Yesterday we talked of little ears, today let’s talk about hands.

“With My Hands” is a wonderful collection of poems by one of my favorite teacher poets, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater.  It appeals to every creative urge that I possess (and trust me, I have dabbled in a lot of different creative pursuits over the years–quilting, cross stitching, soapstone sculpting, needle-felting, etc.).  This book praises all the wonderful ways we get to make something out of nothing.

Think about that for a moment.  If you didn’t sit down to write a few words on paper or glue together a few pieces of paper, some magnificent poem or piece of art would never have existed before.  Don’t you get a tiny sense of awe every time you create something you’re proud of and can stand back to look at it and think, “Good grief! I made that!  It wouldn’t have existed without my help.” (or is that just me?)?

This book is full of poems about different creative pursuits that kids might take, everything from soap carving to sock puppets to forts.  I loved the one about painting and the one about drawing, but I figured those would be too easy to share.  They were for ME.  Instead, I wanted to share a poem that every creative who visits my blog today might read and smile.