THE EARTH CRACKED OPEN: A Lament

I opened my mouth
and tasted the sky.
I opened my heart
and heard birds cry.

Their conversations
were noisy and deep.
In many tongues,
I heard them weep.

The earth is changing.
It's no longer the best.
We birds can't find
a good place to nest.

Temperature is rising.
Can't take the heat.
Like canaries in coal mines
birds die in the street.

Bees leave the hive.
They're in another zone.
Ask how we can do this
to the place we call home.

     A lament is a poem expressing grief or sorrow.  It is a poem of mourning.  I wrote this poem on Earth Day last week.  I'm very concerned about what we are doing to care for our planet, even though I live on a small island in the Pacific Ocean.  I garden and recycle.  What are some things you do to care for our land and oceans?  Can you write a love poem today to the earth?  Have fun brainstorming and then writing your poem.

Me ka mahalo nui.   
With deep gratitude. 

 What can you do to show your 
gratitude to the earth?

EARTH

Earth keeps
daffodil and jouquil bulbs,
and holds tree roots.

Earth turns
fallen tree leaves
into rich soil.

Earth grows
grass in pastures
for cows, horses, deer and rabbits.

Earth holds
gold and silver
rubies, granite and marble.

Earth trembles
with quakes
shifting tectonic plates.

Earth changes
with rain, fire, wind, and snow
sometimes fast, sometimes slow.

Earth
makes our world
to enjoy and protect.


     I'm enjoying working with these three line verses.  They're called tercets.  Can you try writing a three line poem today?  Have fun writing.

EARTH

Earth turns,
plants itself
in dust to dust.

Earth freezes
from icy snow
in mountains, on plains.

Earth muddies
with falling rain
wraps around pig feet.

Earth holds
puddles and ponds
to the delight of ducks and geese.

Earth is home
for bear, badger
even wiggling worms,
and you and me.


     What are some of the things you have observed about the earth?  Can you try writing your own earth poem today?  Have fun.

Aliens Are Coming

The aliens have landed.
they're full of laughter and mirth.
They're changing up the colors
for a more colorful earth.

I can't tell my mother.
I won't tell my dad
for to mention these aliens
they'll both say I am bad

To be telling these lies
and making these stories up.
But the aliens are in my backyard
because tall pink grass is growing up.


     See, I'm still working on poems about colors.  Crazy.  But I put my pen to paper and this is what comes out.  Put your pen to paper today and see what comes out.  Let your imagination run where ever it wants to skip.  Nothing has to be real or factual.  See where your penning takes you.  Have a happy Sunday writing your own poem.

2013 PREPARE FOR JOY

Remember the feeling as a child when you woke up and the morning smiled?  Taj Mahal

2013 is going to be
a year full of
of laughter and fun,

when the earth
will travel once
around the sun.

365 opportunities
to be happy
with joyful poetry.

So let me push away
sadness and fear--
it pulled me down
in the old year.

And let me open
my heart to delight
as I craft my poems
through the night.


     As you get ready for the new year, what things do you wish to leave behind?
Can you write a poem about that?  Please leave your suggestions in the comments below.