My new poems podcast, Words by Winter, can be found here.

Do you ever talk out loud to yourself? Sometimes I do, like last night in my little kitchen, making batches of toffee. To make toffee you have to stir and stir and stir, which is good because I like slow repetitive motion that takes a long time. Soothes me. Then came a voice: What a hard year it’s been, Allie. You’re doing a good job in a hard time. You’re really trying. Me, talking to myself as if I were my own daughter. The room was full of the smell of caramelized brown sugar and butter, and unlike the way I usually talk to myself, which is scolding and impatient, this voice was soft and soothing.

Forgotten Language, by Shel Silverstein

Once I spoke the language of the flowers,
once I understood each word the caterpillar said,
once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,
and shared a conversation with the housefly
in my bed.
Once I heard and answered all the questions
of the crickets,
and joined the crying of each falling dying
flake of snow,
once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . .
How did it go?
How did it go?

For more information about Shel Silverstein, please check out his website.

alisonmcghee.com
Words by Winter: my new podcast