Dragonfly

Red dragon fly

quiet, quick and

very shy.

Listen, you'll hear him sigh

fast with photos

as he flits by.

     I've always felt dragonflies were magical creatures.  Right up there with unicorns and dragons.  I've never seen a red dragonfly before, have you?  Today's poetry challenge is to write a poem about an insect.  And since insects are very small,can you make this a small poem?  Have fun.

RAIN in the Rainforest

Rain rushing off the roof at the Tambopata Research Center.

Pitter, pang, clash, twang--

this is the hail song

Mother Nature sang.

Then when she was done

out came

a brilliant sun.

If you look

quite carefully

you may

be able to see

perhaps a treasure 

you will find

in the rainbow

she left behind.

      This poem uses onomatopoeia.  That's when the word sounds like the thing it is--words like bang, ting, meow or quack.  Your challenge for today is to write a poem using onomatopoeia.

     If you really want to have a good time getting lost in the web, try doing a search for "onomatopoeia."  There are about a dozen fun videos and songs on the topic.  Start with Tigger singing his onomatopoeia song for Rabbit from Disney's Winnie the Pooh.  See Batman and Robin "kapow" and "bam" their way to justice.  Hear songs about what the animals all say.  There is a plethora of entertaining and educational material to help you with your poetry.  Have fun.

BATS

Shhhhhhh!

The bats are sleeping

under a log today.

Please be quiet

or they'll fly away.

     Yes, there are bats in Peru, in fact when I had things flying in my room at night, I did wonder if it was bats.  Of course there wasn't light,so I couldn't see.
These bats blended in with the log so well, that I was practically upon the little creatures before I noticed them.  Now there is an idea, can you write a poem today about something you almost didn't notice? Or something that was unexpected for you.  You may need to thing about this one for a bit,or try some brain storming. 

Happy Fourth of July

It has to be a hot day

with watermelon

grilled hot dogs

mosquito buzz

sweet ice tea

roasted corn on the cob

sliced home grown tomatoes

cold potato salad

community band

sparklers, glow worms

and fireworks

rocketing

lighting the sky

blooming in chysanthemums

sparkling like fairy dust

with loud booms

while I hold your hand

to the tune of

the 1812 Overture.

     I hope you have a cool and happy Fourth of July.  Gosh, I've had some fun fourths over the years.  I can remember watching a community baseball game one year and going fishing another, then water skiing.  I remember going to the Hollywood Bowl one year and standing on the Santa Monica pier another.  One year I was sweltering at Disneyland and another in Kenan Stadium listening to Mike Cross. Went there for several years and the Festival on the Eno for several years too.  One year I even watched the fireworks exploding out a window of the airplane I was on flying to England.  Now I just sit in my front yard and watch the fireworks exploding in several locations around town, including A-mountain.  What will you be doing and eating today?  Can you write about your Fourth today?  Stay cool and have fun.

Butterfly

Let me rest a moment

upon this green leaf

before I flit away

Being a butterfly

means enjoying

the jungle

before I fly away.

     This butterfly is another Peru picture.  This is a persona poem written from the view of the butterfly.  can you try writing a persona poem today.  If you are stumped for whose point of view to write from, close your eyes and then open them.  What do you see?  Think small.  Write from the view point of what you see.  For instance, when I open my eyes, the television is in front of me.  But if I think small,I see the off-on button on the television.  How do you think that button feels with people all the time turning it, pushing it? Do you think the button would be boastful about all the people who push his buttons?  Would it laugh and giggle from being tickled?  Would it whine and complain? Have fun writing.

Morning After

In the dark of night

under mosquito netting

in my jungle bed

I hear soft thuds and thumps

of flying things

in my room.

I close my eyes

and sleep.

In the morning

a man comes

to clean my room

tuck up the netting 

and sweep.

In his dust pile

I find the wings

of a green-banded Urania.

So much beauty

should not be

swept aside.

I ask if I may keep 

the butterfly.

    This is not the first time  I have searched the morning sweepings for colorful specimens.  I had a good selection of pink months one summer when I attended a writers retreat at Wild Acres in North Carolina.  Isn't the iridescent blue and the green bands pretty?  What other things can you think of that are blue?  Try writing a blue poem today.  Oh, I'm getting hungry for blueberry pie just thinking of blue.  Have fun.

Tarantula

If you go out

in the jungle at night,

you may see

an incredible sight.

A tarantula

with eight pink toes 

shining bright,

who will be scared

if you scream loudly in fright

and she'll dash away

into the night.

     Isn't this a beautiful spider?  Well, I'm sure this spider thinks she is beautiful.  tarantulas are extremely shy, so I was very lucky to be able to get her picture on our night walk.  Do you know what you call someone who is afraid of spiders?  They have arachnophobia.  Little Miss Muffett had a spider, and then there is the Eensy, Weensy Spider.  Can you write your own spider poem today?  Oh this should be a good one.  Do have fun writing your poem today.