Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you.
May your food be plentiful,
May family and friends be close too
and may your day be wonderful.

May you feel blessed
with all the things you need
and may you be thankful
in both word and deed.


   I hope your day is fantastic.  What are you thankful for today?

   On days like today, I feel blessed to call you friend.

THANKSGIVING BLESSING

May you have a fruitful fall,
May your turkey be a butterball.
May the pies all be golden brown.
May friends and family gather round.
May the food be plentiful and the complaints be few.
This is my Thanksgiving wish for you.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Mr. T. Speaks III

I'm still working in two voices.

"Gobble! Gobble!"
Said Mr. Turkey,
                             walking in his turkey trot.
"Gobble! Gobble!"
Said Mr. Turkey,
                            "Please don't serve me hot."


And here is the next for the counting rhyme.

On the third of November
Mr. Turkey said,
"If I color myself green
and crawl like a gator,
maybe you won't see me,
till much, much later."

   There aren't too many more days until you get to eat your turkey.  What will you eat for Thanksgiving Day?  Have fun writing a food poem today.

Mr. T. Speaks II

I had so much fun thinking about a talking turkey yesterday that Mr. Turkey had to have something today too.  This is still in two voices.

"Gobble! Gobble!"
Said Mr. Turkey,
                              trying to make himself thinner .
"Gobble! Gobble!"
Said Mr. Turkey.
                             "I don't want to be Thanksgiving dinner."



  And since I started the counting yesterday let's see if I can keep it going today.

On the second of November
Mr. Turkey ran off in a trot.
He cried, "It's almost Thanksgiving,
and I just forgot."

   Can you find some time to write your own poem of Thanksgiving today?  Have fun writing your poem.

Linked Haiku

Golden brown turkey
on Grandma's shining china--
family gives thanks

Grandpa is missing
his spirit is with us all
giving his blessing


     Have you ever tried writing linked haiku?  You can write a verse and another and put them together to tell a story, or you can write with friends.  You write a verse and then a friend can write a haiku to go with your verse.  Have fun trying to write linked haiku today.

haiku

Scent of roast turkey
filling my grandmother's home
my stomach growling

haiku

Red cranberry sauce
sweet and tart--a bitter taste
another year gone

   What kind of cranberry sauce will you have this year?  Will it be the same as last year or different?  What other foods will be on your Thanksgiving table?

Thanksgiving Cinquain

Turkey
for Thanksgiving
roasted a golden brown,
family and friends gather to
give thanks.


   I had trouble with the eight syllable line.  I kept counting family as two syllables on one count then three in the next.  I finally had to look up the proper pronunciation of family.  Simple, right?  But, it just goes to show you, it never hurts to double check on syllabic forms.  The cinquain has two syllables in the first line, four, six, eight, and two syllables in the next lines, making a five line poem.  Can you try writing your own cinquain today?  Have fun writing.

Thanksgiving Turkey

Gobble, gobble, Mr. Tom Turkey
strutting around the grassy yard.
Scratching grubs up from the dirt
he is growing big and fat.
We will pluck and dress him,
cook in the oven
for Thanksgiving
delicious
turkey
feast.

     This is a nonet, a nine line poem with nine syllables in the first line and then one less syllable in each successive line, ending with a one syllable line.  Can you try writing your own nonet today?  Have fun writing.

   

THANKSGIVING ZENO

Many things I am thankful for
my dear mother 
and my
dad.

And my brothers
make me
glad.

For the turkey
I feel
sad.

   This poem is a zeno, a form developed by former children's poet laureate J. Patrick Lewis.  It is a ten line poem with 8 syllables in the first line, then 4,2,1 in the next three lines. And those 4,2,1 syllable lines are repeated two more times.  Lines 4, 7, and 10 all rhyme.  Can you try writing your own Thanksgiving zeno today?  Have fun writing.

Whip Cream

Mix the cream.
Stir the cream.
Beat it till it's high.
Spoon it on the pumpkin
for Thanksgiving pie.

    Does your family have special foods they eat for Thanksgiving?  Can you write a cooking poem today that tells how to make  your favorite food?

    Our wind is still blowing and today I noticed that the wind made the top feathers on the quail bob even more than usual as the birds walked past my window.  I know there is a poem in there, but it needs to percolate.  What is one thing you have noticed today?  Have fun writing.

Turkey's Lament

Hurry, hurry,
keep up the pace.
Quick, quick, quick,
find me a place.

Make it safe,
a hidden winner.
I dont want to be
your Thanksgiving dinner.

    Do you know what a lament is?  It is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.  Why do you think a turkey would be sad at this time of year? So here is your poetry prompt for today--can you write a list poem about all the places a turkey might hide?  Go ahead, be silly.  You might put the turkey in the bath tub.  In Uncle Charlie's tennis sweater to impersonate him.  How about in your brother's basketball hoop?  This could be fun.  I hope you have a good time writing your poem.

THE DAY AFTER

I ate turkey,
I ate yams,
I ate cranberries,
biscuits and jams.

I ate stuffing,
pumpkin and apple pies
I'm stuffed all the way
up to my eyes.

I ate so much
on Thanksgiving Day.
I'm starting a diet
as of today.


    Did you have a good Thanksgiving?  There is a lot to be thankful for, isn't there?  I hope you have a great weekend writing.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Today I'll eat turkey
for Thanksgiving Day.
I'll see my cousins
and we'll get to play.

And if I'm good
after I've eaten my fill,
Uncle says he'll take us
to sled down his hill.


    I hope you have a happy holiday, and for my friends outside the us, thank you for being a part of my holiday.  I'm so gateful to have so many readers and encouraging friends who like poetry.  I appreciate you.  Blessings.  Have fun writing your own poems.

Turkey Writes a Good Bye Note

Good bye, Mama

I'm flying away

I hope to hide

till after

Thanksgiving Day.

 
     This is the first verse to a longer poem with many verses.  It is a persona poem written in the voice of a turkey.  Now, why would a turkey want to leave home for the holiday?  Your poetry challenge for today is to write the next verse.  Who would the turkey send a shout out to next?  Where would he go?

   I took this picture of the turkeys in Franconia, NH when I attended a poetry workshop at The Frost Place.  It is a lovely place to learn more about poetry.

THE POEM I WANT TO WRITE

chasing room to room
you are the good idea 
I want to set free.


      It is a busy Saturday.  I need to take a walk to clear my brain.  It is an exciting time for me.  I can actually feel myself growing as a poet, but unless I do the work and write the poems down, they will be lost in the ether.  So here is another little haiku.

collected pennies
gone from our Mason jar
a Happy Thanksgiving


     Go for your own walk today and see if it stirs some poetry for you.  It was by walking that Basho, the father of modern haiku, wrote his poems.  So try it and see what you come up with. Or, see what comes to you.   Have a great weekend writing.

THANKSGIVING COLORS

After Bill Martin, Jr.

                  The seasons are changing

It's November, you see.

And I'm wondering,

Where will you be?

Olives, Black Olives.

Where will you be?

I'll be in the relish dish

beside your turkey.

Cranberry, Red Cranberry.

Where will you be?

I'll be the sauce

beside your turkey.

Corn, Yellow Corn.

Where will you be?

I'll be the side dish

for your turkey.

Potato, White Potato.

Where will you be?

I'll be mashed potatoes

for your turkey.

Lettuce, Green Lettuce.

Where will you be?

I'll be a salad

for your turkey.

Beets, Purple Beets.

Where will you be?

I'll be the vegetable

for your turkey.

Berry, Blueberry

Where will you be?

I'll be the biscuit jam

for your turkey.

Pumpkin, Orange Pumpkin.

Where will you be?

I'll be the pumpkin pie

for your turkey.

Turkey, Brown Turkey.

Where will you be?

I'll be Thanksgiving dinner

for the whole family.

     Since it is getting close to Thanksgiving, I thought it would be fun to write a color poem for all the foods of the Thanksgiving dinner.  This poem could be done in two voices. (There are several ways you could divide up the parts.)  With very young children they could draw the pictures and make a classroom book. Children could pick a color and write their own verses.  There are lots of foods I didn't use celery, yams, gravy, stuffing, carrots, and onions to name a few.  So, your challenge for today is to write your own food poem.  Have fun writing.

    Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Jama Rattigan on her blog Alphabet Soup.  You can find more poetry here.  Thanks Jama for hosting us.  My foodie poem is for you.

Post Thanksgiving Cinquain

Eating

dinner again

biscuits and pumpkin pie

bowls of left over turkey soup

Grateful.

   How many days did you eat your turkey?  I've put the left over soup in the freezer now.  It will be wonderful on one of the busy cold December evenings.  Can you write your own turkey poem today?  You pick the form you'd like to use.  Have fun.

Thanksgiving in the Barn

     Here is a first for me.  I'm reposting (with some corrections) a poem from Thanksgiving last year.  When I looked at this poem, I still liked it and I wanted to share it with you again.

All of the animals

on the farm

have Thanksgiving dinner

in the barn.

But before they chow-down

for their meal,

each of them mentions

how thankful they feel.

The horse neighs he's thankful

for his bucket of oats.

The sheep baa thanks

for their warm wooly coats.

Above their heads

a spider is grinning

she says she is thankful

for the web she is spinning.

The ducks give their thanks,

and especially the drake,

with the geese and the goslings,

for an unfrozen lake.

The pig oinks, he is thankful

for his muddy sty

and for the scraps 

of uneaten pie.

The goat butts his head
To spread hay in his pen.
The rooster crows, he is

thankful for all of the hens.

The chickens are thankful

they're still laying eggs.

The dog says he's thankful

for treats when he begs.

The cow says she is thankful

for cream with a moo,

and they all want to know

if you're thankful too.

     I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, that you enjoyed the parade, that your team won the football game, and that there are plenty of left-overs for your turkey sandwich today.  Thank you for stopping by today and for all the help and support you've given to me in my writing poetry for children.  I'm especially thankful for you.
    The Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Mary Lee this week over at Year of Reading.

Happy Thanksgiving

The turkey in the oven
smells like it is roasting.
The kitchen smells like baking.
Meet the friends we are hosting.

The TV shows a football game
Daddy yells, "Hurray!"
Mom asks us all to please
go outside and play.

My cousin makes a center piece.
My aunt sets the table.
This morning we watched Macy's parade,
it came thru on our cable.

We are all so thankful
for all this food to eat.
I'm glad that you stopped by,
it is a special treat.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING