LOVE POEM

I don't know why
a caterpillar turns
into a butterfly.

Or why the black comma
of a polliwog
turns into a frog.

All I know
is beauty can come, unexpectedly,
from the most unusual places
like love.

Which is why
I'm writing
this poem
for you. 

   I don't know why, but love poems are hard for me to write.  If I set out to write one, I always feel like I'm blocked.  So many poems have been written about love, that it is hard for me to find something new to write about, or maybe it is just hard for me to expose my feelings.  I don't know.  All I know is when poetry contests have a category for "love poems," I always pass and skip to the next category.  Your poetry challenge for today is to write a poem about all the things you love.  I doesn't have to rhyme.  Try to use all of your senses in the list.  Do you like school, or summer vacation?  What is about vacation that you love?  Have fun making your list.  If you'd like to share, leave your list in the comments below.  Just remember this is a site intended for children and I will censor anything I deem inappropriate for children under 13 years of age.

Earth's the right place for love: I don't know where it's likely to go better.  Robert Frost, "Birches," 1916.

BLESSING AND GRATITUDE

After midnight
I step outside
into the quiet
of darkness.
I watch and listen.
I see
great flashes 
of lightning
illuminating the desert;
hear great roars
and rumbles of 
cracking thunder.
Such power,
such unpredictable beauty.
I feel very small
amid this power and strength.
I'm only a small part
of this great world.
There is something
far greater than I am.
I'm grateful to be
a part of this universe,
blessed by it. 


     Happy Sunday.  I hope you enjoy your day and have fun writing your own poem today.
Have fun.

Lesson of the Pearl

This poem is for a man, Kawula Luna, I met at Wialua Falls who makes and sells jewelry.  He is also a natural storyteller.  Kawula showed us how to focus on the water falling and then to move our gaze to see the plates on the canyon walls shift.  A really  cool optical illusion.

Consider
the single grain
of sand--
can't be brushed off,
can't be blown off--
irritating.

Always,
sticking,
poking, jabbing--
a nuisance.

The oyster
can't call quits,
doesn't complain,
just worries
the problem.

Around
and around
the oyster
adds spit
and saliva,
polishes
the problem
and creates
beauty
in a single drop--
of pearl.

      Gems and Jewels have magical power.  Can you write your own poem today about a jewel that has magic for you?  Think about a fairy tale you might want to make into a poem.