from Remember the Flowers
Winner (Poetry) of the 2021 Stone Soup Book Contest

One day she came to schoolclutching a long black curtain rod,leaning against it like a cane,looking like a wounded soldier.Her foot was injured—that was all.Hurt in a fall from a toweringstep stool.We sat on the red-brick wallby the playground,wondering what on earth we could play.

Recess faded away from our mindsas the rusty red wallbecame a canoe.Hand in hand we rowed our boat,dragging the hollow curtain rodthrough our sea of wood chips.The game went on all recess.We visited Italy, Spain, and Korea.Two days later I climbed a yellow step stool.Longing to be like her, I mimed a falland begged my mother ardentlyfor a metal curtain rod.

Remember the Flowers was released on September 1, 2022.You can order the book at Barnes & Noble or through our Amazon store: Amazon.com/stonesoup.