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.

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?

FISH

Fantastic! The interesting things
I see looking out of this
Shiny glass bowl,
Here in your room.

  Today's poem is an acrostic.  Can you try writing your own acrostic today.  Have fun playing with poetry.

BLUE HERON

copyright 2014, Joy Acey

By the time the
light comes
up and
everything

Has a rose-glow
eyes will not see herons
rising
over grass lands, winging to the
next resting spot.

   Have you ever seen the Great Blue Heron?  To watch one take off in flight is amazing.  First, he'll stretch out his long neck, tuck his legs back and flap his wings.  In a flash he is gone.  Are there birds around your house?  This morning I'm watching Australian zebra doves and little rock doves waddling through the grass.  Can you write a poem today about birds, or your favorite bird?  Will you be leaving a Christmas present for the birds?  Have fun writing your poem.  Happy Holidays.

HAPPY EASTER

All the children
Pick up Easter baskets,
Reach for colored eggs hidden
In bushes, trees and on the
Lawn, to wish you

HAPPY EASTER

      Did you see the lunar eclipse last night?  Can you write a poem about the moon?
 

Hawaiian Thank You

May I 
Always be
Happy
And grateful for
Love
Openly given.



     The Hawaiian word for thank you is mahalo.  Yesterday I had a friend call to talk about her gratitude rock.  She carries it in her pocket to remind herself to be thankful for all the beauty in her life and all the wondrous encounters she has.  I have another friend who makes a list every Sunday of all the things from the previous week she is thankful for.
    I'm thankful you have come to read my poem today.  Now that spring is here I feel like there are changes occuring in the universe and I'm so glad  we are a part of the changes.  So thank you.  Today's poem was written especially for you.  Your challenge for today is to write your own poem about thankfulness or gratitude.  Perhaps you'll want to try an acrostic poem too.
     Thank you for stopping by and now I'm off to go rock hunting.
     Happy Poetry Friday.  For more fun poems today hop over to  The Drift Record , Julie Larios is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup this week.  Thanks, Julie, for all your work.  Great poetry party!

THE BOOK

Reach for a book
each time you are bored
and you will find a
delightful pastime.

     I hope you are indoors sitting next to a warm fire.  It has been cold all day here and so I've been lazy and have been reading a good book.  What are you currently reading?  Can you write a poem today about books, reading, or what you like to do on cold days?

KWANZAA

Keep dreaming
We can
Achieve anything by
Not giving up, by sharing a
Zillion little things of our
Abiding 
Abundance


   The week of Kwanzaa doesn't start until December 26, but I was stuck for a poem today and I thought an acrostic would be an easier one to write.  (Actually I'm working on a cento and it isn't ready yet.  It really needs some more time to cook.)  I was joking with a friend and told her that after three years of writing Christmas holiday poems for three years during the month of December, I'd pretty much said it all and I needed to find a new slant or get a new idea.  I said I'd have to start writing Kwanzaa poems because I didn't think I'd done that yet.  So that's how I got to today's poem.  If you'd like to know know more about this holiday, you can find out more at the Official Kwanzaa web site.

    Your challenge for today is to try writing a poem about how your family celebrates the holiday.   Can you write your own acrostic?

CHRISTMAS STAR

See.

There

At the top.

Rejoice a star.

     What is at the top of your Christmas tree?  Who put the ornament there?  when I was a child we had an angel that went on the top of the tree.  It was the last thing to go on the tree and the honor of placing the last ornament was saved for the youngest child.  What traditions do you have for Christmas?  Can you write a poem about that?