08/13/2026
Many people think poetry is difficult to understand. So when I told our Handmaker residents that we were going Out & About to the University of Arizona Poetry Center, a few were understandably skeptical. I told them to trust me—I hadn’t steered them wrong yet! And after today’s visit, everyone agreed that we had a wonderful time.
Sarah, the Center’s Library Director and our wonderful tour guide, had a lot to do with that! She made poetry feel accessible, fun, and engaging for everyone in our group.
We learned about the Poetry Center’s incredible online archive, where you can listen to poets reading their own work. Sarah even shared one of her favorites with us, which had everyone laughing along. We walked around the Center, marveling at the huge collection, the amazing, tilted windows along the back, and the binary code hidden in the courtyard wall. We chose a few poems to read to one another and then took things one step further—we created a poem of our very own!
We were poets and didn’t even know it!
And now, we’re excited to share our group poem with you…
I Like
I like chocolate that’s not too bitter.
I like cats.
I like flowers.
I like my two grandchildren.
I like kids.
I like racing cars.
I like puppies.
I like blue skies with puffy clouds.
I like the fresh red of an ocotillo in bloom.
I like green grass.
I like pink flowers.
I like blue skies.
I like metal flake colors.
I like orange cats.
I like fall colors.
I like the purples and reds and oranges in a colorful sunset.
I like the sharp smell of a sharpened pencil.
I like the smell of my cooking.
I like the smell of roses.
I like the smell of perfume.
I like the smell of burning rubber.
I like the smell of the desert when it rains.
I like the fragrance of gardenias.
I like the smell of fresh baked bread.
