Seven Ghosts

The Monday ghost is pale and white.
The Tuesday ghost is out of sight.
The Wednesday ghost floats on air.
The Thursday ghost isn't there.

The Friday ghost yells BOO, loud and mean.
The Saturday ghost can't be seen.
The Sunday ghost is a real dandy,
he likes to steal your Halloween candy.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  So, I reached my goal, a month of Halloween related poems.  I hope you have fun trick-or-treating tonight.  Can you write a color poem today? Think of all the colors that go with Halloween.  Orange pumpkins, yellow moon, red apples. white ghosts, brown leaves.  Now have fun writing about that. 

Today is Poetry Friday and the Roundup is hosted by Linda Baie at Teacher Dance.  Thanks Linda for hosting a great Halloween party.  You'll find lots of great poetry by visiting her blog.

CANDY CORN

I'll eat just one piece,
then I'll have two.
I'll eat a whole handful
before I am through.

This handful I'll eat
top to bottom.
If I see candy corn
my mouth has got them.

I love the sweet taste
when I eat bottom to top.
The candy is so good
I just can't stop.


     Today is National Candy Corn Day.  (Almost as good as Chocolate Day, huh?)
This Halloween candy is over 100 years old.  Did you know it was first called chicken feed?  What do you want to go in your Halloween bag?  Can you write a poem ab out that today?  Have fun.

The Sandman

The sandman went out
on Halloween night.
The ghouls and ghosts
gave him a fright.
He dropped his bag
out of arms reach
and that's how we got
Miami Beach.

    You can fill in your favorite beach in the last line.  What makes a beach?  What can you do at the beach?  Would you like to write a beach poem today?  Have fun.

FLY PIE

The spiders are having
a Halloween party.
They've glitzed up their web
to make it look arty.

They're busy catching
bees, gnats, and flies,
to offer as 
Halloween pies.

     Here is your poetry challenge for today:  pick a locale or an animal and have a party.  What would the animals eat at their party?  What party games would they play?  Can you write a poem about that?  Would the ocean animals bob for apples?  Would woodland creatures play pin the limb on the tree rather than pin the tail on the donkey?  There are so many possibilities.  Have fun with your writing.

SPIDER ART

Warning:  It's Monday and I'm being a little naughty today.  I'm using one of the favorite words of third grade boys in my poem.  It makes them laugh to say the word.
     I once submitted a poem about our desert storms-- Haboobs, to a publisher.  She wrote back that she couldn't take the poem because teachers didn't need  a group of giggling fourth graders to try to control when the poem had flying boobs in it.
    So if you're concerned about having giggles in your classroom, do not share this poem with a class of elementary students.

SPIDER ART

When spiders fart,
and they sometimes do,
they parachute spinnerets
into the blue.

So if you see a web
of pure elegance,
it might be art
or just flatulence.

   Actually this poem does have the virtue of building vocabulary.  Children can be learn the polite way to refer to flatulence.
   For your poetry challenge for today, can you write your own spider poem?  Have fun writing and I hope you did giggle today.  I'll try to clean up my act for tomorrow.

Haunted House

Witches, goblins and ghosts
live in the haunted house
at the end of my street.
I'm going to knock on their door
and ask for a trick-or-treat.
I hope they have something good,
to give me a yummy sweet.

LITTLE BAT

A little bat slept
under the eaves.
Each morning he'd beg
his mother, "Please,
tell me a bedtime story."

He wanted adventure
or fantasy,
but nothing that was
bloody or too gory.

Gory stories curled
little bat's hair
and gave him
an awful nightmare.

  Can you write a nightmare of a poem today?  Or you can just tell the story little bat wants to hear.  Have fun writing.

MY HALLOWEEN COSTUME

What will I be 
this Halloween
a ladybug, a bum,
a zombie, or a queen?


A cowboy, super hero,
or a rock star
maybe a wild scientist
who captures bugs in a jar.

A maid or a butler,
or a football player,
perhaps I'll dress
as a dragon slayer.

A circus performer
or a ballerina,
I might be the monkey man
who plays concertina.

A pirate who wears
a patch over one eye,
or a clown with big feet
and a shaving cream pie.

I can take my dog
but I'll need to disguise her
as a librarian, a doctor
or someone who is wiser.

Too many things that 
I can be.
Perhaps I'll just
go out as me.

    Will you dress up for Halloween?  Can you write a poem about a Halloween costume?
    In England if you go to a costume party, they call it a fancy dress party.  Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be to show up wearing the wrong clothes? 
    It is hard to believe that I only need to write seven more Halloween themed poems and I'll have a month's worth.  I think I can do this.  Have fun writing your own poem.

    We need to celebrate, my blog post counter shows that I have posted over 1300 poems on my blog.  Thank you for reading all those poems.
    Today is Poetry Friday and Cathy Mere is hosting the Roundup at her blog, Merely Day by Day   Thanks, Cathy. 

Two Jack-o-lanterns

Two Jack-o-lanterns
on a window sill.
One named Mark.
One named Bill

Put a candle in them.
Light up their eyes.
Smiling jack-o-lanterns.
Two happy guys.

The candles dimmed.
Jack-o-lanterns in the dark.
Burned out Bill.
Burned out Mark.

Light another candle.
Leave it on the sill.
Happy Mark.
Happy Bill.

This is an action rhyme.  Can you figure out the actions (hand gestures) to go with this poem?  Now it is your turn, can you write an action rhyme today?  Have fun.

Halloween Howls

It is a good thing Halloween
just comes around
once a
year
as screeches and hoots
you can 
hear,
leave me afraid,
scared with
fear.

     What are you afraid of?  What causes you fear? Can you write a poem about that today?

SPOOKY NIGHT

In the dark night of Halloween
clouds are drifting
sky so
dull,
over water
a sea
gull
carries in his
claws a
skull.

   Here is another zeno that Arlene Sikkink and Lee Chutkow helped to write in our poetry workshop at Santa Catalina Villas.  I think I've now got them addicted to writing zenos too.  Can you try writing a zeno today?  Have fun. 

DOORBELL RINGS

Trick-or-treaters stand at my door,
keep demanding,
wanting
some
cookies, candy
apples
gum,
leaving nothing--
not a
crumb.

   Today's poem is another zeno.  I told you I thought they were addictive.  I worked with some seniors writing poetry today in their retirement community.  I shared the zeno form with them.  Lee Chutkow and Arelene Sikkink helped to write this poem.
   You can find directions for writing your own zeno on last Thursday's post.  You can read more zenos on Michelle Barnes' blog at Todays Little Ditty.
   Can you find friends to write a join poem with today?  Have fun with poetry.

HALLOWEEN NIGHT

Leaves fly
Dark sky
Limbs bend
Screaming wind
Lightning flash
Thunder crash
Scary
Halloween night.

Wanda the Witch

Bib-it-ty, Bob-it-ty
Wanda the witch
went off for a ride
and fell in a ditch.

Her broom wouldn't fly straight.
it went awry,
Bib-it-ty, Bob-it-ty
she fell from the sky.


  In this poem I use some nonsense words, Bib-it-ty, Bob-it-ty.  Can you write your own poem using nonsense words?  Try it.  I think you'll enjoy making up your own words.

CEMETERY SCREAMS

In the cemetery you hear 
screams and wonder 
who yelled
BOO!
Dead Zombies watch
all you
do
and they're coming
to get
you!

Today's poem is another zeno, a form invented by J. Patrick Lewis, former Children's Poet Laureate.  Can you try writing your own zeno today?  Have fun thinking of three rhyming words that are single syllable.  I gave the guidelines for this form yesterday, so just scroll back to that post, or you can find more on Michelle Barnes' blog, My Little Ditty.  The Poetry Friday Round Up is over at Michelle's blog, too.  There is also a fun 5 word poetry challenge over there.  Just drop on by here.  All you have to do is BYOP (bring your own poem).  Everyone is having a good time, so come join us.  Thanks Michelle, for being the hostess with the mostess.

WITCH'S KITTEN, A Zeno

Giant, furry witch's kitten
sits on her broom,
flies to-
night.
Zipping, zooming
dips in
flight.
Shadows the moon
causing
fright.

    This poem is a zeno, a form invented by J. Patrick Lewis, former Children's Poet Laureate.  The zeno is a 10 line poem with lines 4,7,and 10 rhyming.  The zeno is a syllabic poem with 8 syllables in the first line, then 4, 2, 1 in the next 3 lines and this pattern --4,2,1 is repeated three times.

Line     syllables       end rhyme
1.            8                  A
2.            4                  B
3.            2                  C
4.            1                  D
5.            4                  E
6.            2                  F
7.            1                  D
8.            4                  G
9.            2                  H
10.          1                  D

You can find out more about this form at Michelle Barnes' Today's Little Ditty blog.
Have fun writing your own poem about a witch today.

Flying Witch for Oct. 15, 2014

I'm the witch
on my broom,
at flying
I'm not great.
I like to loop,
to zip and zoom
but, I just
can not 
fly straight.

Trick-or-Treaters

Two trick-or-treaters
marched up a hill
to fill their bags with candy.
They both yelled, "BOO!"
to frighten you
then called you namby-pamby. 

    I'm still working on Halloween poems.  There are some slip or off rhymes in this poem.  You might call it assonance rhyme.  Can you write your own poem for a treat today?  Have fun writing? 

Witch's FIB

I
am
the lump
on the witch,
on her square-cut chin
wondering where our poem starts.

This poem is a FIB, a modern western-style poem.

It follows Fibonacci's sequence of 1-1-2-3-5-8.  Can you write your own FIB today? Check out the  definition at whttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fib_

Can you imagine what the witch's wart might be able to tell you? I hope you enjoy test driving this form.  Have fun.

Haunted Cinquain

Vampires
will bite your neck
while you sleep through the night
and their hunger demands they suck
your blood.


   This poem is a cinquain.  It is a five line syllabraic poem with 2 syllables in the first line, four in the second, then six and eight for the third and fourth line.  And for the fifth line we're back to two syllables again.  (2,4,6,8,2 syllables.)  Cinquains are fun to write.  Can you take one of your Halloween words and write your own cinquain today.  Have fun writing and playing with words.

haiku Halloween

Oh sweet Halloween
in white, orange and yellow--
eating corn candy.


     This poem is a haiku written in the 5-7-5 syllable format.  For you poem today, can you take one of your Halloween words and write your own haiku?  Have fun writing.

Do the Zombie Dance

Zombies rise from their graves.
They stroll in your nightmares.
They do a stiff-leg robot walk
which gives us all a scare.
Boo-ooo-ooo!


     Happy Poetry Friday.  I'm still working on poems from my Halloween word list.  Can you try writing your own zombie poem today?  What if your BFF (best friend forever) was a zombie?  Do zombies go to school?  Could your teacher be a zombie?  Have fun writing your poem.

    Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Patricia Stohr-Hunt at her blog The Miss Rumphius Effect.  Just hop over there for lots more poetry fun.  Thanks for hosting us.

SLIDE TROMBONE

Two skeletons stepped 
out on a date.
They liked to dance,
to rattle and shake.  

He was Dave.
She was Joan.
They sure did like
to shake their bones.

Rattle-rattle-shake.
Rattle-rattle-shake.
Shin bone
Thigh bone
Hip bone
Back bone
Neck bone
Jaw bone
Rattle-rattle-shake.
Rattle-rattle-shake.
Dancing to an old trombone.

    Try this.  See skeleton dancing.
   I couldn't write this poem without thinking about my friend, children's poet David L Harrison   He plays a slide trombone and he's pretty good at it.  So here is your challenge for today--if you were putting together a Halloween band, what instruments would you include and what characters would you put in the band? Would you have a vocalist, back up singers?  Have fun playing with this.  (Is there a pun in there?)  Happy Poetry. 
  

WITCH'S BREW

A warty witch stirred
her cauldron pot.
Her brew was steamy.
Her brew was hot.

She took at taste,
said, "See what I got.
Two toads, three newts
and a snake in my pot.

"Come on now,
I'll give you a taste.
I don't want my stew
to go to waste."

   I wanted to draw a picture of a witch to go with this poem and I got to thinking what a witch would look like.  Witches can look like anything.  I must really give it a try.  So here is your prompt for today, can you write a poem about a witch?  Can you tell what she looks like?  Is your witch fat or thin?  Tall or short?  Stylish or old fashioned? Have fun writing your poem.

FIVE SNAKES

Five snakes went out
for a slither
one night.

The air was cool,
the moon
was bright.

Each snake saw
his shadow.
It gave him
a scare.

They all raced home
to sleep
in their lair.

     Now that the weather is getting a little cooler, the snakes in my neighborhood are more active.  They still are most active at night when the hawks aren't out.
     My newspaper says there is will be a lunar eclipse tonight at 3:25 AM, Wednesday morning.  I'm going to set my alarm clock to get up and watch the eclipse.  I'll also look to see if I can see my own shadow.  Can you write your own poem about the moon today? Have fun writing.

Spooky Party

 

copyright 2014, Joy Acey

1, 2, 3, 4
spooky ghosts
float through the door.
5, 6, 7, 8
they're rushing in
can't be late.
9,10, then 10 again.
They're laughing
loud and hardy
20 ghosts
having a
Halloween party.

    Here is your challenge for today-- make a list of all the Halloween related words you can think of.  My list had 22 words.  Now I'm going to try to write poems using those words.  Have fun making your list.  Can you write a list poem using your words?  Happy writing.

Funny Errors

Sometime today
    or maybe tomorrow,
I'm going to make
    a mistake.

 I'll add laughter
      when I start over--
you'll see the poem
    I make.

   I have several "On this Date" books in my library.  When I get stuck for a poem idea, I check my books to see if some important event happened on this day or if someone I know was born or died on this date.  I have books for daily inspiration, words for the day, be happy today books, etc.  One of my favorites is TODAY I WILL by Eileen and Jerry Spinelli.  Today's page includes, "Sometime today, or tomorrow, I'm going to screw up."  That line really spoke to me.  I don't think I've ever written a poem about screwing up--but I certainly have, many times.
   What mistakes have you made?  Can you start over and try again?  How can you help yourself to NOT make the same mistake twice?  Can you write about that today?
    As the Spinellis point out, never be afraid to start over again.  Do not let failure scare you, it is how we all learn.
   Have a great day writing. 

SATURDAY

Goodness,
gracious,
it has been a busy week.
Now it's Saturday,
and it's quiet I seek.

    I have been so busy this last week even I can't believe everything I've been able to accomplish.  So I'm taking a day off--actually, I took today off.  And it is your turn.  If you want to write a poem today, you chose the subject and the form.  Me, I'm going off to sleep.  Have a good night.  Thanks for following my blog.

I'M HAPPY

copyright 2014, Joy Acey

There's moon glow inside me.
I'm dancing on air.
Where are my friends?
Will you join me there?

  In My Daily Post today, Ben Huberman included a quote from Allen Ginsberg, "Follow your inner moonlight, don't hide the madness."
  I loved the idea of having moonlight inside my body and so I wrote this poem.  But then I got to thinking about other things that make me happy, that symbolize happiness to me.

There's cotton candy inside me.
I'm feeling so sweet.
I smile,
     say HELLO,
to each friend I meet.


There's bubbles inside me.
I'm feeling so light.
My feet, they are dancing.
I feel their delight.

There's a circus inside me.
I feel like the show.
There are lions and tigers
to dance where I go.

OK.  So now it is your turn.  What are some things that make you happy?  Chocolate, swimming, sunshine, parties?  How would it make you feel?

So try the format and see what you come up with:

There's a _____________________________ inside me.

I feel like____________________________________.

______________________________________________

______________________________________________.


Have fun thinking and writing today.  And please share your creation in the comments below.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is over at Jama Rattigan's blog.  Thanks for hosting us Jama.  You'll find lots of great poetry links on Jama's Alphabet Soup.
Have a great weekend with poetry.

Happy Birthday Peanuts

I wish I were Lucy
I would give you advice.
I'd only charge a nickel
Because I am so  nice.


On this day in 1950, Charles Schultz published the first panel of his long running popular comic strip Peanuts.  If you could be any character from any comic strip who would you be?  What would you do?  Have fun writing your poem today.

Feet and Hands

Five toes on my left foot
jiggle, jiggle, jiggle.
Five toes on my right foot
tap, tap, tap.
Five fingers on my left hand
wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.
Five fingers on my right hand
snap, snap, snap.

   Write a poem today about something you can do with your fingers or toes.  Have fun.