It’s almost Summer Reading Club time (also known as the most wonderful time of the year for children’s librarians), and this year the theme in my province is “Under the Sea” with art by local author and illustrator Hayley Lowe.
I was inspired by this delightful theme to write an ocean-inspired poem. I did a quick search for “unusual ocean creatures” and was spoiled for choice – the oceans are full of wild and wonderful critters unlike anything we might find on earth!
For this week’s poem I settled on the “sea pig”, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, is not a pig. It’s not even a mammal! The sea pig is actually a kind of sea cucumber – which is not, in fact, a cucumber, or any kind of plant. No one seems to know how the sea pig got its inaccurate name, beyond the fact that they sometimes have a pinkish hue, which is a bit of stretch, if you ask me!
I’ve got some amazing programs planned for this summer, focusing on the wonders of the underwater world, including a “gross animal” program, and a celebration of one of my favourite oceanic mammals, the manatee!
I have a feeling some more water-based poetry is in my future – there’s so much inspiration to be found, to quote Sebastian, “down where it’s wetter”!
Also – I just realized it’s Mother Day this weekend, I completely forgot, which is funny, seeing as I am in fact a mother. So, in a sea of motherhood-themed poetry, enjoy this ode to a sea cucumber. ;-D
Have a wonderful weekend, poetry friends!
Cathy is our Poetry Friday host this week.