First, Linda Baie at Teacher Dance (my Poetry Friday holiday exchange buddy) sent me a stack of postcards and these treats:
 |
| This Mary Engelbreit tin is meant for cookies, but it's the perfect size for postcards. |
 |
| Holiday postcard tea towel from Linda. |
My friend Jennifer Lewis, a fabulous writer, photographer and mom, sent some cards along with this:
 |
| Postcard jewelry! Wow. |
And Susan Taylor Brown, another Poetry Friday friend, sent some pinup models and postcards of her beloved hummingbirds. (See one above in the Mary Engelbreit tin.)
You can read about my poetry postcard project here. A post about the first poem is here, and the third poem is here. Sorry about the unnumerical order -- I got so excited about the mosquito poem, I had to share it first.
I'll begin sending the cards out on January 1, one per day until my 44th birthday on February 22.
To keep you entertained until your mailbox is poem-bombed, here is postcard poem #3. It is paired with a 1960s era postcard of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, one of my antique store finds.
Speedway
Welcome, Visitor,
to the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.Five hundred miles,
lapping the same stands
two hundred times.
to the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.Five hundred miles,
lapping the same stands
two hundred times.
You
think
you would rather
spend those miles,
somewhere worth-
while – five hundred
you would rather
spend those miles,
somewhere worth-
while – five hundred
miles
in your ‘65 Mustang
V8
and you’d have the pick
of
sixteen states
you’ve never set foot in.
But you are here,
Visitor. The wheel
with golden wings
you’ve never set foot in.
But you are here,
Visitor. The wheel
with golden wings
floats
above your head.
Sit
and watch
the
racers
flash before your eyes.
flash before your eyes.
by Laura Shovan
If you'd still like to sign up for a postcard, let me know.
(Yes, my first car really was a '65 Mustang. It was fast, but postal trucks are more reliable.)
This week's Poetry Friday host is Carol at Carol's Corner. There are sure to be some great "Best of 2012" posts, which you'll find listed at Carol's site.
Happy New Year!
My mom tells me my parents went to the Indy 500 before I was born. I get cross-eyed trying to imagine them there.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great project!
Thanks for the comment, Liz. My parents met at the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York. I feel the same way -- strange to imagine them there and yet it is part of the mythology of our family.
ReplyDeleteTerrific poem, Laura! (Personally, I think I'd rather see several states than go in umpteen circles.)
ReplyDeleteAnd I love, love, love your postcard project. Thanks for sharing these treasures bestowed thus far, from such lovely poets themselves... :0)
I'm intrigued by your postcard project. And I love this poem. Every time I hear about a car race, or come across one on television, I wonder how anyone could sit and watch people go around and around and around. Like you, I'd much rather tour the open road!
ReplyDeleteHi, Robyn. I was thinking about how far 500 miles could take you and how, as a new driver, I never actually ventured all that far from home.
ReplyDeleteCarol, I appreciate the comment. Glad you liked the poem!
What a fun project! Happy Birthday EARLY!!
ReplyDeleteMy memory of the Indy 500 was my dad listening to it on the radio!! The song of those laps is burned in my memory!
Great take on something I haven't thought much about! Love that project of yours!
ReplyDeleteWell, of course I'd like a postcard, but I already have one, as you know. So if you have all 44 taken, I understand. This is a marvelous project and to celebrate your birthday too, Laura. I hope you'll allow me to share what you sent me sometime. I will need to wait until I get a new printer/scanner, but would love to share the poem & the postcard. It's so exciting that you're receiving cards from different places. My memory of the Indie 500 is that a former student's father took him every year (from Denver!). It was a special, special relationship.
ReplyDeleteI would sure rather the open road. I get dizzy thinking about around and around 200 times.
ReplyDeleteYour project is intriguing. Where did you get the idea? I hope you will post more poems and postcards. I look forward to following your progress.
anyone want to come over and see my Moths of Great Britain (4 volumes) or A Natural History of British Butterflies- both by Rev Morris- (i collect books)please contact dave eberhardt- while u r here we can also look at the 8 vol. Ferns, British and Exotic in 8 volumes and discuss the Highclere Library.
ReplyDeleteHi, Dave. Thanks for the offer. I should send you more of the photos Julia took at Wollaton Hall. The collection is extensive. Kind of gross that "gentlemen" were expected to have preserved animals and insects as part of their upper class collections.
ReplyDelete