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I'm leaving tomorrow. New York City. My favorite town. I'll be doing a couple of bookstore signings (Long Island and Ramsey, NJ) and the rest of the time I'll be at BookExpo America, a huge conference for booksellers, librarians, authors, and publishing professionals. I'm there to promote two books (austenland and book of a thousand days) so I'll be running-around-as-if-headless-like-unto-a-decapitated-chicken-though-with-said-body-part-still-attached-(probably). See events page for my schedule if you're in the area. I'd love to see you!

And now, Maggie's first poem. She's a little shy about sharing it, but I told her it's really good for a first try. A bit pedestrian, of course, but she shows a remarkable vocabulary and an innate sense of rhythm. I look forward to more of her works.

My Feet

A poem by Magnolia Jane Hale, age 4 ½ months

Translated by the mother

Oh twin devils of allure

You temptresses two

Slyly wiggling there, just

Beyond my grasp

You ten toes, so like sausages

Begging to slip between my lips

You pigs, you dogs, you mutton chops

How you tantalize, how you tease

I reach out, but you squirm away

And then almost…almost…closer still…

Ah-ha! I seize you at last and find

My hands are just strong enough

To hold you

To pull you to my chest

To let you dance on my open mouth

My newest friends

My bestest toys

With you in my hands, I become

A happy rolling ball of

baby