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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, November 16, 2012

Daddy and Me and the Starlight

In the middle of the night
Daddy gently shook the bed
woke me.

"Come," he said.
I pulled on my boots.
Daddy wrapped me
in my warm comforter.

Then he picked me up,
carried me outside
into the cold night air.

We sat, cuddled in a lawn chair,
looked up 
at the waxing moon.

"There's Leo."  Daddy pointed
to the constellation rising
in the east as we watched.

Breath smoked
from our mouths.
We whispered into the quiet.

From a distant owl,
who, who, who-who--
overhead stars rained 
in a meteor shower.

Just Daddy and me
and the whole world
waiting.

I stuck out my tongue
to taste this night--
to taste my happiness.


     Tonight is a good night to watch the Leonid meteor shower.  It is best seen late Friday, early Saturday morning, or late Saturday to early Sunday morning.  During a meteor shower most of the meteors appear to come from a radiant--a point in the sky--for which the meteor gets its name.  This one is named for Leo.  In December are the Geminids, and August has the Perseids.  those are the three best predictably good meteor showers every year.
     The front part of Leo will be visible around 1 AM on the eastern horizon, and the entire constellation will be up by 2.
    Can you write a poem today about the stars?  Enjoy your viewing.

    The Poetry Friday Roundup is over at Anastasia Suen's blog, Booktalking today.  Thanks for hosting us all for the poetry party today, Anastasia.


16 comments:

  1. I remember bringing my 2 daughters outside on clear nights to show them the stars, so this strikes a chord with me! Sort of reminds me of Owl Moon, with the imagery. Nicely done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Matt. I value your comments.
      Your daughters are lucky to have such a wonderful Dad.
      I'm no Jane Yolen, but thank you for the compliment.

      Delete
  2. Beautiful, Joy - such a tender relationship conveyed and a reminder about how big and wide and wild our world is. Love the title.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Robyn,
      I enjoyed your interview on Renee LaTulipe's blog NO WATER RIVER. Were you in China? When? I really liked your poem about Climbing Dragon Mountain and the pictures. Beautiful.

      Delete
  3. "Just Daddy and me
    and the whole world
    waiting."

    Love this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Anastasia.
      Thanks for hosting Poetry Friday today, I appreciate being able to play with all the children's poets.
      Thanks for commenting on this line. I debated for a long while about putting that "Just" in the title, but I put it in that line instead. And now you've got me wondering about the value of the last stanza. I appreciate your help.

      Delete
  4. Joy,
    Matt and I think alike. I was going to write something similar about Owl Moon. You should think on how to turn this into a picture book. It's a great bedtime story. Believe in you--wish on those stars!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Linda,
      I'll have to think about picturebook possibilities for this poem. I'm not sure there is enought scene change or tension. I'll have to think about it.

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Thanks Carol.
      I appreciate your coming by to read my poem and leave a comment. I liked the tasting at the end too. For now, I'm keeping it.

      Delete
  6. BEAUTIFUL!

    I agree with Linda. What a WONDERFUL picture book to fall asleep and dream to... Special daddy moments to treasure and cherish. I LOVE IT, dear Joy! An illustrators delight!

    Cory

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    Replies
    1. Hey Cory,
      Great to see you here. I liked the "Daddy" relationship too.
      Have a great weekend.

      Delete
  7. REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD. I AM SO PROUD OF YOU...cloey

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    Replies
    1. Just wait till you see what I did with your suggestion for tomorrow using the word ladder.
      I'm so glad that you are my sister.

      Delete
  8. What a sweet moment you captured here, Joy! I think you were named correctly...:)

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  9. Hmm, I see someone beat me to the Owl Moon comparison! I love this - the memories being made are forever.

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