Day 12 of the 2016 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program of daily ditties to take part in one of my favorite activities of National Poetry Month— Irene Latham's annual Progressive Poem.  It's exciting, spontaneous, fun, and because it's a community writing experience, it takes on a life of its own. From April 1-30, a poem travels from blog to blog, each host adding a new line daily. The results are always richly layered, with a piece of every poet who takes part and the collected anticipation of everyone who has been following its journey. It's a beautiful thing.

When I saw my turn coming down the pike, I thought, this won't be too hard– the first two lines of each stanza are about things in nature the narrator sees, the third line presents an imaginary setting, and the fourth line celebrates the imagination.  I'm a fourth line– easy peasy.  Here are the first ten lines, following that pattern:

A squall of hawk wings stirs the sky
A hummingbird holds and then hies
If I could fly, I’d choose to be
Sailing through a forest of poet-trees

A cast of crabs engraves the sand
Delighting a child’s outstretched hand
If I could breathe under the sea
I’d dive, I’d dip, I’d dance with glee

A clump of crocuses crave the sun
Kites soar while joyful dogs run

But then... leave it to Buffy to present me with a transition. Actually, to be fair, I agree with her decision. I felt it was time for a change. And she's presented the transition masterfully since the change is very subtle. Here's Buffy's line:

I sing to spring, to budding green

By using "I" instead of "if," Buffy places the narrator in the here and now, yet she doesn't abandon the imagination altogether. The "budding green" is something we can see in nature, yes, but the magic seems to happen spontaneously. It's not as obvious as spying a bird or a crab, or even a clump of crocuses.

My job is to complete Buffy's transition. I want to give the narrator an awareness of the difference between reality and imagination while carrying over that same sense of wonder and celebration. So here's what we've got so far with my line added at the end:

A squall of hawk wings stirs the sky.
A hummingbird holds and then hies.
If I could fly, I’d choose to be
Sailing through a forest of poet-trees.

A cast of crabs engraves the sand
Delighting a child’s outstretched hand.
If I could breathe under the sea,
I’d dive, I’d dip, I’d dance with glee.

A clump of crocuses crave the sun.
Kites soar while joyful dogs run.
I sing to spring, to budding green,
to all of life— seen and unseen.

Who knows where Linda Baie is going to take this poem next, but I do know she's up to the challenge! It's all yours, Linda.

Follow along with the 2016 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem:

1 Laura at Writing the World for Kids

2 Joy at Joy Acey

3 Doraine at Dori Reads

4 Diane at Random Noodling

5 Penny at A Penny and Her Jots

6 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink

7 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass

8 Janet F. at Live Your Poem

9 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche

10 Pat at Writer on a Horse

11 Buffy at Buffy’s Blog

12 Michelle at Today’s Little Ditty

13 Linda at TeacherDance

14 Jone at Deo Writer

15 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme

16 Violet at Violet Nesdoly

17 Kim at Flukeprints

18 Irene at Live Your Poem

19 Charles at Poetry Time

20 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town

21 Jan at Bookseedstudio

22 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge

23 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page

24 Amy at The Poem Farm

25 Mark at Jackett Writes

26 Renee at No Water River

27 Mary Lee at Poetrepository

28 Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe

29 Sheila at Sheila Renfro

30 Donna at Mainely Write

See you here this Friday for the Poetry Friday roundup!