I enjoy illustrating poems. I mostly use old pictures of my kids or animals or flowers or even myself as models/guides for my illustrations. Sometimes I combine pictures. This is a good example of that. I took an old picture of my daughter, put her on a picture of my current neighborhood and traded her hair for curlier hair because that’s how I pictured the child in my poem. The hardest part of this picture? Getting the flesh tone right.

Joy is
By Michelle Garren-Flye

Joy is an unruly child

she belongs to one of the neighbors 
I know not which
but she pops in unexpectedly
then disappears for months on end
just as I get used to having her around

she has a mop of golden curls 
like an angel’s halo
she’s loud and boisterous
for a while
then tiptoes out
and I don’t realize
she’s gone
until I miss her

I wish I knew to whom she belonged
and I’d be able to seek her out 
when light and sparkle have dulled
and I want someone to sing me a song

but instead I just have to sit and wait
as evening shadows creep up on me
hoping the next step on the walk
will be the dancing one I recognize

Illustration and poem copyright 2024 Michelle Garren-Flye