DMC: "Moon Nest" by David L. Harrison

David L. Harrison was our spotlight author in February 2016, when we featured his book Now You See Them, Now You Don't: Poems about Creatures that Hide (Charlesbridge, 2016). It seems fitting that he should write a poem about the nesting moon—something we might otherwise have missed. The poem also fits in beautifully with Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's "Small as a Chickadee" challenge: "Write a poem about something small, an animal or an object you see every day and do not usually give much thought."

No one's brought a poem to the potluck based on David's challenge yet. Any takers? By the way, David also holds monthly challenges at his blog. You should check it out!


MOON NEST

During your serene nightly journey
to sooth the mischief left by your cousin,
you pause to visit my hackberry tree.

I understand that you can’t stay.
Other lives need your attention.
Yet on this night the moon herself
chose to nest in my hackberry tree,
beam me gifts of the moon mother,
bring me peace, awe, delight,
leave me the magical stuff of dreams.

© 2017 David L. Harrison. 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 on 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: "A Life at Sea" by David L. Harrison

A LIFE AT SEA
 
Hear them now,
carrying on like monkeys,
climbing those ropes,
singing their ditties, off key
as gulls squabbling over handouts.
Ah, the life at sea.

Me, I’m sung out,
my bones ache,
can’t walk straight.
Traded ditties long ago
for a ditty bag.
No home behind,
no wife waiting.
Gave up all that
for a life at sea.

All I own is on my back,
or in this bag –
leather punch, needles,
twine, tape –
the rich rewards
of a life at sea.

Wind’s up,
old hull is creaking
like it knows what I know –
all that’s left
is one more day,
and one more day,
and one more day
of a life at sea.

© 2016 David L. Harrison. All rights reserved.


David L. Harrison has challenged us to write poems inspired by the word "ditty" this month. Click HERE for more 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 on Friday, February 26th, and one lucky participant will win a copy of his newest collection for children:

For an additional chance to win, write a poem inspired by "leaves" for David's Word of the Month (W.O.M.) challenge HERE. 

Spotlight on David L. Harrison + DMC Challenge

DAVID L. HARRISON

As a writer I must remain true to myself, to what I stand for, and how I express myself. But I must also understand that my judge and jury may be nine years old. That’s voting age when you cast your ballot by closing the book and reaching for one that’s more interesting.
                          – David L. Harrison

School visit with his "judge and jury" in Paterson, New Jersey

The above is a quotation I took from David Harrison's blog at some point. I'm sorry I don't recall the exact date. It's on a sticky note on my desktop so that I can refer to it again and again. Which I do. Frequently.

With 90 original titles and poems in more than 185 anthologies, plus magazines and professional books for teachers and students (600+ published poems!!!), I think it's fair to say David Harrison knows his audience.

David's award-winning work has been translated into twelve languages, sandblasted into a library sidewalk, painted on a bookmobile, and presented on television, radio, podcast, and video stream. He is poet laureate of Drury University and has even had an elementary school named after him! David also gives keynote talks, college commencement addresses, and has been featured at hundreds of conferences, workshops, literature festivals, and schools across America. (For more information, visit his website.)

Pretty amazing, huh? Yet what I find most endearing about David Harrison is not his lengthy list of achievements, but his warm and welcoming personality. There are few poets that make you feel "at home" like David Harrison does on his blog. With more than 2,300 followers, David makes each one feel like an invited guest if not an honorary family member. It's that same generous spirit at play in his work that has a long-lasting effect on children. Of course his plentiful talent and commendable work ethic may also have something to do with his success.

NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DONT:
POEMS ABOUT CREATURES THAT HIDE
Charlesbridge (February 16, 2016)
ISBN: 978-1580896108
Find at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or via Indiebound.org

Today I am pleased to offer a sneak peek at his latest collection of poetry for children: NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DON'T: POEMS ABOUT CREATURES THAT HIDE (Charlesbridge). It's scheduled for release into the wild on February 16th.

David and illustrator Giles Laroche hit just the right tone in this collection of 19 poems about animals who use camouflage to either hunt or hide from predators. The poems are threatening without being scary, and depict a variety of stealthy tricksters sorted into five groups—sea life, reptiles and amphibians, mammals, insects and spiders, and birds.

True to his kid-friendly style, David sneaks in a smidgen of humor and a healthy dose of wonder, while Giles Laroche's intricate cut-paper illustrations vividly bring these clever creatures to life. As you might expect, there's also a useful reference section at the back of the book with a paragraph for each animal, describing them in further detail.

What's that you say?
You'd like a few more details about the author?

Please help me welcome David L. Harrison 

to the Today's Little Ditty spotlight.

As always, we'll begin our interview with five favorites.

Favorite children’s author:

E.B. White and his dog Minnie
White Literary LLC

I love the works of a lot of authors and poets, but one for sure is the creator of Charlotte’s Web, E. B. White. White knew how to tell a story, write an essay, make a point, create a scene, and write pitch perfect dialog, all in clear, elegant English. He fretted over his work, deliberated about how a thing ought to be said. He believed he owed his readers no less. He believed that all writers owed their readers no less. White once wrote that only two people are present during the process of reading: the author and the reader, and an author who writes down to his audience runs the risk of being passed by his reader on the way up. 

(Partly excerpted from “Q/A,” a 2013 article in Post Road Literary Magazine, published by Boston College.)

Favorite childhood memory:

David L. Harrison's nonfiction
account of cave detectives.
Chronicle Books (for Kindle)
February 2014

When I was twelve, a friend and I climbed down a rope into a cave. While exploring and gathering fossils, we discovered a skull protruding slightly from the thick, red clay. My friend pronounced it a human skull and was convinced we’d uncovered a murder.  We argued all the way home about what it was and who should keep it. His father, a hunter, said it was a bear skull that must have been down there a long time. I out-argued and took the skull home to add to the others in my collection. Fifty years later, a paleontologist identified the skull as an extinct species of black bear. I still have the skull although it’s currently on loan to a natural history museum.

Favorite quote:

My favorite quotes really aren’t great words of wisdom by famous people, but they’re the ones I love most. My dad wasn’t a singer or much of a talker. Mom took care of those departments. On driving trips sometimes she and I would sing all the songs we could think of to pass the time. When least expected, my father would suddenly burst out with a string of nonsense words that seemed to be his total repertoire. I’ve never seen the words in print but I’ll sound them out for you.

Sayro jayro
Stripe-backed pennywinkle
Foddle doodle yellow bug
Rinktum bollywog skymbo.

This broke my mother and me up every time. Dad would grin and keep driving.

The other quote comes from my wife’s father, whose family once owned a grocery store which included a lunch counter. One time a little boy ordered a hamburger. When the waiter asked him, “How do you like your hamburger?” He answered, “Boy I like ‘em!” Sandy’s dad must have told that story one hundred times over the years, grinning every time. His wife would tell him that everyone was tired of that old story. He never stopped telling it though. Some things are just too funny to be held back.

Favorite pastime:

Sandy and I like to travel, up to a point. We’re always going to see more movies or watch more TV but never improve. I don’t know if you would call it a pastime, but I’ve been an observer all my life. I think most creative people would say the same thing. Artists fill their sketchbooks with tidbits and body parts they want to remember for their work. Writers fill journals and feed their imagination with scraps of conversations or how a bug rested on a leaf or the smell of rain on a camping trip. The other morning I stopped my car in a street to take pictures of a committee of black buzzards in a field, in case I ever need to describe such a scene. I’m forever posting shots of what I see around the lake behind our house. Can’t help it. Don’t want to.

"Greetings from Goose Lake"                                     Photo: David L. Harrison

But my favorite way to spend time is in the company of a great storyteller. My tastes are eclectic. I love Carl Sagan’s Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors and Stephen Hawking’s Brief History of Time, but no more than I enjoy a good tale by Annie Proulx or Kurt Vonnegut or Barbara Kingsolver or John Grisham or Joan Didion. I love the poetry of Billy Collins, Ted Kooser, T. S. Eliot, and numerous others. There is a lot of poetry out there that I don’t care for but poetry is, after all, a matter of personal taste and sensibility. I love good children’s literature, too, and have many favorites, but if I’m relaxing with a vodka and tonic in one hand, I rarely have a picture book in the other (☺).

Favorite vacation spot:

In 1969 my wife was thumbing through a National Geographic and paused at a picture article about Caneel Bay Resort on St. John Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. “By the time we can afford to go there,” she sighed, “we’ll be too old to enjoy it.” Our household income was less than $20,000. We had two small children, a mortgage, and payments on Sandy’s car. Our savings were slim. “Let’s go now,” gulped the gallant romantic. “Then we can remember the trip for as long as we live.” We took the trip and had the time of our lives. We’ve returned many times, and taken our kids, but that first trip was the best. It might not have been the most prudent decision in 1969, but it was one of the best we ever made.

(click to enlarge)

It took many years and a few careers before arriving at your current status as an illustrious children’s poet and teaching author. Though you had an interest in poetry early on, you didn’t start writing poetry until you were in your 50s. By that time you were already a seasoned writer in other genres, but children's poetry was it. You were hooked. Do you ever wish you had taken a more direct route to get where you are today?

Sure, at times. But when I think of all I learned and the good people I met during my “day jobs,” I’m not as certain. I spent nearly ten years writing for adult audiences before settling down to write for young people. If I’d worked on my game for children’s books earlier instead of magazine stories for grownups, I might have begun writing poetry sooner. I’m not sure though. I read poetry, read about poetry, and thought about writing poetry for twenty-five years before I finally made the leap. Honestly, I’m too grateful for the way my life has turned out to question the route very seriously. I’m notorious for not liking games. Dear ones are not above referring to me, right to my face, as an “old poop.” Jimmy Fallon’s incessant need to play games with his guests drives me wild. But Robert Frost described poetry as a word game, and I’m fine with that. All writing is a word game and I never tire of playing it.


With multiple writing projects going at any given time, you keep yourself incredibly busy! You also maintain a daily blog, correspond heavily via email, prepare for workshops, speaking engagements and presentations, work with literacy groups, and travel extensively. From my own experience, I know how easy it is to let blogging take over my personal writing time… and that’s just one distraction! But I‘m not going to ask you how you manage it all. We’ll just call you a master time-juggler and leave it at that. What I would like to know is how you find your creative mindset in the midst of so much activity. Is your creative muse always “on call” so that you can tap into it at a moment’s notice, or do you have a specific routine or some other way to trigger the creative flow?
 

Read this 1902 classic
online at Open Library

Was it Laura Elizabeth Richards or someone else who referred to her muse as her hurdy-gurdy? However I identify my muse, I can’t think of a time when she wasn’t engaged. I see possibilities all around me. Not everything I try works, of course, but I don’t ever tell my muse. I would never want to hurt her feelings! I’ve always been a juggler of tasks so sometimes I need to pull my thoughts away from one project to refocus on something else. It’s like shifting from one foot to the other when you pull up a pair of pants. Your feet are close together but each has its own center of gravity. The closest I ever come to panic is if I run out of something to work on. I probably push my luck with my editors with my need to ask or tell them something. They must think of me as Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory.

Michelle! Knock! Knock!
Michelle! Knock! Knock!
Michelle! Knock! Knock!

I keep idea folders handy for those occasional moments when I need to jump into something new. So far so good.

"My patience finally paid off!!"

Despite your rigorous work schedule, fun and silliness is such an important part of who you are as a person and a writer. Whether it’s performing with the Byron Biggers Band or conversing with turtles, you seek out time to play. What are some other ways you actively nurture that sense of fun in your writing.

An only child, I was somewhat shy and sometimes felt like an outsider. I was good in academics, sports, art, and music so I had plenty of outlets for my energy, but early on I discovered that I also had a silly side. Sometimes my mother and I would get the giggles and couldn’t quit. We couldn’t look at each other. Anything could set us off. I learned to imitate characters from radio shows and especially loved standing in front of the class giving my rendition of the spooky moderator of Inner Sanctum as well as the creaking vault door. Later I played in a 5-piece German band. We dressed in funny clothes and acted like fools, but we were serious about our music and played to some large audiences. As a writer I frequently find myself putting my humor to work through stories and poetry. A silly Gary Larson cartoon on my desk inspired WHEN COWS COME HOME (Boyds Mills Press, 1994), a picture book about cows doing outlandish things. A serious problem with racoons in our attic turned into A PERFECT HOME FOR A FAMILY (Holiday House, 2013), a humorous picture book.

I tend to seize the moment, which may result in goo foffing with turtles, donning a witch hat to recite a takeoff on Macbeth, or pulling my old trombone from the closet and enlisting my wife to make a slapstick video for Renée LaTulippe over at No Water River.


Nature has always been a huge influence on your work and your latest collection of poetry is no exception. What was the biggest challenge you faced in writing NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DON’T?

Writing nonfiction poems challenges the poet to present factual information in ways that engage the reader while striving for the standards of excellence that define the genre. This collection provides a variety of meters, rhyme schemes, and formats that include a list poem, couplets, stanzas with traditional rhyme patterns, and several variations on familiar approaches. For the copperhead hiding among fall leaves, I use plenty of sibilants in his speech as he addresses the vole he’s eyeing for dinner. But what I liked most about writing this book was getting to use my own background as a naturalist and biologist. When Kirkus gave it a starred review and described the poems as being “graceful and often humorous, giving good introductions to the reasons behind each animal's protective coloration,” I gave myself a fist pump.

Illustrator Giles Laroche

I want to brag on artist Giles Laroche who created the unique and beautiful paintings for this book. Giles is a meticulous researcher and his art adds greatly to the experience of NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DON’T. Visit Giles on his website and see what I mean.





Would you share a favorite selection from NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DON’T?

Gladly. Since I mentioned the snake poem, I’ll go with it. In the book, the poem is laid out across two pages to match the snake’s length.

NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DONT, text © David L Harrison, illustrations © Giles Laroche (click to enlarge)

Dear Mr. Vole:

Find me,
If you can,
My sssskin
Deceivessss,
Helpssss me
Dissssappear
Among thesssse
leavessss.

Find me,
If you can,
On dappled
Sssstonessss,
Lounging by
Thissss pile of
Tiny
Bonessss.

Find me,
If you can,
Atop thissss
Ledge,
A broken
Sssstick,
A branch
Along thissss
Edge.

Find me,
If you can,
For if you
Don’t,
I’ll be here
Tomorrow . . .
You
Won’t.

Ssssincerely,
Mr. Copperhead

I like "Dear Mr. Vole" because it gives me a chance to present the predator as though he’s actually thinking and talking about his plan, whispering to himself about his intention to considerably shorten the life of the clueless vole he’s watching. The poem also ends abruptly, which startles the reader and makes it clear just how much shorter the snake has in mind. I structured this one in the form of a note addressed to the intended victim and signed by the hunter. It’s an unusual format.


Of all the masters of disguise featured in this book, which do you identify with most?

Oh my! I need to consider this carefully! Am I the praying mantis that wishes it were a dinosaur? The fawn hiding in plain sight? The moth masquerading as a bumblebee? I think I identify most with the gray tree frog.

From NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DONT, text © David L. Harrison, illustrations © Giles Laroche

 

Sun settles,
shadows creep,
a piping voice
begins to peep.
Deep within
its tree retreat,
it climbs and clings
with sticky feet.

Bold singer
seldom seen,
it matches forest
gray or green.
It disappears
so hungry bird
cannot find
what it just heard.

A writer sings his song for the world to hear, but he works alone and is rarely spotted.  To be discovered he must come out of hiding, drop his camouflage, and leave his usual haunts, that or be lucky enough to be interviewed by Michelle Heidenrich Barnes!  Yep, I’ll go with the tree frog.


Can you give us a hint about what's coming up next for you? 

I’m under contract for another book of poetry with Charlesbridge and two with Boyds Mills Press. I co-wrote a book with Tim Rasinski (Professor of Literacy Education, Kent State University) for teachers of grades 4, 5, and 6, which was released by Shell Education last month. Another book for teachers is under way with Mary Jo Fresch (Professor Emeritus, Early and Middle Childhood Education, Ohio State University).

Also in the works: a picture book in collaboration with Cheryl Harness; a picture book co-written with Jane Yolen; a book of poetry co-written with Yolen; a verse story co-written with Sandy Asher; a book for the classroom on teaching writing co-written with Lauren Edmondson (Dean of the School of Education and Child Development, Drury University); a YA novel located in the Amazon rain forest; plus a dozen other projects in various stages.

"I’m six, ready to walk to my first day of
school. Wrote my first poems that year."
– David L. Harrison

If you had all the world’s children in one room, what would you tell them?

Be good to one another, take care of our planet, and read.  Read for fun. Read to find out. Read to share.

 






Finally, what you have chosen as this month’s ditty challenge?

Every month since October 2009, I’ve posted a word on my blog and challenged poets to compose a poem inspired by it. All words are brimming with stories. The word for December was “know.” I wrote and shared a different poem for six consecutive days to model the point. [#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6] One advantage of beginning this way is that we focus on the word and enjoy studying its multiple shades of meaning instead of starting out to write a limerick or haiku or other fixed form.

When we take time to consider a word, we eventually line up with one of its stories. The process leads us naturally to how we want to tell the story. I never suggest whether the telling should be in verse or free verse. I’m always entertained by how many poems come spinning out of the same word, and they arrive in all sorts of packaging.

So here’s my ditty of the month challenge. 
Ready? The word is . . . Ditty. 

What does ditty mean to you? I don’t know how it will speak to me. Yet. But the search will be worth it and I’m eager to learn what it will eventually mean to you.

Michelle, thank you for inviting me to be your guest. Your questions made me think and I enjoyed the process of responding to them. To everyone who will drop by to read this and/or share a ditty-inspired poem, thank you in advance.   

Most sincerely, David.


Oh David, I'm touched. 
What a gift to me for Valentine's month— "ditty" inspired ditties!

TO ALL MY DMC FRIENDS: 
I totally get that people have different personal responses to the word "ditty," not all of which are as glowing as my own impression of the word. Despite my mention of Valentines, I am not looking for TLD fan mail this month. Please be honest in your interpretation of the word.
I'm a big girl. I can take it.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
Throughout the month, send your poems inspired by the word "ditty" to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right.

For children under 13 who would like to participate, please read my COPPA compliance statement located below the contact form.

Some poems may be published on the blog as daily ditties, but all of them will appear in a wrap-up celebration on February 26th, 2016.
 
BLOGGER FRIENDS:
Thank you for publishing your poems on your own blogs– I love that!  Please also remember to send me a copy of your poem or a direct link to your post. That way I know I have your permission to post your poem on Today's Little Ditty.



Many thanks to David Harrison for sharing himself so generously with us today, and to the good folks at Charlesbridge for donating a copy of NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DON'T to one lucky participant. A random drawing will be held at the end of the month.

But wait, there's more!

You can earn an additional entry to win NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DON'T by participating in the Word of the Month challenge on David's blog. The word for February is LEAVES. Variations of leaf, leaving or leafing are acceptable. Submit your poems HERE for adult poets or HERE for student poets.

While I will attempt to keep tabs on David's challenge, I recommend that you drop me a line via email or my contact form to let me know if you contribute a poem there.



And one more piece of business before I go—

Last month's extravaganza of NOTHING was nothing if not incredible! Thanks once again to everyone who submitted a poem in answer to Douglas Florian's challenge. Random.org has determined that an autographed copy of THE WONDERFUL HABITS OF RABBITS by Douglas Florian, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez is going to...

MARGARET SIMON

 Congratulations, Margaret!

Tricia Stohr-Hunt is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

Poetry Friday Roundup: enter if you dare!

Attached at the brain. The Barnes family pumpkin, courtesy of Miranda

I've been waiting a long time for this day to arrive...

Welcome to the Poetry Friday Parlor of Horrors!

Those who know me, know that I have a bit of a dark side... especially when it comes to limericks.  Cases in point: Bridget, Sinclaire, and last year's Halloween zombie encounter.

Grab a cup of Joe and stay a while!

Okay, so maybe that's a bit more more than just a bit.

Most of the time I successfully keep that dark side, my "inner creature,"  under wraps. But when Halloween comes around, all bets are off.

While I'm sorry to say I do not have a limerick to share with you today, with a little help from a friend, I do have a HalloZEEN-O!


THOUGHTLESS

My dear, I'm rotten to the core.
How repulsive 
could I 
be?
Forgive my brain-
eating 
spree...
though yours tasted 
heaven-
ly.

© 2014 Michelle Heidenrich Barnes. All rights reserved.


By now you've probably heard that J. Patrick Lewis challenged us to write a zeno this month.  This week I featured ditties by Jan Gars, Margaret Simon, Laura Purdie Salas, and Gayle Krause.  But did you know that today's zeno satisfied another challenge as well?

David Harrison is celebrating five (count 'em: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!) years of his Word of the Month ("W.O.M.") poetry challenges.  This month he's looking for 100 (no counting required) poets to share work inspired by the word "spree."  I dare you to leave a ditty on David's blog!  Adult W.O.M. poems may be shared HERE. Young poets may post their W.O.M. poems HERE.

And speaking of leaving a ditty, let's get to the Poetry Friday roundup, shall we?

Oops!  Sorry, there's a catch.

Some time ago, Tabatha Yeatts fed my hungry inner creature with a set of horror themed refrigerator poetry magnets.  I have been dying to use them (ha! dying... get it?) and what better way than a Poetry Friday Five for Friday?

I've chosen 15 words from the magnet set:

Choose one or more of the words above (a form of the word is also okay– for example, "possessed" instead of "possess") and leave your five-word, horror-inspired ditty in the comments, along with your Poetry Friday link and a short description.

Before you curse me for such an onerous task, yes, this is optional.  You may:

1. come up with 5-word ditty on the spot (please don't stress over it),
2. leave your link now and come back to add your 5-word ditty later,
3. choose not to participate in the Five for Friday at all, or
4. participate in the Five for Friday without a link.  

I will get you... er... love you, my pretties, all the same.

Here's mine, to start us off:

1. From Michelle at Today's Little Ditty:

rotting flesh:

stench of madness

2. From Laura at Author Amok:

Nightmare's tentacles
devour my day

It's my second post on a new poetic form called the Golden Shovel, featuring original poems by Linda Baie, Michelle H. Barnes (our hostess!), and my Golden Shovel based on "The Red Wheelbarrow."

3. From Jama at Alphabet Soup:

Devour moaning tentacles:
fresh sushi

At Alphabet Soup, a mini celebration of Claude Monet (poem + his favorite madeleines au citron).

4. From Robyn Hood Black:

ditties
splatter
across the page

I'm in travel mode today (i.e., didn't have act together for PF), but I hope to get out the broom later and visit more posts!

5. From Penny at a penny and her jots:

Shivers!
 

Bloodcurdling beast,
chilling, moaning
nightmare! 

I have Episode 4 of A GREAT Nephew & A GREAT Aunt over at my blog.

6. From Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme: 

Corpse-beast rotting,
nightmare chilling.

I see we both have zenos AND Halloween on the mind! I have a new poem posted at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme. 

 7. From Bridget (who is glad there is not a limerick about Bridget again this year) 
      at wee words for wee ones:

bloodcurdling moan
devour rotting beast

It seems food is never too far from my mind or my poetry. My offering for PF is for those poor souls who must avoid dairy.

8. From Carmela at Teaching Authors: 

Bloodcurdling beasts
possess my dreams.

I'll also work on something for David Harrison's Word of the Month challenge, since he was kind enough to allow me to share his poem, "cicada ghosts" in my PF post. I'm also celebrating the publication of my article "Writing for Boys (and other 'Reluctant Readers')" in the 2015 CHILDREN'S WRITER'S AND ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET with a giveaway of the book. So I hope everyone will stop by to enter our drawing!

9. From Diane at Random Noodling and Kurious Kitty:

Dust to Dust...

And in between
putrefying rot.

At Random Noodling I have a summary of my visit last weekend to Salem, MA.  Kurious Kitty has a poem by Richard Eberhart.

10. From Joy at Poetry for Kids Joy:

Blood-curdling scream
cemetery at midnight

Joy has another zombie zeno!

11. From Crystal at Reading Through Life:

My Poetry Friday post is all about construction. Our bodies feel the rumbles of the equipment as we teach and learn each day so the feeling of change is seeping into our bones. The renovation of our school is kind of taking over my mind.

12. From Tara at A Teaching Life:

 My contribution is inspired by an old bike I saw tossed by the street.

13. From Iphigene at Gathering Books:

We aren't in Halloween mode yet at Gathering Books, but our offering for today's Poetry Friday is "The Moon Stares" by Neal Imperial.

14. From Carol at Beyond Literacy Link:

My five-word piece is embedded in a meme that was an original photo turned into a graphic design via PicMonkey. My original poem was inspired by a photo taken at the beach at night giving a totally different feeling to my summer serenity scenes. I want you to see the full effect of the five-word ditty as it sits on the page so thank you in advance for taking a stroll over to my blog.

15. From Julie at The Drift Record:

Getting Up from the Sofa on Halloween to Pass Out Candy to Trick-or-Treaters

Muscles groaaannning,
Old bones mooooaannning.

 My Poetry Friday offering is Alastair Reid on kids and counting rhymes.

16. From Catherine at Reading to the Core:

Frankenstein revives
rotting corpse.
Nightmare!

I've been reading Frankenstein, so I'm sharing "Mutability" by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

17. From Carol at Carol's Corner:

My Poetry Friday entry is a review of FRIDA, a biography of artist Frida Kahlo, told through poetry.

18. From Margaret at Reflections on the Teche:

Bloodcurdling splatter
Nightmare's the matter.

My students are loving the zeno form and are choosing it freely. Today I have poems about starling murmurations with two zeno poem movies.

19. From Laura Purdie Salas:

A Cannibal's Menu

One corpse, chilled (just-killed)

I'm in with a poetryaction poem on my site today, inspired by a character in The Tree House That Jack Built, by Bonnie Verburg.

20. From Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference:

Escape from the Zombie Aquarium:
 

Rotting tentacles
can't hold me

Hooray! Tabatha has another zeno: "Ode to Lucy's Ears."

21. From Irene at Live Your Poem...:

I've got a beautiful kind of darkness in Lilian Moore's poem "Letter to a Friend."

22. From Mary Lee at A Year of Reading:

...in which I'm thrilled to receive some validation for my bad housekeeping.

Octopus Bike Ride

Halfway uphill:
tentacles moan.

23. From Karen Edmisten:

Moan.
Chilling nightmare:
No coffee. 

I'm in with Louis Jenkins this week.

24. From Katie at The Logonauts:

Survivable nightmare?
Impromptu, chilling poem

 I am celebrating the poetry of Paul Fleischman over at The Logonauts.

25. From Violet Nesdoly:

My poem today is "October Fashion," wherein:

Autumn's style
survives the chill

26. From Becky at Tapestry of Words:

Forbidden words
Bleed life’s stories

On my blog today, I am sharing a fall poem by Arthur Guiterman and a poem I wrote after a trip to the mountains last weekend.

27. From Sylvia at Poetry for Children:

I'm off-topic with a look at memoirs in poetry.

28. From Doraine at Dori Reads:

I'm a bit off topic, too, with a Georgia poetry project on watersheds.

29. From Renée at No Water River:

What Mama Zombie Says When Zombino Misbehaves

Beast!
Go to your tomb.

Today I have another installment in the NCTE Poets series with Lee Bennett Hopkins, this one featuring the work of Arnold Adoff.

30. From slayground at Bildungsroman:

Simply put:

I was born to survive.

I posted "Good Hours" by Robert Frost at my blog.

31. From Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town:

Day off school: survived nightmare!

We have a day off school today, to celebrate Dessalines Day.  

32. From Amy at The Poem Farm:

Forbidden words.

Forbidden poems.

Chilling.

Over at The Poem Farm, I share a wee kitten poem and the words of a wise young poet, Emily.

33. From Donna at Mainely Write:

I decided to give emaze a try combining my poems and photos of fall in "The Fall of the Leaves of Fall". I was inspired to give it a go by Margaret Simon's work with her students' zenos displayed in emaze.

34. From Buffy Silverman:

No post for me this week, but I'll still ditty:

beast moans,
corpse splatters--
nightmare?

35. From Heidi at my juicy little universe:

beast's tentacles--
devour them deep-fried

I'm here with the second in my Science Series--a classic from Robert Frost.

36. From Ramona at Pleasures from the Page:

Scrambling to meet the midnight deadline - five word ditty is title for blog post: Students Succumb to Poetry's Spell.

37. From Robyn Campbell:

Bloodcurdling beast
hayride gone bad

38. From Charles Waters:

Satanic beasts
possess
forbidden tomb.

The parlor doors are now closed.   
...unless you have come back to leave a 5-word ditty.  Creature LOVES ditties.

Thank you, my beloveds, for your links and the 

delicious morsels of ditty horror!