A LITTLE MONSTER

I have a little monster
who is helpful as can be.
Every where I travel
He is sure to follow me.

When I pick up my toys
and put them on the shelf,
he will always knock them off,
the helpful impish elf.

And when I tidy dresser drawers
before I push them in,
he strews the contents all around
and leaves them out again.

He steals homework from my backpack.
He pulls hangars from the closet rack.
He knocks down towers that I stack
I wish he'd leave and not come back.

This thug, this thief, this gangster,
my impish elfish, monster prankster.

LATCH KEY

Around my neck
on a greying shoelace
rides my house key.

You call me Latch Key
and your lip curls
like I'm a wet dog
you don't want in your living room.

I must go straight home.
Can't make after-school plans.
Can't have friends over.
Can't go out.

I surely can't go over to your house
because I'd never be able
to return the invitation.

So I do my homework,
read a book,
color and wait
for someone
to come home.


     What do you do after school?  Do you have sports--tennis, soccer, swimming?  Do you have meetings like boy scouts or brownies, or girl scouts?  Do you have music lessons or some other activity?  For today's poetry challenge can you write a poem about what you do after school.  This is a free verse poem.  It doesn't rhyme.  You can make your poem in a form or free verse.  It's your choice.  I've also used a simile in this poem.  Can you find it?  Just have fun writing.

MONDAY MORNING

I'm rushing around
fast as I can
Mom calls
one more time
I don't want 
to be
late.

I grab my backpack
zipper it shut
out the door,
didn't have time 
to make my bed.

I pick up the toast
glup three swigs
of orange juice
and rush out the door
to Dad's angry face
waiting in the running car.

I rush
dash to school
slide into my desk
just as the tardy bell rings.

"Get out your homework,"
and I unzip
my backpack before 
I put it down.

"Oh,no."
It's not there.
Knew I should have
packed my backpack
last night.

It's Monday,
and already
I've started off
on the wrong foot.

I hope this 
doesn't last all week.

     It really is hard and difficult being a kid.  Can you write a poem about one of the difficult things a kid faces?  What is your hardest problem?  I think mine is when I misspell words.  Have fun writing today.

Today was the first day of school,
and now I'm tired.
But the new teacher they've hired
is nobody's fool.
She's assigned us homework
for this very first night--
that hardly seems right--
as my fried brain goes berserk.


     Goodness!  I must be too tired to think straight.  This poem really needs lots of help with the meter.  Hey, I thought I was doing OK just to get the rhyming pattern I wanted.  I bet your ear didn't hear the rhymes.  Look carefully and you'll see the weaving pattern of oblique rhymes that I used.  Can you write your own poem aobut the first day of school?

Another Apology with picture

       If you can't read this poem, here it is and tomorrow I'll just try the picture.

Written Apology

To my teacher, Mrs. Cavitt,

I'm sorry, my homework,

I don't have it.

I really wanted to hand it in

but my dog ate it, once again.

Your student

Benjamin Babbit