Morning Walk

I paused this morning
on my walk
To stand and listen
to the small birds talk.

Perched high up
in the Paloverde tree
they called to each other
too-whit, too-whee.

Their calling song
made me smile
and helped me walk
an extra mile.


   It is Sunday and it is Vida de Loca day in Tucson.  This is like a big community picnic, where lots of local restaurants have booths to sell ethnic foods.  Early this morning there was a farmers market to sell local produce.  And of course there is music and dancing.  Can you write a picnic poem today?  What fun things happen at your picnics?  Have fun writing.

AT THE BEACH

Here at the beach,
I'm having fun,
playing my trumpet,
watching crabs run.

Waves crashing,
a gentle sea breeze,
monkeys screeching
from tall palm trees.

You're collecting seashells
in a sandy pail
you stop and listen
to my trumpet wail.


     I couldn't think of what to write today, so I opened a book--HOW TO VOID MAKING ART (or Anything Else You Enjoy) written by Julia Cameron with illustrations by her sister Elizabeth Cameron.  Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2005.  The page I randomly opened to had this caption, "Under no circumstances make any art just for fun."  You can guess what the picture looked like from my poem.  What kind of art do you like doing?  Do you ever write poems just for fun?  That is your challenge for today--write a poem just for fun.  Enjoy the journey.

A hawk swoops low
and I want to know
what it is like
to be a hawk.

My heart 
wants to soar high
to see the sky 
with my arms
open wide
flying on a breeze.
To see the world
from the hawk's
point of view.

To lift
and slide.


To  g
        l
         i
          d
           e.

      I started counting the birds I saw on my morning walk. Quail, dove, cactus wren, goldfinch, gila wood pecker, hummingbird, phainopepla .  And as I was busy cataloguing the birds I know, overhead soared a hawk. Oh, it looked so graceful.  I think it was out scouting for breakfast.  And then in a heartbeat, I heard the coyotes in the canyon yipping up a racket.  They must have found something to eat for breakfast too.  It was a great morning! 
    If you could be any bird of your choice, what would you be?  Can you write a poem about the bird?  Have fun writing.

A Friend

To be a friend
is sometimes hard.
You may not know
what to say.

You can share
your toys and dolls
when your friend
comes to play.

But sharing isn't
all it takes.
And it isn't all
play time too.

Being a friend
takes lots of caring
and lots of wondering
what to do.


    Are you a good friend? What are the characteristics you look for in a friend? Can you write a poem about the things you like to do with your friends?  How about a poem titled, What Makes a Friend?  Have fun writing.  Can you share your poem with a friend?

Progressive Poem 2014

Now in its third year, the annual Progressive Poem organized by Irene Latham runs this month.  This is a group poem that travels to a different blog each day, with each writer adding one line. The schedule is below.  Have fun following the development of the poem and see where we go and how the poem grows over Poetry Month.

Progressive Poem Schedule

1 Charles at Poetry Time
2 Joy at Joy Acey
3 Donna at Mainely Write
4 Anastasia at Poet! Poet!
5 Carrie at Story Patch
6 Sheila at Sheila Renfro
7 Pat at Writer on a Horse
8 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
9 Diane at Random Noodling
10 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
11 Linda at Write Time
12 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
13 Janet at Live Your Poem
14 Deborah at Show–Not Tell
15 Tamera at The Writer’s Whimsy
16 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
17 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
18 Irene at Live Your Poem
19 Julie at The Drift Record
20 Buffy at Buffy Silverman
21 Renee at No Water River
22 Laura at Author Amok
23 Amy at The Poem Farm
24 Linda at TeacherDance
25 Michelle at Today’s Little Ditty
26 Lisa at Lisa Schroeder Books
27 Kate at Live Your Poem
28 Caroline at Caroline Starr Rose
29 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town
30 Tara at A Teaching Life

A Fairy in the Garden

There is a faerie in the garden
I can here her sweet voice sing
as she dines on tea and honey cakes
and juggles small gold rings.

     Today is the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen and so I wanted to write about faeries today.  If you had a faerie in your garden, what would she do?  Can you write your own faerie poem today?  Have fun writing.

Happy April Fools Day

The bus was late for school today
I wondered when it would come.
And then I was late getting off
my pants were stuck with gum.
I could not get up from my seat
I thought I was stuck there tight.
I guess I'll sit here through the day
then ride on home tonight.



    This has to be a draft. The rhyme is there but the rhythm is very, very rough, so I need to go back and work on this some more. 
    I'm so glad it is April.  Can you write your own April Fools poem today?  What tricks did you play, or were played on you?  Have fun writing.