Octopus Ink

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

by Kate Coombs

Water Sings Blue by Kate Coombs

The famous author hesitates
to pick his pen up.
He is shy. But wait!
He autographs the water
with a single word—
good-bye.

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2012 Kate CoombsFrom the book Water Sings Blue. Chronicle Books. Reprinted by permission of the author.

About this Poem

I started out by writing a poem comparing an octopus to a magician, but it just didn’t turn out how I wanted it to. Then I wrote about an author, and the poem came together. Writing a poem means experimenting with different ideas.

Write Your Own Poem: Pick a career for a specific bird, tree, plant, animal, or bug. Or for a computer, a car, a desk, a planet, anything you want. The trick is that the career should have something in common with your topic. In this poem, the octopus becomes a writer because of its ink. Try different topics until you find one that works for you. Then write a poem making the comparison, including the action of the work. Your poem doesn’t have to rhyme. It can be long or short. But have fun writing it!

About The Author

Children's Author Kate CoombsKate Coombs writes picture books, middle grade fiction, and poetry. She grew up in California near the ocean, where she used to boogie board with her brothers and sisters. She likes to step on dry autumn leaves and thinks frogs are really funny. Her first poetry book, Water Sings Blue, won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award for 2012.

Where to Buy this Book

Buy at AmazonBuy at Barnes & NobleShop Indie Bookstores

3 responses to “Octopus Ink”

  1. This is such a gorgeous collection–beautiful, dreamy, and witty, all at the same time!

  2. Iza Trapani says:

    I am proud to have this beautiful book in my collection!

  3. Jessica Bigi says:

    I love this book and this poem is wonderful

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.