Poinsettia

 I drove to Phoenix yesterday to see my children's poetry friends Ken Slesarik and Jeanne Poland.  I met them both two years ago at a Highlight's Educational Foundation workshop presented by David Harrison.  It was an incredible group and we have all kept in touch with each other.  Jeanne has Quicksilver Studio and she comes to Sedona twice a year to teach calligraphy.  So when she is in Arizona, the three of us get together with Ken's students, at an after school club called Poetry Rocks at Esperanza Music Academy.  We have a great time with the kids and it is so much fun to see and hear them read the poems they've written.  We did this last year too, so we have seen "growth" in these student poets. 

     So, here we are The Princess of Poetry, Ken Slesarik, and Jeanne Poland.  You can tell by our smiles that we had as much fun as the kids did.
    This long introduction is an explanation for why today's poem isn't the greatest, but it does get the job done.   Have you ever tried to rhyme the word poinsettia?  I even had my rhyming dictionary out and there were far more words that would rhyme than I thought possible--words like Nubia, buddleia, cochlea--but none of the words worked for me, so I invented a word.  Poets can do that. 

Poinsettia 

A lovely plant
is the poinsettia
with red leaves
and yellow centers,
they couldn't be better-ia.

But wait!
They also are
a greenish cream.
The beauty of the poinsettia
has to be seen.

OK, so there you have it.  Your challenge for today is to make up your own word and use it in a short poem.  (Don't tell your teacher I suggested you make up a word. I was always getting in trouble for this when I was a kid.)  Perhaps this is why I've ended up a poet.  I have so much fun writing poems and sharing them with you.  Thank you for stopping by today.