Isabel Iguana

Isabel Iguana skipped 

to the fair in the city.

She tickled herself pink

so she would be pretty.

This is how she 

won first prize

and admiration

from iguana guys.

     How many "i"s are in this poem?  How many words can you think of that start with the letter "i"?  Ice cream, intelligent, igloo, icky?  Can you write your own poem with lots of "i"s?  It must be fun.

Halfway to the Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea

Henry Haddock met

Hannah Halibut

halfway to the bottom

of the deep blue sea.

Said Henry to Hannah,

"You've stolen my heart.

Will you marry me,

halfway to the bottom

of the deep blue sea?"

Said Hannah to Henry,

"You are a handsome fish,

my husband you will be

halfway to the bottom

of the deep blue sea."
 

So they hired a humpback whale

to do their ceremony

halfway to the bottom

of the deep blue sea.
 

There they lived happily

and had hundreds of little fishies

halfway to the bottom

of the deep blue sea.
    

How many "h's" can you find in this poem?  Can you make your own list of "h" words?  How can you put those words together to write your own poem?  This would be a good poem to stress the sense of hearing.  Have fun.
    I owe inspiration for this poem to Pat and Don Murphy.  We had dinner with them last night at a sea food restaurant and I mentioned I was working on an "H" poem. They suggested the "h" fish.  

    When I told my sister about the haddock and halibut, she suggested I add a humpback whale.  So of course, the whale had to do the ceremony. 

     Today on our walk I recited this poem to my husband and he pointed out that haddock and halibut are bottom dwellers.  But I told him they would never get married anyway and if a frog could marry the mouse, I could have a halibut marry a haddock and have baby fishies, halfway to the bottom of the deep blue sea. 

     Actually that is the phrase I like best about this poem.  This can be done as a poem in two voices with the audience (or children) repeating the phrase, halfway to the bottom of the deep blue sea.  Enjoy.

Missing You

I smell the fresh air

and flowers sweet--

primroses and snap dragons

line the street.

The colors are fresh

and super lovely.

They smell so sweet

and other worldly.

Sunshine and flowers

it doesn't get better than this.
You are the only

person I miss.

I wish you could walk

along the beach with me,

or we could sit

neath the tall pine trees.

     Happy Sunday.  Today is a great day for a walk outside.  Use all your senses and what do you see, feel, hear, smell and taste?  Can you use all of this information for a poem? 

The Night Sky

The sky is a black bowl,

turned over to spill

icy crystals

sparkling bright

to fall 

across my eyes.

I see a bear,

a horse, a lion,

a warrior,

even a dipper

racing across the sky.

     It's Saturday.  How are you spending your weekend?  Can you write a poem about one thing you are doing this weekend? 

A Golfing Giraffe

Gerald Giraffe

plays golf

on the green.

It's the strangest

sight

I've ever seen.

His legs are spread

in a golfer's stance.

And he wears

plaid golfer pants.

Perhaps he'll make

a hole-in-one.

Gerald Giraffe thinks

playing golf is fun.

     Happy Friday.  There are a lot of "G"s in this poem.  Is there a "g" in your name?  The name of your town?  Street?  Can you write your own "G" poem?  I hope you have giggling fun writing.

A Fox and the Opera

"Let's go to the opera,"

said funny Frannie Fox.

"Please buy us tickets

for a ground floor box."

"There I will feel safer

than in the balcony.

A ground floor box,

is sufficient for me."

"You can wear a tuxedo,

and I a frilly gown,

when we hear the opera

for our night on the town."

     What do you think a fox in a box at the opera would look like?  What would be the opera Fannie listens to?  Can you write your own poem about the opera, or animals going to the opera?  I'm actually having fun thinking about this.  I may add some more verses later, or perhaps I can turn this poem into a picture book manuscript.  Have a good time with you poem.

A Poem

A poem 

makes my toes

tap,tap,tap.

It makes my legs

want to 

kick,kick,kick.

My knees want to bend

and my bum

wants to

shimmy, shimmy, shake.

My body wants to sway.

My blood pulses.

My fingers

snap, snap, snap.

Poetry makes me

want to throw 

back my shoulders,

throw up my arms

into the air,

and shout 

Wahoo, Wahoo!

Even in sad times

poetry makes me feel

          J

          O

           Y.

   I'm taking a break from the bestiary today because I didn't like yesterday's poem.  And because I was thinking about this poem on my walk and I wanted to share it with you.  My walk this morning was a fun one.  When I started there was a cloud in the sky that looked like a twister with two holes for eyes.  Then those eyes morphed into eye brows and then a mustache and goatee.  Finally the whole thing morphed into a shape like a wolf with a very hungry look because his tongue was lolling out of his mouth.  Do you like watching clouds and making up pictures for them?  So the challenge for today is to watch clouds and write a poem about it.  Or if you'd rather just write a poem like mine about how poetry makes you feel.  Have fun.

Elliot the Eel

Elliot the Eel

wasn't nice-- even a bit.

He shocked all his friends

with his electrical hit.

One morning Elliot awoke

and could not see.

He had lost his

electricity.

"Please help me,"  

Elliot pled,

as Wally Walrus 

swam past his head.

Wally helped Elliot

out that day.

Now Elliot has

changed his way.

Today Elliot the Eel

is kind and genteel.

To his friends, he's sweet.
He knows how they feel.

     How many animals can you name that start with the letter "E"?  Or can you write a poem about eggs?

Doreen Dragon

Doreen Dragon

dances down the street.

She do-se-do's

past all she meets.

Doreen wears a diadem

on her head.

She doesn't take it off--

even in bed.

Doreen is dainty,

delightful, debonair.

Her diamonds, they dangle

in the air.

This dazzling darling,

she dashes, she darts.

Doreen is a damsel

who has won 
all our hearts.

     Doreen definitely loves jewelry.  Can you see her with her tiara, and rings on her fingers and toes, and ropes and ropes of necklaces?  Can you write a poem about jewelry?  Or do you have a special piece of jewelry that has a story about who gave it to you, or the occasion?  Can you write a poem about that?
    

If I Drove the Bus

If I drove the bus
I'd toot my horn
at folks on the street.
Toot, toot, toot.

If I drove the bus
I'd turn on the wipers
and listen to the blades.
Swish, swish, swish.

If I drove the bus
I'd travel up and down hills
and see across the bay
from my high seat.

If I drove the bus
I'd drive straight to you
to pick you up just so
I could show you
the driving I can do.

  The inspiration for this poem came from my friend and poetry pal Heidi Mordhorst, who has a blog My Juicy Universe.  Hop over to Heidi's blog to read her poem and find out more about the great poetry books for children she has had published.   I met Heidi at a Highlight's Founders Workshop in Poetry with David Harrison last May.  I hope to see her at the next poetry workshop in 112 days.
  So if you could drive a bus, what would you do?  Where would you drive?  Who would be on the bus with you?  Write a poem about your adventure.

Charline Chameleon

Charline Chameleon
is a curious creature,
her skin changing colors
is a colossal feature.

Charcoal to chartreuse,
cyan to green.
Charline is the first
rainbow chameleon
I've ever seen. 

    I'm actually having fun with these strange creatures and may see about putting together my own bestiary.  Can you pick your own strange creature?  Make one up and then try writing a poem about it. Try drawing a picture to accompany your poem.  Can you make a broadside of your creation?

Bartholomew Buffalo

Bartholomew the Buffalo

liked to have fun

blowing bubbles

with his chewing gum.

He blew 26 pieces

and caused quite a stir.

His bubble, bigger than a building,

burst in his fur.

     Isn't "B" a delightful letter?  Beautiful, bountiful, busy, and briany?  Can you write your own "B" poem?  If you take a bubble bath, you might find inspiration, or try eating bologna. 

Amy Aardvark

For Amy an Aardvark

it was love at first sight

when she saw Archie Ant

on a hot August night.

Before their love

had even begun,

Amy ate Archie

with a zap of her tongue.

She ate his aunts and uncles,

his brothers and sisters,

the old and the young

of Archie's ancestors.

She ate them all, everyone,

with a flap of her tongue.

     This is another poem that stresses an alphabet letter.  It uses a lot of assonance--repetition of vowel sounds.  Can you pick a letter and write your own poem?  You may end up with a tongue twister.  Hmmm?  I wonder if Amy Aardvark is particularly good at that since she has a long tongue she can twist.  Have fun writing.

Bee's B

Bright yellow buttercups

blooming in Bonneville

bit off by Bernard

our blustery Brahma bull.

Back in the barn

baby sheep are bleating,

blue birds are singing,

black beetles are eating,

and baby bunnies are munching

those  blooming butter cups

to a tune buzzed by bumblely bees.

     This poem uses a lots of "B" words.  when it is repeated at the beginning of the work, that is called alliteration.  When it is repeated in the middle or end of the word, that is consonance.  Can you pick your own letter from the alphabet and write a poem repeating that sound often in the poem..

Little Hippo

One hot and sunny day

Little Hippo went

in the river to play.

In the water

he danced and splashed.

Then Little Hippo

on the bottom crashed.

And there he took

his morning nap

resting in

the river's lap.

     What would you like to write about today?  What ever it is, have fun writing.
Happy Tuesday.

Foods I HATE!

There are some foods

I do not like--

liver and onions

oysters and tripe.

The worst food

I ever ate,

make no mistake,

was my Aunt Bea's fruitcake.

I bit into it 

and got

a toothache.

     Can you write your own list poem of foods you do not like to eat?  Have fun.

Let's Eat

MONDAY when it's time

for a meal,

I smell the aroma

of cooking veal.

TUESDAY when I

grab my fork,

I'm looking for

some tasty pork.

WEDNESDAY I am

finger-lickin'

that's the day

I eat fried chicken.

THURSDAY I don't know

what to do.

Ragout? Fondu?

Or barbeque stew?

FRIDAY and

another dish,

It is the day,

I eat fish.

SATURDAY make

no mistake.

That's the day,

I eat steak.

SUNDAY is a holiday.

I go to see the ballet.

I do not eat pate.

It is the one day

when I have

an ice cream sundae.

     What is your favorite food?  Why?  How do you like to eat it?  Can you write a poem about it?  I'm hungry just thinking about all the good foods to eat.

Riding

I've ridden a horse
in Colorado.
I've ridden a burro
in old Mexico.

I've ridden a buffalo
across the plains.
I've ridden a elephant
 at a zoo in Des Plains.

I've ridden a reindeer
across the Ukraine.
I've ridden a camel
'cross sand in Bahrain.

But the best way to ride,
that I like,
is to pedal around
on my two wheel bike.


      Think about all the ways that you move and transport yourself.  Can you make a list of the many transportation vehicles you've been on or in.  Have you ridden in a car, a train, a bus, a plane?  How about a wagon?  Can you write a poem about it?  Where did you travel to?

Lunar Picnic

I'll pretend

to be an astronaut.

You can too,

or you can not.

I'd like to steer

a rocket ship

and fly it to the moon.

 I'd dart around 

among the stars

and not fly back til noon.

I'd take some bread and cheese

with me, and yes,  I'd take

a spoon.

I'd share my food 

with everyone

I met upon

the moon.

   Today I've been thinking about pretend play.  If you could pretend to be anyone, who would you be?  A pirate?  A Viking?  An opera singer? A ballerina?  Or maybe just your dog?  What ever you choose, try writing a poem about what you would do.  Have fun.

Burro Benny

Brown Burro Benny,

Will you give me a ride?

I can brush burrs

out of your hide.

I'll plait your tail.

I'll trim your mane.

Let's ride in the sun.

Let's ride in the rain. 

     I wanted to write some poems that use other desert animals and Benny appeared for me to ride.  I hope you enjoy today's poem.  If you were to take a burro ride, where would you go?  Can you write a poem about it? 

Counting Stars

ONE star,

first out tonight.

TWO stars,

twinkling bright.

THREE stars,

shine at night.

FOUR stars,

a pretty sight.

I count every star

that I see,

but there are too many

to count in our

Milky Way Galaxy.

Counting poems are fun to write.  Would you like to try one?  What will you count?  Birds? Buttons? Cars? Leaves? Rocks? Snowflakes?  Have fun what ever you are counting.  You're welcome to share your poem here. 

Counting Doves

One dove sitting

on a telephone wire,

along lands another,

says he's a great flyer.

Two doves sitting 

on the telephone line,

along lands another,

says he's doing fine.

Three doves sitting

on the telephone post,

along lands another,

says,  four is the most

number of birds

to sit on this post.

Along came a hawk,

off they all flew,

flying away

into the blue.

One flew east,

one flew west,

two flew south

and built a nest.

       This morning there was a quail sitting on my fence.  He had a grey chest, a white band and dark bottom.  It looked like he was wearing a winter sweater with a feather cap on his head. He had his feathers fluffed to capture the air and warm himself.  I wonder who first observed the birds doing this and figured out we could do the same thing with down quilts to keep warm.  Do you have a cold poem you want to write today?  Enjoy.

Cactus Wren Song

On top of a Saguaro

all covered in spines

sang a brown cactus wren

in a song that was fine.

This little brown bird

flew to the Palo Verde tree,

his loud trilling song

was quite pleasing to me.

     Do bird songs cheer you?  I heard this one at the end of my morning walk.  I was just coming back up the hill to my house when I saw the bird sitting on top of the tallest Saguaro singing his heart out.  It gave me a real lift and I felt like if that little bird can be happy that it is a sunny day, I too, should be happy for today.  I hope you are happy today.  Can you write a list poem today about all the things that make you happy?

Scurrying Quails

Scurrying quails

in a throng,

skittle, scattle

as they go along

they sing

a quail-ish song,

Churr-Cheep,

Churr-Cheep,

Churr-Cheep.

     Happy Sunday.  Have a fun day.  It is a great day to go outside and collect data of all the things you see, hear, smell and feel to use for writing poems next week.  What ticklies your fancy?  Yes, I know it usually is "tickles" but I like the idea of there being "ticklies."  Give your best smile to someone today.

KANGAROO HOP

"Hello Rabbit,

How do you do?

I would like 

to hop with you."

"Very well, 

Mr. Kangaroo,

that is what

we should do."

Hop, hop, hop, hop.

Rabbit and 

Mr. Kangaroo

hopped away 

to the nearest zoo.

      This is a companion poem to yesterday's poem.  It is an action rhyme too.  It would be fun to act this poem out with a group of children.  In fact, it could be played like Duck, Duck, Goose.  One child could be Mr. Kangaroo and start hopping around the outside of the circle and pick the child to be Rabbit.  Then both children could hop in a race back to the starting point where Rabbit was picked.  The other children in the circle could recite the poem.  Oh, I wish you were here so we could try this out.

HOP, HOP, HOP, HOP,

I am a rabbit.

I hop and hop.

I keep on hopping

and will not stop.

I hop on one foot.

Hop, hop, hop.

Hop on two feet ,

hop-hop, hop-hop.

Hopping-hopping

until I slump.

One foot is a hop.

Two feet are a jump.

    This is an action rhyme.  Can you tell I've make an exercise resolution for the new year?  Can you try writing your own action rhyme? Do you like to run, skip, or sit?  I can think of words to rhyme with each of them.


My short poem


To run
is fun.
To skip,
don't slip.
But, if you sit
you're full of it.


     Which only goes to prove that I can write bad poems too.  I'm in a silly mood today.  I hope you enjoy your day too.


 

Early Morning

Morning comes

the sun rises red,

I want to stay

at home in bed.

My pillow is soft.

My quilt is warm.

If I stay here

I'll come to no harm.

     Do you have mornings when you'd rather just stay in bed?  When you want to just turn over and go back to sleep?  A poem written about the morning is called an aubade, if it's written about the night, or evening it is called a serenade.  Can you write your own poem about the morning--your aubade?   Make it fun.

Quail

A family of quail

went for a walk today

chirp-cheep, chirp-cheep

they seemed to say.

"Come on children,

let's hurry away,"

scuttle, scuttle, run

across the street

and out of the way.
Chirp-cheep, chirp-cheep.


     I saw a covey of about 20 quail on my walk this morning--two adults, half a dozen adolecents,and the rest were small little chicks.  it was fun to watch them hurry away across the road.
    Lately I've been observing that the smaller the bird the prettier their song is.    Would you agree?  What is your favorite bird song?  Can you write a poem about birds?  Do you feed the birds?  Would that make a good title?  Have fun.

Little Lambs

I am a little lamb.

I like to jump and leap.

When I grow a little bit

then I'll be a sheep.

Jump, jump leap.

Jump, jump, bleat.

     I'm home and ready to go to work.  There is so much to do.  But before I go into all the details of coming home and the problems I'm facing, let's get this poem posted!  Sorry it was late, I didn't have internet services until 10 minutes ago.

     I got to see my poem in Highlight's High Five today.  That felt so cool.  Can you write a short poem today?  Have fun.

Happy Days

Ms Rosa Bloom
Mr. Chipper Birdsong
sing in praises
all day long.

How they are happy!
How they laugh!
I'm glad they're here
to lighten my path.

You Choose!

The Bickersons

live next door

to the Snideleys

in a town

where nothing is right.

"It's too hot," they complain

each day.

"It's too cold," they whine

each night.

They spend their time

in sputter and fight.

Now here is some advice

I have for you.

I read it in their Daily News;

whether you are happy or sad,

whether you are good or bad,

it is your life,

you get to choose.


     I think this poems is a little too pedantic to be considered a good poem.  What do you think?  I'll try to do better tomorrow.
     I was raised with the adage my mother always repeated, "You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar."  So, I think this poem has more vinegar in it than honey.  But, I must admit that my favorite part of the movie Bambi is when Thumper's mother asks him, "What did your father tell you?"
    And Thumper replies, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."  
     I think all of this came to me because Toni McKain recently asked what I was trying to achieve with my poetry.  What message did I want to send?  It did get me thinking.  I guess what I'd really like is for the world to have more laughter.
     So today's challenge is to write a poem that will make someone laugh.