SOMEDAYS

Rooster in Conte by Joy Acey, 2017

Somedays I feel
like I want
to throw back my head,
fill my lungs,
and C R O W.

For you, I wish
to have that
same feeling,
expecting surprises
to rise up
like the morning sun. 

copyright 2017, Joy Acey

 I've been working on drawing roosters with smooth, clean lines.  Using the fewest possible strokes to still have a recognizable chicken.  Here is what I came up with after some practice:

simple rooster, 2017

 How are you feeling today?  Do you feel like your world offers endless possibilities?  Like with work, you can do anything?  I hope so.  That's how I felt when I started to draw my rooster.  I wasn't sure I could do what I wanted.  I wasn't sure I could draw a simple rooster. So I broke the task into small steps.  To achieve what I wanted, I removed lines or pen strokes.
Can you try writing a poem about how you feel today?  If it seems too hard, break the poem down into small steps.  Have fun writing.

Big leaps are just small steps taken one after another.  Keep trying and don't give up.

BUTTERFLIES

Butterflies flit.
     Butterflies fly

Light as a whisper
     in the blue sky.

Perched on a daffodil
     drinking the dew.

I wish I was a butterfly.
     How about you?



     On a recent walk through the woods with a friend, we came to a fork in our path.
     "Which way shall we go?" he asked.
      Suddenly there appeared before us a blue swallowtail butterfly.
      "Let's follow the butterfly."  And that is what we did.  All along the path the butterfly would dart ahead and then come back to check on us, just like it was encouraging us to hurry up.  The butterfly made our walk magical.  It was a very good walk.  As soon as we got back to our start point, the butterfly flew up into the sky and disappeared.  Do you ever take walks that become magical?  Can you write a poem today about a walk?  What did you see?
Have fun writing your poem.

LITTLE CAT

The birds sing.
     Little cat creeps.
The birds perch.
     Little cat leaps.

All the birds have flown away.
Little cat wants to play.

He sits on his haunches,
     flicks the tail at the tip.
He washes his face
     and licks his lip.


     Do you have a cat?  More people in the United States have cats than dogs.  It did used to be that way.  Dogs used to be the more popular pet.  Can you try writing a poem today about your pet?  It doesn't have to be a real pet.  It can be one from your imagination.  It might be a llama, a hippo, or a bear.  Anything is OK for your poem.  Just have fun writing.