The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

The This and That of Pine Cones

Pine cones are brown
and circular, except when
they are hot pink
and elongated, or lavender.

Pine cones dangle darling from the branch, except when
they stand upright like guardians, or cling like starfish.
They are clean and crisp.
They are sticky and sugar dipped.
They are tiny as a thumbprint.
Large as a prize-winning watermelon.
Pine cones are sometimes this
and sometimes that, but always
the beginning of something
magnificent.

About the Writer


Francine Rockey

Francine is the author of TO FIND TREASURE IN THE MOUNTAINS (forthcoming with Yosemite Conservancy 2022). She carries poems with her everywhere she goes. Her words have appeared in the Mom Egg Review, The Scriblerus, and are forthcoming in The Coil. She lives in Bend, Oregon with her forever valentine and young sons where they often find poems under waterfalls.