Western poets, more than poets from other regions, like to write poems in the voices of other people. "Character poems," you could call them.
David Lee at Southern Utah State College, for instance, often writes in the voice of an old pig farmer named John. Ken Brewer at Utah State University uses several regional voices in his "Center for the Confused" poems.I mention this because Carolyn Otto of Colorado has written a wonderful little lyric in the voice of an aging grandfather. And she's cleverly disguised the poem as a children's picture book.
"That Sky, That Rain" is a "farm animal" book - a bestiary with a difference. Instead of the straight-ahead, pared-down writing style found in most easy-to-read efforts, the story is told in dialect, Western dialect, without the quirky spellings and goofy affectations that have cluttered up such writing since the days of "Uncle Remus."
The story is short and sweet. Grandad takes a young girl (presumably the author) on a quick trip around the farm before the thunderstorm strikes.
Look at that sky.
We're in for some weather now.
As the tiny odyssey continues, grandad and granddaughter pause by the horse pasture:
Hold out your hands - both hands.
Whoa now. Talk soft now.
See how her ears come up?
Then the rain:
Here she comes!
Most people from the West will likely hear the voice of somebody they know and love in those lines. And people not from the West will get a taste of the salty, honest style of speaking Westerners cherish.
As for the illustrations, Megan Lloyd offers subtle watercolors. What a fine choice, watercolors for a book about a big wash of rain.
The book is written for early grade-schoolers.
And also for you and me.