Limerick

I have a special treat for you today.  The poem isn't mine.  Today's poem is written by my friend Willa Brigham.  Willa is the two time Emmy Award winner as hostess of the children's television program Smart Start Kids.  She is a motivational speaker, performance artist and does workshops in the schools.  She also is an awesome story teller.
Willa was working this week at an elementary school in Durham, NC and had a short break between presentations so she used her time to write this poem.  She has CD's of her stories and songs.  You can find out more about Willa at her web site www.willabrigham.com  |  www.cdbaby.com/willabrigham

There was a well fed man from Raleigh,
Who feasted on oatmeal and barley.
Though long and lean 

with the skin of a bean
His rump was as big as a trolley.





     Limericks are usually humorous poems that start with two rhyming couplets, and then a fifth line that rhymes with the first couplet.  A fun exercise is to find some limericks and remove the last line.  Then try writing your own last line that matches the meter of your first line.

   On this poem,could we try, He traveled every where with his dolly.
                                               Eating made him bigger,to his folly.
                                               His hair was green, by golly.
                                               He had a bird named Polly.

 Today's challenge is to find a limerick and write 2 or 3 alternate last lines.  Have fun.
 I'm over at www.thinkkidthink.com   playing March Poetry Madness with my poetry friends.  My challenge was to write a poem using the word "dismemberment."  It wasn't easy.

Whiptail Lizard

The whiptail lizard is a fast paced lizard

and a very quick lizard is he.

He dashed past the ocotillo.

He raced by the barrel cactus

and ran up a Palo Verde tree.

     I've been playing with nursery rhymes again.  This poem uses several synonyms.
Can you find them?  Synonyms are words that mean the same thing.  So fast paced, dashed, raced, and ran all mean that the lizard moved very quickly.
    You can try writing a poem like this by picking an animal and then trying to load your poem with synonyms.

 The grizzly bear is a big old bear

and a huge old bear is he.

He ate a large fish,

swallowed lots of honey,

and got stung by a gigantic bee.

    Can you find the other words that mean big in this poem? 

   Now it is your turn to try it.  You might want to use a dictionary or a thesaurus.  Have fun. You're welcome to share your poem in the comments at the bottom of this page.  I'd love to see the animal you pick and the synonyms you use.

Monday

I don't like Mondays,

I feel so slow.

I am searching

for my get up and go.

The weekend was great.

I had a good time.

I learned and wrote

a children's rhyme.

     I have a friend who hates mornings.  when I meet with her, we always make the meeting time late in the day. 
     I'm a morning person.  I usually bound out of bed ready to go,but this morning i had trouble getting my giddy up to go.  Maybe I'll need an afternoon nap.  How are you feeling today?  Full of energy?  Or just coasting?  Today can you write a poem about how you feel? Have fun. 

Ocean Wave

You are an ocean wave

tossing and blowing.

You crest in the sunlight,

your white foam showing.

You give lift to surfers,

seals love your break.

You are my sunshine

in the joy that you make.

You carry sea turtles

give growth for the krill.

Your sea weed is waving

and I love you still.

You're the salt on my tongue

and the breeze of a kiss.

You always act young

my favorite dear sis.

      O, I had a great time at the Tucson Festival for the Book today.  I attended two workshops presented by children's poet Janet Wong.  For a poetry exercise, she had us write a tribute poem to a relative (mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, grandparent, babysitter, nanny, care-giver, someone you care about) and compare them to a concrete object.
    So, I decided to write a poem about my sister and she has been painting a beautiful sea scape recently.  I got to go with her to her painting class when I visited recently.  This is the poem I wrote.  This was a quick and fun exercise.  Wouldn't you like to try it?
   I'd love to see your poems.
   And just think the festival continues tomorrow.  Oh, I'm so lucky and this is so much fun.  I hope you are having a great weekend, too.

Books

I like to read

and learn new things

Love the adventures

reading brings.

I like the story

of the blue whale

and the princess

in a fairy tale.

I read nonfiction

and books with facts.

Reading is my way

to relax.

But, my favorite books

as you can see

are the ones 

with poetry.

     I'm off to the Tucson Festival for the Book today, so I thought I write a poem about reading and books.  Can you write your own poem today about reading? What is your favorite kind of story to read?

Breezy Nights

The wind blows fast

then slows,

stirring dust

as it goes.

Tall grass leans over,

gently bows.

The bright full moon

softly glows.

The wind chime sings

ting-a-ling,

ting-a-ling.


     Our March day is definitely being lion-ish.  The dust is really flying!  This poem is about the night, a nocturnal poem.  Can you try writing your own poem about the night?  Perhaps you'd like to try personification in your poem.  That is when you address or treat the night, like a real person.  For example,

Wind, why do you blow
so hard and then let go?
Why do you stir the dust?
Do you feel you must?
Or is it just
you want to sing
and hear the wind chime
ting-a-ling?

     Keep warm and have a great Friday writing your poem.  Please share your poem with me in the comments below.

Honey Bee

The honey bee

sings buzz, buzz

doing what a bee

naturally does--

as he flies
from flower to tree,
collecting pollen
to make honey.



      Perhaps I'm slow this morning, but I've been thinking and can't come up with an answer.  Maybe you can help.  Can you think of any other animal that makes food for us?  There are lots of animals that are eaten, but a bee is the only one I can think of that we don't eat but it gives us food.  I'm going to have to do some more thinking and research on this. (Is this why some folks consider honey a perfect food?)
     So, today can you write your own poem with onomatopoeia in it?  That is a word that sounds like what it is.  Buzz, Buzz are the onomatopoeic words in my poem.  Have a good time writing.