February and I have a history. So when we choose this month's challenge to be "....is a word" poems, I knew my word had to be February. And yet---February (as I've complained before) is often brutal, temperamental, and generally unlikeable---which means it's hard to be "in conversation" with it, as our 2025 theme suggests. Luckily, in contrast, "....is a word" poems are full of word play, and clever imagery, and sometimes humor---all things that I love. This form came to life with the great Nikki Grimes, and you can find several of her excellent poems here. Laura Purdie Salas has a complete lesson plan on them, as well as one of the best examples of the form I've ever read: Sheep is a Solid Word. But in short, these poems are free verse, and celebrate one word and all its implications, including the shape of the letters, the sound of the word itself, and any colors, smells, tastes, and other sensory details the word evokes.
Here's where that led me in conversation with the word February:
February is a Fancy Word
February is a fancy word,
longer than it should be for
a month so short.
Perhaps that’s because it has to hold
plumply grumpy groundhogs,
two pretty perfect presidents,
eons of evidence of black history,
and cartoonish contradictory candy hearts—
MAKE ME/YES/WHY NOT?
----Sara Lewis Holmes (all rights reserved)
And then I tried again, with the same opening line:
February is a fancy word
it trips your tongue
for if you try to say that “r”—
that’s just trouble fe-brewing—-
another foot of snow—
or maybe twenty-two?
----Sara Lewis Holmes (all rights reserved)
Then I moved on to some etymology:
February is an Ancient Word
February is an ancient word
in many languages, meaning:
a month of scrubbing,
a month of mud,
a month of cabbage;
but in Finland,
it's named for
icy pearls that
decorate the trees.
How feb-ulous is that?
----Sara Lewis Holmes (all rights reserved)
And finally, I concluded, as I usually do, by complaining about February:
February is a Messy Word
February is a messy word,
the snarl of snotty sneezes
the blackened dregs of dirty snow
the stink of soppy boots
toppled in the doorway
And worse of all—
the sloppy way it gains
and loses days—giving
babies disappearing birthdays
for the rest of their lives---
messy!
----Sara Lewis Holmes (all rights reserved)
What do YOU think of February?
Please read my poetry sisters' less whiny (probably) poems here:
Poetry Friday is hosted today by Denise Krebs.
There is so much poetry goodness here! I love the list of all the things February holds in your first poem, and the candy hearts ending is fabulous. The second poem made me laugh. (My brother just came for a visit where he left 118 inches behind in NY!) I think my favorite, however is the feb-ulous information about the Fins.
ReplyDeleteSara, each of your February poems are magical. I love what you did with all of them. Absolutely febulous. Fun, fun "trouble fe-brewing". I really didn't dig into the word like others are doing, so now I want to try again and look at a word from all angles. Your poems are amazing models for doing that. As a teacher, I had just two students with those disappearing birthdays. After 40 years, I still always think of Molly V. and Cindy G. around this time when they won't be able to celebrate their real birthday.
ReplyDelete🤣 Yeah, those disappearing birthdays. My cousin Isaac is now almost eleven finally - having only had a birthday every four years, he's a bit of a late bloomer. It IS messy... but now I obviously need to look up Finnish words for things...(I'm doing Duolingo Danish so what's one more Scandinavian lingo?)
ReplyDelete🪷 -tanita
DeleteSara, each of your takes on February lets us view the month through a different window, but I have to say that your first poem with its grumpy groundhogs and candy hearts won my heart! : )
ReplyDeleteLove that you called out Feb for being faux fancy and "fe-brewing" is awesome!
ReplyDeleteWow! So much punnery and great imagery. I love the variety of moods here. Yay for diving in to write about a month you despise, Sara. I knew I was in for a ride when you started with "longer than it should be for/ a month so short." Hehe. I'm also left with the beauty of icy pearls and the snarl of snotty sneezes. Feb sure is memorable in your hands! (Thanks for the sheep shoutout :>)
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful that, although you've professed your hate, you've celebrated this month in all the permutations, Sara! It does pack a lot in & you added the "icy pearls", a nice thing! Our February fills up with both snow & cold, then false spring, prepping for March when we have the same. I mostly want to get through it!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE all the different versions here -- feb-ulous indeed! And the first one, especially, really made me laugh! The "ancient" one, though, is maybe my favorite. A month of scrubbing, mud and cabbage??? LOVE!
ReplyDeleteWow! Not one, but FOUR poems! I think I have to go with February as a messy month, and not just the sneezes and muddy boots, but the careless way it trips us when we try to spell it!
ReplyDeleteThere is so much to love here! I'm not a big fan of February, so I love all of these different views. :)
ReplyDeleteNice, Sara! "another foot of snow—/or maybe twenty-two?" made me laugh. My thoughts on February: I'm glad it's over! The 2025 version lasted about three months. In the past, though, I have embraced it, and fondly remember skating on a frozen local pond with my son, who was around 7.
ReplyDeleteFebruary is without a doubt my lowest point of the year. I cannot even express how thrilled I am that we are now into March, with spring on the horizon. Farewell, February, you shall not be missed.
ReplyDeleteFebruary is one of my least favorite months and I love all your takes on coping with it, Sara. :)
ReplyDelete