Feet and Hands

Five toes on my left foot
jiggle, jiggle, jiggle.
Five toes on my right foot
tap, tap, tap.
Five fingers on my left hand
wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.
Five fingers on my right hand
snap, snap, snap.

   Write a poem today about something you can do with your fingers or toes.  Have fun.

JELLY, OH MY!

On my toast, I like jelly.
On my biscuits, in my belly.

Jelly on my fingers.
Jelly on my face.
I've gotten jelly
all over the place.

I think that I am
a jelly mess.
I LOVE jelly,
can you guess?

    My jelly is a beautiful red color.  How many things can you think of in a minute that are red?  Can you select one thing on your list to write a poem about, or can you write a poem about being red?  Have fun writing.  Maybe you can eat some toast and jelly while you write.

Big Bear Hug

Toes tap.
Fingers snap.
Knuckles rap.
Hands clap.
Arms flap.
Wrap around you
In a Big Bear Hug.


     This is an action poem.  Can you act out the lines?  Now have fun trying to write your own action poem.  What actions do you want to include?

Thank You

Thank you for coming to visit today.
It's always a good time
when you come to play.

Now that you're here
what shall we do?
Do you want to play
a game or two?

Perhaps we could work puzzles
or even write rhyme.
You're being here
assures a fun time.

     Today's poem needs work, but it is a holiday and I'm so busy trying to catch up on work. 
Happy Inauguration Day.  I'm eager to see what Richard Blanco wrote as an occasional poem for the celebration.
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  I can't celebrate MKL Day without thinking about T.J., a five year old autistic boy I met on this day in 2003.  I was wearing my MLK button on my collar and T.J. wanted me to know that he was a KING too, and a Jr. too. 
   T.J. has always been special to me because he gave me the inspiration for this poem.  It was first published in my collection Extra Hands, Extra Heart, poems for and about children with special needs. 

T.J. DISCOVERS BRACES

On Monday
at Burton GeoWorld Magnet School
a young autistic boy
names body parts.

He touches my neck and says, Neck.
Touches my necklace.  Necklace, he says.
Hair.
Eyes. 
Eye brow.
Chin.
Lips.

When his warm fingers
touch my lips,
I smile,
showing my braces.

His dark eyes look inside,
he pauses, considers
then, proudly announces,

A teeth necklace.

VIOLIN

It's scroll                     It's head

It's tuning pegs           It's neck

It's fingers                  It's frets

It's inlaid                    It's soundhole

It's strings                  It's chin

It's pluck                    It's rosin

It's horsehair              It's bow

It's pull                       It's notes

It's passage                It's twinkle

It's Little Star              It's song

        Happy Sunday.  If you had a violin, what song would it play for you?  Can you write a poem about a magic violin that plays what ever you are thinking?



My magic violin
plays fine music.
All I do
is think and the tune
begins to play.

I think of a tree
and music swishes
like leaves turning
in the breeze
to flutter to the ground.

I think of moonlight
and the music
becomes big
and round
and shines brightly
to twinkle and sparkle
like starlight.

And when I think of you
my violin plays
a merry tune
that makes me feel happy
and like dancing.

PAIN

When I shut

the car door

I caught my fingers

and started to roar.

Mom ran

and got the ice

but the blue on my fingers

doesn't look nice.

Now I hardly

feel the pain

I surely won't

do that again.

    Do you remember a time when you were in pain?  Can you write a poem about that today?
 

Fingers and Toes

Can you count your fingers?

1 ,2, 3, 4, 5,

6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

And your toes, 

can you count again?

1 ,2, 3, 4, 5,

6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Wiggle them,

stretch,

flex,

bend.

They are called appendages,

wonderful fingers and toes.

Now can you sniff them

using your nose?


     As you can tell, I'm in a silly mood again.  Can you write your own silly poem today about something to sniff?

Nap Time

Do I have

to take a nap?

My hands want to

clap, clap, clap.

My feet want to

tap, tap, tap.

Oops, I heard

your fingers

SNAP

and point toward bed

where I WILL

nap.

     Can you snap your fingers?  Do you remember when, how you learned to snap them?  How about writing a poem today on all the noises you can make with your hands?  Or simply write a poem about something you can do with your hands or feet.  Hope you have a jolly good time writing.

A Poem

A poem 

makes my toes

tap,tap,tap.

It makes my legs

want to 

kick,kick,kick.

My knees want to bend

and my bum

wants to

shimmy, shimmy, shake.

My body wants to sway.

My blood pulses.

My fingers

snap, snap, snap.

Poetry makes me

want to throw 

back my shoulders,

throw up my arms

into the air,

and shout 

Wahoo, Wahoo!

Even in sad times

poetry makes me feel

          J

          O

           Y.

   I'm taking a break from the bestiary today because I didn't like yesterday's poem.  And because I was thinking about this poem on my walk and I wanted to share it with you.  My walk this morning was a fun one.  When I started there was a cloud in the sky that looked like a twister with two holes for eyes.  Then those eyes morphed into eye brows and then a mustache and goatee.  Finally the whole thing morphed into a shape like a wolf with a very hungry look because his tongue was lolling out of his mouth.  Do you like watching clouds and making up pictures for them?  So the challenge for today is to watch clouds and write a poem about it.  Or if you'd rather just write a poem like mine about how poetry makes you feel.  Have fun.