[Poetry Friday] Rachel Carson: Reborn at Sea

While working on poems to submit for Dare to Dream, the fantastic new anthology edited by Jill Corcoran, I wrote two poems about environmental pioneer Rachel Carson. Jill chose a different poem, but I’m excited to say that both my Carson poems will be shared publicly. This first one, a triolet, is in the September issue of Cricket Magazine. It’s my first publication in Cricket, though I’ve been in Spider before. So excited!

Rachel Carson, Reborn at Sea 

I found myself reborn—at sea—
In rising tides of silver world
Where salt and stars and minds float free
I found myself, reborn at sea,
My old plans drifted far from me
My destiny in waves uncurled
I found myself reborn at sea
In rising tides of silver world
–Laura Purdie Salas

In the magazine, the poem is paired with a terrific feature article about Carson that they already had planned when I sold them my poem earlier this year. Talk about a fast turn-around! And there’s a picture of Carson on her trip to Woods Hole the year she first saw the ocean. So cool!

In case you’re not familiar with Carson, here’s a little background: Rachel Carson planned to be a writer, but her college science classes so intrigued her that she switched her major to biology. In 1929, at age 22, Rachel went to study for six weeks at the Marine Biology Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. She saw the ocean for the first time and fell in love with it and its creatures. That and her fervent belief that all animals, including humans, are connected to and dependent upon each other led to her many books, including Silent Spring (1962). Silent Spring documented the effects of pesticides on our natural world and helped launch the environmental movement.

Sylvia Vardell at Poetry for Children has the Poetry Friday roundup. Speaking of fantabulous anthologies, I hope you’ll check out the Poetry Friday Anthology. It is amazing!