The House on the Hill

Good Night

Everything is quiet.
Everything is still.
Everyone is sleeping
at the house on the hill.

The chickens are resting.
They don't make a peep.
The cows in the pasture
are sound asleep.

The little boy is tucked
warm in his bed,
a cool pillow nestles
under his head.

Ocean waves lap
down at the shore.
The little boy's daddy
has started to snore.

The palm trees sway,
a coconut drops.
It hits the ground
with a dull thudding
PLOP!

But no one hears it
up on the hill
'cause they're all in bed
and all sleeping still.

The moon smiles down
from the sky above,
on the house on the hill
and the sleepers he loves.

   Some poems just insist on coming.  I woke up in the middle of last night and I could hear the quiet.  I'm excited about this poem because I can see the pictures I want to draw to go with it.  When you wake up in the middle of the night, what do you hear?  Can you write a poem about that?  Have fun writing your own poem.

Today is Poetry Friday, a day to have fun and celebrate poetry.  If you'd like to read more poetry posts and more great poetry Catherine is hosting the round up this week on her blog at https://readingtothecore.wordpress.com/   Thanks, Catherine for being a great host.

Oh Sleep! it is a gentle thing... Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Ancient Mariner

Sleep is when all the unsorted stuff comes flying out as from a dustbin upset in a high wind.  William Golding, Pincher Martin, chapter 6.

The Sleeping Cat

The sleeping cat
didn't want to play.
She told the lion,
"Go away!"


Some days all you want to do is sleep.  What do you do when you want to sleep, but others want you up and moving?  Can you try writing a poem about sleeping today?
  Hey I just wrote one.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz,
zzzzzzzzzzzz,
zzzzzzzzzz.


  That was supposed to be funny.  Did you get my silly joke?  I don't think I've written a poem about snoring, I'll have to try that, too.  What animal do you think snores the loudest?  Do birds snore?  Have fun writing your poem.

A birdie with a yellow bill
Hopped upon the window-sill,
Cocked his shining eye and said:
'Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepy-head?'  Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), Time to Rise

Rooster

Big rooster,
cock-of-the-walk
wakes me each morning
with his chicken talk.
His crow is loud
and very deep
when all I want
is to sleep 
          and sleep!

   This rooster is going to be named soon.  He comes around at 5 each morning to say hello.  Either he's getting named, or I'm finding a chicken pot.
Then I can curse him by name, which is much more satisfying.
   There is a Kauai joke.  How do you cook a Kauai chicken?  You put it and a lava rock in a pot with water.  Cook it until the lava melts, skim out the rock and cook the chicken for two more hours, then the chicken might be tender enough to eat. Kauai chickens are tough old birds.
   Do you know a chicken joke?
   When I was in China, we went to a restaurant in Peking, I think it was called Peking Duck.  We had a seven course meal that featured duck in every course.  So I've been thinking about Kauai chicken as a seven course meal with cold chicken consume, shredded chicken tacos with cabbage and pineapple, devilled eggs, roast chicken, barbecue chicken and sweet and sour chicken.  What is your favorite way to eat chicken?  Maybe you can try writing a list poem today about eating chicken.  Have fun writing.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

CRICKETS

There's a cricket in my bedroom.
He's rubbing his legs fast and hard.
I'd say he is singing and dancing.
But I think he's a poetry bard.

He is in here reciting his verses.
Shouting them loud and deep.
I wish he would be quiet
so I can get some sleep.

 Have you ever been kept awake at night?  Can you write a poem about it?  Enjoy your writing.
Have you read Archie and Mehitabel, a conversational poem written by Don Marquis?  First published in 1927, you might enjoy this story poem about a cricket who types.

Children's poems can come from anywhere.  Each one is an adventure.

MOON MUSINGS

I look out my window
and what do I see?
A big, round moon
looking at me.

I wonder what happens
when I go to sleep
with the moon up there
and our world 
for him
to keep.

What does he see?
What does he know?
When the sun comes out
where does he go?

   According to my Poetry Friday Anthology for CELEBRATIONS compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong for Pomelo Books, the first Sunday in May is World Laughter Day.  What makes you laugh?  What do you find funny?  Do you know a good joke to make someone laugh?  Can you write a funny poem today?  When was the last time you laughed?  Have a fun Sunday.  Enjoy your writing.

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.

I'm Tired

Today I'm feeling sleepy
I want to take a nap.
But, every time I shut my eyes
I feel my brother's tap.

I thought I'd try the hammock.
I wasn't being lazy.
Brother called with chores to do
Some days he drives me crazy.

Tonight I guess I'll have to try
to get some extra sleep
and then I'll feel as if I can
run and jump and leap.

   What plans do you have for today?  Do you have chores to do, or can you be lazy?  Can you write a poem today about your Saturday activities?

MAKING MEMORIES

I've got two fists of stars
and bright moonlight, it's true,
a wispy cloud to float
across the sky, deep blue.

I've put them in this box.
I'm sending it to you
to help you with your dreams.
I hope you have a few.

Please, close your eyes to sleep
and fill your head with memories.
So then when you awake
you'll send your thoughts to me.


    WOW!  This poem is definitely a draft.  If you'd like to try re-writing the last stanza so the meter and rhyme are better, please do.  In the meantime, I'll file this one away to think on some more.  What are you thinking about today?  Did you learn something new?  Can you write a poem about that?  Have fun writing.

This Poem

has tremendous potential.
It might
      make a new friend,
      or find a lover,
      stop a baby from crying,
      win votes,
       create laughter,
       inspire wisdom,
       stop a war,
       bring tears and make memories,
       build dreams,
       or put you to sleep,
  and possibly this poem
  can change lives.







This poem is a list poem based on the line "This poem has tremendous potential." What other things might a poem do?  Can you try writing your own list poem?  Have fun writing.

MY YOYO

My yoyo is a marvelous thing
it climbs up and down
on its yoyo string.
I roll my yoyo
to stay in the deep,
I've taught my yoyo
how to sleep.
I toss my yoyo out
Around the World,
my yoyo can whirl,
my yoyo can twirl.
Sometimes I do 
make a mistake
the string starts to fray
and then it breaks.
So,
if you come to play yoyos
there is one thing
you can bring
it is a pocket
of extra
yoyo string.



Still, we've had no rain.
Still, the temperature is above 100 today.
Still hot winds blow
and the best way
to keep cool
is to be still.

It is so hot..., can you write your own hot or wet or dry poem today.  Just have fun writing.

THE GIFT OF SLEEP

The gift of sleep
comes with down pillows,
soft cotton sheets,
and dreams of fairies
flying through willows.
  

    This poem started because I liked the idea of a gift of sleep.  Can you try writing your own dream poem today?

UCKY EYES

I woke up this morning
with crud in my eyes,
felt like a boulder
was there in disguise.

The sandman 
came to visit me.
When I blinked my eyes
it felt gritty.

I love my brother.
He's very young.
Sometimes I wish
he'd watch his tongue.

He pointed at me
and to my surprise
He said,
Look, you have
poopy-eyes.

     I'm being naughty this morning.  Normally, I wouldn't present a poem with the word poopy in it, but this was so much fun to say "poopy-eyes," that I couldn't control myself.   Used this way, I think it is a perfectly good word.   Have you ever heard this term to describe the junk you get in the corners of your eyes when you sleep?  
         Do you know what it means when I write, I wish he'd watch his tongue?  It means to think about and be careful about what is said.  Maybe I should have watched my tongue this morning.  What do you think?  During World War II the military used the phrase, Loose lips, sink ships.
        Can you write your own poem today about what it felt like when you got up this morning?  What was the first thing you thought?  Have fun writing.

       Yes, I know I've screwed up the meter on the second stanza.  I've switched the accents on gritty,  if you have a suggestion for fixing this problem, please leave it in the comments below.  I appreciate your help.  

THIS MORNING

The wind sings
a happy song
around dancing leaves.

They flutter up
before flittering
to the ground
in a patchwork quilt.

Soon it will be time
for the lull
of winter sleeping.

But for now
there is wood to chop,
pumpkins to harvest,

apples to press,
and honking geese
to fly south.

There is much to do,
just ask the wind.

     In this free verse poem, I wanted the title to be the first line.  I thought about using a lower case letter to start "the," but I thought that would look like a mistake. So the English teacher in me, insisted that the first line of the poem begin with a capital letter.
        Have you ever thought what the world would be like if we didn't have wind? Can you write your own poem about the wind, or fall today?  Have fun writing.

MONDAY MORNING SLOG

Some mornings 
I don't want
to get up at all.
Back in my bed,
I want to crawl.

It is then
that I plaster
a smile on my face.
I get up, get dressed
and join the human race.


     Do you ever have mornings when you don't want to get up?  What would you do if you could spend the whole day in bed?  Can you write an ode to your bed today?  Enjoy your writing.

SLEEPY MONDAYS

Some Mondays
are a little hard for me.
I start my day too slow.

Mom stands at my doorway
and urges me to 
GO.   GO.   GO.

I want to turn over
and sleep some more.
But Mom, she will not wait.

She says if I don't
put a wiggle on
I surely will be late.



     All of us are late at sometime.  I remember when I transitioned from elementary school to Junior High and we got a lecture on being tardy and the consequences of three tardies in one grading period.  Do you remember the March Hare from Alice in Wonderland rushing around saying "I'm late.  I'm late."  The author Lewis Carroll was a math tutor at Christ Church College in Oxford, England.  At midnight the bells would start chiming in the bell tower. (This was before the time of wrist watches and cell phones with alarms.)  The students could hear the bells from anywhere in the town.  It meant they needed to get back to their rooms.  If a student wasn't back inside the gates of the college by the end of the 100th chime, the gates were locked and the student was locked out for the night. (And probably had to sleep on the streets.)   So your challenge for today is to write a poem about being late.  Have fun.  And if you are late in writing this poem, that is OK, I won't throw you out in the street.  Have fun.

IT IS LATE

It is late
and I can't sleep
a nightmare
has me falling
into the
              Deep,
                       DEEP,
                               D
                                    E
                                        E
                                            P.


      Do you ever have nightmares?  Are there some nights when you can't sleep?  What do you do?  Your challenge for today is to write a poem about a dream.  Some of the best poets have written about their dreams.  Have fun writing and using your imagination.

Keeping Healthy

I want to stay healthy
so here's what I do--
each year I get
a shot for the flu.

I wash my hands
frequently
sing Happy Birthday 
twice, to keep germ free.

I use my elbow
when I sneeze,
exercise, sleep
and eat healthy.

I'm doing everything
I know how to do.
I hope you stay
healthy too.


      Happy Saturday.  What are doing today for fun?  Can you write a poem about it?

It's RAINING

It is starting to rain

what does it matter?

On the tin roof

pitter      patter

The drops are falling

fatter and fatter

ping  Pang  PONG

I'll get NO sleep

while the rain

sings  

        its song.



I'm in Honesdale, PA at a Highlight's Foundation Workshop titled Poetry for All.  I'm having a good time learning from David Harrison, Eileen Spinelli, Rebecca Kai Dotlich and 20 other children's poetry writers.  It has been raining and I've been watching little frogs jumping along a path, a garter snake slithering through the poetry rock garden and a robin red breast building a nest--all things very different from the desert of my home.  The rain is different too.  I'm enjoying everything here.
    What are you enjoying today?  Can you make a list of the things you enjoy?  What makes you happy today?  Choose one thing to write your poem or use them all in your own list poem.  Have fun.
 

Sweet Dreams

     I ride a painted pony

the one who has blue eyes

we gallop in the star light

across the midnight skies.

We're chasing falling stars

to capture and to keep

then dust them over children

in their beds to help them sleep.

So if you wake with star dust

twinkling in your eyes

say thanks to the blue eyed pony

who gallops across the skies.

     What helps you sleep at night?  Do you have a favorite blanket or stuffed animal?  Do you sleep with a teddy bear?  Have you heard stories about the sandman who carries his bag of sand around to sleeping boys and girls and 

tosses sand in their closed eyes to help them sleep?  That is what this poem is about-- catching falling stars and putting the star dust in children's eyes to give them good dreams.  It is all make-believe, but isn't that part of the fun?

     Today can you write your own poem about sleeping, dreaming or going to bed? Oh, I think today is a great day to think about having big dreams.  Happy May Day.

Sweet Dreams

Please cuddle me

in your dreams.

Lumpy in foam or

Lofty with down. Shhhh,

only remember

we want

sweet dreams.


     OK, I'm in a hurry today.  It is my 42nd wedding anniversary and I've got things to do and places to be.  So let's try another list acrostic today.  Look around the room and select an object.
    Here we go again, for an example, your Pencil.  Quick for a minute write down everything you know about pencils--
mechanical
carbon
graphite
wooden
yellow #2
bold, soft, hard
write
erase,
sketch
dull,sharpened to a fine point
make maps,
take spelling tests.
 used for making pin wheels

   Oops,see I'm starting to drift in the many uses for a pencil.  Now lets start with the letters and see where this takes us.  Remember the lines can be any reasonable length, and they don't have to rhyme.

Please, hold me gently, my
erasure smiling upward.
Never chew or munch me.  I
can't stand that.
I want to write
love letters to my friends.

  OK, that is a start.  Since I have several capital letters on the left margin, I'm going to make all of the left margin letters bold and capital, so the poem is easier to read.



Please, hold me gently, my
Eraser smiling upward.
Never chew or munch me.  I
Can't stand that.
I want to write
Love letters to you.

   Can you see other changes I made?  This can also be called a persona poem, because it is written in the voice of the pencil.  Now it is your turn.  Try your own acrostic.  Please share your creation with me in the comments section below.  Have fun.