Look away in the distance
look up into the sky.
See the orange light float over the hilltops.
Look farther up,
the unimaginable pink,
in the hot colors,
purple clouds dance.
Above all the flurrying clouds,
light indigo sky stirs,
above that,
blue,
beyond that,
darkness --
night was rushing in to have us meet it. 

This is done by guest poet, Alice Jean, my 10-year-old daughter, who I sent outside last night, very near darkness with the instructions, "Get some fresh air."  We had been having unseasonably mild weather all day long, needing sweatshirts even, so she had not been outside much during the day as the sun refused to make a prolonged appearance.

Ali came in after a short period, reporting, "You should see the mosquitos," in response to my question as to how her walk about the yard had gone.  I had been working mega hours at the desk (my "real job"), having virtually no time for writing or even a quick trip around the yard, so I was looking forward to her commentary.  Mosquitos, was all I got in initial response, which was odd, because usually when she is outside, she plays "detective" and comes in reporting all manner of happenings. 

However, before bed she made the off-handed comment, "You should read my poem."  ... which I did, and I share it with you all now, because if you are having a bad day, if work is piled high to the ceiling and you feel you have no time for fun, or "just because," I hope you find this as uplifting as I did. 

Poetry is everywhere, and if you don't have time to craft it yourself, or pull a classic volume from the shelf, you can always count on 10-year-old to drop it at your feet.  On a day when there was literally no sun all day, it made a brief appearance, just in time to set, and I believe she captured it well.  -Anne