COLORS BLEND TOGETHER*

Yellow and orange hibiscus ,
green fields and mountains,
anthurium and red ti leaves,
brown monk seals and plovers,
blue waves and blue, blue sky,
white clouds in the wind,
egrets winging by,
a rainbow necklace overhead
making a strong people--
all the races, blended together,
here in Hawaii,
the land where all colors
call it home.
Aloha. 


  * From a line, All colors blended together, suggested by Clo Ann Smith.  This free verse poem is the result of her suggestion.  Can you try writing your own free verse poem about where you live?  Can you include at least one simile?  Have fun writing today.

  What pictures does this poem make you think about?

Ho-ne-ho-ne: adj. Playing tricks, teasing, fretting; not letting one alone.

A human being is nothing but a story with a skin around it.  Fred Allen

SPRINGTIME

Bring on the colors
the colors of spring
that let us delight,
that let us all sing.

Bring on the shades
and the colorful hues.
Bring on the bird songs
spreading their news.

Bring on the trees,
the flowers, the light.
Bring on the paints
that give us delight.

Bring on the red,
the green, yellow,and blue.
Bring on springtime
with everything new.

Bring on new growth
that brings energy.
Come springtime, come
for you and for me.

   Whoever spoke the phrase, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, wasn't speaking about this year. Yesterday my friends in Colorado had a HUGE snow storm.  My friends on the East Coast were battling cold winds and even here in Hawaii we had thunder, lightning, and flooding.  I guess that is why I felt moved to write my poem inviting spring to hurry up and get here.  Hopefully, by the end of the month, we'll see lamb like weather.  What animal would you use to describe your weather?  Can you find a good metaphor for your weather and write your own poem today?  Have fun writing.  Is you weather like bees buzzing?  Like a turtle hiding in its shell?  Like a dog growling or a cat with a humped back?  Like a giraffe with a long neck that the storm has to get through before it reaches the point where it can do some good? (That one was a stretch.  Sorry for the bad pun.) Anyway, you get the idea.

   Today is Poetry Friday and Heidi Mordhorst is hosting the roundup on her blog My Juicy Little Universe,



Spring is just around the corner. Tie on your Easter hat.

I'm Painting

I'm painting the dog house.
I'm making it red.
"Yes," said the dog.
"That's right for my bed."

I'm painting the barn.
I'm making it blue.
"That's just the right shade,"
said the cow with a "Moo!"

I'm painting the bird house.
I'm making it green.
Said the bird,"That's the best
 "color, I've seen."

I'm painting my wagon orange
like the juicy ripe fruit.
"I like where you're going,"
said the owl with a "Hoot!"

As I got out my yellow,
up lumbered a bear.
He asked me to paint him
his own rocking chair.

Now everyone is happy
except for me--I ain't,
and it is because
I'm covered in paint.

  Can you guess what I've been doing for the last two days?  My husband wanted fresh paint in his home office.  I thought I could leave him to HIS project, but somehow I always get roped into helping him.  I'm getting really good at doing the taping, the blocking in, the feathering, the trim work and my husband does the roller.  What could be better than that?   Can you try writing your own poem today about a color?  It is Springtime and all the colors are bursting forth.  Let them inspire you.

Where will you leave footprints today?

FLYING COLORS

If crayons had wings
we'd see more mirth.
They'd color us rainbows
while circling the earth.

Your dog could be pink,
your brother have green hair,
and colorful kangaroos could
bounce through the air.

So, hand me my crayons,
the ones with wings,
I'm flying to color
marvelous things.

  What adds color to your life?  Try writing a colorful poem today.  Imagine the things you see in different colors today.  What places will you fly to?

A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.  Franz Kafka  Thanks to my friend Tabatha Yeats for this quotation.  She sent me a group of bookmarks, each with a different quotation.

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.

Fireworks

h

 Fireworks
exploding
in the night sky.
Brilliant
colors
sparkling by.

   Your challenge for today is to write a poem about something you see in the sky.  Have fun.

Kicking Leaves

Walking to school

kicking the leaves

my feet make

a swishing breeze.

Look at the colors

so many hues

red, yellow, greens

orange, purple, blues.

The leaves swirl

in my breeze

making a rainbow

beneath my knees.

     Can you write your own poem about the leaves?  Have fun.  You might also want to read Donald Hall's famous poem Kicking the Leaves.

THE COLOR PINK

Pink

I think

is my

favorite color.

Pink 

looks better

on my sister

than on my brother.

Pink 

I think

looks the best

on these

baby birds

in their nest.

     What else can you think of that is pink?  What is your favorite color?  Can you write a poem today that includes a color?

FORM POEM

LITTLE YELLOW FROG

Little yellow frog,

Little yellow frog,

Where have you been?

I've been hiding,

I've been hiding,

said little yellow frog,

under a log.

LITTLE RED HEN

Little red hen,

Little red hen,

Where have you been?

I've been sitting,

I've been sitting,

said little red hen,

trying to hatch these eggs.

     Can you see the pattern I've set up in these two poems? 

Little (color)  (animal).
Little (color)  (animal),
Where have you been?

 I've been (action word),
I've been (action word),
said the little (color) (animal)
(line to explain where or what the action is)

So let's try it with a cat.

Little white cat,

Little white cat,

Where have you been?

I've been sleeping,

I've been sleeping,

said little white cat,

on this cozy mat.

Or a dog.

Little brown dog,

Little brown dog,

Where have you been?

I've been running,

I've been running,

said the little brown dog,

through this misty fog.

 I'm already thinking about the verses I can write using this pattern with a goat, a lion, an ostrich, the moon, (see, it doesn't have to be an animal), the broom, even a Texas tycoon.  Just to show you the form can be used for something other than animals, I wanted to use different colors too.  So I thought about silver and the first thing that came to mind was a shovel.

Little silver shovel, 

Little silver shovel,

Where have you been?

I've been digging, 

I've been digging,

said little silver shovel

all across the gravel.

   So now it is your turn.  Can you write your own poem using this form?  If you had a whole group of poems you could put them together in your own little book of poetry.  Have fun.  If you'd like to leave your poem in the comments below, I'd LOVE to read your creation.  Thank you.

THERE IS A MONSTER

There Is A Monster

There is a monster

all in red

with a great

hairy head.

He is hiding. He is hiding

under my bed.

There is a monster

with sharp yellow teeth

and I see him underneath.

He is hiding. He is hiding

under my dresser.

A mean orange monster

with big floppy ears,

his cheeks are damp

with great big tears.

He is hiding. He is hiding

in my closet.

There is a monster

with a green scaly tail.

He quivers and shakes

to no avail.

He is hiding. He is hiding

in the toy chest.

There is a monster

with a purple furry neck.

He doesn't like me

even a speck.

He is hiding. He is hiding

on the shelf.

There is a monster

with blue eyes.

He wants to wear

a good disguise.

He is hiding. He is hiding

in the trash can.

There is a brown monster

who is a strange fellow.

He is hiding. He is hiding

under my pillow.

There is a monster

with shiny black horns

he is shy and bashful

and all forlorn.

He is hiding. He is hiding

behind the hamper that is full.

All these monsters

I can see.

I wonder what

it can be.

Why are they all

such big scaredies?

They are hiding. They are hiding

away from me.

     I love the idea of furry monsters.  My imagination congers all sorts of interesting creatures.  Do you like monsters too?  OK, so let's try writing a poem about a monster today.  What does your monster look like?  What does your monster do?  Does it make your bed, do your homework, wash your hair?  Remember to use your five senses.  What does it smell like?  What does it eat?

  Have fun writing your monster poem.  Please share with me in the comments below.  Have fun.

Winter

There comes a time

when winter

has been here

way too long.

I wish I could pack

winter's suitcases

and send it on its way.

I'm ready for spring.

I know when

winter has been 

here too long.

My world looks gray,

all of my sweaters

look ugly to me

and I'm ready for 

daffodils.

     Do you know that drizzly, cold, wet time of winter when your eyes crave color?  Think of each of the seasons of the year.  What colors would you call fall?  What are the colors of summer?  Which season do you like the best?  Can you write a color poem today?

The Cow Speaks

Brown, brown, brown

is everything I see.

My coat is brown

and so is the ground,

the hills

and even this nude tree.

My stall in the barn is brown.

Every where I look around

is brown, brown, brown.

That brown paper bag

you use to carry your poetry,

fling out the words,

bring colors to me.

     I had some weird dreams last night.  I was playing all kinds of poetry games when this cow came to talk to me.  What is your favorite animal?  If that animal could speak to you, what would it say?  Keep your imagination running.  Get out on that poetry highway.  Write that poem and have a jolly good time doing it.  Enjoy.