Thursday, May 29, 2014

May DMC Wrap-Up + Giveaway!

At the beginning of this month, Laura Purdie Salas, our inaugural Spotlight ON author, chose the cinquain as this month's ditty challenge. Besides adhering to the 5-line, 2-4-6-8-2 syllable count, she encouraged us to write about a specific water-related memory.

THANK YOU to everyone who took on this challenge. You guys ROCK... I mean, seriously. What a month it's been– so many outstanding cinquains! So much fun!

Here they are:

Log flume

Straddle the seat

                         Splashing every turn
                      Anticipating the freefall...
                                    Soaked!

Rubber Pod

Blow-up

Killer Whale toy

rolly as the ocean

kids get toppled, dunked, Mom and Dad

whale watch.

Fountain

Splashes shimmer

I wonder if coins

Hide, waiting for a hand to hold

Treasure

HOSTESS OF THE CANAL

Oar-length

Barracuda

Hunkered low in shadows

Considers if she might like me

For lunch.

© 2014 Tamera Will Wissinger

Lake Champlain Summer Storm

                               The rain
                      Crashes and whips.
                Our boat rolls side to side.
       We watch as dad wrestle the waves...
                               saves us.

Drought Life

These times,

our spring, when roots

and ducks cry for darkened

clouds that give showers and puddles,

we pray.

Can't wait

for God, but grab

sprinklers, snaking the hose

to geographic corners of

the lawn.

Washing

the grass and trees

and plants down, down to roots,

They glisten in gratitude, prayers

answered.

Canal

         Drawbridge halts boat.
       Keeper swings fishing pole
   with wooden shoe to collect toll.
                    Fun fare!

                     Pushing
             a boat off the
              canal bank entails a
swift jump or sudden waist-deep plunge.
                     Quick dip!

            © 2014 Sarah Monsma

Peepers,

from vernal pools

with pure ancient voices,

joyously herald the season

with song.

Water

cumulus clouds

forming dark mounds in sky

startled by thunder and lightning

they cry.

Metamorphosis

                          Waiting.
            White snow; gray; black
           Brings unrest to my heart.
Soft rain and breeze, buds turn to leaves --
                       Yea! Spring!

Ducklings

                                                                                                                      paddle webbed feet,
                                                                                                                pitching like fishing floats--
                                                                                                        Mama's quacks reel them to her safe
                                                                                                                                harbor.

Wading

in the small bay,

then suddenly caught up

in a starry silver current -

minnows.

Dear Pop,

Drip drop, drip drop

The faucet will not stop.

The plumber's truck is in the shop.

Please mop.

Icee

Frozen water

Flavored like a cola

Eaten too fast will give you a

Brain freeze

Dewdrops

Prisms glisten

Clinging to wildflowers

Capture morning light, emitting

Rainbows

Ocean

Waves crashing on

Distant shorelines become

Tides of the future, tomorrow's

Daydreams

Lochness

A monster's realm.

Lurking in the shadows

The giant water dragon swims

Beneath

Water

Cool, wet

Pouring, splashing, quenching

From a glass pitcher

H2O

I wish

I were a fish,

Swimming in the ocean

With dolphins and mermaids.

I wish...

great blue

              heron soaring
        and spearing tiny fish
       on the Columbia River
               one glimpse

yellow

crowned night heron

hunches into itself

shy fisherman of the evening

waters

Poodle

On a noodle

Floats around the water.

Don't jump in! Oh, there she goes! We

Poodle

(Bonus points for taking the poodle-noodle challenge!)

Underwater Nests

Fish beds

don't look like mine –

dotting the stream edge, these

circles of small stones nudge in place

hold spawn.

The Politics of Water

As if

endowed, we take

faucet, pipe, disease-free

for granted. All of this, our right.

Not theirs?

And You Thought It Was Just Yucky

                                                                                                                             Drooling--
                      continuous
           stream of protein-laden
                                                                                                            water ensures germ-protected
                         babies.

A Morning Plea

Thirsty

                wilting leaves say
"Drip, drop, pour, splash, soak, spray--
   send me life, sweet blessed wetness
                        my way."

Float. Sink.

The rise and fall

of nations preserved here

though discarded as meaningless

rubbish.

Our creek

coughs up the past:

tricycle, flip phone, cans --

then an arrowhead surfaces.

Progress?

Evening Snow

The field

across the road

once green with grassy hay

now snuggles sound asleep, tucked in

with stars.

Park ride

splishing, splashing

atop large inner tubes

down, down, down, jetty black tunnel

I'm here

Smooth stones . . .

flickicty-flick

skippity-skip-skip-skip

skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip

ker-splash!

Marco.
Polo. Marco.
Polo. Stroke, stoke, stroke, stop.
Reach. Nothing. Marco. Polo. Tag!
Marco.

Water Confinement

                       Droplets
             Trickle down, picks
       Up tempo, cascades through
My water spout screaming, “Please let
                       Me out!”

         © 2014 Charles Waters

Everyone who sent in one or more cinquains this month will automatically be entered to win a personalized copy of WATER CAN BE.... (One entry per participant, not per poem.) You still have until tomorrow, May 31st, to send me your cinquain. For those who may be too bashful or bogged down to send in a cinquain, you may also enter to win Laura's book by leaving a comment below. If you contributed a cinquain and comment below you will earn two entries in total. Comments must be received no later than Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014.

The winner will be determined by Random.org and announced next Friday, June 6th, when we feature our new Spotlight ON interview and ditty challenge.

Good luck!

It's strawberry season over at Random Noodling.

Be sure to sample all the sweet treats Diane has collected in today's Poetry Friday roundup.

DMC: "The Politics of Water" by Mary Lee Hahn

The Politics of Water

As if
endowed, we take
faucet, pipe, disease-free
for granted. All of this, our right.
Not theirs?

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this month's pool of cinquains, inspired by Laura Purdie Salas' challenge! Join us here tomorrow for an end-of-month wrap-up.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

DMC: "Drip Drop" & "Prisms" by Jan Gars

Drip Drop

Dear Pop,
Drip drop, drip drop
The faucet will not stop.
The plumber's truck is in the shop.
Please mop.

***

Prisms

Dewdrops

Prisms glisten

Clinging to wildflowers

Capture morning light, emitting

Rainbows

Laura Purdie Salas has challenged us to come up with a water-themed cinquain this month. (Click HERE for details.) If you would like to be in the running for a copy of Laura's new book, WATER CAN BE..., use the contact form in the sidebar to the right to send me your splashtastic poem!

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

DMC: "Wading" by Monica Gudlewski

Wading
in the small bay,
then suddenly caught up
in a starry silver current -
minnows.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Monday Musing: Memorial Day


Arlington National Cemetery Photo: Andrew Bossi, Wikimedia Commons

With the tears a Land hath shed

Their graves should ever be green.

~ Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Limerick Alley: B. J. Lee

Love is for sale at Limerick Alley...

Not the kind you find in Joe Malone's pub– heavens, no!

This is the kind of love I'm talking about... ready?

Are you sure...?

Me 'n' My Teacups Poodles 'n' Partis, all photos in this post used by permission

BAM! Cute attack!

You can thank B. J. Lee for that.

You see, B. J. loves words.
She has over 60 poems published in anthologies and magazines, and many of you will recall that she was also a semifinalist in the March Madness children's poetry tournament not long ago. B. J.'s poems from that tournament can be found on her website along with links to her blog, Blue Window, and several published works as well.

B. J. also loves toy poodles.
She currently has two – Clementine, a 16 year old sweetie with a heart of gold, and Bijoux, a one year old looney tune and a collector of socks, clean or otherwise. (At least B. J. knows who is responsible for the missing socks at her house!) JoJo, another member of her furry family who recently passed, was a rescue who had a repertoire of circus tricks.

Chou-Chou

And then there was Chou-Chou. Chou-Chou was a teacup poodle that B. J. had for many years. According to B. J., "Chou-Chou, despite her small size, had a truly Machiavellian mind and was always trying to outwit us." Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that she had a piece of carrot lodged up her nose for nine years, but then again, these facts may be entirely unrelated.

Sometimes B. J. even loves toying with words about toy poodles.
Oh happy day! This is one of those special times!

The Teacup Poodle

Our poodle, a Teacup, a wee pup,
likes climbing inside of a teacup.
When drinking our tea
we check first to see
so we don't drink our Teacup right up.

© 2011 B. J. Lee. All rights reserved.

http://www.allthatandjazzpoodleparti.com/index.html

Thank you, B. J., for sharing the love today!

I bow down to your limerick greatness.

I'd like to give a shout-out to Marie who allowed me to use these precious photographs. If you like what you see, have a look at her website, Me 'n' My Teacups Poodles 'n' Partis, where there are oodles more!

Now before I send you on your merry way, I must remind you that Laura Purdie Salas has challenged us to come up with a water-themed cinquain this month, and this is the final week to send me yours! Come to think of it, I don't think anyone's written one yet about a poodle and a pool noodle... I won't even charge you for the idea! ;)

Click here to take a look at the daily ditties I've featured so far this month. And don't forget, one lucky participant will win a copy of Laura's latest book, WATER CAN BE... in a random giveaway! Next Friday will be the end-of-month DMC wrap-up where you will get to see them all– I do hope yours will be among them.

Our Poetry Friday host today is Violet Nesdoly (whose cinquain, by the way, is featured here). Why don't you go see what other delights she has on tap in the Poetry Friday roundup?

DMC: "Ducklings" by Buffy Silverman

Ducklings
paddle webbed feet,
pitching like fishing floats–
Mama's quacks reel them to her safe
harbor.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

DMC: "shovels" by Amanda Boyarshinov

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

DMC: "Metamorphosis" by George Heidenrich

Metamorphosis

Waiting.
White snow; gray; black
Brings unrest to my heart.
Soft rain and breeze, buds turn to leaves –
Yea! Spring!

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Laura Shovan: In Defense of Great Writers

I am so very excited to introduce our first TLD contributor:

LAURA SHOVAN

Laura is poetry editor for Little Patuxent Review and editor of two poetry anthologies. Her chapbook, Mountain, Log, Salt and Stone, won the inaugural Harriss Poetry Prize. Laura was a finalist for the 2012 Rita Dove Poetry Award and was a 2013 Gettysburg Review Conference scholarship recipient. Laura works with young poets as a Maryland State Arts Council Artist-in-Residence. Her blog, Author Amok, covers poetry and arts education.

Those are all good reasons to admire Laura, though I'd like to add a couple more. For one, her writing is fantastic. (Make sure to congratulate her on recently being offered representation by Stephen Barbara of Foundry Literary + Media!) She also comes up with the most amazing ideas for poetry series, like last month's Source Poems or February's Pantone Project. But it's because of Laura's work with students that I asked her to be a regular contributor to my blog. Thankfully, she said yes.

I look forward to learning much from Laura's experience as a Poet in the Schools, and hope that one day I might be able to do something similar in Florida. In the meantime, please join me in welcoming Laura Shovan to Today's Little Ditty!

__________________________________________________

Last week, the poetry teacher in me was infuriated when this circulated around the Internet:

Photo: Jason Gardner

It wasn’t the poem itself that upset me. The poem is great. The poem shows how even the youngest writers are capable of creating powerful images.

What upset me was this caption:

First grader (probably) accidentally writes greatest poem ever.

I have been working as a Maryland State Arts Council poet-in-residence for nearly fifteen years. Every time I walk into an elementary school classroom, I am amazed by both the command of language and the empathy that young writers are capable of in their poetry.

To suggest that this poem was written accidentally is to deny something significant.

Children are great writers. And no wonder! They use language every day in their speaking. They make similes when they are playing outside, and point out a cloud that looks just like a giant tortoise. They have classmates whose first and last names are alliterative. They know songs by heart, which means that even very young children are familiar with rhythm and rhyme.

Instead of assuming that this poem was an accident, let’s take a different approach. Let’s parse the poem and give the poet—who is naturally using the poetic techniques of every day speech—literary terms for what she has created.

We did the soft wind.

The poet is using a metaphor. He or she is also creating suspense in the first line. The reader has to wait to find out what the people in the poem are doing.

We danst slowly. We swrld aroned.

The poet picks up the s from “soft” in line one and carries it into the alliteration of this line. (BTW: The s sound appears in every line of the poem.) Notice the internal “l” sounds in “slowly” and “swirled.”

We danst soft.

Repetition of “soft” from line one and “dance” from line two.

We lisin to the mozik.

So far the poem has been tactile. This image appeals to the reader’s sense of hearing.

We danst to the mozik.

This line ties the senses together—the feeling of dancing combined with the sound of music.

We made personal space.

I guide young writers to leave the reader with a powerful idea in the last line. The poet has done that here. By ending with an image of the two people in the poem, the poet tells us that what’s important here is the closeness between the two dancers.

Okay. I know I could be accused of pulling apart this poor kid’s poem, tying it to a chair the way Billy Collins suggests we should NOT do. But I think it’s important to understand what makes this poem so wonderful.

If this first grader were in one of my workshops, I would keep my comments to her simple. “Great job using alliteration!” and “I like how I didn’t know what the people were doing until the second line,” or “You added a sound image!”

The poet is already using these literary techniques, naturally. As a teacher, I am giving him names for the skills he is already developing. In class, we call these literary terms “fancy poetry words.”

Why is it important to know the fancy poetry words if children naturally use simile, metaphor, and repetition in their writing?

It is exciting, as an emerging writer, when an adult says, “Hey, you’re already good at this! It’s not an accident. You’ve got skills.” Those skills aren’t accidental. They come from listening, speaking, and the very human practice of making metaphor. Kudos to photographer Jason Gardner for noticing this excellent poem. He took the picture during a visit to a New York City elementary school.

I’d also like to recognize the unnamed after-school program leader who encouraged this first grader to write a poem. When we make time for poetry in the classroom, we are creating “personal space” for children to test out their emerging control of language. We are inviting them to dance with words.

__________________________________________________

Thank you, Laura! You are, indeed, a class act, and I eagerly anticipate your next visit to Today's Little Ditty.

And now, dear friends, I invite you to waltz over to Laura's own blog, Author Amok, to see what's on offer, and then fox trot over to Elizabeth Steinglass, Poet where Liz is rounding up the rest of today's Poetry Friday offerings.

But before you go...

We're already midway through May, so don't forget to send me your water-themed cinquain for Laura Purdie Salas' Ditty Challenge this month. Won't you join in the fun? Who knows, you might even win a copy of Laura's book, WATER CAN BE...! Use the contact form in the sidebar to the right to send me your splashtastic poem.