Blush
The whisper
spreads like
fire or
flu
“The first-place
ribbon goes
to you!”
My cheeks burn
hot as a
sunsharp
ray
I’m a blazing
cardinal,
winging
away
Copyright © 2009 Laura Purdie Salas. From the book Stampede!: Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School. Clarion Books. Reprinted by permission of the author.
About The Author
Laura Purdie Salas is the author of more than 100 books for kids, including BookSpeak! Poems About Books, Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School, and A Leaf Can Be…. Her books’ honors include NCTE Notable, Bank Street Best Books, Eureka! Gold Medal, IRA Teachers’ Choice, Minnesota Book Award, and more. She loves to introduce kids to poetry and help them find poems they can relate to. She has also written numerous nonfiction books. See more about Laura and her work at www.laurasalas.com.
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6 responses to “Blush”
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Love this poem and love this book, Laura. So sorry to here it’s no longer being printed!
You’d think I’d know better than to hit submit before proofreading my own comment! Hear, not here. Duh.
Thanks, Michelle–and I hate that! Even though I know the rules perfectly well and do freelance copyediting, when I’m commenting on something quickly, I find lately that I occasionally use the wrong homophone. And then I’m mortified:>)
Great to see this here, Laura. Many layers to this, would be good to share with some early adolescents I know!
This is a poem I will definitely share with my third graders and it will hopefully lead to a good conversation. So much to celebrate in life, yet at tender ages we sometimes do have that awkward set of fears. Oh, no, BookSpeak! not in print? Need a second edition! It’s a great book.
I see it up on Amazon, Janet! And happily, I have my copy.