If You’re Not From Vermont
A form change poem
(with thanks to David Bouchard, “If You’re Not From the Prairie . . . )
If you’re not from Vermont,
You don’t know the crickets in the woods,
You can’t know the crickets in our woods.
Their sound is sharper than sharp.
Crickets chirp like thunder at night.
When I walk the dog at night, it gives me fright.
They’re like the crack of thunder at midnight.
If you’re not from Vermont,
You just don’t know crickets.
If you’re not from Vermont,
You don’t know the foxes.
Oh, those foxes!
They eat your chickens!
They’re vicious things!
They make a frightening bark
At your farm at night.
It’s terrible.
If you’re not from Vermont,
You don’t know the heat in the summertime.
You can’t know the heat in the summertime.
It burns your skin until it falls off.
It’s so hot you can’t cool down no matter how hard you try.
Socks don’t help.
They only make you warmer.
If you’re not from Vermont,
You don’t know our heat.
You see,
My bangs are the tree branches sticking out.
My toes are its leaves stretching and stretching.
My legs are a rock, stiffer than stiff.
My eyes can see you for miles and miles.
I’ve seen an eagle’s nest far out.
I’ve climbed the mountains like Mount Lafayette.
My home is Vermont.
We liked how you used cool words! We especially liked the descriptive words you used like
“Vicious” and “frightening bark”. What a fantastic poem!