November 29, 2014

haiku

Maasai Giraffe eats

Umbrella Acacia leaves

stretches his long tongue

Did you know there are three kinds of giraffes? Reticulated, Rothschilds and Maasai. Each one has a different coat pattern. All are very tall. They each have a different habitat. Their long black tonguew can be 18 inches long to reach out and grasp leaves.

Learning about animals can be fun. Can you select an animal to write a poem about today? Enjoy your writing.

Maasai Giraffe, copyright 2014 Joy Acey

SQUIRREL

A squirrel drinks
from my swimming pool.
I guess it's how
the squirrel stays cool.

Watch him lapping
with a little pink tongue.
Then he scoots, and
runs, runs, runs.

     I fly off tomorrow, into the hurricane, so my posts might become a little irregular for the next six days.  What is something in your life that stops and starts?  (Think about that one.)  Now, can you write a poem about it?  Have fun writing and have a great weekend. 

GILA WOODPECKER

Drinking
from the feeder
a gila woodpecker
dips his beak and long tongue into
sweetness.


    The gila woodpeckers make it almost impossible for me to keep the hummingbird feeder full with liquid.  They have learned to perch on top of the feeder and tilt it to one side so all the sugar water tilts to one side making it easier for them to drink from a deeper well.  Lately, I've noticed that the finches and thrushes have learned to do the same thing from watching the wood pecker.  Except they tilt the feeder until liquid drips out the side and they can then drink it.   Why must the larger birds steal from smaller birds?  Why is it, it seems to me that the big guys are always trying to take advantage of smaller guys?
  Can you write your own poem about a big taking advantage of a little?  Would this be called bullying among the birds?  Have fun writing.  Oh, did you figure out that the form of this poem is a cinquain?  It is a syllablic form of five lines with two syllables in the first line, four in the second, six in the third, then 8 and finally two syllables in the last line.

WHISTLE

Tongue curls,
purse lips,
little blows
in tiny sips
Whee-ee-ee-ee-ee!
It is a whistle.


    Can you write your own poem today that includes a whistle?  Have fun playing with this sound.

RASPBERRY

Ripple of air
blown between
tongue
and lips.
A reverberation
happens there
when air flows.
Blow!
Feel the tickle
on your tongue.

    A fun stage of development for babies is when they learn how to blow raspberries.  What are some of the funny sounds you can make with your mouth?  Can you write a poem about this silly subject?  Have fun writing.
    Happy Boxing Day.  Do you know why the day after Christmas was called Boxing Day?  It is a holiday still celebrated in Great Britain.

YOUR TONGUE

A tongue is
an amazing thing.
It lets us talk
and helps us sing.

We use it when
we need to chew.
So many things
a tongue can do.

But let me advise
you, this my son,
use caution when
you use your tongue.

Hold your tongue.
Don't speak fast.
Words once uttered
tend to last.

Pain and hurt
can rue the day
when your tongue 
wags away.


     This is a didactic poem. A didactic poem tries to teach.  This one advises to think before you speak.  As Geoffrey Chaucer admonished:
 A tongue cutteth friendship all a-two.       
    Do you have some rules that your parents tell you, or classroom rules?  Maybe say please and thank you, use an inside voice, or chew with your mouth closed?  Can you write your own poem today that offers an instruction?  Have fun writing.  If this doesn't appeal try writing about when the rules go wrong.

AT THE BEACH

Today I will
run on the beach.
I'll smile at each
runner I meet.
I'll count each smile
that comes back to me
when I am running
in the sand.

Today I'll listen
to sounds on the beach.
I'll hear the birds
and waves crashing.
I'll hear children
building a castle
in the sand.

Today I'll try to
smell the beach,
the scent of salt
mixed with suntan oil,
and sandy seaweed
while I'm at the beach.

Today I'll open my mouth
to taste the salt air
on my tongue
when I am at the beach.

Today, I'll feel
happy in the sunshine.
I'll try not to burn
while I'm having fun
running on the beach.


     Today's poem is a list poem.  Can you see how I've used each of the five senses to list what it is like through the senses when I'm at the beach?  Your challenge for today is to take something you like to do--dance, go to the movies, eat pizza, read a book--and write your own list poem using your own senses.  It is through our senses that we experience the world and so when you write using your five senses, the reader can experience your world with you.  Have fun writing today.

Tuesday's Treat

PROGRESSIVE POEM Each day during the month of April I will add a line to this poem.

WHAT IS POETRY? 

To have great poets there must be great audiences too. --Walt Whitman

It is finding the truth, no need to lie. 
It's munching on watermelon and letting seeds fly. 
 
It's a letter that comes with a card in the mail. 
It's the lacy silver threads left by a garden snail.
 
It's daffodil trumpets covering the hill. 
It's a deer at the creek, drinking her fill.
 
It's giggling and laughing and being absurd. 
It's reading a haiku and feeling each word. 
   

It's a dragon who blows flames, loud and hardy.   
It's fairies in the garden having a tea party.
 
It's the sound of a truck shifting its gears. 
It's the feel of two soft puppy dog ears.
 
It's a bright sun rise and glowing moon shine. 
It's a Carolina wren singing in a Lob-lolly pine. 
 
It's a snowman rolled on a cold winter morn.   
It's crows calling from tall tasseled corn.
 
It's the whisper of hummingbird wings in the air.

It's plaits and curls tied with bows in my hair.

 

It's spying a bird feeding her young.

It's pink cotton candy that melts on your tongue.

RIBBET, RIBBET

Ribbet, Ribbet,
    Sings a frog,
While he sits
     Upon a log.

He watches, listens
     and he sighs--
Out darts his tongue,
     Zapping flies.
         Ahhh!


     I had a grand time last night playing with some pastels my sister gave to me.
What do you think of my silly frog?  This poem uses onomatopoeia.  Can you write your own poem with onomatopoeia?  Have fun.

I Love Words

I love words.

the feel of them, 

the taste of them 

in my mouth.

I am in a swimming pool

filled with words.

They bump against my body,

my kick sends words

fluttering into the air.

My stroke sends droplets of words

flicking over the water.

I am taking a trip

and my suitcase is stuffed with words

I fold them neatly,

 stacking words into the corners

I hope they don't wrinkle.

I am camping

the tent is filled with words

they are hot and sweaty,

and like moths

the words are attracted to the light.

I walk the city sidewalks

and see words

lining the walkways

stretched over the high rise,

pooling in glass surfaces.

And the exciting thing to me

is that there are always 

new words to taste,

new words to hear

in my ears

new words to sniff

like a French perfume.

I will never know them all.

Never read them all.

And never feel them

all on my tongue.

And even if I could

read all the words 

in the English language,

there are still

so many other

languages to conquer.

      What is your favorite word?  Can you use it to write a poem?
Where do your words like to hang out? Enjoy!