Celebrate! Happy 4th

Let's celebrate
the 4th of July
by shooting off stars
into the sky.

Let's celebrate
and all eat pie,
make mine peach
on the 4th of July.

Let's all lick ice cream cones.
I'll even buy
when we celebrate
the 4th of July.

The sun is so hot
I think I'll fry.
It's very sunny
on this 4th of July.

Let's swim across the lake.
Just give it a try
as we cool off
on this 4th of July.

We're spitting watermelon seeds.
Watching them fly
as we have a contest
on this 4th of July.

See the fireworks explode!
My-oh-my!
I sure like
the 4th of July.



    What will you do to celebrate the 4th of July?  I think I'm going to be sitting on my lanai watching the explosions in three directions.  Can you try writing your own celebration poem?  Have fun writing.

Happy Poetry Friday

 

 Today is POETRY FRIDAY.  Yahoo!  If you'd like to read more poetry fun, jump over to  Random Noodling for the Poetry Friday Round UP.  Thank you, Diane Mayr  for hosting us this week.

July 14, 2015

EATING PEACHES


ONE peach handing on the tree.

TWO ripe peaches waiting for me.

THREE peaches, my oh my.

FOUR peaches baked in a pie.

FIVE peaches, I can't wait.
         Eating peaches is really great.


I love that it is peach season.  This is a counting poem.  For today's challenge can you try writing your own counting poem?  Have fun thinking about things to count.

Children's poets love their subject matter.

FLY PIE

The spiders are having
a Halloween party.
They've glitzed up their web
to make it look arty.

They're busy catching
bees, gnats, and flies,
to offer as 
Halloween pies.

     Here is your poetry challenge for today:  pick a locale or an animal and have a party.  What would the animals eat at their party?  What party games would they play?  Can you write a poem about that?  Would the ocean animals bob for apples?  Would woodland creatures play pin the limb on the tree rather than pin the tail on the donkey?  There are so many possibilities.  Have fun with your writing.

CHOCOLATE

I  like chocolate
chocolate pudding,
chocolate cake,
chocolate cookies,
I like to bake.

Steaming hot chocolate,
chocolate pie,
and chocolate éclairs,
I like to try.

Chocolate frosting,
chocolate candy,
chocolate cupcakes,
are just dandy.

When I'm hungry
and want a treat,
chocolate is what
I like to eat.


     Today's poem is a list poem.  All it does is list all the chocolate foods I could think of and start with a statement.  The poem fits Abraham Lincoln's guidelines for writing a speech--Tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em.  Tell 'em.  Tell 'em what you told them.  Can you write your own list poem today?
    This poem was inspired by Susanna Hill.  She always gives the readers of her blog something chocolatey delicious to eat.  Or at least that is what she did today.  I'm featured on her blog in her "Would You Read It Wednesday" post.  You can hop over there to check it out by clicking here.

NIGHT DREAMS

Drink with me
a mug of moonlight,
gumdrop stars
across the sky.
We can eat 
the constellations
baked into
a dream pie.


      Can you write your own dream poem today?  Have fun writing.

THE DAY AFTER

I ate turkey,
I ate yams,
I ate cranberries,
biscuits and jams.

I ate stuffing,
pumpkin and apple pies
I'm stuffed all the way
up to my eyes.

I ate so much
on Thanksgiving Day.
I'm starting a diet
as of today.


    Did you have a good Thanksgiving?  There is a lot to be thankful for, isn't there?  I hope you have a great weekend writing.

WHILE EATING CUSTARD PIE

Little cat swung
on a crescent moon
singing a jolly,
happy tune.
She sang low,
she sang high
to the stars
in the moonlit sky.

     I went to sleep last night thinking about this poem.  Originally the poem was an excuse to use the line while eating custard pie. But as the night wore on, I rewrote the poem to a Halloween poem with pumpkin pie, and this morning in a brilliant job of editing, I got rid of the pie. (How can you sing and eat pie at the same time?  It is like eating crackers and trying to whistle.) So then I rearranged the lines and ended up with an a-a, b-b rhyming pattern.  I did try a,b, a, b, but I didn't like that as well.  I could have used longer (fewer) lines, but I like these shorter lines for early readers.  You could make the argument that my rhyme scheme now is a, b, c, b for two stanzas, but I'll hold with the idea that what I really have here is rhyming couplets.  I have this theory that most rhyming children's poetry is written in couplets and the a,b,a,b pattern is really a couplet with internal rhyme.  Any comments?
       Your poetry challenge is to write a poem about an animal in the sky. (A Rhino in the sky with diamonds, maybe.)  Have fun writing. 

Sunflowers

 A sunflower is a bit of sunshine,

a plate of butter,

a golden smile,

a yellow crown sparkling,

a large lemon lollipop,

a custard pie,

and a tasty feast

for the birds.

 Yesterday was a good Saturday.  I went to a program presented by children's poet Juanita Havill on the campus of the University of Arizona.  She met with about 25 children and their parents in the School of Education library.  The children flew poetry around the room, they memorized a poem, they did a choral reading and acted out a poem.  They illustrated a poem and they wrote their own poems.  It was a delightful morning for me and so much fun to listen to the children's creations.

     One of the things we did was write a poem about a sunflower seed.  I was so inspired, after writing my seed poem, I wrote the poem above about a sunflower. 

     Your challenge for today is to write a poem about a flower, a fruit or vegetable.  My poem is a list poem of all the ways to describe a yellow sunflower.  How many different ways can you describe your object?  How many metaphors can you find in my poem?  You're welcome to share your creations in the comments section below.

     I'm still reeling from the great party we had last Friday.  I know we were describing family members in the reunion photo,but I'm thinking what we have is a whole photograph album.  What fun.  I feel so grateful to everyone who dropped by, who came to the party and played along with me.  I'm feeling very much like Maurice Sendak's Really Rosie today.  I couldn't have so much fun playing with poetry if you weren't there to play along with me.  Thank you.  You're a wonderful bunch of friends.  Thank you for sharing your creations.