Funny how inspiration can come from anywhere and turn into anything.
Take this poem, for example. My daughter, Katherine, was about a half-mile down the road from our house, walking home from school one day. She was looking down, fiddling with her iPod, but when she raised her head she discovered a bull moose standing in front of her, a mere 15 feet away.
One could say she was a wee bit surprised. Fortunately, she didn’t stare at him (that can make them think you’re challenging them, and they’ll charge) and he simply walked right on past her and into the woods. She breathed a huge sigh of relief – and told us the news as soon as she got home.
The idea of meeting a moose so randomly like that stuck in my head for a few days, and eventually came out as this. Not sure what I’ll ever do with it – but I hope you like it! And for more delicious Poetry Friday offerings, be sure to visit Jama’s Alphabet Soup for the complete banquet of info and links!
“Problem Solved”
On a bike ride to school one day who should I meet
but a moose on the opposite side,
and he seemed rather tired when he stopped and inquired
if I’d possibly give him a ride.
Well, I tried to oblige, but because of his size
there was not enough room on the seat.
So we then both agreed and decided that he’d
take the pedals and I’d use my feet.
– © 2010, Matt Forrest Esenwine
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Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme 
Pingback: the poetry friday roundup is here! | Jama's Alphabet Soup
I love the poem. If were a little longer, it would make a GREAT picture book. I’ll be going to the meeting Saturday – have to repond – and we can maybe talk a few minutes.
I may have a company in California do everything (including the voice) because they can do everything related to ebooks. I just found out about them – and spoke to them briefly. In addition to production – they do distribution and they get the books into all of the formats – so that’s a big deal. They seem to coordinate the voice when they produce the ebook. This is what they do.
I was at a conference to learn to sell books in quantity (boy do I need that!) in Philly last week and met a woman who has used that California company – http://www.kitereaders.com. So, I’m up in the air about what I should do next. There’s so much to think about.
In any case, I’ll see you tomorrow – and your poem of the week is great! Kathy
Kathy Brodsky (603) 668-1975 kathy@kathybrodsky.com http://www.kathybrodsky.com http://www.helpingwords.com
Quoted in the Wall St. Journal: http://tinyurl.com/wsj2010; Girl Scouts Studio: http://tinyurl.com/lw6gth7 My Bent Tree &The Inside Story honorable mention Green Book Festival 2010; The Winner Is & Stover Creative Child Preferred Choice Award 2011; A Horse Named Special – Creative Child Magazine Picture Book of the Year 2012; A CatFish Tale – Creative Child Magazine Picture Book of the Year 2013
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Thanks for stopping by, Kathy – and for the info! I’ll look forward to seeing you & chatting more.
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You are so clever with the endings, Matt. This is funny. I can see someone creating a wonderful illustration to accompany it, too! As I said on FB, the moose have been appearing in random places this fall on the outskirts of Denver, one even ended up on a backyard trampoline-on the news, of concern, but finally found the ‘door’. Poor scared moose!
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A moose on a trampoline? Now THERE’S an illustration I’d like to see!
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Fun poem — like the ending! And I’ve always wanted to see a moose in person . . . thanks for the tip about not staring at them. 🙂
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Thanks, Jama. I’m glad I was able to keep you safe.
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What a quirky, fun poem, Matt! Had no idea the New Hampshire wilds were so treacherous.
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Thank you, Michelle! Between moose, bear, fishers, and coyotes – and a bunch of unconfirmed reports of cougar sightings – NH definitely puts the ‘wild’ in wildlife.
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And don’t forget the giant flocks of wild turkeys that will stand in the middle of the road and give you “attitude.” NH is a wild place.
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Great one Matt. I found myself smiling out loud 🙂
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Thanks, Derek!
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Thanks for the advice about not staring into a moose’s eyes. Not that I’ve ever gotten close enough to one. I did spend a couple of hours in a car on Moose Alley in Pittsburg, but, that’s about it.
The image of a moose pedaling is priceless!
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A dearth of moose on Moose Alley, I presume?
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Matt, Love the moose story and accompanying poem, especially the end. Can I commission a poem from you? We have had a raccoon eating all our satsumas on the tree in our backyard. The ground is littered with the peels. We’ve lived in this house for 9 years and this is the first time this has happened. Can you imagine what that raccoon is thinking as he feasts every night on our abundant citrus?
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Well, here’s a quick one I whipped up. (I only spent about 20 minutes on it, so it’s not perfect…)
I asked the raccoon in my satsuma tree
why he can’t leave one or two just for me…
he eats all the fruits – all I’m left with are greens!
“I could’ve sworn,” he replied, “they were all tangerines.”
– © 2013, Matt Forrest Esenwine
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That is great! I hope you don’t mind if I share! My students are going to love it!
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Sure, by all means, share away! I hope they like it, Margaret.
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Love this! It’s delightful! And I’m jealous of your daughter. I always hope to see a moose on our occasional visits to northern MN, but so far, no go.
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Thanks, Laura! It’s funny, I’ve lived in NH and VT almost all my life – yet I never saw a live moose or the Northern Lights until about 10-12 years ago. Some things are more elusive than others, I suppose.
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Great! I can just see the illustration in my mind…
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Glad you liked it, Ruth…I usually try to write poems that will provide some good imagery, so I’m happy that this worked!
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Your daughter is a quick thinker. I would have screamed and been attacked in the process. Your poem sounds like the beginning of a lovely picture book filled with poetic adventures with a moose
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Thanks, Myra! I’ve had a number of folks tell me it should become a PB…so I may have to consider working on that!
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Very funny!
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Thank you, Liz!
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