A LAZY LION

copyright Joy Acey 2016

A very lazy lion
slept in the sun.
He awoke one day
said, "This isn't fun!"

"All I do 
is sleep all day.
I need a friend
so we can play."

     So, who do you think the lion is going to find to be his friend?  Who is your best friend?  Can you write a poem about playing with your friend today?  What do you do together?  Or write who the lion will play with.  Have fun writing your poem.

Gather dandelions while you may.  Tomorrow their seeds may slip away.

PLAYING AT THE BEACH

Playing at the beach
with my sand pail
and a wooden boat
that floats with a sail.

Building a castle
all out of sand.
Leaving a hand print
of my little hand.

Watching the sand crabs
run out of reach.
Searching for seashells
all along the beach.

Do you like going to the beach?  What do you do while you are there?  Can you write a poem about that today? 

Come play with me.  Write children's poetry.

Thanks

Thanks for the happy.
It's been a good day.
You came to visit
and we got to play.

 It has been another hot, summer day. But somewhere along my day I stumbled upon the line "Thanks for the happy."  It is a little bit different and I wanted to put it into a poem.  I call this using "fresh" language--saying things in a way you wouldn't normally hear.  Can you think of another way to say It has been a good day?  Try writing your own poem today using fresh language.
 
 In writing children's poetry, one needs to allow the meaning to emerge at it's own pace.

UP LATE

Mama, it's been snowing all day.
Can I stay up a little longer to play?

Daddy, Daddy, what do you say?
Can I please stay up and play?

I know it's almost my bed time
but if you let me, I'll be fine.

Can I have an extra 30 minutes?
That's all I ask,  That's the limit.

A half an hour will do the trick.
Then it's off to bed
and I'll sleep real quick.

    I you were to stay up half an hour past your bed time, what would you do?  Can you try writing a poem about bed time at your house?  Have fun

Monkey

copyright 2014, Joy Acey

A monkey sat
and stared at me.
I wondered what he
thought he'd see.

He chattered, chirped.
I heard him cry.
This monkey was
one noisy guy.

Did he want my peanuts
to take away?
Or was he just asking
me to come play?


   My drawing is of a velvet monkey, which is very common in Kenya.  They may gather in groups of 30 or more and are equally adapt in trees or on the ground.  I saw one of these monkeys just outside my tent.  He stole my little package of M&Ms, the rascal and then came to the tent flap and stared at me like he was begging for more.  The velvet monkey has a black face and black hands and feet.
If the monkey could write a poem in his voice, what do you think he'd say to me?  Have fun writing your poem today.

LION

copyright 2014,Joy Acey

A lion sleeps

most of the day,

unless you're a lion cub

who likes to play.



     I learned that lions can sleep 16 - 18 hours a day.  But a giraffe only sleeps about 2-6 hours a day.  Which would you rather be, the lion or the giraffe?  Can you write a poem today about being your favorite animal?  Have fun doing your research.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

My feet are floating
off the ground.
It's an exceptional day.
I am flying all around.
Tinkerbell has come to play.


   What makes an exceptional day for you?  Can you write a poem about your exceptional day?  Have fun. 

BOBCAT

copyright 2014, Joy Acey

A bobcat came to my house today,
under my tree she wanted to play.
And even though she looks so cute
in her spotted bobcat suit
I know that I must keep away.

    Some times magical gifts are given to us, if we just keep our eyes and ears open.  This poem was the gift given to me today and the fantastic experience of seeing a wild bobcat walking across my yard.  What is something magical that has happened to you?  A sight from nature?  An unexpected surprise or gift?  Can you write a poem about one of the magical things that has happened to you or someone you know?  Have fun writing and counting blessings.

I'm Sorry

I'm sorry, I almost
Forgot my chores today.
I was busy writing
And didn't take time to play.

     I love writing poetry.  I especially love writing poems for children.  It seems like play to me.  So sometimes when I get really busy, I forget that I need time to play too .  What did you do today?  Can you write a poem about what you did or saw?

MONDAY

Today is Monday.
It's a let's have fun day.
I'll show you the way day.
We can write a poem today, day.
It's a can you come play day.
What do you say, day?
So much to do on Monday.

     Happy Monday.  What a great day to start a new week.  Do you have plans for what you want to get done this week?  Can you try writing a list poem about that?  Or take one topic from your list and write a poem on that.  Have fun writing.

GET WELL

I have a friend
who is sick.
I'll make him a card--
"Get Well Quick."
Then I'll send it
off today
and hope that soon
he'll come to play.

     Sorry to be so late, but I spent the day with a sick friend.  Can you write a poem about being sick today?  Have fun writing.

MAY 9

A Lai

Bobbing the fence rail
are two feathered quail--
mistake.

Along that same trail
flicks his rattle-tail,
a snake.

His meal, it will fail
as up the birds sail--
heart-ache.


     I thought for May 9, I'd try a couple of nine line poems.  The first is the French form, the lai.  This form uses two rhyme families.  A syllabic form, there are five syllables for the first two lines using one rhyme, followed by two syllable lines for the second rhyme.  So, the lines look like:

x x x x a
x x x x a
x b

x x x x a
x x x x a
x b

x x x x a
x x x x a
x b

  It is fun working with the long and short lines, but it does make the poem list-like with that really short two syllable line.

Here's another:

Once you may recall
when we were still small
we'd play
at chasing a ball.
You'd try not to fall
each day
and sometimes we'd crawl
or we would stretch tall
in May.

   Another nine line poem is the nonet.  The first line has nine syllables, the second eight, with each successive line having one less syllable until the ninth line has only one syllable.  This takes some planning because you have to end on a single syllable word.   I'm working on a nonet for tomorrow.

   But May 10th is Astronomy Day, so I might write about the moon.  And it is also National Public Gardens Day, so I might make my poem about the garden.  What will you write about today?  Can you try writing a lai or a nonet?  Have fun writing.

   The Poetry Friday Round Up is hosted by Jama Rattigan on her blog Alphabet Soup.  Head over to Jama's Alphabet Soup to read more poetry today.  Thank you, Jama for hosting a fun party.

A Friend

To be a friend
is sometimes hard.
You may not know
what to say.

You can share
your toys and dolls
when your friend
comes to play.

But sharing isn't
all it takes.
And it isn't all
play time too.

Being a friend
takes lots of caring
and lots of wondering
what to do.


    Are you a good friend? What are the characteristics you look for in a friend? Can you write a poem about the things you like to do with your friends?  How about a poem titled, What Makes a Friend?  Have fun writing.  Can you share your poem with a friend?

Is it going to rain?
The clouds are dark and gray.
It will be a pain.
I wish they'd go away.

I'd like to run and play.
I'd like to have some fun.
I'm hoping that this day
will clear and shine with sun.


     I hope the sun is shining where you are.  Are the birds singing?  Are any flowers blooming?  I sure wish you were here so we could share a cup of tea and poetry.  Have fun writing your own poem today.

LET'S PLAY

Some days are bright and sunny.
Some days are dark and gray.
But, it always is a fun day
when you come to play.

     Today's challenge should be a fun one.  Put on your thinking cap.  Can you write a poem about having someone come spend the day with you?  Use your imagination.  It could be your best friend, but it could also be someone from a book, someone from history, even something from the future.  Have fun imagining and then write a poem that tells me who it is and what you did together.  Oh, my goodness!  My mind is now racing.  What if I had a unicorn to play with?  What if a President came to play?  Oh, wait, I once wrote a whole story about having a star come to play with me.  I wonder what I did with it?  Happy Tuesday, there are so many possibilities.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Today I'll eat turkey
for Thanksgiving Day.
I'll see my cousins
and we'll get to play.

And if I'm good
after I've eaten my fill,
Uncle says he'll take us
to sled down his hill.


    I hope you have a happy holiday, and for my friends outside the us, thank you for being a part of my holiday.  I'm so gateful to have so many readers and encouraging friends who like poetry.  I appreciate you.  Blessings.  Have fun writing your own poems.

THE PARK

I want to go out and play.
Can we go to the park today?
I want to pump in the swings.
To chase
and race
and do all sorts of things.
To roll in the leaves
and watch the fall breeze.
I want to fly a kite
and toss a Frisbee
to a friend.
And then tomorrow,
can we do it again?


     When was the last time you went to a park?  What did you do there?  Can you write a poem about that today?  Have fun writing your poem.
     When I was travelling in France, I saw lots of KEEP OFF THE GRASS signs in the parks.  Why do you think they had those signs?

     I also have a friend who scattered her mother's ashes in the local park.  She didn't know what to do with Mom's ashes and she thought her mother would like to be in the rose bushes by the children playing. Do you have a story about ashes?  Can you make it into a poem? 

SUN

(original art by Joy Acey, 2013 all rights reserved)

This is another of the spine poems.  I played with the idea of having you read the poem right to left, so the poem would end in the traditional west side of the paper, but it was really hard to read that way.

If you have trouble reading this, here it is in a traditional vertical mode.

Sun
rises
in the
east
starts 
a new 
day
UP
Rise Up
come 
out
play
when
it's
time
to rest
sun
sets
in the
west


     Now it is your turn, can you write your own poem about the sun, or play?  I hope you have as much fun writing poems as I do.  Enjoy.

BUSY

I have a list
of things to do.
I don't have time to play.
I'm zipping here.
I'm dashing there.
It is a zoomer day.


    How is your day going?  Are you having a busy day?  The suggestion for this poem came from my friend Linda who is busy with end of the school year activities.  I invented a word for today's poem.  Can you find it?  The word is zoomer.  Part  of the reason I like being a poet is that I can make up words.  My friend, storyteller Willa Brigham and I were chatting about how busy we were and we came up with the word zoomer to describe a day when we were running around all day.  
   Do you have end of the school year activities? What are some of the things done at your school?  Can you write a poem about one of the things?  Do you get year books?  Do you write thank you notes to your teacher, the school janitor, the cooks in the lunch room?  Do you have books to take back to the library?  Oh, there is so much to write about.  Have fun making your poem. 


   

BEING ME

Today I'll try to be the best I can be
because there really is only one ME.

I'll work really hard to learn and to grow
because I'm the only me that I know.

I'll read a book, write a poem or three
I'm the only one who knows how to be me.

When we play together, you will see
You can be you and I will be me.

  

    This is the start of a poem.  Where it is going, I don't know yet.  But, it is Saturday and that makes it a play day for me--a day to feed my creativity well.  What will you do today to feed yourself? Try to write something today even if it is only a shopping list or a to-do list (it is often easy to turn those into poems.) 
   Today is the birthday of  Theodore Roethke (my birthday poet) and Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Perhaps you can find some time today to read some of their poetry. 
    Have a great day and write soon.