LATE SPRING

Creosote bushes
yellow flowers blown
pollen litters the ground.

Saguaro blossom
in wedding white cone.
Bees come sniffing around.

Mothers Day bonnet
decidedly shown
the cactus early crowned.

    I can not believe that parts of the US had snow, yet again, yesterday. Here in the desert we are hurling toward summer. Already the Saguaros are starting to flower. In a couple of weeks, just in time for Mothers Day they will have white crowns of flowers around their tops. Yesterday I watched a quail with ten little quailets scurry through my fence and walk around under the bushes. It looked like one mom and ten little babies, no bigger than golf balls. On the top of my fence sat the male on look out. It was fun to watch those ten little ones scurrying in ten different directions, going forward and back, depending on what took their attention. It did make me think of toddlers in the play yard.
   Today's poem is written in triplets, three lined stanzas, with rhyme. Can you try writing your own triplet today? Pick a plant or animal from your world and experiment.  Have fun writing.

  The Friday Poetry Roundup is hosted this week by Renee LaTulippe on her blog, No Water River. You can find more poetry from other children's poets here.

ROCKS III

Water ripples
in the creek
smoothing stones.

In the night
faeries delight
painting moss on rocks.

Tired muscles
relax at the spa
hot stone massage.

In the morning sun
a small whiptail lizard rests
on warm desert rocks.

Stones wait
on paper
defying the breeze.

Stones are a promise
long-lasting
after this poem.

     Happy Friday the 13th.  My oldest son always said this was a lucky day for him, so I'm wishing luck to you and a great poetry day.  I do feel lucky because the birds have been delightful today.  This morning when I went for my walk a female cardinal was having a singing contest with a cactus wren and it was beautiful music for a walk.  Now as I look out my window there are goldfinch and purple finches vieing for spots at the bird feeder.  It is very entertaining.  Look out your window.  What do you see?  Can you write a quick triplet about that today?  Or choose the form you want to write in and write your own poem for today.

   Happy Poetry Friday.  The round up is hosted by Cathy Mere today.  Head over to her blog Merely Day by Day for more poetry treats. Thank you, Cathy for a great poetry day.

PEBBLE

Little Pebble wanted
when he grew up to be
a Radio City Music Hall Rock-ette.

In my shoe
Little Pebble took a ride
The blister I got hurt my stride.

   
Oh, gosh!  These are awful.  Real groaners.  some days you just have to let yourself write bad stuff to get to the good stuff. I'm hoping good poems will come.   Can you write a poem about the wind today?  We are having really windy weather. 

STONES II

Rock faces
a playground
for mountain goats.

Stones at rest
from a roll in the creek
a hidey home for salamander.

Rocks smoothed
by water
skip across our favorite lake.

Some rocks--geodes
hold a surprise
inside hidden starlight.

Stones hurl,
sticks throw,
words won't hurt.

    Your poetry prompt for today is to write a poem about something you saw on the ground today.  Have fun writing.

    I'm celebrating and marking a milestone.  Today is my 1,400th post.  I'm going off to write a stone triplet for mile-stone.

STONES

     For some reason, writing the stone triplets has been difficult.  What do you do when you are having problems with your poems?


Island earth, an atoll
with many stones
rocks tumble, rocks roll.

Stones low
deep in the canyon
water rushing, ebb and flow.

Rocks high
in our mountains
challenge climbers, eagles fly.

Rocks glow sometimes bright
in hidden caves
stalactites, and stalagmites.

Rocks blow
erupt in the sky
when volcanoes go.


   And now for one more FIRE triplet.  I heard a phrase and told myself I hadn't written a fire poem using the phrase--and then all the sudden in three days, I heard the phrase three more times.  Once on the radio, once in the book I was reading and then on TV.  There is a psychological term for suddenly noticing yourself surrounded by something.  Like buying new jeans and then noticing that lots of people have new jeans. Now I'm going to have to do some more research to see if I can find that word.  Oh well, here is the FIRE poem:

Fire fibs
pants on fire
Liar. Liar.

Your poetry challenge for today is to take a chant or nursery rhyme and write it as a triplet.

Large egg
falls from wall
broken Humpty.

Bridge falls down
London aghast
gold and silver for all.

   I hope you have fun with this challenge.  I'm going to.

FIRE II

Fire warms
melts snow and ice
into streams and rushing rivers.

Fire crows
at dawn
Cock-a-Doodle-DOO.

Fire breathes
from the open mouth
of a dragon.

Fire counts
backwards, 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1.
LIFT OFF!

Fire darts
in tropical waters
the firefish swims.

   I'm still having fun playing with fire.  Once I get all of these gathered together, I'll have to figure a logic for ordering them.  Can you write a poem today about the sun?  Have fun.