GOOD BYE DOVES

Doves sit on the courtyard wall
making their dove-y coo-y call.
Saying hello and good bye
before they fly 
into the blue, blue sky.

  The doves usually huddle on my back hurricane fence, but today they all sat on the wall in front of the house so I'd be sure to see them.  They didn't want to be missed.  Have you ever missed something?  What was it?  Can you write a poem today about something missed?  Have fun writing.

Cold turkey sandwiches are de-lish.
   The Poetry Friday Roundup is over at Carol's Corner.  Go here for links to more children's poetry.  Thanks Carol for hosting us.

ANOTHER WISH

I wish I were a butterfly
a flitting through the sky,
then I would come to visit you
and make your dreams come true.

     Hey, I've changed the rhyming pattern.  This quatrain verse is written in couplets.  I hope you are having a great Sunday.  Can you find time to write a couplet today?  How about something with wishes or dreams?  Think big and have fun writing.  Happy poetry.

EARLY SPRING

The weather is warm.
The air is dry.
The sky is blue
as the bluest sky.
Wild flowers bloom 
on every hill.
Birds are calling
their lovely trill.
Springtime is coming
what a glorious thrill.



     Today is beautiful and I'm happy and grateful.  What is making you happy today?  Can you write a poem about it? 
     Yesterday morning on my walk there was one bird sitting in the top of the ocotillo singing up a storm.  This morning when I walked past that ocotillo, there were two birds sitting there.  I guess the singing bird found someone to sing with him.  I think my own life is like that.  I have lots of friends around, but unless I open my mouth to sing and say, come join me, new friends don't know they are welcome to come and play.  Who can you sing out to today?

Monday Morning

Morning sun

cuts over the skyline.

At the top

of the tallest juniper

perches a hawk

scanning the sky,

eyeing a telephone wire

with four noisy starlings.

   Some days the poems just come out in free verse.  I tried to work this information into a haiku, I certainly felt an "ah-ha" moment when I looked up to see a hawk in the tall juniper, and then I realized why he was turning his head to scan his surroundings.  BUT, I had too much information to boil it down to a haiku.  I thought about a fib, but that wouldn't work either.  I'm just going to have to put more time into this poem if it is going to end up as something other than free verse.  I think free verse is a good place to start to shape poems.  So, your challenge for today is to spend a few moments just watching and listening.  Then quickly write down the information in short items.  Can you shape these into a poem so the reader can feel like they are in the same spot you are?  Have fun.

LOOK UP

Walking along
I'm watching the road.
I feel like I carry
a heavy load.

I tilt my face up
to feel the sun.
I think I'm ready
to have some fun.

I lift my head up 
to see the sky
I feel like a bird,
ready to fly.

Look up, my child 
and you shall see
the world is full
of opportunity.


     If you needed to write a poem to encourage a friend, what would you write?  This is your poetry challenge for today.  Write a poem that will get your friends to take the next step in this exciting journey we call life.  Have a fun day, and have fun 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. 

ROASTING MARSHMALLOWS

clouds
kiss
tries to
smoke
and the
the sky
reaches
upwards
spirals
twirls
twines
fire
camp-
from the
smoke

   Which way does smoke travel, up or down?  So read this spine poem from the bottom up.  I'm still working on this one, trying to make it into a reverso, a poem that reads from either direction.   Can you try writing your own poem about a campfire today, or roasting marshmallows?  Have fun writing.

Gravitational Force

Gravity
forces
birds
bees
leaves
and
me 
to 
float
drop
fall
toward
earth


     I've been working on some spine poems lately.  These are long slim poems with only one or two words on each line.  Can you write your own spine poem today?
You might have fun writing from the bottom up.

sky
the
into
bird
a
like
float
to
air
expanding
heats
balloon
air
hot
a


   Have a great weekend. Write some poems.  Have fun.

Poetry Friday is hosted by Sherry  at Semicolon this week. And Co-hosted by Matt Forest at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme.

TODAY, LIVE

Four doves sleep on the fence.
A lizard walks over the desert floor.
The wind blows in light rushes
bending the creosote bushes.

The sky is blue,
the clouds, fluffy and white.
It is a day where I feel
everything is right.

     How is your day going?  I met with a group of seniors today, so I could hear the wonderful  poems they are writing.  This is always lots of fun for me. Can you write a poem about what the sky looks like in your part of the world?  Enjoy.

NIGHT SKY

This evening
after the sun
goes by
grab your binoculars
and look
toward
the western sky.

There just at
twilight
don't be slow
see three planets
before they go.

This will be
around about 8.
Start at the horizon 
then look
up straight.

There
in a line
will be
three planets 
for you
to see--
Jupiter,
Venus, and
Mercury.

    I hope you can find time tonight and an unobstructed view to see these planets tonight.  Can you write your own poem about the night, the sky or the planets?  Use your imagination and have fun. 
   Poetry Friday is being hosted by Betsy at Teaching Young Writers.  Hop on over to read other fun children's poems.  thanks, Betsy, for hosting this week.

Hot Air Balloon

I'm leaving town
I'll be back soon
I'm taking a ride
in a hot air balloon.

The noise is loud
when the burners fire.
The heat takes me up
higher and higher.

I float in the sky.
It's a wonderful thing.
Now I know why
flying birds sing.

     I saw a hot air balloon floating on the horizon on Saturday and I've been thinking about it all week.  I'm going to draw a picture to go with this poem.  It shouldn't be too hard to draw a hot air balloon.  Today try drawing your picture first and then write your poem to go with it.  I'm thinking easy shapes, like an apple or a sail boat.  What do you think?

Sunday

Today the sky is talking to me.
Here are some of the things I see:
Thin white feather clouds,
Contrail from an airplane,
A hawk swooping and soaring,
A humming bird zipping by,
And blue, blue, blue of sky
illuminated by the sun.


     Does your sky talk to you?  What is it saying today?  I hope you Sunday is as sunny as mine.  Can you find time to write your own poem today?  (I almost didn't have time!)  Have a great day.

GOOD MORNING

Woke up to a beautiful morning,
just as the gray was slipping away.
The sky is full of pink feather clouds.
I think it will be a beautiful day.

    Did you get up early enough to see the sun rise?  What did the sky look like on your way to school?  Does the way the sky looks affect your mood for the day?

Can you write a poem today about a bright, happy day?  Or if you feel like it, write a poem about a really gray, dark day?

Night Tales

It is just as you said.

I've looked at the moon

and it is all so vast.

But, imagine, if you will,

that every star

is a wish, and every wish

is a story.

Can you see the two bears, 

a big one and the minor?

Loping across the sky

chased by a hunter, Ryan.

He has an arrow notched

in his bow.

Taking aim at 

the lion or those fish.

Then he leaps on his horse

Pegasus in a wild race.

And yes, I see those girls

hands joined in a circle dance.

They laugh and giggle,

their pigtails flying behind them.

One is Leda and another

is named Cassie.

Seven sisters all together.

I don't know which

is my favorite wish.

I haven't heard

all their stories.

     Since it is Sunday, can you make up your own poem about the sun?  Is the sun a huge chili?  Or perhaps a great weight lifter?  Have fun playing with this one.

Your Eyes

Daddy says 

my eyes

are like melted chocolate

like ground cinnamon

like steaming pots of chili

like the soft brown of deer eyes.

He says my eyes

are deep and mysterious

like his and mama's

dark eyes.

So why do I love

your blue eyes?

Blue like clear skies

like a swimming pool

a lake, an ocean.

Deep blue like sapphires,

your eyes sparkle

they shine like dew

on Texas bluebonnets

that bloom in waves for spring.

I love your blue eyes;

they take me away

to distant places.

I wish they were mine.

      What color are your eyes?  Are they like your mom's or dad's eyes?  Think of all the wonderful things your eyes let you see.  Can you write a poem about eyes today?  Or, if you'd like, shut your eyes and then write a poem about the first thing you see when you open your eyes again.  Have fun.

And the winner is....

Right now, the winner is me.  I've gotten to have fun writing poems in response to Janet Wong's poetry collection DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE.
I've gotten to read all of your brilliant poems that you posted in the "comments" yesterday.  And I've gotten to have the fun of running the contest to win the free books.  I've had so much fun doing this.  Thank you. 

Today I will put all the names into my hat and pull out  four names to receive the four autographed copies of the book.

But for right now, it is still Friday and I want to wait until after midnight to close the contest.  (See I'm really writing this on Friday night to post first thing Saturday morning.) 

So, while you patiently wait on me, lets see if I can come up with a poem for today.

tonight stars sparkle

across the bowl of dark sky

an airplane flashes

It has been a wonderfully warm day.  We hit 85 degrees, so this evening it is lovely to sit outside, drink coffee and converse while watching the night sky.

     Have a happy Saturday and enjoy the weekend.

More later

haiku two

rain in the desert

tall agave flower spikes

stretch toward the sky

      It has been raining off and on all day--something rare in Tucson.  I think the agave grew 2 feet in the last 24 hours.  The spike must be 10 to 12 feet high.  There are flower buds all along the spine and I can hardly wait for them to bloom so I can see what that spike looks like in bloom and to find out if it perfumes.  
     I thought about spelling the first word of the first line reign, but I think it works better this way.  What do you think?
    This is a traditional American haiku--the form students are taught in school with a 5-7-5 pattern of 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second and 5 syllables in the last line.  That should provide you with a strong clue how to pronounce "agave," ( a-gav-ee ).  Haiku should also have a season word in the poem.  Which word (or words) tell you what season it is?

 The challenge for today is to write your own haiku about where you live.  Please feel free to share your haiku in the comments section below.  I wish you a fun day writing.

I Like My Sky Blue

I'm standing under

a sky so blue.

I'm standing here

thinking of you.

I'm listening to 

this sky that's blue

tell me stories

that may be true.

This sky has many

stories to tell,

and each of them ends

wishing us well.

So may your skies 

all be blue

and may the day

go well for you.

     What does the sky look like above you today?  If the sky were to tell you a story, what do you think it would say?  Does looking up into the vast sky make you feel very small?  If you were floating up in the sky, what would you see?  Hear?  Can you write a poem about the sky?