I Knew a Cloud
I knew a cloud when I walked in the cold, wet mist of fog.
It swirled around me laughing.
I watched for a moment, thinking
Should I scream and run inside?
Should I stay and play with it?
Should I stand here and watch?
What should I do?
The snow-white cloud touches its cold mist against my cheek.
It turns it as red as a blossoming cherry.
Soon the cloud swirls high into the sky
and blows itself away with the others.
I watch for a while and then turn and run to catch up with my brother
and walk the rest of the way to school.
I always look for the cloud now and want to know its name.
-Kate Henley, age 9
Lane County, Oregon
PARTNER POEM for I Knew a Cloud, from The Nature of Clouds
There is a cloud on my house.
The cloud has arrived in strings and wisps and ringlets.
When I step outside my house, the cloud is on me.
What color is the cloud? Pink and gray.
What does the cloud taste like? Rhododendron.
What does the cloud think? Hill. The cloud thinks about leaving
this hill. The cloud misses the ocean.
When I open my front door, pieces of cloud waft into the house.
The pieces float among sofas and chairs.
Now the cloud is stuck inside my house and I am sad for the
cloud. I open the back door to let it move on.
The rest of the cloud streams through my house. It touches
papers with its moist breathing. It swipes against walls and
makes them shine.
-Penelope Schott
Portland, Oregon
ASK the POEMS for I Knew a Cloud & from The Nature of Clouds
1. Poem, what feelings are you sharing with me?
2. What questions are you asking?
3. How are you mysterious?
4. What if clouds and people changed places?
5. How can people and clouds speak to each other?
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