HAIKU

coyotes howl
3 AM
still  4 AM


     Yesterday I used the title of my poem to set the topic of the poem.  Haiku do not have titles, so I had to use the first line to carry the topic.  Do these there lines carry a whole story for you?  I'm usually not in favor of poems with the ambiguity of word having two meanings, but I think I used that little word still to that advantage here.  The still can mean that the noise is going on still, or it can be like quiet and still. Is that good or misleading to you?  Does it get in the way of the meaning of the poem?  Would it have been better to put that word at the end of the line?  I could have put a coma or a caesura after still, but that seemed too heavy handed to me.  I did put two spaces there though to subtly draw some emphasis to the word.  These are the decisions poets get to make. Now, I could have just as easily have said, I was up all night with the coyotes' howl--but this haiku was more fun for me.  I hope it worked for you too as you participated with the poem.
    Now it is your turn to have fun playing with poetry.  Try your own haiku.  I have a friend, Lenard Moore, who once told me that one needs to write at least a thousand haiku before you get any good at it.  I don't think I've written a thousand yet, but I'm getting close.  Of course, he is the person whose goal is to have 50 poems out for submission at all times.  I'm a long way from that, but it is always nice to have friends who make you stretch.
  Have a happy Sunday writing.

COYOTES SING

Yips, yaps, howls
echo over the lake
Coyotes so noisy
they keep me awake.

It's 3 AM
the moon is bright.
Coyotes are chirping
and yapping tonight.

It's 4 AM
they are singing some more
I think I'd rather hear
coyotes snore.


     I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.  I think the coyotes were celebrating the weekend.  So here is a fun list poem to try--write a poem about the things that keep you awake at night.  Have fun.

    I'm not sure if I really need the three stanzas to tell this story.  I'm trying to condense the content to two stanzas.  But then again this poem may want to be a form poem that requires a repeating line like a triolet, or a villenelle.  Oh what fun.  I get to play with this some more. 

    I've already condensed the information into a haiku, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see that. 
    Thank you for reading my drafts of poems.  I really appreciate it. You do make poetry fun for me.

HUSH PUPPY

Hush Puppy, Hush Puppy,
Don't howl to be fed.
Here is a piece
of hot, fried corn bread.


     I'm thinking about a series of very short poems about all things Southern.  Can you write your own poem about something in your region?  What does it mean to be from the Midwest?  What does the North West have that is missing in other states?  Is your state known for bragging?  Try writing a poem about it today.  Have fun.

Word Play

When I go to bed
at the end of my day
that is when
the words
come out
to play.

They come running
from under my bed
they sing,
they dance
they stand
on their head.

They fill all the corners,
they swing from the lights,
they shout and cavort
all through the night.

They fill up my notebooks
cause my pens to leak;
they cackle, they howl,
they even squeak.

I awake 
in the morning,
it's just as I feared
the words have run off.
They've all disappeared.

So how can I write
with words gone away?
All my words want to do
is sleep through the day.


     If your words could talk to you, what would they say?  Can you write a poem today that is a letter to yourself?  Have fun writing.