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This is my playground for poetry written for children with ideas and inspiration for writing your own poems. Come on in. Sit for a spell, have a cup of words to swirl around and make your own cup of poetry. I'm so glad you are here. I hope you'll find the Kingdom of Poetry a fun place to be.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Too Much Watermelon

Once there was a mean old felon
Who stole our ripe watermelon.
He said it had zing.
He ate the whole thing.
Now he is achy-bellowin'.


     This form poem is a limerick.  I made up that last word.  Can you guess the meaning? It is a play/reversal on bellyaching.  I like making up words and discovering new ones.  Do you?  When I was in school I used to get into a lot of trouble for this behavior.  My papers often would be returned with red ink marking them and a note from my teacher, "This isn't a word."  Perhaps this is why I am a poet, so I can make up words.  It is also probably why I love dictionaries.  Here is today's challenge.  Make up your own word and leave it and its definition in the comments section below.  Today is the birthday of my birthday poet Theodore Roethke.  He's probably most famous for his poem MY PAPA'S WALTZ.  But he wrote a lot of other great poems too.  I love the line a congress of stinks, from THE ROOT CELLAR.  and try reading NIGHT CROW, to see if you get the same eerie feeling I do every time I read that poem.  I look at Roethke's line breaks, his word choice and I'm still wondering how he gets me to the point I'm at when I reach the end of the poem. (Sorry, You'll have to page down to find NIGHT CROW but there is an audio version too.)   So I'm off to have fun playing with words, hope you have a fun day too.

21 comments:

  1. I know a fine lady from Tucson
    Who loves to pen poems from dusk until dawn
    On freight trains she hops
    And trestle bridges she tops
    Will she ever poem verses in San Juan?

    ............................

    Sending you birthday wishes!

    Cory
    xox

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    1. Dearest Sister Cory,
      Sure wish you were here to help me eat watermelon and to lift a few glasses of crystal clear sparkling, to honor Roethke and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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  2. What a fun limerick, Joy! And thanks for the Roethke links - I'm collecting poems for my new classics series, and had totally forgotten about the wonderful MY PAPA'S WALTZ. Definitely going on the list! Happy Poetry Friday! :)

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    1. I don't know what age group your collection is for, but do look at Roethke's THE SLOTH, too.
      Today is Ralph Waldo Emerson's birthday too.

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  3. Hi Joy,

    Happy Birthday! I love the felon/watermelon rhyme!

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    1. Thanks for seeing that, Liz.
      I keep looking for elegant rhymes, but this one is only interesting--still it was fun, and my third rhyming word in this trio is even more interesting.
      Have a great Friday.

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  4. Isn't it nice when mean old watermelon-stealers get their comeuppance? That's another great thing about writing -- you can make up your own words AND you can make sure the bad guys get what's coming to them ;-) Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great day.

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    1. Yes, I need to find a white hero hat to wear today as I write. Thanks for the fun idea Tabatha.

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  5. Happy Birthday, Joy!
    Hope your day is as JOYFUL as YOU are!
    Celebrate with an extra piece of watermelon - but don't eat too much or you'll be "achy-bellowin'"

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    1. Wish you were here to help me celebrate and eat watermelon.

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  6. Seedaparation - what occurs inside your mouth when you eat a piece of watermelon! (And before you spit.) Thanks for sharing the good-vs. evil yummy post, Joy, and wishing you much more sweetness on your birthday. (Thanks for the Roethke link, too.)

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  7. HAPPY BIRTHDAY...HAPPY BIRTHDAY...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ...HAPPY BIRTHDAY
    ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ,,, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ...HAPPY BIRTHDAY...HAPPY BIRTHDAY...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ...HAPPY BIRTHDAY .... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ... BIRTHDAY ...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ... ILY

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    1. WOW! That is really, really happy. Yes, I am.
      Thank you for that treat.

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  8. Happy birthday! What a fun word you have created and a terrific limerick. Corey's was great too.

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  9. Happy Birthday Joy. I hope it was great to be first in line today for Poetry Friday. Yes, the crow poem is a bit startling (there is a starling in that word-did you notice?). You have a number of poets to celebrate with I see. As for you made up word, I hope that my use of 'four fingers old' counts a little from my poem today. Hope your day was specialicious! And that that created word worked just for you.

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    1. Oh Linda,
      Specialicious feels so good in my mouth. I'm enjoying all these new found words. Thank you for the starling and the word. thanks for coming by and joining my birthday celebration. I'm having a grand day.

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  10. Fun limerick. I love made up words myself. Here's one for you:

    pizzasperated - exhausted by someone with too much energy, like a morning person with no need for coffee immediately upon facing the day

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    1. Oh Jim,
      You are my kind of people. I love pizzasperated. What a great word. Have you used it in a poem.
      Thank you for sharing your word.

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  11. Happy birthday!! Love the limerick! I enjoy reading poems and passages that involve word reversals. Thank you for sharing! =)

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  12. The melon-stealing felon is calling out to me for a prequel. Happy birthday to you! and to Ted--he is one of my favorites and yet I didn't know "Papa's Waltz." My favorite Roethke poem is "The Waking," which I'm sure you know.

    I hope you enjoy a wishalicious weekend, Joy!

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  13. There's watermelon on my kitchen counter and I'll have no felons. It's all mine. Unless the grands come! Very fun limerick. I love Roethke, too. I have an old copy of Straw for the Fire, a compilation from some of his notebooks, lines and half lines, that never made it into poems. A wonderful place to see some of his process.

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