DMC: "Epitaph for a Librarian" by Ellen Leventhal

EPITAPH FOR A LIBRARIAN

Liz the librarian checked out books
until the day she fell.
She banged her head; did not wake up.
Then she checked out, as well.

© 2018 Ellen Leventhal. All rights reserved.


Click HERE to read this month's interview with J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen. They have challenged us to write an epitaph poem—a funny or clever verse that might appear on your chosen subject's tombstone.

Post your poem on our February 2018 padlet. While some contributions will be featured as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, February 23rd, and one lucky participant will win a copy of their morbidly humorous collection from Charlesbridge:

DMC: "After the Water" by Ellen Leventhal

Today we're marking a one-year anniversary. On May 25, 2015, the first of two devastating storms hit Texas, with floods that turned Ellen Leventhal's world upside down. The second flood hit just last month, on April 18th. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ellen, her family, and her entire community.


AFTER THE WATER

My fur feels sticky
like when Jack dropped me
in his bath.
Everyone laughed then.
The bubbles tickled and warmed me.
But now I shiver and shake.
No Jack, no laughter.
Nana lifts me high, high, onto a shelf.
The noises over, under, and around me
are loud and scary.
Except for Nana’s sigh.
It’s soft and sad.
I look around from my high perch.
and wrinkle my nose.
No sweet soapy smell.
Something different.
The room fills with water
brown and cold.
Big hands covered in plastic
scoop me up.
Nana looks at the man
and shakes her head.
Sorrow spills from her eyes,
dotting the white mask covering her face.
With a whoosh, I am thrown outside.
I fly through the air,
touch down on a pile of memories,
and become one myself.

© 2016 Ellen Leventhal. 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 this Friday, May 27th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic new verse novel for middle grade readers:

DMC: "Red Keds and Fireflies" by Ellen Leventhal

RED KEDS AND FIREFLIES

First one to see the streetlights come on!
Knock on wood,
Our luck will be good!
I bounce about in my new red Keds,
the ones that make me strong.

The sun fades to darkness.
And then we see.
Flittering, glittering,
Twirling and flipping.

“I caught some!” he says.
“I put them in a jar.”

A knot in my gut,
and a tear stained face.
But, still
I find the words.
Loud, strong, formidable.
 “Let them go!”

And he does.
Up, up, up to the sky,
winking and blinking
and looping figure eights
all the way home.

“Goodbye fireflies,” I call.
Standing tall
in my new red Keds,
the ones that make me strong.

© 2015 Ellen Leventhal. All rights reserved.

Lee Bennett Hopkins has challenged us to write a "ME poem" this month, based on one simple moment in your childhood that changed you in some way. 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, September 25th, and one lucky participant will win an autographed copy of Lee's gorgeous new anthology: