In celebration of National Poetry Month, I am inviting several poet friends to join me in my daily endeavor of paying poetic attention to the world. This week I am sharing the practice with dear friend Amy Tingle of The Creativity Caravan. Follow her on Instagram at @tingle for daily doses of inspiration, creativity, shenanigans and community based delight.(for Sheila Abdus-Salaam)

this poem is a prayer
i don’t know how to hold.
a song for the bodies
that came from the water,
that came through the water,
that came to the water
wanting safe passage.

incantation at water’s edge.
lamentation, water lapping.
circular chanting without end.
water, water, water, water.
wait. her body. wait, her body.
wait, her body in the water.
the wait of her body, in the water.
the weight of her body
dragged from the water.
the water in her body.
the sight of her body in the water.
the fact of her body
floating lifeless in the water.

Sheila Abdus-Salaam
we found your body in the water.
we say your name, a peaceful greeting.
your honor, your honor
we are the lighthouse that failed you.

photo and poem by katherine ferrier ©2017

Changing Everything Carefully*
These flowers stand for forgiveness.
When she sent them,
they meant I’m sorry for your loss.
But the farm girl won’t mind if I adjust the blessing,
make the petals an altar to April showers and
to the way our whole world tilted
on its axis when you arrived.

photo and poem by Amy Tingle ©2017