THE EARTH CRACKED OPEN: A Lament

I opened my mouth
and tasted the sky.
I opened my heart
and heard birds cry.

Their conversations
were noisy and deep.
In many tongues,
I heard them weep.

The earth is changing.
It's no longer the best.
We birds can't find
a good place to nest.

Temperature is rising.
Can't take the heat.
Like canaries in coal mines
birds die in the street.

Bees leave the hive.
They're in another zone.
Ask how we can do this
to the place we call home.

     A lament is a poem expressing grief or sorrow.  It is a poem of mourning.  I wrote this poem on Earth Day last week.  I'm very concerned about what we are doing to care for our planet, even though I live on a small island in the Pacific Ocean.  I garden and recycle.  What are some things you do to care for our land and oceans?  Can you write a love poem today to the earth?  Have fun brainstorming and then writing your poem.

Me ka mahalo nui.   
With deep gratitude. 

 What can you do to show your 
gratitude to the earth?

HAPPY LEI DAY

Today we went out
to the plumeria tree
to pick some flowers
for mommy and me.

We threaded them all
in a fragrant chain.
We did it once
then again and again.

White and pink,
and rainbow too.
Again and again
until we were through.

We strung the flowers
into a round lei,
to celebrate for
this Lei Day.

 What do you do to celebrate May Day?  Do you give flowers to your friends?  Do you make paper flowers?  Today's challenge is to write a poem about your favorite flower.  I hope you have a happy Lei Day (our 90th) and that you have fun writing poetry.

He lei poina ‘ole ke keiki.
A lei never forgotten is the beloved child. (a Hawaiian proverb)

  Have you ever thought about how dull life would be without flowers?  What would the bees do?  We'd have no honey.  I'm so glad we have flowers and showers to help them grow. 

BEACH WALK

Salt air,
     crashing ocean waves,
          and sunshine

wash over me.

I  b r e a t h e
     deeply

my pulse
     slows

my lungs
     say Mahalo
     thank you 

for this first 
     taste
          of spring.


   Do you have things you do that make you instantly relax?  A walk along the beach does it for me, especially if I can feel the cool wet sand between my toes.  Your poetry challenge for today is to write a poem about something (or things) that make you feel either relaxed or excited.  Have fun playing with your words.

   Today is Poetry Friday and JoAnn Early Macken is hosting the round up of poetry at Teaching Authors.  You can find more poetry posts on her blog here.

LITTLE CAT

The birds sing.
Little cat creeps.
The birds sing.
Little cat leaps.

Birds have all
flown away.
Little cat
is here to stay.

He sinks on haunches,
flicks his tail at the tip.
He washes his face
and licks his lip.

   I like that verb creep I used in the second line.  When was the last time you crept?  Why were you going slow?  Why were you trying to be quiet?  Did you want NOT to be noticed?  Were you trying to surprise someone?  Since I think creep is such a great verb, how about using it in a poem today?  Have fun writing creepy poems today.

   Today is Poem in Your Pocket Day.  Are you carrying a poem with you to share with friends today?  What poem have you chosen?  What poems did your friends share with you?  I hope you have a happy poetry day.

KUMQUATS

This art I did in my botanical illustration class.

Kumquats, kumquats,
tart and sweet.
Kumquats, kumquats,
I like to eat.

I eat them up
in two bites.
Kumquats are
my delight.

Eat the skin,
that's what we do.
Won't you try them,
they're good for you.

   Have you ever eaten a kumquat?  The peel tastes sweet and the pulp is tart.  Pop the fruit in your mouth and you get both flavors at once when you bite into them. YUM!
   Plus, kumquat is a great word to know if you play Scrabble.  If you'd like to know more about kumquats, check out this Wikipedia page here. St. Joseph, Florida is known as the kumquat capital of the world.

   What is your favorite fruit?  Can you try writing a poem about fruit today? 
Have fun writing.

Like a Turtle

Today I'm moving very slow
like a turtle as I go,
with each step I move my cane,
trying to ignore the pain.

   Have you ever broken a bone and had to use crutches, a cane or a sling?  It can slow you down.  What tasks did you find that took more time?  This is our topic for poetry today.  Can you write a poem about being injured?  Last Tuesday evening I heard a woman talk about rescuing animals.  Have you ever tried to nurse a sick animal back to health? Have fun writing your poem.

    Although my turtle is far from perfect, I did have fun playing with my art supplies yesterday.  Have you thought about all the different ways animals move?  Almost every animal moves differently.

   Honu is the Hawaiian word for turtle.

A turtle only makes progress by sticking its neck out.

2017 Progressive Poem

Untitled 2017 Progressive Poem In Progress

Welcome to line 16 of our Progressive Poem for 2017.  Our poem is organized by Irene Latham and 30 poets each add a line for the days of the month.  The only instruction we had was this is supposed to be a poem for children.  Below you'll see the line I added today and a listing of each of the poets and their line contribution day.  Tomorrow Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect gets to add the next line.  Good Luck.  Let's see if you can move this puppy along.

I’m fidget, friction, ragged edges—
I sprout stories that frazzle-dazzle,
stories of castles, of fires that crackle,
with dragonwords that smoke and sizzle.

But edges sometimes need sandpaper,
like swords need stone and clouds need vapour.
So I shimmy out of my spurs and armour
facing the day as my fickle, freckled self.

I thread the crowd, wear freedom in my smile,
and warm to the coals of conversation.
Enticed to the stage by strands of story,
I skip up the stairs in anticipation.

Flip around, face the crowd, and freeze!
Shiver me. Look who’s here. Must I disappear?
By hook or by crook, I deserve a second look!
I cheer. Please, have no fear. Find the book.


Line-leaders day by day:
April 2017
1 Heidi at my juicy little universe
2 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
3 Doraine at Dori Reads
4 Michelle at Today’s Little Ditty
5 Diane at Random Noodling
6 Kat at Kat’s Whiskers
7 Irene at Live Your Poem
8 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
9 Linda at TeacherDance
10 Penny at a penny and her jots
11 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
12 Janet F. at Live Your Poem
13 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
14 Jan at Bookseedstudio
15 Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales
16 Joy at Poetry for Kids Joy
17 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
18 Buffy at Buffy’s Blog
19 Pat at Writer on a Horse
20 BJ at Blue Window
21 Donna at Mainely Write
22 Jone at Jone Ruch MacCulloch
23 Ruth at There is no such thing as a godforsaken town
24 Amy at The Poem Farm
25 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
26 Renee at No Water River
27 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
28 Michelle at Michelle Kogan
29 Charles at Poetry Time
30 Laura Purdie Salas at Writing the World for Kids

     And now, I'm going to ask for your patience with me.  On Sunday, April 2, my husband and I went to a bicycle ride on the bike path at the beach.  A friend had posted pictures of a monk seal on the beach and I had my attention on the beach looking for the spot the lifeguards had roped off.  I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I hit one of the stanchions posted in the middle of the bridge to keep motorized vehicles off the bike path.  I fell off my bike and fractured my pelvic ring.  I spent the rest of that day in urgent care getting xrays.  That was 2 weeks ago and so I've had to learn how to get around without putting too much weight on my right leg.  For the first week, I had an extremely short attention span.  So, I'm almost at the point where I'll pick up the reins and get going again, but the doctor said it would be 6 to 8 weeks before I'm back to normal.
Thanks for continuing to read my blog.  Happy Easter and Happy Spring.