Kuebiko...mid-spring

Hellon, this is so touching! I love every single stanza and could envision it clearly... I also have to say I like how Kuebiko, and now the readers, know the struggle of Sally and her parents... also like how she has now accomplished her dream of buying the farmhouse and how Kuebiko has a dream as well. That time at 4 pm is so precious and although I never wanted it to end, I feel very content and happy for him. Honestly, I think everyone connected to him and cared about him too lol!

A delight to read as always :]

I did not see this!! Ahh. This one definitely made me cry at the end. I don't know if it was just the story in general or THE END part. :P I've fallen in love with this series. The end reminded me of a brand new beginning; new shirt, hat, freshly stuffed belly. I'm glad he's finally happy and has 4PM to look forward to. I can totally see Kuebiko's return in the future. Lol

Hellon
I have neglected your wonderful Kuebiko poems as far as commenting them but believe you me, I have read them.

I love the way you brought him to life in these poems, with such awesome detail I feel like I can actually see him.

I find myself wondering if the scarecrow and Sally are modeled after someone you know in real life?

I hope there is a "return of Kuebiko"

I enjoyed the story told in your poems :)

Kuebiko once again stood
tall and proud.
He wore a fresh flannelette
shirt and a dandy blue
vest. His tummy was now
nice and plump since Sally
had pushed new straw into
him.

- I love the happy tone to start off this poem with, reminding us that the last poem was beginning to change things for the better for our Kuebiko. The language flow is very fluent like that of a children's story book, I love it. I also like how you show us how refreshed he is, a new start for him and perhaps now he will feel more like the scarecrow he was in the beginning.

Around his neck was a
polka-dot bandana in red
and white...a gift from Angel.
He was very proud of it and
held his head high
to show it off.

- I really like how you still mention Angel in this, and that you give the girl and Kuebiko a special connection and this gift emphasises that relationship. I also like the personal touch of a bandana as the gift because this is not something you would see on a scarecrow but is very much something a child would give to her teddy, or her dog etc and so it works so well here in this case.

Kuebiko had now been put
in charge of the
vegetable garden.
He liked his new job,
for he was closer to the farmhouse
and could watch Sally
hanging out the washing
and going about her daily chores.
He knew she always stopped by
at 4.00pm to collect carrots
and various other things for dinner.

- happiness is bursting here, the pride he has that he is now able to do a job again, the feeling of being needed and wanted again, to be a part of a family again. I find this really touching and perhaps it even portrays the message that all you need is love sometimes, and it will help heal the wounds of the past. I thought here that it must be nice for Kuebiko to smell the dinner cooking again because I remember in a previous poem you described the smells he missed ( around Christmas) and so now he is really feeling at home with familiar smells again, and routines. I also find it really interesting that the family moved for so long, but when they returned they still kept to the routine he was so used to.

This was Kuebiko's favourite
time of day because Sally would
lift his hat off and ruffle his hair.
She sometimes shared little
secrets with him and this is
how he found out that Sally's
parents had fallen behind
with their rent after the rains
had ruined a whole season's crops.
The landlord had then
forced them out.

- I am so glad we find out this reason in the end, because there was a lot to think about and question and so to have the final answer makes it understandable because we no longer can blame the family for leaving him. They did what they needed to do. Again I love how you give us a small detail that really shows the relationship, here is it the ruffle Sally gave him, so cheeky, cute, and yet sums up how much she truly loves him and you bring his character out too and remind us how real he is.

Sally swore back then to
someday buy the farmhouse.
It was her dream and, now,
it had come true.

- that is a beautiful touch to add tot he story, endings should be happy and filled with dreams coming true and so to know that this was Sally's dream as well as Kuebiko's, that is really sweet.

Kuebiko also had a dream,
that someday the wind
would, once again, blow his
hat off and Sally would scold
him as she searched for it.

- great use of reminding us here about one of the earlier scenes I the stories where he used to lose his hat. Something so small in day-to-day life is something that he missed a lot. Which again is true to our life and how we begin to miss the very small things that a person brought into our lives, even though they seem miniscule to the outside world.

Today...as it landed amongst
the rhubarb Kuebiko's smile widened
as the sun lowered in the sky
he knew it was almost 4.00pm.

- I like how you add a little bit if suspense here and break up the stanza in smaller parts, very interesting as we know what it is he is waiting for!

and...

as I left his field for the last time
I swear I saw his blue eyes twinkle...

- I love this ending, the true sign of happiness is when you can see it just by looking into someone's eyes. I really love this as your ending and just completes the story in such a moving and hopeful way, which is the complete opposite of the beginning.

I loved the whole story from the start, I did feel connected to Kuebiko and the character you built for him. I also felt quite connected to the messages within the story and how they related to real life and how families live.

I am a little sad that this has ended but so happy he is happy.

Thank you for bringing us this little guy and taking us on his journey.

<3 xxx