just a little bit
out of my way this fine view
neighbor's hellebores
Tabatha Yeatts is hosting today's Poetry Friday Roundup at The Opposite of Indifference. Enjoy!
And remember to enter the Book Giveaway of my new picture book Grow, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman and published by Boyds Mills & Kane, at the Teaching Authors blog. Good luck!
daylight lengthening
minute reasons to rejoice
winter's turning point
next door cat follows
squirrel between our houses
window to window
singing overhead
sunlit branches block my view
hope for a robin
I never intend to stop writing every day, but when I fall out of the habit, I sometimes find it easier to slide back into haiku--not because they are short but because using the traditional 5-7-5 form gives me a structure to hang my words on. What works for you?
Sylvia Vardell has today's Poetry Friday Roundup at Poetry for Children. Enjoy!
frilly halos rim
delicate cone-shaped blossoms
fringe of tiny bees
mosquito seeking heat
lands to check out coffee mug
neighbor's AC hums
wren's morning circuit
clothes line, fence post, lilac branch
warble at each stop
can't ignore the crow
even when it's out of sight
ruckus in the tree
monarch leaves an egg
on one life-sustaining leaf
of each milkweed plant
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at The Miss Rumphius Effect. Enjoy!
Yesterday, we walked around a lagoon in the park, and I posted a silly haiku about my photography skills. (Yes, that's my thumb again in the photo above.) What I wanted to say was something about the flashes of red in the not-yet-spring landscape. Alas, it still eludes me. Here's what came out instead:
too much to say
in three short lines
make it a tanka
making words fit
I lose the logic
try another draft
haiku on haiku
no nature in these lines
look out the window
which matters more
the form or the meaning
neither
both
let go
I'm giving away a copy of Write a Poem Step by Step every day in April. The book is based on my school visit presentations and includes a simple plan you can follow to create your own poems. I wrote it for students, teachers, and writers of all ages.
Post a comment here to enter. I'll choose one at random tomorrow and drop a copy of Write a Poem Step by Step in the mail—U.S. addresses only, please. I’ll email you for your mailing address if you win. And if you don't win right away, please try again. I'll have 31 copies to share!
Wisconsin River canoe trip, July 2014
My husband and many other teachers return to their classrooms next week. Every year around this time, I can't help thinking about trying to cram in every last summer activity I can before it's too late. (We finally took our first tandem bike ride of the year!)
This morning's mysterious fog curtain inspired a haiku:
Last vacation day--
swim, bike, soccer, jump rope, skate?
Rain! Write a poem.
Book Giveaway: Write a Poem Step by Step!
Add a comment to this post by midnight on Labor Day (September 1) to enter to win an autographed paperback copy of Write a Poem Step by Step. Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you for mailing and personalizing info. (You can email it to me if you prefer--use the "Write to JoAnn" link on the left.) I'll choose a random winner on Tuesday, September 2, when the students go back to school. Good luck!
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at Live Your Poem... with Irene Latham. Enjoy!
JoAnn
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a break at the lake during yesterday's quick walk
