Happy Poetry Friday

Life on the island is getting chilly.  People have gotten their socks out to keep their feet warm.
It was 49 degrees one night this week.  Our day time temperatures are in the high 60's.

The chicks are still cuddling close to their mothers to keep warm as the island gets ready to the holiday season.

We did have a slight sprinkle last Friday evening but folks didn't let that get in the way of their enjoyment of the Christmas parade on Rice Street.

I did get my final art project done for my class at the junior college.  I'm a little sad that the course is over, but I'm extremely happy with everything I learned.

    Last week I shared with you the sketch for my final project.  Here is what I ended up with for the art.

Dog eating peanut butter driving his trolley through to Platform 9 3/4

Snoop, my dog
starts to sputter
when he eats
his peanut butter.

He's off to Hogwarts.
It's his turn.
There's lots of things
he wants to learn.

For Christmas he knows
what he wants to get,
more peanut butter,
you can bet!

And here's what
he'll give to you,
it's his ability
to drive on through
Platform 9 3/4.
Come to Hogwarts too. 

   Have you ever thought about what it would be like if your favorite picturebook character went to Hogwarts?  Paddington, Winnie, Charlotte, Wilbur, George, Lucy?  What would Amelia Bedilia do there? 


Never pass up the opportunity to make someone else's day a good one.

Our host for Poetry Friday this week is  Lisa.  You can find more poetry at Steps and Staircases.  Thanks for rounding up the poetry this week, Lisa .

Don't forget, we're gathering next week, Dec. 15, at Matt Forrest's place  Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme for a virtual holiday party.  He's already started baking.

HAPPY POETRY FRIDAY

   I've been taking a beginning drawing class at the local junior college and the term is almost over.  For our final project the instructor arrived with three lunch bags, labeled--nouns, verbs and settings.  We were to pull a slip from each bag and use those prompts for our final rendering.  I've used this same method for poetry prompts so it was fun to get prompts for drawing. But...
   The nouns were all pop culture icons.  I think the instructor was trying to find something appealing to the young teenage college students.  My noun was Snoop Dogg!  I really didn't want to draw the rapper, so I figured I'd just go with the DOG, a word I find more fun and certainly fits more with children's poetry.
   Being a poet who tries to write with strong lines, I teased my instructor about including gerunds in his verbs.  Sure enough the verb I pulled included a gerund. The slip of paper I ended with was, "eating peanut butter from the jar."
   Finally, my setting slip was "drive thru."  
   How would you draw a dog eating peanut butter at a drive thru?  My mind immediately went to a drive in theater since my father managed several of them and I worked in the drive in all through college. But then Harry Potter slipped in to save me.  Do you remember him driving thru the wall at platform 9 3/4?
   Here is a rough draft sketch of what I'm working on.  My next step is to render the drawing on quality paper and add color.  At that step I'll be able to fine tune the wall, the shading and the dog's features and put a glob of peanut butter on that lolling tongue. What color shall I make the dog? (Hang with me, I'll get to the poetry.)

My silly dog
is a crazy nutter.
He likes to eat
my peanut butter.


 Do you know the word nutter?  It is British slang for someone who is crazy and does nutty things. 
   Do you know why I used "to eat" instead of  the "eating" from the slip to write my poem?  It is all a case of meter and gerunds and infinitives.  Remember gerunds are those "ing" verbs and infinitives are the "to" verbs.  They are extremely useful in poetry.
Most poems are written in an iambic foot.  If you try to scan a poem (notice the accented and unaccented syllables,) always try iambic first because it is the meter most often used.  The iambic foot is unaccented, accented--the accent is on the second syllable.  using an iambic foot means lines will end on a strong accent.  A trochee is the opposite of an iambic foot.  It is accented, unaccented.  Any two syllable verb ending in "ing," a gerund, will be a trochee.  So, when using verbs to write poetry for children if you want iambic, use an infinitive.  If you want a throchee, use a gerund. The exception is when using forced meter.  (Poets love to break the rules!) 
   See, I told you I'd get back to poetry.  That was a bit heavy, let's celebrate your getting through that heavy lesson.  Let's have a party! 
   We're having another virtual party in two weeks on Dec. 15 at Matt Forrest Esenwine's place, Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme.  You are invited to drop in and stay for the whole day (or maybe the night--I virtually slept on the fireplace hearth one year at David's place.)  I'm going to write a small poem about my ugly Christmas sweater.  Matt calls the party a shindig.  It started on David L. Harrison's blog a few years ago. Matt, David and I decided that perhaps it might be fun to move the party around from venue to venue…so this year, it’s moving from David’s place to Matt's little home on the web.  Perhaps we'll have snow.

   Finally, the Poetry Friday Round Up is over at Mary Lee Hahn's blog, A Year of Reading.  Thanks for hosting us, Mary Lee.
You can find more great children's poetry here.

  Oh, for your poetry challenge, pick any noun, verb and a setting and see what you can come up with for a poem.  Have fun writing whatever you do.
Thanks for your patience.

Celebrate! Happy 4th

Let's celebrate
the 4th of July
by shooting off stars
into the sky.

Let's celebrate
and all eat pie,
make mine peach
on the 4th of July.

Let's all lick ice cream cones.
I'll even buy
when we celebrate
the 4th of July.

The sun is so hot
I think I'll fry.
It's very sunny
on this 4th of July.

Let's swim across the lake.
Just give it a try
as we cool off
on this 4th of July.

We're spitting watermelon seeds.
Watching them fly
as we have a contest
on this 4th of July.

See the fireworks explode!
My-oh-my!
I sure like
the 4th of July.



    What will you do to celebrate the 4th of July?  I think I'm going to be sitting on my lanai watching the explosions in three directions.  Can you try writing your own celebration poem?  Have fun writing.

Happy Poetry Friday

 

 Today is POETRY FRIDAY.  Yahoo!  If you'd like to read more poetry fun, jump over to  Random Noodling for the Poetry Friday Round UP.  Thank you, Diane Mayr  for hosting us this week.

Midnight Ramble

Tiger toes
tip-toe through
my dreams
leaving no 
dust prints
only the wish
to grab
a star
and write
it home.


Make a list of 20 nouns each day for the next week.  Then at the end of the week pick one word from each of your lists to write a poem.  Or who knows maybe as you are making your lists a word or two will jump off the page and beg to write a poem for you.  Try this and see what happens.  I've been having fun working with this all week.  My lists have been fairly productive. Have fun writing your poem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Poetry Friday

The poetry round up today is on Buffy Silverman's

 blog at Buffy's Blog. For more poetry fun,

 jump over and visit.  

Thanks for hosting us,Buffy. 

  

1. Malama Kekahi I Kekahi
    
   
   Take Care of One Another - 
   
   
   a Hawaiian Proverb

Today is Poetry Friday.

LOST THINGS

At the edge of the world
is a deep black hole
where all lost things reside--

Ribbons and keys
baby bottles and binkys
All the lost hair
from dogs with mange
the dimes and nickels
of lost pocket change.

Pens and pencils
teething rings
every sock without a mate
nuts, screws and bolts
that disappear
and lone earrings
the homework, wasn't even late
all sorts of things.

Even my teddy
that I forgot
on the bus
and never
found again.


What sorts of things do you lose?  Did you look for it?  Did you find it?  The older I get, the more things I lose track of--most often it's my cell phone.  Can you write a poem today about something lost?  Have fun writing your poem.

Happy Poetry Friday and Aloha Friday

.  

The round up is over on Margaret Simon's blog  Reflections on the Teche  For more poetry fun, jump over and visit Margaret.  Thanks for hosting us, Margaret.

HAPPY BOYS DAY

     Happy Poetry Friday.

Three paper kites
hang from our house
they flutter, flap and sway.
These paper fish are flying
high to celebrate
Tango no sekku
a Happy Boys Day.

On May fifth in communities with a Japanese influence you'll see paper carp
dancing on bamboo poles to honor the men in the household.  There are lots of Japanese-Americans who live on my island so we celebrate boys day and there are lots of paper carp flying today.  This holiday is also known as the Feast of Banners.  You can find out more about this celebration here. 

   There is a legend about the swimming carp becoming a dragon.  Can you write a poem today about a dragon?  What color would your dragon be?  Have fun writing.

E kūlia i ka nu‘u.

 
Strive to reach the highest.

--a Hawaiian proverb

  To read more poetry posts, Jama Kim Rattigan is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup today on 

her blog Jama's Alphabet Soup here.  Thanks Jama, for hosting us this week.

Happy Cinco de Mayo and have a great weekend.

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.

OCEAN SWIMMING

Little Rose Tahini
lost her bikini
while swimming ocean waves.

Her surfer brother
brought her another
twas one of his better saves.

Oh no! How am I going to get myself out of this pickle? Have you ever gotten yourself into a fix where you needed someone else's help?  Have you ever forgotten your school lunch and you needed your mom to bring it to school for you, or perhaps a friend shared his lunch with you.  Perhaps you've forgotten a paper you needed at home, or ripped your pants?  Think of a problem you've had and how you solved it.  Did you leave an important book you needed for your homework at school?  What did you do? Now, can you write a poem about your problem and how you solved it?  What happened?  Can you use a poem to tell your story?  Have fun writing.

Because of you, the world is a better place. 

 Today is Friday, time for the Poetry Friday round up.  All our poetry links are being gathered today by Buffy Silverman on her blog here.  Thank you Buffy for pulling us all together to celebrate the Winter Solstice.

 

Two Sheep

Two wooly sheep
sat under a tree
listening to the buzz
of a bumble bee.

One sheep said,
"That song's full of honey."
"Yes," said the other,
"But I think it's funny."

Both sheep laughed
and had a good day
listening to the bees
buzzing away.

   Happy Poetry Friday.  I hope you are having a great day.  This poem is definitely a draft.  I wrote it to go with the picture I drew which was a lot of fun.
For your poetry challenge for today, can you draw your own picture and write a poem to go with it? Otherwise find a picture you like from a magazine to write about.  Have fun writing.



   To find more poetry, buzz over to the Round Up, hosted this week by Irene Latham on her blog Live Your Poem.  Thank you, Irene ,for hosting the party.

If you believe, you will achieve.

HAPPY WORLD SMILE DAY

  

Joy's Smiley Face

   Every year on the first Friday in October you have the opportunity to celebrate World Smile Day.  Isn't it wonderful that this celebration also falls on a Poetry Friday.  What better way to celebrate smiles than with poetry.  Today honors Harvey Ball, who in 1963 designed the big yellow smiley face. What can you do today to make someone smile?  I'm going to try writing a tetracty.
     I learned about this form from Australian children's poet Kathryn Apel. I also found more about the history of the form here. Tetractys also have a mathematical meaning, find more here.

So I thought I'd try using the tetracty form to write my smile poem.

Smile

strangers

will smile back.

Lift someone's day

with smiles you'll make new friends along your way.

   This is a syllabric form with five lines. The first four lines have as many syllables as the line number.  One syllable in the first line, two in the second, three in the third and four in the fourth.  In the fifth line are 10 syllables.  So there are 20 syllables in the whole poem, 10 in the first four lines and 10 in the last line.  You can try rhyming lines 4 and 5, but it's not required.  If the poem was written in two lines, you'd have a couplet.  You don't have to rhyme like I did with the day/way, but I think it adds a nice echo and a little music to the verse. 

    This poem has a hat shape and so now I'm thinking of writing another tetractys poem about tipping one's hat in greeting or tribute.  Poetry is like that--one fun idea leads to another.  You never know where your poetry journey will take you.

  Now it's your turn.  Have you ever drawn a smiley face on a card or letter?  Do you include them in your texts?  Does your teacher use smiley faces when grading class work?  Have you ever tried to make someone smile?  Today, in honor of World Smile Day, try writing your own poem about smiling? Have fun.  I hope you have a bright yellow marker to use in writing your poem.  If you'd like to share your poem, please leave it in the comments below.  Remember if you are younger than 13, you'll need a parent or teacher to leave the comment for you.

   Today is Poetry Friday.  You'll find more poetry at the Round Up hosted this week by Violet Nesdoly on her blog here.   Thanks Violet for hosting us this week and for a great post on Poetry Camp at Western Washington University at Bellingham, WA. (If you follow this link, you'll see pictures of me and find out what I was doing last weekend.)

Do an act of kindness--make one person SMILE.

SHARKS AND MINNOWS

You can be a minnow
swimming in the sea.
I'll be the shark, so
IT is me.

Swim across the pool
as fast as can be. 
I'll try to get you.
Sharks are too hungry.

Hey, I tagged you.
Your hand was my mark.
Now it's your turn.
You be the shark.

    Have you ever played Sharks and Minnows in a swimming pool?  Have you played Marco Polo?  There are lots of tag games.  Can you name some others?  Can you write your own poem about one of the games you like to play?  Have fun writing your poem.  Do you need to do some research in order to write the poem?

Silence is a secret we hold within us.

Today is Friday, so it is time for the Poetry Friday Round Up.  Michelle Barnes is hosting us this week on her blog, Today's Little Ditty.  Thank you for hosting us, Michelle.

BAGS

A bag is a bag,
a kind of sack
for holding your lunch
or afternoon snack.

Used for art projects
or wrapping up gifts,
a bag is an instrument
for playing your riffs.

A bag is a kite
or makes scary masks.
A bag is useful
for all sorts of tasks.

Bags in all sizes,
plain or cute,
but a paper bag won't do
for a wet bathing suit.

   Today try writing your poem on a paper bag, then give it to a friend.  Have fun writing.


Today is Poetry Friday and you can find more poetry posts over at the poetry roundup on  Amy Ludwig Vanderwater's blog, The Poem Farm.      Go here for all the posts.  Thank you, Amy, for hosting us this week.






Today I'll be as happy as a mynah bird in a papaya tree.

SUMMER

   I am participating in the summer poetry swap organized again this summer by Tabatha Yeatts.  Over the summer I am sending five original poems to fellow children's poets and I'm receiving poems from five too.

  The first poem I received was from Donna Smith.  She lives in Maine, close to the Eastern most lighthouse in the United States.  I live on the same island as the Western most lighthouse in the United States.  Our Kilauea Lighthouse was closed while repairs were made and only recently re-opened.  Donna wrote this poem.  (Thank you Donna for permission to share your poem here.)

 

As the lighthouse
Sends its beam
Across the waters
In the night
And through the fog
Reaching and
Forever changing
The lives
Of those it touches
At just the right time
So is the writer's pen. 

by Donna Smith, 2016

 The really fun thing about Donna's poem, is she had it printed on a canvas bag.

This is really handy because it holds my journal, pens, colored pencils and sketch book.  I take this with me when I take my walks and go adventuring.

I had my Joy-Write bag with me today when I took this picture.

Joy Acey, summer 2016

lazy summer day

with nothing to do

but swing on the gate

Can you try writing your own modern haiku today?  What did you do today?  Have fun writing.

I met Alli and Steve on my walk today.  They were riding on their razor scooters to go see Niki the horse that lives down the road.  Alli and Steve are fourth graders.  Our Kauai kids start school on Aug.  1.  So they only have three days of freedom left before they go back to school.  When do the children in your area go back to school?

Today is Poetry Friday and you'll find the roundup over at Reflections on the Teche.  Thank you, Margaret Simon for hosting us this week.

You're the one to make your dreams come true.  You can do it. 

STOMP

Stomp, stomp.
Stomp, stomp.
I'm doing an elephant stomp.

Stomp, stomp.
Stomp, stomp.
Through the jungle I clomp.

Stomp, stomp.
Stomp, stomp.
On big feet I stand.

Stomp, stomp.
Stomp, stomp.
Leaving footprints in the sand.

Stomp, stomp.
Stomp, stomp.

 This is another of the exercise poems.  Can you walk like an elephant with big heavy feet?  Have you ever watched how different animals move?  Yesterday I was watching a myna bird as it hopped along the ground.  Then I saw a chicken scratching in the dirt.  Can you try writing your own exercise poem today?  Pick an animal or an object and tell us how it moves.  Do you remember other action poems like, I'm a Little Teapot, or My Grandfather's Clock?  What other action rhymes can you add to my list?  Have fun writing you poem, and if you'd like, you can share your creation in the comments below.

   Today is Poetry Friday and Katie at Logonauts 
is hosting us this week.  Go here for more poetry.  Thanks Katie, for gathering us all together this week. 
   You'll even find the poem BIRDS I wrote for Mary Lee Hahn as part of our Summer Poetry Swap. What fun. 

I hope you have a great week with poetry.  Happy Poetry Friday.

This is your world, create the one you'd like to live.

Rhino

I rhino dozed
in the sun,
munching cane
as he watched
his friends
having fun.

Zebra said, "Hello,"
as he rushed by.
Rhino kept munching,
acting shy.

"Looking good there,
Big Guy," said Giraffe
as she waltzed by.

Rhino kept munching
and didn't reply.

"Hey, Rhino," said Baboon,
"Why so forlorn?"

"I don't want to seem like
I blow my own horn."

   Do you ever worry about people feeling like you are bragging?  Does it take away the pleasure you feel in your own accomplishment? When you worry about what other people will think of you it is probably time to stop and think about how the other people are feeling and to be thankful for your own blessings.  What can you do today to make someone else's day extraordinary?  Would you like to try writing a poem about that today?  Have fun writing.
  This rhino is part of a collection of soapstone carved animals I have.  I'm going to see if I can use it to try to draw my own rhino and paint it with water colors.  I have another chicken I want to draw too. 

 Today is Poetry Friday and you can find more great poetry posts at Check It Out

  Thanks Jone for hosting us.  Jone has some exciting news about the Poetry Camp at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington on October 1.  Check it out. Click on the links to find out more.

HAPPY EARTH DAY

The earth is here.
Let's hope to stay.
Turn off the lights
when you go 
out to play.

If you go out
with your dog today
pick up after him.
Happy Earth Day.

     What can you do to protect our environment?  To make the earth a better place to be?  Today we are to celebrate the earth, so have fun planting flowers, picking flowers and playing with your dog and picking up after him.  Can you try writing your own poem today to celebrate Earth Day?
      I have one more manticore poem to share with you, but that can wait until tomorrow.

      Today I'm here to celebrate the Poetry Friday Roundup.  All the children's poets have gathered over at  Jama Rattigan's blog to leave links to our poems.  You can find more poetry at Jama's Alphabet Soup.
Thank you Jama Rattigan for another delightful, fun, educational, picturesque, yummy post.  Thank you for hosting us this week and throwing a GREAT party.

Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.  E. L. Doctorow