It’s been a long, busy week.

Aside from all the worries and travails we’ve been dealing with collectively here in this country and the world, I’ve been dealing with anxiety and stress for my own personal reasons: working on a manuscript that may never see the light of day, visiting a school out of state, and talking to my kids about why respect, justice, and responsibility appear nonexistent these days.

My son and I are both on the spectrum, and have what I refer to as our “autistic sense of justice” – we see things in black and white, good and bad (even though I realize the world is primarily varying shades of gray). If we witness a wrong, it’s very upsetting – and there have been WAY too many wrongs going on lately.

So I’ve been trying to explain to him why people behave in certain ways, how to respond to them appropriately, and how to not let anxiety get the better of ourselves.

It’s not easy.

Especially when I have to explain things like the National Ice Out Day today – the benefits of which I still question. I’m not opposed to people protesting and making a nationwide show of solidarity, but I’m not sure things like this actually effect the change we’re hoping for. Suggesting no work, no school, etc. is asking a lot. What about people who depend on their hourly wage? Will they feel guilty if they go to work, or will they feel guilty if they lose their job for not going to work? My wife is a healthcare provider at our local hospital; is she expected to not show up and leave her patients hanging? How is she supposed to feel?

And schools, for many kids, are a safe space. What happens when their teachers, their confidantes, are not there?

Again, I fully support the sentiment, but I’m not convinced this is the right way – or even an effective way – to do it. We had an Ice Out Day back in January, remember? Didn’t really make much of a difference now, did it? Because he we are, doing it again. And please understand, I’m not condemning anyone for feeling the need to protest; we all feel like we need to do something, and that’s understandable. I just feel that ballot boxes and one-on-one conversations – even difficult conversations – are where we’re going to see the real change.

So – this is an overly long explanation for why I just haven’t been in the head space to put together a Poetry Friday post. And it’s not something that happens very frequently. Leave it to my friend and fellow blogger Jama Rattigan, for providing a ray of sunshine!

I have to thank Jama for coming to the rescue with her retrospective of all her Poetry Friday posts from 2025! She is back from her holiday hiatus and shares links to every one of her posts – including one featuring a certain poetry anthology I’m rather fond of:

Here’s why I love seredipity – or irony – or Fate – or whatever it is that causes things like this to happen. When Jama featured  A Universe of Rainbows (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2025) last April, she shared Nikki Grimes’ opening poem, “The Saturday of No,” about a young child’s disappointment about a rainstorm dashing their weekend plans:

THE SATURDAY OF NO

Saturday morning raindrops
pelt the slate rooftop, 
tap out a message
I don't want to hear:
No sunshine.
No clear blue.
No hopscotch.
No soccer.
No softball...  (read the entire poem at Jama's post!)

- (c) 2025 Nikki Grimes, all rights reserved

Somehow, this just feels like such an appropriate poem for today – feeling sadness, anger, and discouragement only to be greeted by the “storm’s apology” of “sun-drenched strips of color.” Thank you, Jama, and thank you, Nikki!

Another Rainbows contributor, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, is hosting today’s Poetry Friday roundup at The Poem Farm, with a triolet about goodness – and recognizing the things that matter.

(If we’ve not yet connected on Instagram, please find me! I’d love to keep in touch. From new releases to blog posts to poetry and more, Instagram is a great way to learn more about your interests, and to connect with the folks who interest you.)

~~ I am booking school visits for the 2026 Spring Semester! ~~

I love chatting with students about creativity, poetry, the writing process, dinsoaurs, and lots of other things! So if you think you might be interested in having me visit your school – either in-person or virtually – check out all the presentations I offer below, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!

I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be showing students rainbow-colored bacteria, discussing dinosaur breath, or crafting origami sea turtles!

Student presentations include:

• The Making of a Picture Book
• How a Child Saved a Book
• “Once Upon Another Time”
• The Most Important Thing about Writing Poetry
• “I Am Today”
• “A Beginner’s Guide to Being Human”
• “Everybody Counts: Counting to 10 in Twelve Languages”
• “A Universe of Rainbows!”

Adult presentations include:

• The Making of a Picture Book
• The Most Important Thing about Writing Poetry
• Free Yourself with Free Verse
• Tight Language, Loose Narratives: Crafting a Non-Traditional Picture Book
• The Journey of a Children’s Author

Learn more at MattForrest.com!

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Order PERSONALLY-SIGNED copies of my books
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I’m also on BOOKSHOP:

And I’m very happy to be part of the BOOKROO family, too!

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Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!

You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!

Click here to view all my books and to order!

Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)

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