Welcome

This is my playground for poetry written for children with ideas and inspiration for writing your own poems. Come on in. Sit for a spell, have a cup of words to swirl around and make your own cup of poetry. I'm so glad you are here. I hope you'll find the Kingdom of Poetry a fun place to be.

Friday, January 25, 2013

COWGIRL ABECEDARIAN

A cowgirl Sue, and her
Big bay horse, Blue,
Clip-clopped, Clip-clopped
Down stone roads, of course
Entering Santa 
Fe.  "Let's go
Guzzle a gallon of sarsaparilla
Here at the Lone Branch Saloon," said Sue.
"I think that's a great idea," said Blue.  "It's
Just  what we should do."    "Any one
Know Dead Eye Dick?  We're
Looking for that
Mean Horse Thief," asked Sue.
Nobody moved.  The poker game stopped.  No
One even sighed, 'til a
Polite cowboy, who was 
Quiet and shy
Replied,
"Sue, we ran Dead Eye Dick out of our 
Town--that's what we cowboys do, and
Unless you're looking for a fight, the
Vultures will show you
Where Dead Eyed Dick died.
X my heart, that ain't no lie.  In peace
You're welcome here.  The score now stands
Zip for Dead Eye Dick-- Town,plus two.


    I had fun writing this abecedarian, can you try writing your  own poem in this form?  Have fun.

20 comments:

  1. Fun! You make me want to try to write an abecederian. Very clever to use "cross" for X!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tabatha. You just made me realize the "X" could also be used for a roman numeral ten, or "XII," for midnight or noon. More fun possibilities of things to try.

      Delete
  2. I agree with Tabatha, the 'X', is Xtraordinary, Joy. Love the story. I am sharing some poems with some young primary students on Fridays, & I'll keep this when we talk about stories in poetry. Terrific!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gosh, maybe I should try writing a ballad. thanks inda, I hope the students enjoy the poem.

      Delete
  3. I love abecedarians! I agree, your "X" was a nice surprise (always a true test if an abecedarian really works).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jama. Of course, I could always try for Hot X buns. Actually it might be fun to try one with nursery rhyme characters.

      Delete
  4. You did the abecedarian form proud, Joy! Fun poem/story. Happy Friday! =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Bridget. I've been enjoying your poems too.

      Delete
  5. What a great poem! It looks way beyond my capabilities.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is very clever! I would like to try this with second graders during our poetry unit in April. We might go A-H. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jeff, with second graders you might have more success working on acrostics. Search for Christopher Columbus or Joan of Arc here for two I've done on history. Animals and their habitats make for good subject matter.

      Delete
  7. What an ominous image: "the
    Vultures will show you
    Where Dead Eyed Dick died."
    Great abcedarian poem, Joy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, I had originally used VIPER for the V, but then thought that word didn't fit with the story and so used vultures instead.

      Delete
  8. So much fun! And I have lay down another vote for that "X" - clever, clever, clever. Love the poker game line, too.
    Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I appreciate your comments, Robyn. I wasn't sure about that poker line, but I threw it in because I thought it added flavor.

      Delete
  9. Joy,
    This was fantastic. I loved how Santa Fe slipped from one line to the next. The "x" and score keeping were my favorites. This poem is a favorite as well. It shows you're up to any challenge even in the wild west.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Linda. I am enjoying playing with this form. I must admit just 4 years ago I couldn't get to a complete abecedarian that I was happy with. I'd stall out along the way and just couldn't push myself through to the end of the alphabet. Lately it has been getting easier when I start out with a themed story to tell.

      Delete
  10. I've written a few of these -- the v, x, y and z are always tricky! You made them work!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comments, Mary Lee.
      You should see what I did with GAMES--I broke Yat-Zi for my y and z.
      And in the FISHY one I wrote syonara (Japanese good bye) as Zion-ara, to get to my Z. Sometimes it is easier than others. I take the good ones and smile through the ones that really need more work.

      Delete
  11. Oooohlala, what a new fantastic word, abecedarian! Love it! :) I enjoyed this very much, Joy. :)

    ReplyDelete