HAPPY BIRTHDAY

 

There are so many things to celebrate today.
Happy Spring.
Happy Poetry  Friday.
Happy National Poetry Month.

And Happy Birthday to Lee Bennett Hopkins.


Today is Lee's birthday
Let him take a bow
As Hawaiians wish him
hau'oli la hanau

Trade winds blowing
across the islands
Orchids growing
for lei in garlands

We watch the hula
with hips that sway
they're here to wish you
HAPPY BIRTHDAY

What do you have planned for the weekend?  I am going to an orchid show.  I'm also meeting with a group of women on Sunday to draw flowers.  
Can you try drawing a picture and writing a poem about what you are doing this weekend?  Have fun writing.

Art is not what you see but what you make others see.--Edward Degas 

The Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Robyn Hood Black on her blog, Life on the Deckle Edge, this week.  Check out her post for more children's poetry. Thanks Robyn for hosting a GREAT party.

Good Morning

Kauai sunrise from the Homesteads 2018

SUNRISE

sunrise
all yellow
and pink

bird cries
my eyes
flutter
and blink

cows
meander
down to
the stream

Not sure
I want
to wake
from this
dream.

Happy Good Friday.  I hope it is a poetry day for you.  I wrote this poem  when I looked out my window and saw the cows meandering over the hill.  The egrets had left their perch in the top of the mango tree to travel with them.  I know it is going to be a good day, even though there are predictions of rain this whole Easter weekend.  It did strike me how many of my poems start with a small observation--usually about the weather.  What is the weather like at your place?  Can you write a poem today about a small observation you make?  Have fun writing.

Right now an opportunity appears, make the best of it.

Fairy Wings

There are fairies in my garden,
and I even have the proof.
I stopped to pick a flower
and then I heard a p o o f.

There beneath the flower--
the strangest of things,
a tiny, little fairy
had left her fairy wings. 


   If you find fairy wings in your garden, you get to make a wish.  What would you wish for?  Can you write a poem about wishes, or making a wish?  Have fun writing.

You have the power to make this an amazing day.

Happy Poetry Friday

Our weather this last week has been fantastic.  On Wednesday I went to McBride Gardens on the south side of the island for the opening of their new canoe garden featuring all the plants that were brought to the island by canoe.

I did learn two interesting facts:

The Hawaiian islands are the most remote islands in the world.  They are the farthest away from another land mass.  I'd never thought about that before.  But, just finding our islands by boat must have been a great accomplishment for early travelers who only had the stars to guide them.

Hawaii has had more plants and animals go extinct here than any other place in the US.  This is why gardens and nature preserves are so important.

There was a blessing of the garden.

Here is a poem I wrote about my experiences this week.

PRESENCE

Fog blooms on my window pane.
Silver dew laces upon the hill.
Rainbows where there once was rain,
Finding myself by being still.

A rooster crows down the lane.
Wrens perch on a mango bough,
Living fully, but not in vain,
Living my life in the here and now.

What have you done this week?  What have you learned?  Can you try writing your own poem about something you've experienced this week.  Have fun.

It is Poetry Friday.  You can find more poetry at the Poetry Friday Round Up hosted by Kay McGriff  at A Journey Through the Pages  this week?  Thanks you Kay, for hosting us all.

Happy Poetry Friday

Life on the island is getting chilly.  People have gotten their socks out to keep their feet warm.
It was 49 degrees one night this week.  Our day time temperatures are in the high 60's.

The chicks are still cuddling close to their mothers to keep warm as the island gets ready to the holiday season.

We did have a slight sprinkle last Friday evening but folks didn't let that get in the way of their enjoyment of the Christmas parade on Rice Street.

I did get my final art project done for my class at the junior college.  I'm a little sad that the course is over, but I'm extremely happy with everything I learned.

    Last week I shared with you the sketch for my final project.  Here is what I ended up with for the art.

Dog eating peanut butter driving his trolley through to Platform 9 3/4

Snoop, my dog
starts to sputter
when he eats
his peanut butter.

He's off to Hogwarts.
It's his turn.
There's lots of things
he wants to learn.

For Christmas he knows
what he wants to get,
more peanut butter,
you can bet!

And here's what
he'll give to you,
it's his ability
to drive on through
Platform 9 3/4.
Come to Hogwarts too. 

   Have you ever thought about what it would be like if your favorite picturebook character went to Hogwarts?  Paddington, Winnie, Charlotte, Wilbur, George, Lucy?  What would Amelia Bedilia do there? 


Never pass up the opportunity to make someone else's day a good one.

Our host for Poetry Friday this week is  Lisa.  You can find more poetry at Steps and Staircases.  Thanks for rounding up the poetry this week, Lisa .

Don't forget, we're gathering next week, Dec. 15, at Matt Forrest's place  Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme for a virtual holiday party.  He's already started baking.

HAPPY POETRY FRIDAY

   I've been taking a beginning drawing class at the local junior college and the term is almost over.  For our final project the instructor arrived with three lunch bags, labeled--nouns, verbs and settings.  We were to pull a slip from each bag and use those prompts for our final rendering.  I've used this same method for poetry prompts so it was fun to get prompts for drawing. But...
   The nouns were all pop culture icons.  I think the instructor was trying to find something appealing to the young teenage college students.  My noun was Snoop Dogg!  I really didn't want to draw the rapper, so I figured I'd just go with the DOG, a word I find more fun and certainly fits more with children's poetry.
   Being a poet who tries to write with strong lines, I teased my instructor about including gerunds in his verbs.  Sure enough the verb I pulled included a gerund. The slip of paper I ended with was, "eating peanut butter from the jar."
   Finally, my setting slip was "drive thru."  
   How would you draw a dog eating peanut butter at a drive thru?  My mind immediately went to a drive in theater since my father managed several of them and I worked in the drive in all through college. But then Harry Potter slipped in to save me.  Do you remember him driving thru the wall at platform 9 3/4?
   Here is a rough draft sketch of what I'm working on.  My next step is to render the drawing on quality paper and add color.  At that step I'll be able to fine tune the wall, the shading and the dog's features and put a glob of peanut butter on that lolling tongue. What color shall I make the dog? (Hang with me, I'll get to the poetry.)

My silly dog
is a crazy nutter.
He likes to eat
my peanut butter.


 Do you know the word nutter?  It is British slang for someone who is crazy and does nutty things. 
   Do you know why I used "to eat" instead of  the "eating" from the slip to write my poem?  It is all a case of meter and gerunds and infinitives.  Remember gerunds are those "ing" verbs and infinitives are the "to" verbs.  They are extremely useful in poetry.
Most poems are written in an iambic foot.  If you try to scan a poem (notice the accented and unaccented syllables,) always try iambic first because it is the meter most often used.  The iambic foot is unaccented, accented--the accent is on the second syllable.  using an iambic foot means lines will end on a strong accent.  A trochee is the opposite of an iambic foot.  It is accented, unaccented.  Any two syllable verb ending in "ing," a gerund, will be a trochee.  So, when using verbs to write poetry for children if you want iambic, use an infinitive.  If you want a throchee, use a gerund. The exception is when using forced meter.  (Poets love to break the rules!) 
   See, I told you I'd get back to poetry.  That was a bit heavy, let's celebrate your getting through that heavy lesson.  Let's have a party! 
   We're having another virtual party in two weeks on Dec. 15 at Matt Forrest Esenwine's place, Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme.  You are invited to drop in and stay for the whole day (or maybe the night--I virtually slept on the fireplace hearth one year at David's place.)  I'm going to write a small poem about my ugly Christmas sweater.  Matt calls the party a shindig.  It started on David L. Harrison's blog a few years ago. Matt, David and I decided that perhaps it might be fun to move the party around from venue to venue…so this year, it’s moving from David’s place to Matt's little home on the web.  Perhaps we'll have snow.

   Finally, the Poetry Friday Round Up is over at Mary Lee Hahn's blog, A Year of Reading.  Thanks for hosting us, Mary Lee.
You can find more great children's poetry here.

  Oh, for your poetry challenge, pick any noun, verb and a setting and see what you can come up with for a poem.  Have fun writing whatever you do.
Thanks for your patience.

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.

copyright 2017, Robyn Hood Black

Happy Poetry Friday!

I'm feeling the lazy days of summer.  How about you?
One of the ways I keep myself growing and moving through the summer is to participate in the Summer Poetry Swap.  Last week I received my first poem from Robyn Hood Black.  Robyn is one of the most creative poets I have ever met.  I think one of the reasons I enjoy knowing Robyn is because she loves writing haiku even more than I do.

Her poem:

Light-givers,
like moon
ripples of molten silver,
appear 
to romancers
of the pen
in words.

(I love the pearl button Robyn used to illustrate the moon.)
Do you like the words Light-givers and romancers?

When I went to Poets Camp at Western Washington University last fall, Robyn presented a workshop for us on erasure poems.  She provided all the materials so we each could make our own poem.
To make an erasure poem, you start with a sheet of text.  It could be a page from an old paperback novel, or a magazine.  

Read the page several times to see if any words jump out to you.  Then carefully see if you can select a few words from the page to make a poem.

Next erase, mark out, blackout, or paint out all the other words. (Robyn had us cut little sticky tabs to cover our chosen words and then we used rubber stamp, or a sponge and ink pad to cover up all the other words.

What you are left with is your erasure poem, because you have erased everything but the words of your poem.

As you can see from Robyn's poem, she adds glitter and embellishments to make a piece of art from her poem.  You can find more of Robyn's art at her Etsy shop here. 

Can you try making an erasure poem today?  You can find out more about erasure or blackout poems here. Have fun playing with words and text.

You can find more poetry at the Poetry Friday Roundup, hosted by Carol Varsalona on her blog Beyond Literacy here. 

Have a great weekend.

Celebrate! Happy 4th

Let's celebrate
the 4th of July
by shooting off stars
into the sky.

Let's celebrate
and all eat pie,
make mine peach
on the 4th of July.

Let's all lick ice cream cones.
I'll even buy
when we celebrate
the 4th of July.

The sun is so hot
I think I'll fry.
It's very sunny
on this 4th of July.

Let's swim across the lake.
Just give it a try
as we cool off
on this 4th of July.

We're spitting watermelon seeds.
Watching them fly
as we have a contest
on this 4th of July.

See the fireworks explode!
My-oh-my!
I sure like
the 4th of July.



    What will you do to celebrate the 4th of July?  I think I'm going to be sitting on my lanai watching the explosions in three directions.  Can you try writing your own celebration poem?  Have fun writing.

Happy Poetry Friday

 

 Today is POETRY FRIDAY.  Yahoo!  If you'd like to read more poetry fun, jump over to  Random Noodling for the Poetry Friday Round UP.  Thank you, Diane Mayr  for hosting us this week.

Flicker Flash

At just dusk
Fireflies flicker and flash
Waiting for star light

Sundown
And a deer
Walks across the road.

Tall pines
Reach toward the sun
And back.

I'm traveling and seeing things through fresh eyes.  These three haiku capture some of my sights.  Can you take some time today to look at your world and see it through fresh eyes.  What do your ears notice that they have not taken the time to listen to before?  Watch the trees.  What are they doing?  Can you find things to write a poem today?

Midnight Ramble

Tiger toes
tip-toe through
my dreams
leaving no 
dust prints
only the wish
to grab
a star
and write
it home.


Make a list of 20 nouns each day for the next week.  Then at the end of the week pick one word from each of your lists to write a poem.  Or who knows maybe as you are making your lists a word or two will jump off the page and beg to write a poem for you.  Try this and see what happens.  I've been having fun working with this all week.  My lists have been fairly productive. Have fun writing your poem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Poetry Friday

The poetry round up today is on Buffy Silverman's

 blog at Buffy's Blog. For more poetry fun,

 jump over and visit.  

Thanks for hosting us,Buffy. 

  

1. Malama Kekahi I Kekahi
    
   
   Take Care of One Another - 
   
   
   a Hawaiian Proverb

Today is Poetry Friday.

A Poet's Prayer

Let my heart grow
with the wonders
of this world.
 
Let me hear 
waves crash
turning rocks and shells
into the soft sand
beneath my feet.
 
May I see
the whale breech,
the albatross
and shearwaters
winging over
the lighthouse.


May I smell 
the sweet spicy scent
of plumeria, orchids
and the pikea.

May I taste
salt air on my tongue,
feel the gentle rain
and the warming sun.


May I see
the bright colors
of a rainbow
arcing over my world
like this poem
I must write.


  Jane Yolen sent a poem today titled Another Writer's Prayer.  I used it as a mentor poem for mine.  Her poem was about all the woodland things she needed to write her stories.  The first time I read her poem, I thought these are all fall things, we need a summer poem for this time of year.  On further reading, I realized it wasn't fall, it was woodland with sycamore trees and gray squirrels.  We don't have squirrels on Kauai.  In fact, as someone pointed out to me recently, there isn't a wide variety of mammals on the Hawaiian islands.  Most of those we do have were imported. 
  So, your poetry challenge for today is to write your own ode, a poem of praise.  Use your five senses and tell what you can see, feel, smell, touch and taste.  Use your locale to share your world with your reader.  Have fun writing your own poem.

  Do you wish to touch the stars?

LOST THINGS

At the edge of the world
is a deep black hole
where all lost things reside--

Ribbons and keys
baby bottles and binkys
All the lost hair
from dogs with mange
the dimes and nickels
of lost pocket change.

Pens and pencils
teething rings
every sock without a mate
nuts, screws and bolts
that disappear
and lone earrings
the homework, wasn't even late
all sorts of things.

Even my teddy
that I forgot
on the bus
and never
found again.


What sorts of things do you lose?  Did you look for it?  Did you find it?  The older I get, the more things I lose track of--most often it's my cell phone.  Can you write a poem today about something lost?  Have fun writing your poem.

Happy Poetry Friday and Aloha Friday

.  

The round up is over on Margaret Simon's blog  Reflections on the Teche  For more poetry fun, jump over and visit Margaret.  Thanks for hosting us, Margaret.

RAIN, RAIN, RAIN

Clouds cover
over the moon.
Dawn is coming,
will be here soon.
Rain, rain, rain.

Chickens quiet,
they are still.
Sun is peeking
over the hill.
Rain, rain, rain.

Downspout water
in a rush
welcomes morning.
All is hush, with
Rain, rain, rain.

HAPPY BOYS DAY

     Happy Poetry Friday.

Three paper kites
hang from our house
they flutter, flap and sway.
These paper fish are flying
high to celebrate
Tango no sekku
a Happy Boys Day.

On May fifth in communities with a Japanese influence you'll see paper carp
dancing on bamboo poles to honor the men in the household.  There are lots of Japanese-Americans who live on my island so we celebrate boys day and there are lots of paper carp flying today.  This holiday is also known as the Feast of Banners.  You can find out more about this celebration here. 

   There is a legend about the swimming carp becoming a dragon.  Can you write a poem today about a dragon?  What color would your dragon be?  Have fun writing.

E kūlia i ka nu‘u.

 
Strive to reach the highest.

--a Hawaiian proverb

  To read more poetry posts, Jama Kim Rattigan is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup today on 

her blog Jama's Alphabet Soup here.  Thanks Jama, for hosting us this week.

Happy Cinco de Mayo and have a great weekend.

EACH BREAK

Each break, a small miracle
see it
     in the geode
          glistening
in magic.

Each book
broken open
     reveals
          new worlds.

Each pomegranite
sends rubys
     dripping
          goodness into the world.

Each wave
breaking
     toward shore
          is a delight
on the beach.

And the birds
tell it all
     each break
          is a small miracle
in their eggs.

     It is probably because I had an appointment to see the Orthopedist for my 4 week check up of my broken pelvic ring yesterday that I got to thinking about all the ways breaking could be a great thing.  I was reading a book about surfing in Tahiti last week and it had beautiful pictures of surfers flying through a barrel wave.  The pictures were stunning of the tube of the wave with a surfer inside.  It got me to thinking how the very act of a wave cresting over on itself defies gravity.  But I've also seen lava tubes that have done the same thing.  What magic it is--a small miracle of nature.  Have you ever considered that our intestines do the same thing?  We have this long tube inside us that runs top to bottom.  That too is a small miracle.
     We are surrounded by wonders of nature.  It is like a magic show and if we take the time to slow and observe, we have a front row seat.
     What is something you have observed today?  Can you write a poem about it?  Have fun observing and writing today.   

Ho'omoe Wai Kahi Ke Kao'o

 
Let Us Travel Together Like Water

Flowing In One Direction--a Hawaiian

proverb.