WINK-WINK

A wink
is a blink
of one
eye.

     If you follow my blog, you'll know that I've been playing with my art supplies this last week.  One of the things I discovered is I have a fun time creating. Whether it is words that I've put together in a fun new way for me, or if it is art materials I've never tried before, doing something new is a challenge and I love the way it makes me feel.  I can become so engrossed in my creation that I forget the time and sometimes even forget to eat.
    What do you like to do to create?  Your challenge for today is to write a poem about creating.   I hope you have as much fun as I do.

CREATION

Words
flow
dance
twirl
jumpleapfly
like learning 
bird talk
or the steps
of a Latvian folk dance
like a volcano
erupting
on fire 
it feels wonderful
powerful
like being
a Greek Goddess
one of the muses
from my brain
hopefully
to live
in your heart

     Today's poem is a great stretch for me.  I don't usually write free verse poems for children, but this is what wanted to come from my pen and I'm going to respect that.  I'm doing some experimenting with this poem.  My own form of CREATION.   Does the "jumpleapfly" work all together like an airplane taking off from a runway?  I know this poem is a little hard to read because of the lack of punctuation, but I did that intentionally because I wanted to take advantage of the enjambment and I wanted to slow the reader down to enjoy each word created and perhaps to create their own meaning in the spaces between the words.
     Your challenge today is to create your own poem.  Take any word you like and have fun playing with it.  Do you feel like an acrostic or a haiku?  Perhaps rhymed couplets or the common verse of quatrains.  What ever you try have fun with your own creation.

    The Friday Poetry Roundup is being hosted today by Tabatha Yeatts on her blog The Opposite of Indifference.  Thanks, Tabatha for hosting the party.
Click on the link to find many other great children's poetry posts today.

haiku

refinished table
turpentine and linseed oil
first day back at school

    Today's poem is another one that deals with the sense of smell.  Of all our senses, smell is the most important and is the first to develop, but it is the third most frequently written about right after sight and sound.  Can you guess which sense is the least written about?  It is taste.  Can you guess why this sense gets the least writing space?  
      Your poetry challenge for today is to write your own poem about the smells of Christmas for you.
Do you notice the scent of pine, apple cider, cinnamon, sugar cookies or fudge?  The holiday season is filled with wonderful aromas.  Pick one and shape your own poem.  Have fun writing.  


    

ORANGES

On this chilly morning
Red clouds
Arch the sky
Near citrus trees
Growing globes of fruit
Erupting in the 
Scent of sunshine


     Do you like the smell of oranges?  I do.  I couldn't think of what to write this morning and I was eating an orange.  I was going to write a haiku about oranges, but then I thought an acrostic would let me say more.  It is hard to write a short succinct
haiku that says everything you want it to.  So, here is your poetry challenge for today, can you write your own acrostic about a piece of fruit?  Can you use the letters to tell us something about the fruit, who eats it, or what it is used for or smells like?  Have fun writing your poem.

I'm Busy

The spaces all around me
are filling up too tight.
Before I get my job done
suddenly it's night.

I know it is the season
of having too much to do
I will try to do my best
to do what I can do.

And if I don't make it
to get every task done
I will remember
 we all need some fun.

I promise not to cry or pout
I won't beat myself up
I'll just wish you, Merry Christmas,
and offer you a cup.
(Of hot cocoa.)


    Sorry to be so late today.  I've got some Christmas projects I'm working on and my deadlines are coming too fast.  I guess I should sleep less and work more.
    What are you busy with today?  Can you write your own "I'm Busy" poem? 

Winter Night

Quiet night
stars shine intensely,
crystal air
snowflakes fall
as silence drops around us
filling all our lives.


  Today's poem is a shadorma, a Spanish six line poem.  This is a syllabic form with 3-5-3-3-7-5 syllables in the lines.  You can check to see if I've done this correctly by counting the syllables in each line.

Line 1 = 3 syllables
Line 2 = 5 syllables
Line 3 = 3 syllables
Line 4 = 3 syllables
Line 5 = 7 syllables
Line 6 = 5 syllables

    If you are one of those people who hates rhyme, or just can't do it, try some of the syllabic forms to get yourself started.  Your challenge for today is to try writing your own syllabic poem.

    I saw a sweatshirt this weekend that said, "Have you noticed LISTEN and SILENT are made from the same letters?"

    Have a fun day writing poetry.  Stay warm.

THE BOOK

Reach for a book
each time you are bored
and you will find a
delightful pastime.

     I hope you are indoors sitting next to a warm fire.  It has been cold all day here and so I've been lazy and have been reading a good book.  What are you currently reading?  Can you write a poem today about books, reading, or what you like to do on cold days?