A cowgirl Sue, and her
Big bay horse, Blue,
Clip-clopped, Clip-clopped
Down stone roads, of course
Entering Santa
Fe. "Let's go
Guzzle a gallon of sarsaparilla
Here at the Lone Branch Saloon," said Sue.
"I think that's a great idea," said Blue. "It's
Just what we should do." "Any one
Know Dead Eye Dick? We're
Looking for that
Mean Horse Thief," asked Sue.
Nobody moved. The poker game stopped. No
One even sighed, 'til a
Polite cowboy, who was
Quiet and shy
Replied,
"Sue, we ran Dead Eye Dick out of our
Town--that's what we cowboys do, and
Unless you're looking for a fight, the
Vultures will show you
Where Dead Eyed Dick died.
X my heart, that ain't no lie. In peace
You're welcome here. The score now stands
Zip for Dead Eye Dick-- Town,plus two.
I had fun writing this abecedarian, can you try writing your own poem in this form? Have fun.
Fun! You make me want to try to write an abecederian. Very clever to use "cross" for X!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tabatha. You just made me realize the "X" could also be used for a roman numeral ten, or "XII," for midnight or noon. More fun possibilities of things to try.
DeleteI agree with Tabatha, the 'X', is Xtraordinary, Joy. Love the story. I am sharing some poems with some young primary students on Fridays, & I'll keep this when we talk about stories in poetry. Terrific!
ReplyDeleteGosh, maybe I should try writing a ballad. thanks inda, I hope the students enjoy the poem.
DeleteI love abecedarians! I agree, your "X" was a nice surprise (always a true test if an abecedarian really works).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jama. Of course, I could always try for Hot X buns. Actually it might be fun to try one with nursery rhyme characters.
DeleteYou did the abecedarian form proud, Joy! Fun poem/story. Happy Friday! =)
ReplyDeleteThanks Bridget. I've been enjoying your poems too.
DeleteWhat a great poem! It looks way beyond my capabilities.
ReplyDeleteThis is very clever! I would like to try this with second graders during our poetry unit in April. We might go A-H. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJeff, with second graders you might have more success working on acrostics. Search for Christopher Columbus or Joan of Arc here for two I've done on history. Animals and their habitats make for good subject matter.
DeleteWhat an ominous image: "the
ReplyDeleteVultures will show you
Where Dead Eyed Dick died."
Great abcedarian poem, Joy!
Thank you, I had originally used VIPER for the V, but then thought that word didn't fit with the story and so used vultures instead.
DeleteSo much fun! And I have lay down another vote for that "X" - clever, clever, clever. Love the poker game line, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
I appreciate your comments, Robyn. I wasn't sure about that poker line, but I threw it in because I thought it added flavor.
DeleteJoy,
ReplyDeleteThis was fantastic. I loved how Santa Fe slipped from one line to the next. The "x" and score keeping were my favorites. This poem is a favorite as well. It shows you're up to any challenge even in the wild west.
Thanks Linda. I am enjoying playing with this form. I must admit just 4 years ago I couldn't get to a complete abecedarian that I was happy with. I'd stall out along the way and just couldn't push myself through to the end of the alphabet. Lately it has been getting easier when I start out with a themed story to tell.
DeleteI've written a few of these -- the v, x, y and z are always tricky! You made them work!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Mary Lee.
DeleteYou should see what I did with GAMES--I broke Yat-Zi for my y and z.
And in the FISHY one I wrote syonara (Japanese good bye) as Zion-ara, to get to my Z. Sometimes it is easier than others. I take the good ones and smile through the ones that really need more work.
Oooohlala, what a new fantastic word, abecedarian! Love it! :) I enjoyed this very much, Joy. :)
ReplyDelete