SURPRISES

Sometimes I surprise myself
with the things I do.
I can use a screw driver
and an electric drill too,
I can paint my room
and turn it blue
and get 100
on my spelling test too.
I can ride my bike 
for a mile or two.
I can do so many things.
How about you?
Do you some times
surprise yourself too?

   Living in a new place, I'm having lots of new experiences.  I AM surprising myself. It is fun when there is something I'm not sure I can do and then I discover that I can and I did.  For your poetry challenge for today, can you write a list poem about all the things you can do?  Can you swim? Can you dance? Can you make a pie? Are you a good big sister?  Can you read a book?  Can you make toast?  Just think of all the wonderful things you are capable of doing? Have fun writing your poem.

   There are some poets who don't mince their words--they chew them.  Jean L'Anselme

Chicken Dance

ink, Joy Acey, 2016

Rooster likes 
to dance.
He's the king 
of romance.
Hen scratches 
in the dirt.
Struts and clucks
as she flirts.
Chickens think
they're really hep
as they do
the chicken
two-step. 

  I got to play with my ink today.  I imagine I'm going to be trying to draw a lot more chickens in a lot of different media.  Do you like to dance?  Does the dog?  How about the cat?  Pick an animal, any animal and write a poem about it dancing today.  Have fun.

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.  Robert Frost 

This week’s host is Catherine at Reading to the Core.

 
Happy Poetry Friday.  I hope this is a fun day for you.  You can find more poetry at the Poetry Friday Round Up.  Chick here to read more great poetry on Reading to the Core blog.  Thank you  Catherine for hosting us this week. 

GRATITUDE

In the quiet of the morning
when the sun begins to rise
I stare toward the horizon
and I can't believe my eyes.

The sky is orange, pink and rosy,
colored in the warmest hue.
The world is slowly waking up,
green grass covered all in dew.

Let me share my world with you
and my positive attitude.
Today, I know will be amazing.
I am filled with gratitude.


  What are you grateful for?  What do you find up-lifting?  Can you try writing a poem of thankfulness today?  Have fun writing.  Have you considered making this a list poem?

We may not know what poetry is, but we recognize it when we see it.  Jean L'Anselme

CHICKEN SONG

The chickens all love
my poetry.
They like to sing 
it back to me.
Cock-a-doodle-doo,
cock-a-doodle-doo,
chickens singing
poetry too.

   Do you have pets?  Do you ever practice saying your poems to them?  Try writing a nonsense poem today about your pet. Have fun writing.

Sometimes the words get caught in my throat.

FAN DANCER

Island paradise
Ti leaves waving in the wind--
a red fan dancer 

   This is what a Ti plant looks like:

 I got to play with my water colors again today.  It is so much fun.  In ancient times these waxy red leaves were used for clothing and to wrap food in. This plant is believed to bring good luck. Genius: Cordyline, Species: C. fruticosa, an evergreen flowering plant of the asparagus family. This plant isn't native to Hawaii, it was introduced by Polynesian settlers.

   Can you write a poem about something red that you like?  Have fun writing.

Find your voice and assert it. Bernard Friot

POEM HUNGRY

I'm poem hungry,
how about you?
When you feel that way
what do you do?

I'll read a verse,
or maybe two
and eat each line
through and through.

    Part of the fun of unpacking my boxes and boxes of books is seeing and meeting my old friends.  I have children's poetry books, rhyming picture books, novels in verse, adult poetry books and chapbooks, craft books, text books, books on the history of poetry, and lots of different dictionaries.  Each book is useful in making me a better poet. When I get poem hungry, I open one of my books and read, devouring the poetry meal set before me.
   Can you write a poem today about one of your books?  What was the last book you read?

Discover word's endless possibilities.--Bernard Friot

modern haiku

A gravel drive
old wooden fence
the open red gate


   I think I need more practice on painting gravel drives.  I did have fun painting this. Which is the whole point, isn't it?

  Your poetry challenge for today is to try writing your own modern haiku.  And if you choose to illustrate your poem, I hope you have fun.

  Happy Sunday.

modern haiku

yellow and green
holly leaves sway
sharp and smooth


Yahoo, I finally got out my water colors today.  This is an old postcard I wrote at one of the North Carolina Haiku Holidays.  Every year on the last Saturday of April, the North Carolina Haiku Society meets at Bolin Brook Farm and takes a ginko (a haiku walk) for people to write their haiku.
  Today I sketched the picture to go with my haiku and then painted it.  I think I was fascinated with how waxy and pretty the leaves were, but still very sharp.  Those points can hurt.

Can you try writing your own haiku today, and then try making a picture to go with it.  Have fun

FISH LIFE

serigraph by Yainnis Gaitis

In schools, fish swim there
and back again,
eyeball to eyeball,
fin to fin.

Only time they're closer
is when,
they're packed in
a sardine tin.

  Do you ever feel like you're packed in tight?  Perhaps when you have to walk in a line, or sit in tight rows.  Does it make you feel like you are just one of a horde?  Just remember you are special; you are unique.  Can you write a poem today about what makes you special?  Have fun writing.

 How are you doing with the snow?  Are you on the East Coast where they are supposed to have snow measured in feet?  Or, are you in Australia where it is summer?  I'm in Hawaii and I'm wearing shorts.  I'm barefoot. 


Today is POETRY FRIDAY.  You'll find more poetry posts on Tara's blog at A TEACHING LIFE.  Thanks Tara for hosting us.

Hug Day

Happy National Hug Day

I'll send you a hug
or maybe send two
to make this a good
hug day for you.

I'll extend my arms
to all that I meet.
I'll even hug strangers
I meet on the street.

   Who can you give a hug to today?  Would you like to try writing your own HUG poem?  Have fun writing.  Is there anyone you wouldn't want a hug from?  Oh, now my mind is going.  Have a great day.

Happiness makes up in height what it lacks in length.  Robert Frost

Today

There's a hole 
in the clouds.
The sun is 
poking thru.
All day long
the sun has played
Peek-a-BOO!

It rained last night.  It was misty this morning.  A lovely day to stay home and empty packing boxes.  I started to put my drafting table together and discovered that it was missing an important screw, so I drove into town to the hardware store.  On the way I stopped at the recycling center and left all my cardboard--all those moving boxes I've already emptied.  So, I finally have new white blinds in all my studio windows and my table is up.  But, I also found another tightening clip is missing.  (This will take an internet search or another trip to the hardware store, but it isn't happening today.) Do you ever go to the hardware store?  What things do you see?  Can you write a "hardware" poem today?  Of course, if you don't like this idea, write something else.  Just write today, and have fun writing.

Creativity dives right in.

FLYING COLORS

If crayons had wings
we'd see more mirth.
They'd color us rainbows
while circling the earth.

Your dog could be pink,
your brother have green hair,
and colorful kangaroos could
bounce through the air.

So, hand me my crayons,
the ones with wings,
I'm flying to color
marvelous things.

  What adds color to your life?  Try writing a colorful poem today.  Imagine the things you see in different colors today.  What places will you fly to?

A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.  Franz Kafka  Thanks to my friend Tabatha Yeats for this quotation.  She sent me a group of bookmarks, each with a different quotation.

Mr. Spider

I saw a spider
on the wall,
watched him scoot
and start to crawl
away from me.
Couldn't leave him.
I crushed him,
smushed him,
then I flushed him
down the john.
Now the spider
is all gone.

   What do you think about spiders?  Are there insects, animals, or foods you don't like?  Can you write a poem today about something you don't like?  Have fun.

  I think the Universe is getting even with me for flushing that spider down the toilet.  The spider at the top of this post was five inches across.  He was on my kitchen floor and I was barefoot.
Then I went to my studio to clean, unpack some boxes and get some work done, and I saw this.  At first I thought the big spider had caught a lot of gnats to eat until I looked closer and saw all the little baby spiders.  YIKES.

Happy Friday

POETRY PAINTBOX

Take out your poetry paintbox
to paint me a picture
of a tropical isle
where the chickens all sing.

In water colors wonderful
show me the waves crest
in white foaming churn
for a shore racing dance
that goes zing.

Poise with your paintbrush
in warm sunny colors
to paint palm trees,
their leaves folding
for prayer from a breeze
on this beautiful day.

    This is a free verse poem that uses alliteration, assonance and some internal rhyme. 
   I have moved to the Island of Kauai.  Each day I am a little more settled.  I still have lots of boxes to unpack but my house actually is starting to feel like home.  I do still wake up feeling like I'm on vacation and I have a hard time believing I'm living this wonderful life.
   What are some things you like about your life?  What are you grateful for?  If you took out your own poetry paintbox, what words would you use to paint me a picture?  Your poetry challenge for today is to write a poem picture of something you like about your life.  Have fun stretching with this one.


  

Happy Poetry Friday

Today is the Poetry Friday Roundup and Keri is hosting us at her blog Kerirecommends.com  You'll find links to other poetry blogs and postings over at our poetry party.  Thanks Keri, for hosting us this week.

Give praise for poetry, paint and pictures.

  Live big.

haiku

A frog bellows deep
crickets rub their raspy knees
quiet of the night

   Something is up. I haven't heard a chicken crow, cluck or even belch for the longest time.  They were in the grass this afternoon when I walked down to the road to bring the trash can back to the house.
   Did you know the sight of something, or what something looks like is the most frequently written about sense?  The second most frequently written about sense is sound.  For your poem today, can you write about the sound of something?  As I'm sitting here writing, I can hear my tea kettle boiling, my clock ticking, my refrigerator humming and my computer keyboard keys clicking.  What do you hear?  I hope you have fun writing about it.

You deserve to be happy.  Make it so.

Mop and Broom

There are many things
to do with a mop and broom
perhaps to clean the room
with a zoom, zoom, zoom.

We can pretend they are horses
and we'll take them for a ride.
Or the broom can be a groom
and the mop will be a bride.

We can hop upon them swiftly
as into the stars we soar.
And we can pretend we're riding
on the backs of dinosaurs.

So won't you come play with me
and with my broom and mop?
We can jump and dance and twirl
and never, never stop. 

   Have you ever played with a mop or a broom?  What did you do?  My son would use the broom for his guitar when he was young.  Or sometimes the handle would be a conductor's baton.  Use you imagination and write a poem about a mop or broom, or even a rake today.  Have fun.

  An imagination is a wonderful gift.  Use yours.

haiku

They call them cattle
egrets sit upon the cows--
black and white pictures

   There are black Angus cattle in the fields next to my house. It makes a very stunning picture when the graceful white egrets rest on the cattle's back.  This poem meets the 5-7-5 requirements of a haiku, but I was playing with the line breaks to get some enjambment.  I'm not sure the poem is successful.  What do you think?  Can you try writing your own haiku today?  Have fun writing.

Give yourself a hug. You deserve it.

SUNDAY MORNING

I'm walking with Mama
on the promenade.
She holds the leash
on my best dog Blade.
I'm jumping over
sidewalk cracks.
I don't want to break
my mama's back.
One,
      two,
           three,
                four,
                     five.
Walking with Mama,
it's great to be alive.

    I took a walk on the beach walk this morning.  I watched a young child jumping cracks.  It made me smile thinking about all the times I have done that.  Have you ever jumped cracks, puddles or rope?  Can you write a poem today about your own jumping?  Have fun writing your poem. 

Take a walk and see what you discover. 

POETRY OF SCIENCE

   I have poems in the new edition of THE POETRY OF SCIENCE: The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science.  Editors, Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell, founders of POMELO BOOKS have re-organized, reshuffled, and re-done the Poetry Friday Anthology for Science (loved by teachers) to make it more kid friendly with a bright, new Children's Edition.  The new book has delightful line drawings by Frank Ramspott and Bug Wang. (This poetry anthology would make a great gift for any budding scientist.)
   I think children will read the book first in an excited rush and then come back to the poems again and again as topics interest them.  There are many great poems in this edition.  I have three poems included in this new edition and I'm well pleased to share a page with Jane Yolen.  You'll find 248 fun poems by 78 children's poets.

SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS!

I need the shots,
please make it quick.
I see a needle,
think I'll be sick.
You say it is just
a little stick.
I know vaccinations
build immunity,
but getting them
takes bravery.

   Have you had a shot recently?  Have you gotten a flu shot this season?  Do you remember what it felt like?  Were you scared?  Can you try writing your own poem today about getting a shot or some time when you were brave?  Have fun writing.
     The Poetry Friday Roundup is being held over at http://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/ today.  You can go to  to find more fun children's poetry at Tabatha Yeatts' blog The Opposite of Indifference.  Thank you for hosting us,  Tabatha.

     You can be the bravest person you know. 
   

RAIN

Rain has been falling.
Grass is covered with dew.
My world is growing.
The earth says, thank you.

   What is the weather like in your part of the world?  Can you write a poem about that today?  Have fun writing. 
   I'm still in the throws of moving and settling. Hope you have a great day.

May the magic of a rainbow be yours today.

FILE CABINET OPEN

I had a little problem.
I didn't know how to fix.
Until I let Google enter
into the problem mix.

I watched a YouTube video
made by a middle school boy
who said a locked cabinet
was like a children's toy.

So, I followed his directions.
The solution was really swell
and how I picked that lock
I'm never going to tell.

   I finally got my locked file cabinet open.  It had the metal brackets for my bookcases inside.  So, now I can start emptying boxes and boxes of books. But I still have more books than bookcases.
   Sometimes, I think I could have had a career as a cat burglar.  Once at a Highlight's Foundation Poetry Workshop, someone locked their room key inside their room.  It was late at night and the woman didn't want to call someone to come out and let her into her room. She was panicked and didn't know what to do.  I pulled out my credit card and had the door open in a jiffy.
    If such abilities are hereditary, my youngest son got the trait from me.  He used to love to play with locks as a kid.  Give him key or combination locks and he'd have them open in two shakes.  He once got a beautiful, leather brief case from the Thrift Shop for fifty cents because it was locked and no one could open it.  When he finally got the case open, there was  $5 inside.  He really is talented.
    Have you ever opened a lock, solved a puzzle or figured out a problem?  What was it?  What did you do?  Can you write about it today?  Have fun.

Most of my problems are small--first world problems.

SUNSET

The sun sets
like a child
forced to bed,
screaming
and yelling
and turning
the sky red.
He wants 
to stay
for another day
so we can
have more time 
to play.

   It has been another busy day for me.  I found the box with my computer, monitor and printer in it, but I don't have them hooked up yet.  My desk is still upside down in the middle of the floor.  It needed to be glued and then I couldn't take the weight of it to turn it over because my broken wrist is still causing some problems with weighty things.  Plus, my empty file cabinet was locked to move it.  Now, I can't find the keys to unlock it.  I put the shelf brackets taped inside and now I can't open the files to get them out.  All little problems.  Anybody have suggestions for where I should look for the keys, or how to get the locked file cabinet open?  Anyway, I figure in about another 20 days, I'll have all the boxes emptied.  One of my bookcases did not last the journey, so I guess the answer is to get rid of some of my books. Anyway, after working all day on getting boxes emptied and the house more settled, I'm tired and expect to sleep well tonight.
   I hope your day was a good one and that you wrote an interesting poem.

  Tomorrow is another day.

RAINBOWS

A rainbow is a smile
sent by the sun
to let us know
rain can be fun.

   Rainbows have always been magical to me.  They aren't predictable.  They always appear as a surprise gift.  I once saw a rainbow from above. I was in an airplane and instead of being an arc it was a full circle.  Now that was magic.  What do you know about rainbows?  Perhaps you'd like to do some research on rainbows.
  What are you doing fun today?  Can you try writing a poem about something fun?  Or how about writing a silly nonsense verse?  Just have good time with your writing.

  Add some fun to the world today-- 

smile, Smile, SMILE!

Hau’oli Makahiki Hou!

Happy New Year

  I hope your new year is getting off to a great start with lots of great poetry.  I awoke this morning to the sound of rain and chickens crowing.  What a great way to start a day.  My new coffee pot is plugged in and ready to brew a cup.  The men to unload the cargo container are supposed to be here today.  I'm excited.
  Yesterday I watched my neighbor mowing lawn. It prompted this poem.

CATTLE EGRETS

Cattle egrets
stand in the grass
watching
the lawn mower
make each pass.

First there were two
now there are more.
Last time I counted
there were 24.

Cattle egrets,
oh, what a sight!
The lawn now is
a sea of white.

Here's wishing you a great day filled with poetry.  What will you write about today?    

   Dare to dream big dreams.