CHICK CHATTER: An Original Mask Poem





Well, I finally figured out how to solve all the problems that I've been having with Blogger over the past few weeks. Yesterday, I changed a blog setting from "old editor" to "updated editor." That was all I needed to do! I wish I had figured it out sooner.

Today I have an animal mask poem. In Chick Chatter, a chick is talking from inside its shell. Poor thing is quite frustrated because it hasn't been able to hatch itself no matter how much pecking it has done.


CHICK CHATTER
I’m pecking, pecking
On this dome.
I’m cramped inside
My little home.
Can’t spread my wings,
Can’t run…or walk.
Can’t see the sun.
Can barely talk!
Oh, I’ve been pecking
Since last night.
This shell is really
Really tight!
I just can’t stand it
Anymore!
Oh where? Oh, where
Is my front door?!

©Elaine Magliaro, all rights reserved



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At Wild Rose Reader, I have an original poem for Easter titled Marshmallow Chicks.



The Poetry Friday Roundup is at Book Aunt this week.

 

CROCHETING: An Original Memoir Poem

 

I spent many of my happiest childhood days at the home of my maternal grandparents. My grandparents owned a duplex on a small side street. Two of my six first cousins lived on the other side of my grandparents’ house. The older of the two cousins was two weeks younger than I—and the other cousin was thirteen months younger. Both were girls. We played together in the summer. We celebrated holidays with each other. We grew up together at my grandparents’ house.

My grandparents kept a big vegetable garden out back. There were a number of fruit trees in their yard—apple, pear, plum. There were lilac bushes and all kinds of flowers growing there in spring and summer—including peonies, sunflowers, tulips, roses, and hydrangea. The yard was an oasis for us kids.

Here is a memoir poem I wrote about my grandmother and my cousins and I spending a beautiful spring day together. What I wrote didn’t happen exactly the way I present it in the poem. Still, there is much truth in it.

CROCHETING

The crowns of the blossoming fruit trees

are pink and white clouds.

We sit under the apple tree,

petals falling around us like spring snow.

Nearby Babci relaxes in the wide Adirondack chair

crocheting an earth-brown afghan

for our summertime picnics.

Her nimble fingers dance

as she hooks and loops

the dark yarn into intricate designs.

From a single strand

she creates a lacy island

where we will float

on a sea of soft green grass

near Dzidzi’s garden,

eating ham sandwiches,

crunching homemade pickles,

savoring our summer afternoons.

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At Wild Rose Reader, I have a review of Gulls Hold Up the Sky, J. Patrick Lewis’s first collection of poetry written for adults. The post includes some poems from Pat’s book.

At GottaBook earlier this week, Gregory Pincus featured my poem Dinosaur Dung as part of his 30 Poets/30Days celebration for National Poetry Month.

Diane has the Poetry Friday Roundup at Random Noodling.

FULL OF...: An Original List Poem

It’s National Poetry Month. I’ll be giving away a children’s poetry book every week of April at Wild Rose Reader. If you leave a comment at one of my Wild Rose Reader poetry posts during the first week of April, I’ll enter your name in a drawing to win a copy of Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems edited by Georgia Heard. If you leave comments at two posts, I'll enter your name twice...and so on.

Book Giveaway Schedule at Wild Rose Reader
- First Week of National Poetry Month: April 1-7 (Winner announced on April 8th)
- Second Week of National Poetry Month: April 8-14 (Winner announced on April 15th)
- Third Week of National Poetry Month: April 15- 21 (Winner announced on April 22nd)
- Fourth Week of National Poetry Month: April 22-28 (Winner announced on April 29)
- Final Days of National Poetry Month: April 29-30 (Winner announced on May 1st)

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Here’s a list poem I wrote a few years ago:

FULL OF…
by Elaine Magliaro

Shoes are full of feet.
Candy’s full of sweet.
A pig is full of slops.
A bunny’s full of hops.
A farm is full of cows,
Chickens, pigs, and plows.
April’s full of showers
That bring us springtime flowers.
Winter’s full of snow
And blizzard winds that blow.
A forest’s full of trees…
Leaves swishing in the breeze.
The sky is full of blue…
And all the oceans, too.
The dawn is full of light
And dark fills up the night.
Bees are full of buzz
And black and yellow fuzz.
A spider’s full of silk.
A cow? Chock full of milk.
Rain is full of drops.
It drips and plips and plops.
Dreams fill up your head
At night when you’re in bed.
“And you?” you ask of me.
WHY…I’m full of poetry.

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At Wild Rose Reader, I have a post with four of my original list poems, three list poems written by a good friend, excerpts from Falling Down the Page--and an invitation to write your own original list poem. I'll post the list poems that people submit to Wild Rose Reader next week.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is at Book Aunt this week.

Read All About It!: Win a Poetry Book

I thought I’d let everyone know that I’ll be giving away children’s poetry books as prizes at Wild Rose Reader and books of light verse at Political Verses to people who leave comments at my posts during National Poetry Month. There will be a weekly drawing of names each Sunday in April and on May 1st. If, for example, you leave a comment at one of my posts dated April 1-4, you will be eligible to win a book in the first drawing--which will be held tomorrow, April 5th. (See the schedule below.)

Drawing Dates for Poetry Book Prizes

- April 5th—for comments left on posts dated April 1-4

- April 12th—for comments left on posts dated April 5-11

- April 19th—for comments left on posts dated April 12-18

- April 26th—for comments left on posts dated April 19-25

- May 1st—for comments left on posts dated April 26-30

The Poetry Book Prizes

Read the following Wild Rose Reader and Political Verses posts to find out the fabulous poetry books you’ll be eligible to win—just for commenting at my posts.

- Where Is the Wild Rose???

- Political Verses: National Poetry Month Prizes

POETRY FRIDAY POTPOURRI #3

FAVORITE POEM PROJECT & POETRY INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATORS

The Sixth Annual Poetry Institute for Educators will be held at Boston University from July 16-20, 2007
Application Deadline: May 14, 2007
Read about the 2007 institute here.

NOTE: I participated in the first poetry institute, which was held in 2001. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I got to meet other teachers and school administrators who shared my passion for poetry. We discussed poetry with award-winning poets like Robert Pinsky, a former US Poet Laureate, Mark Doty, David Ferry, and Rosanna Warren. We educators worked in groups (elementary, middle school, and high school) to develop poetry lessons and favorite poem activities for teachers. I still keep in touch with one of the teachers I met at Boston University that summer. We meet several times a year to share and critique each other’s poetry.

You can find Favorite Poem Poetry Lesson Plans here.

You can read a summary of a poetry research project I conducted in my second grade classroom in 1993 here.

A Favorite Poem: On the last day of the 2001 institute, participants were invited to share favorite poems or lessons developed by their groups during the week. I chose to share Naomi Shihab Nye’s Valentine for Ernest Mann. It expresses my feelings about poetry better than I could ever hope to do.


AT WILD ROSE READER

A Poem a Day #14: Snake Soliloquy (A Mask Poem)
A Poem a Day #15: Blue Whale’s Boast (A Mask Poem)
A Poem a Day #16: Just a Scentimental Guy (A Mask Poem)
A Poem a Day #17: Unicorn (An Acrostic Poem)
A Poem a Day #18: Lucky Mary (A Nursery Rhyme Parody)
A Poem a Day #19: Humpty Dumpty on the Hot Seat (A Nursery Rhyme Parody)
A Poem a Day #20: Grizzly Bear (A Mask Poem)
Sunday Brunch with Janet Wong & Company
Interview with Douglas Florian
I Am Looking for a Poem About...#1

Have a great weekend!

POETRY FRIDAY POTPOURRI #2

PART I

For this Poetry Friday I have a poem that was written by one of my favorite adult poets, Wislawa Szymborska. Szymborska was the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996. The poem I selected to share is entitled The Joy of Writing. I felt it was a most appropriate poem choice for me at this time because I have committed myself to posting an original poem at Wild Rose Reader every day during National Poetry Month.


THE JOY OF WRITING
by Wislawa Szymborska

Why does this written doe bound through these written woods?
For a drink of written water from a spring
whose surface will xerox her soft muzzle?
Why does she lift her head; does she hear something?
Perched on four slim legs borrowed from the truth,
she pricks up her ears beneath my fingertips.
Silence - this word also rustles across the page
and parts the boughs
that have sprouted from the word "woods."

Lying in wait, set to pounce on the blank page,
are letters up to no good,
clutches of clauses so subordinate
they'll never let her get away.

Click here to read the rest of the poem.

Biography of Wislawa Szymborska

Szymborska’s Nobel Lecture: The Poet and the World. (If you like poetry, you will definitely want to read this lecture.)


PART II

Check out the following blogs during the month of April

GottaBook: Gregory K. is posting an original poem every day of April.

Poetry for Children: Sylvia Vardell has a bunch of super poetry posts for National Poetry Month.

A Wrung Sponge: Cloudscome has compiled a wonderful collection of original haiku poetry and gorgeous photographs that express the elemental beauty of nature.

PART III

Here are links to some of the original poems I have for you at Wild Rose Reader

• A Poem a Day #7: A Fairy Tale Poem
• A Poem a Day #8: A Limerick
• A Poem a Day #9: A Cinquain
• A Poem a Day #10: A Nursery Rhyme Parody
• A Poem a Day #11: An Acrostic Poem
• A Poem a Day #12: A Poem of Address
• A Poem a Day #13: Haiku
• Here’s the link to all the original poems I have posted at Wild Rose Reader.
  

PART IV

My Space: If you’d like to take a peek at the library/office where I keep all my children’s books and write my blogs and poems, check out my post Where I Work.

POETRY FRIDAY POTPOURRI

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Last Sunday, I launched my solo blog Wild Rose Reader. I will be posting most of my blog articles there from now on—but I will still be writing for Blue Rose Girls now and again. We’d like to keep up the Poetry Friday tradition at BRG.

At Wild Rose Reader, I will be writing about more than poetry. Check out my inaugural post, Welcome to Wild Rose Reader, in which I write about some of my “high hopes” for my new blog.

FOR NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

Taking the lead from Gregory K. at GottaBook, I will also be posting an original poem every day during the month of April at Wild Rose Reader. Click here to view all of the poems I have posted to date.

Click here for my Wild Rose Reader review of NIBBLE NIBBLE, a charming poetry book for very young children. The book, which is beautifully illustrated by Wendell Minor, contains five of the poems from the 1959 edition of Margaret Wise Brown’s book of the same title.

Click here for my review of an outstanding new anthology of poems for very young children: HERE'S A LITTLE POEM.

Check this out: Poem-A-Day for National Poetry Month at the website of the Academy of American Poets. You can even sign up to have a poem emailed to you every day during the month of April.

Click here for Poetry Books Recommended by Horn Book Editors. The list of books is divided into four categories: Picture Books, Intermediate, Young Adult, and Nonfiction.

Jane Kenyon is one of my favorite poets. For this first Poetry Friday during National Poetry Month, I am giving you a link to Let Evening Come, a Kenyon poem that has a special meaning for me. I read it at the funeral of my beloved father-in-law in 1998.


MY INTERVIEW AT 7-IMP

Eisha and Jules, the lovely contributors to the terrific 7-Imp blog, asked all of us Blue Rose Girls for an interview. Since we decided to have the interviews conducted on an "age before beauty" basis—I got to go first! You can read my interview here.

Thanks, Eisha and Jules, I enjoyed being interviewed by two of the hippest ladies in the kidlitosphere.

POETRY FRIDAY: Gearing Up for National Poetry Month

No poetry book reviews today! No silly little ditties or moldering old poems either! Today I am posting links to websites and webpages with poetry resources for children, teachers, homeschoolers, and anyone else who happens to be a poetry lover like me. Enjoy your reading!

ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS: SCHOLASTIC’S WRITING WITH WRITERS

Poetry Writing with Writers (Main Page)

Poetry Writing with Jack Prelutsky (Grades 1-4)

Writing I Spy Riddles with Jean Marzollo (Grades 2-5)

Poetry Writing with Karla Kuskin (Grades 4-8)


POETRY RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS AND HOMESCHOOLERS

Celebrate Poetry…all year long! Find some great poetry ideas for teachers from award-winning poet Kristine O’Connell George

Favorite Poem Project’s Classroom Lessons and Projects. Find ideas for poetry activities developed by teachers who participated in the Summer Poetry Institutes for Teachers, which were sponsored by Robert Pinsky’s Favorite Poem Project and the Boston University School of Education. (I was a participant in the first institute in 2001.)

Representative Poetry Online from the University of Toronto. This site includes more than 3,000 English poems by 500 poets, a glossary of poetic terms, and a link to the Canadian Poetry website.

Teach Now! National Poetry Month (From Scholastic): Here you will find a wealth of poetry ideas and resources under the following headings: Poems and Classroom Activities, Poetry Writing Workshops and Events, and Poetry Resources.


From the Yale New Haven Teacher Institute: Three Entire Curriculum Units for Teachers

Poems That Work

Poetry for the Elementary Classroom

Reading, Writing, and Reciting


From the Children’s Book Council

Lists of children’s poetry books from 1999 to the present

Free downloadable bookmark with a poem written by J. Patrick Lewis, a popular children’s poet


ONLINE ARTICLES ABOUT CHILDREN’S POETRY

From the Children’s Book Council

Good Poetry for Trying Out Loud by Sylvia M. Vardell, Ph. D. (Sylvia served on the Cybils poetry-nominating panel. Visit her blog Poetry for Children.)

Entice Readers to Poetry by Carol D. Fiore

Classrooms Full of Poetry by Kate W. Ray and Lester L. Laminack


From The Horn Book Website: The following articles appeared in the May/June 2005 Horn Book Magazine Special Issue: Poets & Poetry.

On Originality in Children’s Poetry by J. Patrick Lewis

Purposeful Poetry (Forcing poetry into the lesson plan) by Susan Dove Lempke

I highly recommend ordering this issue of The Horn Book Magazine. It not only includes articles about poetry—it also includes poems written by Douglas Florian, Mary Ann Hoberman, Eloise Greenfield, Nikki Grimes, George Ella Lyon, Marilyn Nelson, David Greenberg, Kristine O’Connell George, Ron Koertge, Paul B. Janeczko, Marilyn Singer, Walter Dean Myers, Alice Schertle, Constance Levy, Betsy Hearne, Karla Kuskin, Jane Yolen, Janet Wong. How’s that for a lineup of great poets?


A SAMPLING OF CHILDREN'S POETS WEBSITES (Listed alphabetically.)

Kristine O’Connell George

Mary Ann Hoberman

J. Patrick Lewis

Joyce Sidman

Janet Wong


ANNOUNCEMENT: I am going to be launching my own blog, Wild Rose Reader, on the first day of April, which also happens to be the first day of National Poetry Month. That is, I hope I will be launching my blog on Sunday! Those of us kidlit bloggers who are old enough to receive mailings from AARP aren’t always the most technically savvy people. I do hope you’ll stop by occasionally and check out Wild Rose Reader—and leave a comment every now and again. I will still be posting at Blue Rose Girls from time to time.

To the Blue Rose Girls: Thanks so much for welcoming me into your circle of friendship and for inviting me to be a regular contributor to your great blog. I send a special note of thanks to Grace Lin, one of the most talented children’s book creators and one of the finest individuals I have ever met. It was she who encouraged me to become a blogger.

HAPPY POETRY MONTH !