Fairy Dance

Down in the meadow
it's raining today.
Fairies are dancing.
They've come out to play.

Having a party,
they're drinking tea
and they've invited
both you and me.

They're eating cookies
and small cakes with cream
and they'll disappear
when we wake from our dream.


    Do you like having tea parties?  If you were to have one, who would you invite?  What would you eat?  Can you write your own poem about a tea party?



Today is Poetry Friday and  Diane Mayr at Random Noodling is hosting the roundup.  You can find more links to poetry here.  Thank you Diane for hosting us this week.

POWDERED SUGAR

Powdered sugar in sifter
to shake, shake, shake
falling snow flakes
on cookies and cakes.

Drifting on the gingerbread,
falling with joy
on my head.
Shake, shake, shake.


   I'm calling this an action rhyme.  Can you figure out the actions?  We had a little snow yesterday.  Quite unusual for Tucson.  Perhaps this is why I was thinking about powered sugar.  What is your favorite flavoring or spice?  Can you write a poem about that today?   I must be hungry to be thinking about food poems.  Have fun writing your poem.  Do you know what the phrase "salt of the earth" means?  Happy Friday.

DOORBELL RINGS

Trick-or-treaters stand at my door,
keep demanding,
wanting
some
cookies, candy
apples
gum,
leaving nothing--
not a
crumb.

   Today's poem is another zeno.  I told you I thought they were addictive.  I worked with some seniors writing poetry today in their retirement community.  I shared the zeno form with them.  Lee Chutkow and Arelene Sikkink helped to write this poem.
   You can find directions for writing your own zeno on last Thursday's post.  You can read more zenos on Michelle Barnes' blog at Todays Little Ditty.
   Can you find friends to write a join poem with today?  Have fun with poetry.

December is a busy month.
It's hurry, hurry, hurry
bustle, bustle.
It's time to write cards
and hustle, hustle.

It's a time of secrets
and hiding places.
It's cookie baking 
and happy faces.

It's decorating the tree
all weekend long
and practising singing
the Christmas songs.

It's a time
when there is lots 
to do.
And, I'm taking
this season
to think
of you.

     Thank you for reading my blog and sharing poetry with me.  Your poetry challenge for today is to write your own poem about one of the things you traditionally do during December.  Have fun writing.

Gingerbread Cookies

Let a joy keep you.  Reach out your hands and take it when it runs by.  Carl Sandburg

Cookies on a tray

gingerbread boys smile sweetly

will you take a bite

   I had fun making gingerbread cookies this week and wrote this haiku to celebrate. Can you write your own haiku today to celebrate your favorite cookies?  Have fun.    I wish you were here to have a cup of cocoa and help me eat these cookies.  Thank you for stopping by today.

Christmas Star

Mama Bear
asked her
sweet little cub,
"What would you like
for Christmas, Dear?"

Little Bear thought
in deep silence
and finally said,
"Mama, I want 
a star."

Mama Bear
looked both
near and far,
but she couldn't find
Little Bear's star.

So she made
sugar cookies
shaped like a star
and sprinkled
sugar glitter.

Then she said
to Little Bear,
"There you are."

"These cookies
are very sweet,
but they're something 
to eat.  They aren't 
the star I was after. "

Perplexed, 
Mama Bear
picked up her knitting
and had inspiration.
She stitched in stars
on her creation.

"These stars
are cuddly warm,
but a sweater is 
something to wear.
It isn't a star 
that floats 
in the air."

"Your star wish will be 
the death of me, "
said Mama Bear
most fretfully.

Which is why,
if you look 
in the sky
this very night
you'll see
Mama Bear and
her little cub
drifting on air 
high above,
shining as stars
radiating love.
Ursa Major
and Ursa Minor
ladling Christmas cheer.


     This poem (oh, I hesitate to call it that) needs lots of work.  Let's just call this one a draft.  I've got the basic outline of what I want to do with it. But that's the way it rolls on some days.  It is a good idea.
    Part of this came from the fact that last night was a new moon and it was supposed to be the best night for viewing the geminaids astrological shower, except we had rain and a total cloud cover so if the stars were out there doing their thing, I certainly couldn't see it.  So, to cheer me up, your challenge for today is to write a poem about stars.  If you don't like that challenge, write something, anything.  Have a great weekend.

Poetry Friday: Today's Roundup is at Jama's Alphabet Soup. Enjoy!

MY DOG SINGS

My dog sings

bow-wow-wow

arf, arf,

wolf, wolf,

yelp!

I 

toss him

a cookie,

his singing

needs help!

     Today is a great day for writing a sound poem.  Sit quietly for a few minutes and just listen to the sounds where you are.  Can you hear the refrigerator hum?  Does your clock tick loudly?  Is there a cricket chirping?  Water dripping or running?  is the TV or radio on?  If you go out today listen to the sounds as you go.  A passenger in my car once said, "I can tell when you change gears by the noise your engine makes."  Can you write a list poem of all the sounds you hear?  Or pick just one sound and tell us all about what is making it.  Have a great Saturday. 

Christmas Cookies

The cookies

I love the best

are one

my family makes,

the fattigmann

and krumkaka

at Christmas time

we bake.

     Does your family make Christmas cookies?  In my house we make Norwegian cookies, because my husband's mother and his grandmother did.  It is a family tradition we carry on.  Making the cookies takes lots of eggs and butter, and a lot of time.  But it is all worth it to have cookies to share with visitors during the holiday season.  I have a big red and white Farmer John lard tin that I store the cookies in.  The krumkaka is like a pancake that takes a special pan for making pretty designs on the horn shaped cookies.  The fattigmann also has a special cookie cutter to make diamonds with ruffly edges.  If you have special cookies for your holidays, perhaps you'd like to write a poem about it.  Enjoy.

© 2011, Joy Acey

Graham Cracker

May I have milk,

to dip my

graham cracker?

When it drips 

on my chin

it's a real

LIP-SMACKER!

     Have you ever looked closely at the holes and indentations in a graham cracker?  How many are there?

Are they all the same?  How are they different?  Why are there holes in a graham cracker?  If you could travel inside one of those holes, what do you think it would be like?  Who eats graham crackers?  What is your favorite kind of cracker?  Share your poem with me.  Have fun writing today.

© 2011, Joy Acey

Gingersnap

I 

like

my 

ginger

with 

a snap

M U N C H,

                     M U N C H --

gingersnap!

     I like how when I take a bite out of my gingersnap, what is left looks like a mouth that can snap up things like the old PACMAN characters snapped up energy pellets.  If you had a gingersnap, what would it snap up?  Would your gingersnap eat your Goldfish crackers?  Aren't I being silly?  But that is the fun of writing poetry.  Writing about cookies is something very young children can do because usually a cookie is a positive image for them.  Each cookie has a story that can become a poem.  Now, cookies are something to write a poem about.  Try it.

© 2011, Joy Acey

Cookies!

I like cookies

     of every shape

          and kind.

From a box

     or batch,

          cookies blow my mind!

     I started playing with the idea of writing a list poem about all the different cookies I like, but then it got to be too long, so I thought I'd try to make this cookie week.  What is your favorite cookie?  Does your family have special cookies you make?  Can you write your own cookie poem? 

© 2011 Joy Acey