say, “Whoa!”
and I say, “I know!”

Lookit my limbs.
They’re big and huge and strong!

You go, “How did your limbs
get to be so big and huge and strong?”
and I go, “I don’t know, they just did.”

And lookit my branches!
They’re all full of storks and parrots
and ostriches building nests!

You say, “Wow! How did you get so many birds?”
and I go, “Because I’m so big and huge and strong,”
and you say, “Oh yeah, I forgot.”

My bark is the toughest bark in the whole world
so no one can chop me down.

Act like you’re a tree chopper with this huge ax –
the biggest ax in the whole world –
and you try and try
but you can’t even make a little chip in my bark
and you go,
“I can’t even make a little chip in your bark,”
and I say, “I know.”

Pretend you see a hippopotamus
making a nest on my tallest branch
and you say, “Wait a minute,
hippopotamuses can’t fly!”
and I go, “This one can,”
and you go, ”How?”
and I go, “Because he’s magic,”
and you just fall down on the ground
because you’ve never seen a magic hippopotamus.

Wait!
Now lookit my toes.
They just grew claws!
I’m not a tree.
Forget about that.
I’m a cat.

© 2010 David L. Harrison. All rights reserved.

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