ONE

Lone myna
perched on the power line
turning his feet
west to look over
the cows and egrets
in the dewy field,
turns east to watch
gray clouds hang 
on the mountains.

The wind chime
ting-ting-bangs
and the myna
beats his white tipped wings
to fly north.
Shortly, he returns
to perch again.

Our lives are like the myna,
we watch the good and evil,
try not to judge.
We fly in a different direction
only to return home--
all our patterns
keep repeating.

    What do you dream for yourself and the world?  Can you write your own poem today about one of your dreams?  Have fun writing.


I am reminded, big dreams often start as little ones.

GOBBLE, GOBBLE

Gobble, Gobble, screams Mr. Turkey
as he tries to run away.
I don't want to be on your table
on this Happy Thanksgiving Day.

Here's wishing you the best meal ever.  Let's give thanks for all our blessings.  You, I count among my blessings.  Thank you for all your patience and kindness.  

DREY

I learned a new 
word today.
A squirrel's nest
is called a drey.


Snug his drey
perched in a tree
is where Mr. Squirrel
wants to be.

   
     I love learning new words, especially if the word is short, simple and one I think I should have learned years ago.  Do you know the word drey?  For a fun challenge today, can you use a dictionary to find a word you don't know.  Then use that word in a poem.  Have fun hunting for your special word.

Let me show gratitude for gifts from the Universe.

Rainbow

There was a rainbow
above my school today.
I saw it when
I went out to play.
It was shining
as if to say,
I hope you have
a glorious day.

Lift your heart, see the rainbows.

I KNOW

" I know,"
said the frog
as he sat on his pad,
"there must
be a reason
for feeling so sad."


"Oh dear,"
said a fly
as he buzzed by,
"there sits a frog
about to cry."


"Please,"
 said the fly,
"Don't feel so sad."
"Zap," went the frog
and now he's glad.

  Did you hear the joke about the Mother Frog who told her little tadpole not to play with his food? Can you try writing an acrostic poem on the word FROG today?  Have fun.

   Today I will try to be my best self.

senryu

standing in the street
a stunning woman watches 
contemplates traffic

     A senryu is a special kind of haiku.  Instead of dealing with nature and natural subjects, the senryu deals with human conditions and human subjects.  It still is written in the traditional 5-7-5 syllable, three line verse, or 17 syllables all together. Like haiku, the senryu is written in present tense.
    I had fun with word play in writing this poem.

Can you try writing a senryu today?  I give you permission to people watch in order to write your poem, just try to be polite and discrete.

How can one be sad on a sunny day?  I'm grateful for sunshine.

haiku

I went to the Tucson Botanical Gardens today to see an exhibit on Frida Kahlo's art, garden and life.  They built a mini-Mayan temple with Mayan artifacts and cacti decorating the many steps.  Butterflies were enjoying all the marigolds.

It was a lovely sunny day and great to see the butterflies both outside in the wild and in the Botanical Garden's Butterfly House.

painted ladies pause
flutter over marigolds
in a garden dance

 Happy Veterans Day.  What did you do today?  Can you try writing your own poem about something you saw or did today?  Have fun writing.

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.  Anne Frank   This quotation was on a garden sculpture paying tribute to the butterflies.

Have a great weekend.

Haiku

A red tail hawk floats
in a seamless desert sky
looking for dinner

Have a great day writing?  Who do you think Donald Trump will pick to write the occasional poem for his inauguration?

Harm not.  Help all you can.

HAPPY ELECTION DAY

Today is the day citizens of the United States get to vote for the candidate of their choice.  Has your mom or dad already voted?  I'm going to be away from home today, so I voted by absentee ballot several weeks ago.  I hope everyone who can casts their ballot today.

I was away working over the weekend at the Kauai Writers Festival.  When I came into my studio this morning, a book had fallen from my bookcase and was on the floor.  Of course, I couldn't just shove the book back on the shelf.  I had to lovingly hold it and think about how I had acquired the book.  I had to look inside at the poems.  (Some mornings I'll do anything to put off getting to work.)  The book was The Best Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Selected and Introduced by Caroline Kennedy, published by Hyperion.  This collection has many classic poems for reading and memorizing.

I thought the first poem was quite appropriate for today.  As I read the poem a chill came over me.  Was there a reason this book had fallen?  Was there a reason this poem had asked to be read?  Since it is in the Public Domain, I'm going to share it.  Let me know if you get chills too. Try reading the poem aloud, so you can hear every word.

AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL

by Katherine Lee Bates

O beautiful for spacious skies,
      For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
     Above the fruited plain!
        America! America!
     God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
     From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
     Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
     Across the wilderness!
        America! America!
     God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
     Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
     In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
     And mercy more than life!
        America! America!
     May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
     And every grain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
     That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
     Undimmed by human tears!
        America! America!
     God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
     From sea to shining sea.


     Teachers, you can find a beautifully illustrated copy of this poem and guidelines HERE. All the citizens who vote are part of our country's brotherhood.  
     Can you try writing a poem about our country today?  If you need a prompt, try an acrostic poem using your candidate's name, AMERICA, United States, or VOTE.  Have fun writing.

America, how may I help you?

SUNRISE

Kauai Sunrise

The sun pauses
behind
the mountain peak
Sleeping Giant,
like a cue ball
it hesitates
before slowly rolling
away from its pocket.
Reds, yellows, oranges,
even purple lights
shoot up
streak around the clouds
I feel I am rising
into this glorious morning.
I am a Kauai chicken
my lungs swell
ready to crow. 

This poem uses a simile.  Look for the word "like" to find it. How has the simile been extended in this poem?  There is also a metaphor.  "I am a Kauai chicken." What is your weather like today?  Can you try writing your own poem using similes and metaphors?  What if you wrote a persona poem from the voice of your weather?  Have fun writing, and as always, if you want to share your poem, please include it in the comments below.  I love reading your work.
Remember, according to COPPA rules, you must be over 13 years old in order to leave a comment.  If you are younger than 13, you can have a parent of teacher leave the comment for you.
Have a super day writing.

My schedule shows the Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Laura Purdie Salas this week.  Thank you, Laura, for hosting us. You can find more posts about children's poetry on her blog at http://laurasalas.com/poems-for-teachers/

Make all your days glorious in the Paradise of your creation.

FERAL CAT

A feral cat halts
pauses on haunches
watches fluffy feathered chicks
then leaps.