DMC: "Another Change" by Linda Baie

ANOTHER CHANGE

Each early morning’s walk
I hear the hum of traffic,
noticing its hum,
what mere weeks ago
was rumble and roar.
Caught at the contradiction
between good and bad,
I send wishes to the travelers
for safety at their destination
as I arrive home
and close my door.

© 2020 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.

TLD reader Margaret Simon has challenged us to write a mindful poem about the present moment. 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, May 29th.

A Grab Bag of Monster Fears

"Monster" by Lars Plougmann

October is a super fun month at Today's Little Ditty. When the spirit of Halloween knocks at the door, we've always done our best to greet her with a generous plate of poetry.

"Yoohoo!" by Ruth Hartnup

In past years we've featured an unfolding story of insomnia, a mummy and zombie pas-de-deux, a fanciful animal tale, a fine example of Halloween trickery, a magical rhyming picture book by Carrie Clickard, a collection of delightfully frightful poems by Calef Brown, a HalloZENO party, and several other hair-raising celebrations involving monsters, beasts, spooky memories and other assorted horrors... sometimes necessitating Post Halloween Stress Disorder (PHSD) therapy.

That's quite a haul for any trick-or-treater! But we're not shutting off the porch light yet. This month we're featuring poems about monster fears—not fear of monsters, but things that a monster might be afraid of. Fun, right? Read more about our current DMC challenge in last week's interview with Rebecca Herzog.

Here are a few of the goodies on the padlet right now.

Flash! Dash!

"Torch Monster" by Michael

I hear the footsteps coming near;
I hope without the thing I fear.
I like the dark, the shadows’ gloom,
then I can scare those in this room.
The door creaks open, someone cries.
Oh no, the flashlight beam defies
my best performance filled with lies.
I slink away when it’s too bright.
Monsters cannot bear the light.

© 2019 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.


a cherita terbalik

schmutz smooths the angles
and softens her warts—she
looks almost human

oh, how she despises cleaning
but she must—shudder!

mirror on the wall

© 2019 Diane Mayr. All rights reserved.

"Pockmarked mirror" by Andrea Kirkby

"Child Imagination" by Cesar Mascarenhas

Monster's Panic Attack

I'm crouched in the closet,
my eyes on the door.
I hear little footsteps
on her bedroom floor.
The tension is rising—
a sliver of light!
The closet door opens
and I scream in fright!

© 2019 Cindy Breedlove. All rights reserved.


Five Fearful Monsters

Five little monsters prowling in the park.
“Yikes!” said the first. “I’m scared of the dark!”
“Yow!” said the second. “Something’s creeping near!”
“Hush!” said the third. “It’s the wind you hear.”
“No!” said the fourth. “There’s a frightful noise!”
“Look!” said the fifth. “Little girls and boys!
Just a bunch of kids running down the street...
dressed for Halloween, shouting “Trick-or-treat!”

© 2019 Dianne Moritz. All rights reserved.

"TricK or TreaT" by Kylie_Jaxxon

Speaking of trick-or-treating, have I got a treat for you next week! You'll just have to wait to find out what it is though. Hope you can stand the suspense.

"He's seen better days...." by melfoody

Leave your poem about something a monster is afraid of HERE.

Catherine Flynn writes about gratefulness at Reading to the Core, where she's hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup.

A DMC Meet and Greet

"Shadow meets Mirror" by Markus Koller

The wise and illustrious ditty master, Dr. Seuss, once wrote, "There is no one alive who is youer than you."  So true! And thanks to Jane Whittingham's DMC challenge for September, I've been having the best time hobnobbing with the "all-about-me" acrostics that have found their way onto the padlet so far. All back-to-school open houses and PTA meet and greets should be this much fun! Wouldn't it be great to see what a classroom of students might come up with?

I've learned about your dreams—

CONTRADICTION 

Cheriee is an aging dreamer
Hoping for a healthy planet
Even when the news is dire, she
Resists despair, revelling in nature, but
Is afraid of spiders,
Entrancing as they may seem to
Everyone else 

                    © Cheriee Weichel, 2019

and aspirations,

NAME GAME

Lost in thoughts
Imagination whirling
Next poem, book, task
Determines the days
Accomplishments appreciated

Sometimes
Undecided, but always
Enthusiastic!

                     © Linda Baie, 2019

your writing strategies—

LIMERICK MAKER

Linda likes to pen poetry

Iambic and non-rhyming schemes

Noting word syllable counts
Drafts and revisions – look out!

Anyone’s fair game for her themes

                    © Linda Mitchell, 2019

FOREVER WRITER

Just a writer and a poet

Always  jotting notes and such.

Never tires of seeking whimsy

In kind words that move and touch.

Ever writing, ever writing, ever writing.

                    © Janie Lazo, 2019

and culinary preferences,

TASTE

Joyce adores 

Olives, roti, miso soup and 

Yearns to taste

Cultural meals that don’t include

Eels

                    © Joyce Ray, 2019

WHO I AM

Cindy eats handfuls of cherry tomatoes.

In her garden she digs up potatoes.

Never resists a good mystery book.

Doesn't ever desire to cook.

Yearns for dark chocolate to be totally calorie free.

                    © Cindy Breedlove, 2019

your inclinations toward travel—

THE TRAVELER

Doing whatever I can to

Accrue more funds to

Venture forward again and again

In a quest to explore

Distant (and not so distant) lands.

                    © David McMullin, 2019

NOW

Kathleen is

A lady who likes to

Travel to different countries 

Having already been to all 50 states.

Loves reading and writing poetry,

Especially haiku,

Even if she doesn’t quite get all the 

Nuances.

                    © Kathleen Mazurowski, 2019

and the ways you find your bliss at home,

CORY'S WAY

Can perch for hours in her backyard

Oasis―observing, listening, communing―picture taking;

Reveling in the buzziness of bees and antics of squirrels, all

Yielding as much joy as flowers of sun and glories of morning.

Can perch for hours in her backyard

Oasis, oblivious of time―totally immersed.

Re-energized. Inspired. Amused . . . by

Robins sparring for equal time at the bath. 

And bunny rabbits nibbling greens they should not.

Daily wonders, weaving joy into poems-pics-books

One-of-a-kind      spun the Cory-can way.

                    © Cory Corrado, 2019

and I can't wait to be introduced to many more of your all-about-me acrostics over the coming days! Post 'em HERE.

Laura Purdie Salas is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Writing the World for Kids. Congratulations are in order for the release of her latest nonfiction rhyming picture book—Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle! Be sure to enter her giveaway for a signed, personalized copy.

DMC: "When You Begin" by Linda Baie

WHEN YOU BEGIN (A Skinny Poem)

You will discover pals.
Ignore
seeing
mean-spirited
glares.
Ignore
hearing
put-down
scorn.
Ignore.
Pals will discover you.

© 2019 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.


Click HERE to read this month's interview with Karen Boss, Editor at Charlesbridge. Her challenge this month is to write a poem in second person, speaking directly to a kid or kids about something that you think is important for them to know.

Post your poem on our June 2019 padlet. While some contributions will be featured as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, June 28th. One lucky participant will win a copy of I Am Someone Else: Poems About Pretending, collected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Chris Hsu, available online for preorder, and coming to a bookstore near you on July 2, 2019.

DMC: "Instructions for a Photograph" by Linda Baie

INSTRUCTIONS FOR A PHOTOGRAPH

Enjoy your place on the piano top.
Offer memories when someone plays
a favorite song of whom you show
in loving remembrance long ago.

Enjoy your home of walnut frame
dusted and lifted to memorize
a sparkle of eyes of whom you show,
that smile a mystery of long ago.

If by chance, you find yourself
in forgotten attic memories,
you will be found as children grow
and loved again for whom you show.

© 2019 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.


Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:

DMC: "The Past Saves the Past" by Linda Baie

THE PAST SAVES THE PAST

This dinosaur dad, he really was bad
at certain things others achieved.
Feeling quite daunted
from an action he wanted;
riding bicycles left him aggrieved.

His arms were too short, legs overlong,
no scrunching his body made sense.
The kids were frustrated
said “Dad, we’re outdated”
We’re all being labeled “past tense”.

A lightbulb then lit; Dad knows of a fit
for bodies that feel too passé,
velocipedes devised
are what he advised.
They cheered Dad when riding away.

© 2018 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.

Gentleman T-Rex Postcard

Click HERE to read this month's interview with Deborah Bruss and Matt Forrest Esenwine. They've challenged us to write a poem about something you would not expect a dinosaur (or another kind of animal) to do.

Leave your poem on our April 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, April 27th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of their fun new rhyming picture book from POW! Kids:

DMC: "Memoir in ABCs" by Linda Baie

Memoir in ABCs

Away bicycling, careening delight -
everyday freedom gained.
Happily invincible, just-like-that
knowing life means no
ordinary practicalities,
quick rule-making.
Smiles translate unafraid venturing
when X-raying yesterday’s zing.

© 2017 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.


Click HERE to read this month's interview with Carole Boston Weatherford. She has challenged us to write an abecedarian poem.

Generally each line (or word) of an abecedarian poem begins with A and continues in alphabetical order until you reach Z. For this challenge, you may start and end with whichever letters you choose, as long as they are sequential.

Post your poem on our September 2017 padlet. While some contributions will be featured as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration this Friday, September 29th. One lucky participant will win a copy of Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Eric Velasquez (Candlewick Press, 2017).

DMC: "Ode to Wind" by Linda Baie

ODE TO WIND

I feel your power when fireplace ashes stir;
smoke puffed in stings my nose.
Window-tapping of the tree branches
accompanies dog growls and cat yowls.
I shiver-run for the news, taste snow in the wind.
Why not the breeze of yesterday?
Winter conceit.

© 2017 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.


Helen Frost has challenged us to write an ode poem this month, following these instructions: 

Choose an object (a seashell, a hairbrush, a bird nest, a rolling pin). It should not be anything symbolic (such as a doll, a wedding ring, or a flag). Write five lines about the object, using a different sense in each line (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). Then ask the object a question, listen for its answer, and write the question, the answer, or both.

Click HERE to read her sample poem, "Ode to a River."

Post your poem on our March 2017 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, March 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her latest novel-in-poems from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/Macmillan:

DMC: "Sometimes a Happy Ending" by Linda Baie

SOMETIMES A HAPPY ENDING

Joy moved away one cloudy day
and broke my heart in two.
I lay upon the pile of trash
wondering what to do
without the snuggling
and all that hugging,
without that happy you.

Then Joy returned in two large hands
when the trash truck  came along.
No longer left a lonely soul,
you sang a sweet, sweet song
of coming bliss,
a daughter’s kiss.
Joy turned right from wrong.

© 2017 Linda Baie. 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 this Friday, February 24th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her latest novel-in-verse from Atheneum Books/Simon & Schuster:

DMC: "Chrysalis" by Linda Baie

CHRYSALIS

When I turned thirteen,

I wrapped myself in the cocoon

Of my room.

Not even my scientist mother

Could observe the events

Developing inside

That layered armor.

 

Sometimes—

Friends received a small gift

Of a peek inside,

(I’m not sure they understood.)

Yet mostly it was me

Enjoying the secrecy

Of seclusion.

I lay on my bed, 

Wrapped in pink flowers,

Smoothed on lotions and perfume,

Listened to Elvis and Johnny and Ricky.

I spent hours thinking,

Thinking,

Thinking.

 

My wrap was warm,

Reliable,

Safe,

Impenetrable as planned.

I had taken charge!

 

Later, much later,

I threw off the leafy wrap

And flew away 

as the me

I alone wanted to be.

 

© 2016 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.

 

 

Ann Rider has challenged us to write poems about places of refuge and solace this month. Click HERE for more details.

Post your poem on our November 2016 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, November 25th, and one lucky participant will win a copy of BEFORE MORNING by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes, courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers.

 

 

 

DMC: "Those Letters That Curl" by Linda Baie

THOSE LETTERS THAT CURL

My granddaughter speaks of school—

favorite activity:

where she can write her stories,

 

and now use “fancy letters,

the ones with curls at the end.

They make the stories lively.”

 

She’ll write about her days, put

those she loves into the words, 

practicing fancy letters.

 

© 2016 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.

Jane Yolen has challenged us to write a septercet that features reading or writing this month. What is a septercet?  Click HERE for more details.

Post your poem on our September 2016 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, September 30th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fabulous new collection of science poetry:

DMC: "The Frogs" and "The Alligators and Herons" by Linda Baie

THE FROGS

When frogs jump in the pond,
they glide the undulating ripples
to make a meal, or two or three—
might be a dragonfly that’s due,
one creature striding. Tongue snaps, zap.
They haven’t any way to tell
who might become a tasty meal.
When hunting from a rock,
the alligators and herons blue,
quick to grab and gorge.
Beware the needs of pond drinkers.  
 

THE ALLIGATORS AND HERONS

Beware the needs of pond drinkers—
quick to grab and gorge:
the alligators and herons blue,
when hunting from a rock.
Who might become a tasty meal?
(They haven’t any way to tell.)
One creature striding—tongue snaps, zap—
might be a dragonfly that’s due
to make a meal, or two or three.
They glide the undulating ripples
when frogs jump in the pond.

© 2016 Linda Baie. All Rights Reserved.


In celebration of National Poetry Month, Marilyn Singer has challenged us to write poems inspired by the word "echo." 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, April 29th, and one lucky participant will win a copy of her fantastic new collection of reverso poems based on Greek myths:

DMC: "Johnny Loved Miss Jones, His Teacher" by Linda Baie

Johnny Loved Miss Jones, His Teacher

Johnny fell in love first day of school.
Sadly, he soon learned of the rule
that six year olds must grow up first.
He really thought his heart would burst.
She was not meant to be his date,
and Johnny had to wait and wait.
Through all his schooling, he kept in mind
this first heartbreak, and, now resigned,
he searched and found a new love true.
To all the memories, he said “adieu”.
This time, grown up, he found a match:
she taught first grade, a perfect catch.

© 2015 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.


Marcus Ewert has challenged us to write love poems this month– about relationships that seem unrequited, but which end up being requited after all. 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 TOMORROW, October 30th, and one lucky participant will win an autographed copy of his fabulous new picture book:

DMC: The final munch from Linda Baie

There Was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed . . .

Things from my refrigerator.
Albert Allen’s alligator.

Mr. Tobin’s fresh grown squash.
Edamame succotash.

Bacon, sausage, juicy steak,
Pudding, pies, and birthday cake.

                                                          – Penny Parker Klostermann, all rights reserved

The pants, the overalls and shirts,
then socks and undies, blouses, skirts.

Sheets and towels, the clothespins crunched.
In goes the line; the wash - all munched.

                                               – Linda Baie, all rights reserved

Penny Parker Klostermann has challenged us to write one to four couplets following her example– things we might feed a dragon to avoid being swallowed ourselves.  Click HERE for more details.

Send your couplets to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com, or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right. All contributions will be included in a whopper of a cumulative poem featured at our wrap-up celebration TOMORROW, Friday, August 28th.  One lucky participant will win a personalized copy of Penny's deliciously funny debut picture book:

DMC: "The Tiny Wish" by Linda Baie

The Tiny Wish

It would be nice, yet need advice
to fabricate a treehouse.
My mother says I am not fit
‘cause I’m a tiny house mouse.

The leafy green would be my scene
inside a little tree.
Please why can’t I be living there?
With Mom, I disagree.

I would create a minimum
of fuss in my construction,
only desire a tool or two
plus labor for production.

I found a perfect cheese box
that smells of camembert,
to formulate this upstairs home -
favored fragrance in the air.

I’m looking for a willow tree 
Constructing there is best.
The tree will offer privacy.
I’ll love my little nest.

I will appreciate the help
to lessen Mom’s concern.
Send notes to Hattie Housemouse
via Postman Michael Tern.

© 2015 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.


Corey Rosen Schwartz has challenged us to write a stanza or two about building a treehouse, using unpredictable rhymes of more than one syllable. Click HERE for all the details.

Send your stanzas 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, June 26th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of Corey's delightful new picture book:

DMC: "For This Lady, A Clerihew Debut" by Linda Baie

FOR THIS LADY, A CLERIHEW DEBUT

Listen! Announcing that Lady called Gaga
whose trade clothes fill scenes of an ongoing saga.
Yet who cares what she wears when she sings us a tune?
for that’s when she makes us fall into a swoon.

© 2015 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.


Kwame Alexander has challenged us to write a clerihew this month. What's a clerihew, you ask? Click HERE for details.

Send your funny four-liner 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, April 24th. One lucky participant will win an autographed copy of THE CROSSOVER, which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

DMC: "robin lingers" by Linda Baie

robin lingers
-feathers tremble in the breeze-
soaks in sun’s rays,
holds tight the winter-dried stalk.
flies home, carpentry needed

© 2015 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.


Margarita Engle has challenged us to write a tanka this month. She suggests we think of it as a five-line travel diary about a subject of our choice. Click HERE for more details.

Send your tanka 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 March 27th. One lucky participant will win an autographed copy of Margarita's delightful new picture book:

DMC: "What Does a Child Know?" by Linda Baie

WHAT DOES A CHILD KNOW?
 
What does a child know?
     At school, you line up in a row.
     A ball’s to bounce and catch and throw,
     and most things happened long ago.

What does a child know?
     Of whispers saying ‘grow, grow’,
     but yearns to learn the facts that show
     why minutes travel awful slow.

© 2015 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.


Joyce Sidman has challenged us to write a "Deeper Wisdom" poem this month. What's a Deeper Wisdom poem, you ask? Click HERE for details.

Send your wise words 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, and one lucky participant will receive an autographed copy of Joyce's gorgeous new collection of children's poetry:

 

DMC: "Illusion" by Linda Baie

Illusion

Exaggerated alibis
cannot excuse
being
late.
Don’t imagine
I can
wait–
no debate-fired.
bitter
fate.

© 2014 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.

J. Patrick Lewis has challenged us to write a zeno this month. What's a zeno, you ask? Click HERE for details.

To join in the fun, send yours to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com, or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right. All zenos will be included in the wrap-up celebration on October 31st, and one lucky participant will win a copy of Pat's gorgeous, new, "best of" collection:

DMC: "Oak Flyer Found In Nearby Woods" by Linda Baie

Oak Flyer Found In Nearby Woods

The summer has flown with your babies.
You’re wondering where you will go.
If you aren’t flying south for the winter,
then visit my open house show.

Come make your home in my branches.
You’ll find splendid places for nests.
I’ve crooks in the limbs for construction.
Please consider moving in as my guests.

I don’t drop my leaves in the autumn;
you’ll keep warm through wintertime chills.
I’m the best boarding house in the forest.
Opening arms to the chirps, cheeps and trills.
 
© 2014 Linda Baie. All rights reserved.


Irene Latham has challenged us to write a poem of address this month (click HERE for details). We'd love for you to join in! Send your poem to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right.

Submissions will be included in an end-of-month wrap-up on September 26th and all participants will be entered to win a copy of Irene's beautiful new children's poetry collection: