The Art of Reappearing

 

Meco

Hello, my friends.

Some disappearing act, huh! 

 

I might have been gone an entire year if it weren't for National Poetry Month and a serious hankering for more well filling. 

 

 

Creating daily inspirational posts gave me so much pleasure last April, I decided to give it another go this year—well filling for well being. Even if I don't manage a post every day, there should be enough of them to make a difference in my world. Hopefully in yours, as well.

In lieu of an explanation for my absence, perhaps this excerpt from Naomi Shihab Nye's "The Art of Disappearing" will suffice?

If they say We should get together
say why?

It's not that you don't love them anymore.
You're trying to remember something
too important to forget.
Trees. The monastery bell at twilight.
Tell them you have a new project.
It will never be finished.

Read the poem in its entirety HERE, or watch this two and a half minute clip from Naomi Shihab Nye's conversation with Bill Moyers. She reads "The Art of Disappearing" at the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrUOR5RkFKo

Despite my own "new project" that will never be finished, I have missed you all and am grateful for those who have reached out in various ways to say hello.

Let me also take this opportunity to express heartfelt thanks for two books that were published during my hiatus:

 

 

For Every Little Thing: Poems and Prayers to Celebrate the Day (Eerdmans, 2021) is an engaging collection for ages 4-10 that recently received an Honorable Mention for Children's Books of the Year from World Magazine. Arranged from waking up to falling asleep, this anthology about the day and its delights gathers classic selections, modern prayers, and new poems from multiple cultures and faiths. From Emily Dickinson to Amma and from Kenn Nesbitt to Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro, fifty-one voices encourage children to be present and thankful at all hours. I am thankful to June Cotner and Nancy Tupper Ling for including my poem "Be." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10.10 Poetry Anthology: Celebrating 10 in 10 Different Ways is Bridget Magee's anthologist debut. It includes poems in 10 categories based on "TEN": TENtative, TENderness, TENacity, TEN More Minutes, TENsion, I Wouldn't Touch That With a TEN-Foot Pole, TEN Little Fingers/TEN Little Toes, Take TEN, TENth _____, and I TENd To. I'm smitTEN with this collection and delighted to have my poem, "Stray," included. Word has it Bridget has another anthology in the works if you care to submit two truths and a fib.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, in honor of World Poetry Day, I'm tickled to be included on Twinkl's 2022 list of Top 10+ Children's Poetry Bloggers. Many thanks to Saemi Jung for the lovely write up!

 

 

Looking forward to sharing another National Poetry Month together!

Today's Poetry Friday roundup is being hosted by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm.

DMC: "Object Permanence" by Bridget Magee

OBJECT PERMANENCE

mommy's there
in front of me
then disappears
where she be?

PEEK-A-BOO!
mommy's back
big bright smile
bubbly laugh

© 2020 Bridget Magee. All rights reserved.

TLD reader Tabatha Yeatts has challenged us to write a poem about a game (any kind). Click HERE for more details and to add your poem to the padlet. While some poems will be shared as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, March 27th.

A Sweet Ending to "Playing with Your Food Poems" Week

"Summer" (1573) by Giuseppe Arcimboldo

I've had food on my mind this week thanks to Rebecca Herzog's invitation to write a poem about a food that you feel is most deserving of its own national day. If there's one thing I've learned reading more than 1500 DMC poems over the last 5+ years, it's that food is always a popular subject!

So what did I do? I dubbed this "playing with your food poems" week at Today's Little Ditty and shared daily food-themed poems from this month's "Words at Play" padlet. Kim Norman's "Pecan't" was featured on Monday. (Enjoy National Pecan Day next year on April 14th.). On Tuesday, David McMullin treated us to "Papa Slime". (Sign me up for National Guacamole Day next year on September 16th!) Tabatha Yeatts' "Rosemarried" was featured on Wednesday. (Did you know National Herb Day is celebrated annually on the first Saturday of May?) And on Thursday, we enjoyed Cindy Breedlove's "Talking Turkey." The national day for turkey-feasting? Everybody knows that! (Time to stock up on pumpkin, squash, and stuffing, folks.)

"These are not the gourds you're looking for."

Today I'll be closing out our week of food ditties with three poems that appear in The Best of Today's Little Ditty 2017-1018.

Purchase your paperback or ebook copies HERE, or contact me if you'd like
one signed by me and Miranda (I have a few extra).

The first poem I'd like to share is Bridget Magee's excellent response to the "Personified Feeling Poems" challenge offered by Jeannine Atkins in February 2017.

Lisa Yarost

FRENCH FRIES WITH A SIDE OF OH MY 

Embarrassment squeezes between Julio and me
at the lunch table.
The ketchup packet feels
the pressure,
bursting in such a way
that Julio wears
the flush of my cheeks
for the rest of the day.

          – Bridget Magee, © 2017

Why of course there's a National French Fries Day! Mark July 13th on next year's calendar.


Next we have Rebecca Herzog's sweet response to the May 2017 challenge, in which Melissa Manlove asks us to compare writing (or a book) to something else.

B.B.

SLURPEE

Grab a cup
So excited

Top it off
Mind ignited

Great big sip
Tale united

Big brain freeze
Uninvited

Wince in pain
Muse indicted

Shake it off
All doubt blighted

Push on through
ending sighted

One last swig
Scribe delighted

                    – Rebecca Herzog

As you might have guessed, July 11th is Free Slurpee Day at 7-Eleven! Maybe not an official "national day," but as good a reason as any to celebrate, no?


Finally, when J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen challenged us to write an epitaph poem in February 2018, Robyn Hood Black pulled this clever confection seemingly out of nowhere:

owlpacino

EPITAFFY

Pulled and stretched
in twists and turns -
picky permutation.

A chomp.  A chew.
The End. Of You.
(Sticky situation….)

                    – Robyn Hood Black

Yep. National Taffy Day is May 23rd on the 2020 calendar.


So there you have it. Although I would have liked to share a poem about a food that deserves a national day, apparently all seven of the food poems I've featured this week already have their own special days! Sheesh.

And now I'm hungry. Breakfast, anyone?

aulia.m

Be a good egg and join us, won't you?

zhouxuan12345678

If not a food poem with words at play, any ol' wordplay poem will do. Read Kate O'Neil's spotlight interview for more details, add your poem to the padlet, and stay tuned for next Friday's wrap-up celebration!

Many thanks to everyone who dropped by to help me celebrate the release of The Best of Today's Little Ditty 2017-2018 last week! I appreciated all of your kind congratulatory messages (and so did Miranda). Today I'm both touched and honored that Kimberly Hutmacher is showcasing the book and my poem "Don't Ask a Hopkinsaurus" at Kimberly Hutmacher Writes.

As previously mentioned, "Slurpee" poet Becky Herzog is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup. She's got more food poems and a smorgasbord of other poetry goodies at Sloth Reads.

A Joni Mitchell reprise: "in time I would learn" + more found haiku

Having been under the weather several days last week, I had the opportunity to dive into Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell by David Yaffe (Sarah Crighton Books/FSG, 2017)—376 densely packed pages of astute insights, sprawling connections, and unexpected revelations.

I'm always a bit cautious about reading biographies of artistic role models and being spoon fed secrets that will mar my rose-colored outlook. This one was no exception. On the other hand, I'm not as impressionable as I used to be. With more than a few years under my belt, I understand that our personality flaws are as important as our strengths—that the friction between the two is what makes us who we are. It has the potential to drive us to better ourselves, maybe even lend a hand to others, and, in some cases, make us... I hesitate to say "better," but at least more impactful as artists.

I've written about Joni Mitchell before (HERE). One thing I've always loved about her, aside from her musical genius, is that as a songwriter, she's a true poet. She wields metaphor with the best of them and wears her heart on her sleeve—not because she needs to confess, but because she wants to reveal. It's no wonder that her albums have kept fans hanging on every word. It's because they see themselves in her songs. That's what poets do. They open eyes and minds, they bring people together, they provide comfort and a sense of belonging, and they promote self-discovery.

Reading this biography has prompted a personal "roadtrip" of self-discovery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPACFEAIDgg

Hejira means escape with honor.

It's one of Joni Mitchell's many songs about travel and self-discovery.
(Read the lyrics without playing the video HERE.)

Listening and reminiscing through all of her albums, from Song to a Seagull (1968) to Shine (2007), I've been filling in the gaps, making connections based on recent reading, and sharing as much as possible of her artistic legacy with my daughter who I hope will appreciate her role as an artistic trailblazer and a strong, independent woman as much as I did (and still do).

Not surprisingly, the biography has also prompted a found haiku in response to Linda Mitchell's DMC challenge.

in time, I would learn—
those tender cellophane years
when I was fifteen

found poem by Michelle Heidenrich Barnes from Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell by David Yaffe (Preface: Nothing Lasts for Long)

This little three-liner is like a house of mirrors. Found in the preface, the haiku reflects author David Yaffe's words and viewpoint, but it also reflects Joni, herself, since the cellophane reference is hers:

Years later Joni would tell me that when she made that album [Blue] she was totally without defenses, as vulnerable as "a cellophane wrapper on a packet of cigarettes," as she once put it.

          – David Yaffe, Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Michell

Beyond that, the poem casts an image of my own younger days (and the many lessons I learned in the interim between then and now) and catches a glimmer of my daughter who, at sixteen, is occasionally startled by the crackle of her own tender, cellophane years.


There are a few other haiku on this month's padlet that seem to reflect a similar sentiment, especially after I've picked them out and presented them in sequence. Based on the articles they originated from, the creators of these haiku may not have intended that result, but that's how I am choosing to interpret them. As reader, don't let me stop you from interpreting them otherwise.

in time, I would learn—
those tender cellophane years
when I was fifteen

found poem by Michelle Heidenrich Barnes from Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell by David Yaffe

knowing what to do
when unsettling feelings come
up is the next step

found haiku by Bridget Magee from "The Most Important Skills We Teach in the Early Years Aren't Academic" by Elizabeth Mulvahill

 

rise into wonder
life, reckless and opulent
bestows profound gifts

found haiku by Molly Hogan from "So Reckless and Opulent a Thing", a blog post by Marion Dane Bauer responding to a quote by Susan Glaspell

empowered women
no longer push anyone out
the moment of lift

found haiku by Sandie Vaisnoras
from The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates

Thank you to Bridget, Molly, and Sandie for allowing me to take their haiku out of context and play with them in a new way!

There are many other wonderful haiku finding their way to our padlet, including new ones this week by Dianne Moritz, Linda Baie, Margaret Simon, Angelique Pacheco, Lana Wayne Koehler, Catherine Flynn, Mindy Gars Dolandis, and Mary Lee Hahn.

Fair warning: they are addictive!
I look forward to reading yours. :)

You'll find this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Carol's Corner. She's sharing a sweet poem about the puppy she's been raising paired with photos that will steal your heart.

DMC: "Butterfly Effect" by Bridget Magee

BUTTERFLY EFFECT

You lured me into the dark kitchen
at the back of the gym
with the promise of extra candy.

With perfect gymnast posture
I stood in the doorway
showing off the orange gauzy wings
my mother sewed on my black leotard
to complete my metamorphosis
into a butterfly for the team Halloween party.

Your compliment,
“You are as cute as a bug,” said in a heady voice,
made something deep inside me
                                                                  shift.

I knew something about the situation
was wrong.

But I was 10.

And you were my coach.


Click HERE to read this month's interview with Carrie Clickard. Her DMC challenge is to write a poem about a person, place, or thing that spooked you as a child.

Post your poem on our October 2017 padlet. While some contributions will be featured as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, October 27th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her enchanting new picture book from Holiday House:

DMC: "Return of Your Waistline" by Bridget Magee

It's nice to see that Kenn Nesbitt's visit in October 2016 is still inspiring poems for our mothers. Thanks to Bridget Magee for this one.


RETURN OF YOUR WAISTLINE

You had a baby
and another baby
and another baby
and another baby
and another baby
and another baby
and another baby
and another baby
and another baby
and then ME!

I was the end of the line,
your youngest,
the return of your waistline.

But you were my beginning,
my origin,
my reason for grinning.

50 years later I am indebted,
you've forgiven me
for all I have regretted.

© 2017 Bridget Magee. All rights reserved.


The DMC challenge for National Poetry Month is to contribute to our Ditty Potluck. Follow the guidelines for any one of the last 28 challenges, choosing from the following recipes:

Click HERE for an alphabetical list of all the DMC challenges.

Click HERE for an alphabetical list of all the Spotlight interviews.

Post your poem on our April 2017 padlet and be sure to indicate which challenge you are responding to.  All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration this Friday, April 28th, and one lucky participant, chosen randomly, will select from the following:

Option 1: A set of 8 copies of The Best of Today's Little Ditty: 2014-2015 to use with a classroom or extracurricular group.

Option 2: One copy of The Best of Today's Little Ditty, plus a $20 gift card to purchase a poetry book(s) of your choice.

Option 3: A $25 gift card if you already have all the copies of The Best of TLD you need.

DMC: "French Fries with a Side of Oh My" by Bridget Magee

FRENCH FRIES WITH A SIDE OF OH MY

Embarrassment squeezes
between Julio and me
at the lunch table.
The ketchup packet feels
the pressure,
bursting in such a way
that Julio wears
the flush of my cheeks
for the rest of the day.

© 2017 Bridget Magee. All rights reserved.


Jeannine Atkins has challenged us to write a poem that uses personified feeling. For more details, click HERE.

Post your poem on our February 2017 padlet.  All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, February 24th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her latest novel-in-verse from Atheneum Books/Simon & Schuster:

DMC: "Disssgusssting" by Bridget Magee

DISSSGUSSSTING

​I lie here
among the
dead grassesss,
crunchy leavesss,
withered ssscrub.

I am minding
my own
busssinesss
sssoaking up
the sssun,
basssking in
the heat.

Then I feel
them...

thud, thud, thud

- the legged onesss -

coming clossser...

THUD, THUD, THUD!

I ssslip,
I ssslither,
I ssslink
away.

But ssstill
they
ssscream,
"Snake!"

Disssgusssting.

© 2016 Bridget Magee. All rights reserved.


Laura Shovan has challenged us to write persona poems this month. Click HERE for more details. You don't need to include the artwork that inspired your poem, but you are welcome to as long as I can properly attribute the artist/photographer.

Send your poem to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com, or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration TOMORROW, Friday, May 27th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic new verse novel for middle grade readers:

DMC: "Bell" by Bridget Magee

BELL

Bell is a ringing word,
a brass singing word.
*ding* the aroma of dinner
*ping* a jackpot winner
*dong* time to worship and pray
*gong* time to call it a day
Bell vibrates,
eardrums gyrate.
Bell quivers,
listeners shiver.
Bells are shiny, bells are weathered,
bells are held, bells are tethered.
Can a bell be unrung?
can a song be unsung?

© 2015 Bridget Magee. All rights reserved.


Nikki Grimes has challenged us to try a wordplay exercise this month and create our own free verse poems. Click HERE for all the details.

Send your poem to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com, or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration this Friday, May 29th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of Nikki's brand new picture book:

Limerick Alley: Bridget Magee

For better or worse, American influence has changed the way many holidays are celebrated overseas– Christmas, Easter, Halloween... but not Thanksgiving.  No, Thanksgiving is all ours.

November 27th will be like any other Thursday in Limerick, Ireland. But here on Today's Little Ditty, Limerick Alley is serving up this kind of pub grub:

What's more, we've got an American lass with a fine Irish name to plate up some poetry on the side.  I'm speaking of no other than Bridget Magee, of course.

Bridget has wide-ranging talents, as writer, poet, speaker, teacher, mom– but personally, I think of Bridget as a sister in all things ditty.  With her quirky sense of humor, a pun for every occasion, and our shared tendency toward short verse, who better to make an appearance in Limerick Alley.  You can read more of Bridget's work at her blog wee words for wee ones.

While I never dictate what my guests in Limerick Alley or Haiku Garden should write about, I am pleased that Bridget took it upon herself to write something appropriate for the turkey-gobbling season.  For one thing, it gives me a chance to acknowledge the holiday, since next week I'll be busy wrapping up November's Ditty of the Month Club challenge.

There is someone who is not particularly happy about Bridget's choice of subject matter, however. And that would be this handsome fellow:

"Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner" by Ian McKenzie, Flickr Creative Commons

There once was a turkey named Ty 

Who saw the calendar, "Oh my!  

Almost Thanksgiving?  

I want to keep living!  

Oh how I wish I could fly."

© 2014 Bridget Magee. All rights reserved.

"Turkey Chase" by Lars Hammar, Flickr Creative Commons

Run away, Ty! Run away!

Thank you, Bridget, for this fun little ditty.  And to all of you, whatever is on your table this Thanksgiving (or this Thursday, for my friends abroad), I wish you many blessings of the season, and hope that you know how grateful I am for your support of Today's Little Ditty.  In the words of Der Bingle, I've got plenty to be thankful for.

With mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie crowding our thoughts, don't forget that there's just one week left to submit a monster-inspired haiku for Bob Raczka's DMC challenge.  This week I featured my own haiku as well as monsteriffic little ditties by Penny Parker Klostermann, Susannah Buhrman-Deever, and Diane Mayr.

Be sure to check out the poetry spread at Becky Shillington's Tapestry of Words.  Thanks, Becky, for hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup!

DMC: "Cock-a-doodle-HISS" by Bridget Magee

"I slither and slide
and take immense pride
in being a most helpful snake."
But Snake's forked tongue kiss
and Cock-a-doodle-HISS
did not help Farmer McPeeper wake.

– Bridget Magee, all rights reserved


Lori Degman has challenged us to wake Farmer McPeeper.  If you would like to join in the animal antics, write a stanza in the same style as COCK-A-DOODLE OOPS! (click HERE for details) and send to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right.

All participants will be rounded up for an end-of-month hoedown on August 29th and entered to win a personalized copy of Lori's delightful new picture book: