Welcome

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, April 19, 2013

PROGRESSIVE POEM 
Each day during the month of April I will add a line to this poem.

WHAT IS POETRY? 

You will find poetry nowhere unless you bring some of it with you. --Joseph Joubert

It is finding the truth, no need to lie. 
It's munching on watermelon and letting seeds fly. 
 
It's a letter that comes with a card in the mail. 
It's the lacy silver threads left by a garden snail.
 
It's daffodil trumpets covering the hill. 
It's a deer at the creek, drinking her fill.
 
It's giggling and laughing and being absurd. 
It's reading a haiku and feeling each word. 
   

It's a dragon who blows flames, loud and hardy.   
It's fairies in the garden having a tea party.
 
It's the sound of a truck shifting its gears. 
It's the feel of two soft puppy dog ears.
 
It's a bright sun rise and glowing moon shine. 
It's a Carolina wren singing in a Lob-lolly pine. 
 
It's a snowman rolled on a cold winter morn.   
It's crows calling from tall tasseled corn.
 
It's the whisper of hummingbird wings in the air.
It's plaits and curls tied with bows in my hair.

It's spying a bird feeding her young.
It's pink cotton candy that melts on your tongue.

It's watching black ants as they march by.
It's corn on the cob for the Fourth of July.
It's a bumble bee tumbling inside a rose.
I had a grand time working with children at Woods Library yesterday to write poems and make poetry pockets.  It's a good thing I can think fast on my feet.  We wrote poems about books, a cat, ice cream, the sun, a shark, playing chess, the reading dog,  and a girl in a pink dress. One boy had a broken arm, so I wrote this:

I broke my arm
I was running too fast.
Now I wear
a plaster cast.

My friends have signed it
with their names,
while I sit and watch them
play their games.




      There are less than 24 hours left to tell all your friends.  I'm giving away this orange t-shirt featuring THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL book cover.  I'm doing this to celebrate the 2nd birthday on April 20, of Poetry for Kids Joy. I can't believe that I've made it to two years of posting an original children's poem every day on my blog. If you'd like the opportunity to win this t-shirt, just leave your name in the comments below with a line about what poetry means to you.  Be sure to leave your name so I can contact you if you are the winner.  I will take entries from now until midnight between Friday and Saturday (Pacific Standard Time, April 20, 2013.)  

     The Poetry Friday Roundup is over at Live Your Poem this week.  Thank you Irene for hosting all of us.

19 comments:

  1. Congrats on Poetry for Kids Joy's 2nd birthday! You have certainly been very prolific in that time!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Tabatha.
      I hope you had a great Poem in Your Pocket Day. Are you planning anything for Earth Day?
      I was so glad to be done with February and March, but I'm sad to see April rushing so quickly away.

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  2. I'm loving your progressive poem! Congratulations on going strong for 2 years!

    mainelywrite.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Donna,
      Did you see the great poems posted yesterday in the comments by Charles, Matt and Mary? There are so many great children's poets, and so many great kids.

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    2. I went back a day...great poems. Loved them all. And now, here's my submission! I'm going to post it on my page also in the shape it should be (centered). But here it is all "to one side"...
      I have a lobster boat poem on each day for the AtoZ Challenge on Mainely Write.

      A
      little
      word
      I wrote
      one day
      I really had
      too much to say
      I could not write it all
      I was much too small but
      then I learned about Haiku
      so short and stout and then I
      knew
      that would do
      so I wrote a little poem
      that said more than it’s words
      and from that grew a wish and need
      to spread
      my words like apple seeds and learn not
      to rhyme all the time
      one day my tree grew branches and I had more to say
      so much more and so much
      white space
      so I
      sneaked
      in a
      rhyme
      just a peek
      one wee
      time
      and
      blossoms
      came
      and I
      knew I had
      to keep on
      going
      poetizing
      and keep
      on looking
      at the world
      through
      realizing
      eyes
      rhyme
      or no
      rhyme

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    3. Oh, I forgot - it's called Poet Tree

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    4. Donna,
      This is great. I'll come visit this Poet Tree at your house so I can really see what it looks like. Isn't that frustrating? I sure wish the comments would hold formatting.
      Thank you for all the work you do with the children.

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  3. Joy, a huge CONGRATS for your blog anniversary but even more for writing a poem every single day - YOWZA. I'm lucky to get one a month! It has been a JOY getting to know you this past year, and I can't wait to virtually "see" you in October. Hooray for you!!!

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    Replies
    1. Hey Kiddo,
      I'm looking forward to seeing you too. And thanks for the good wishes.

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  4. Joy, I am so glad you had fun yesterday! I had fun, too--many of the kids in my boys' classes wrote their own poems on the backs of the pocket poems I passed out. It was amazing! = )

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad you had fun with the children and that you could encourage them to write poems. Remember the last three letters of Poetry are the little word TRY. Keep having fun.

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  5. Joy, my mind just filled with an image of myself with a giant cast on my skinny little arm... and how much do I love that thought that we don't find poetry so much as bring it with us. THAT is poetry. Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Irene.
      The Librarian asked me where I got my ideas for poems and I think my look was deer in the headlights stunned. I thought it was obvious. I told her all she had to do was look around. All of the poems we wrote yesterday came from things in the library, or topics that the kids wanted to write about.
      Life is good. Thanks for hosting today and keep writing. Have a great weekend.

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  6. Congratulations on writing a poem a day for two years straight! Can't even imagine that kind of perseverance, I'm trying to write every day for a month, and it's about to kill me. Love your progressive poem-- so true that poetry really is everywhere, if we look for it!

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  7. Your poem is progressing beautifully, Joy, & I love that poem about the broken arm. I guess every teacher might like to keep that one handy in the classroom. Congratulations on two years of writing every day, a very big deal! Poetry to me means sharing who I am with others, students, friends, colleagues. I want them to enjoy the words too!

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  8. I love how your poem is unfolding. I enjoy reading it everyday. Congrats on two years of blogging.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Jone. Did you see the directions for how to write this poem with students? I really think it would be a fun game. I've GOT to find a group of kids to try this out with.

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  9. What a fun idea, Joy. I especially love the lines that seem like they wouldn't lead to something poetic, but do anyway!

    "It's the lacy silver threads left by a garden snail."
    and
    "It's the sound of a truck shifting its gears."

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Steve.
      I'm going to have to see if I can come up with more of those surprising lines. :-)

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