The moon is getting smaller.
His face is growing grim.
The bowl is getting less and less.
The light is growing dim.
Tomorrow is the new moon
when there is barely moon at all.
Then we'll see it wax again
into a big round ball.
I don't know when I learned the words waxing and waning, but I do remember that I thought those were the coolest words when I learned them. Now when I look at the moon I try to figure out if the moon is getting bigger (waxing) or smaller (waning.) Like water that ebbs (pulls away from shore) and flows (rushes toward shore) words that come in pairs are lots of fun. Can you think of other words that are for movement and mean the opposite of each other? Can you write a poem today about movement? Have fun writing.
Joy,
ReplyDeleteYou're so clever at teaching vocabulary and appreciation for poetry all rolled into one.
Ah, Linda. It just happens. there has to be a purpose to the poem and sometimes it is just to share vocabulary. Reading poetry is a great way to learn new words. I remember the first time I found "manticore" in a poem and thought it was the neatest word. I'm still making my own manticores.
DeleteI really like your poem. I have tried really hard to think of another pair of verbs that could work in a poem like yours and am coming up blank. Ebb and Flow and Wax and Wane, but can't come up with anything beyond Push and Pull. But it's a great exercise thinking about this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for thinking about it, Rosi. Many words are defined by their opposite. It is the movement part of this that makes it a challenge. Maybe ingress and egress, or exit and enter.
DeleteBuild and destroy? Draw and erase? Find and hide? How are those for opposite pairs?
ReplyDeleteI especially like the ending of your poem.