Monday, April 16, 2012

O is for OVER

O is for OVER
Photo by Amy LV

April 13, 2012
Poster by Georgia LV


Our cat was missing last week.  We'd gone on holiday, visiting family in Vermont and Massachusetts, and when we got home, our cat Mini was gone. We found a few bits of his fur, and knowing there are coyotes around these parts, we feared the worst.  In my mind, he was gone.  

Georgia, on the other hand, had the gumption to make signs on Friday, and Mark hung them on trees nearby. Yesterday morning, as I slept, I suddenly felt something on the bed.  It was....Mini!  Mark had found him in the yard, skittish and difficult to catch, but home.  We shared a can of tuna to celebrate, and I feel sure that Mini read Georgia's signs, knew he was loved, and thought, "I'd better get back to them."

Students - This poem is a true story poem.  I happened to pick an easy word for today, and I was happy to have something that would work with this family news.  I was also a bit excited to see that OVER is a guide word in my dictionary.  It's the first guide word of the Dictionary Hike!

You will notice that the first three stanzas of this poem are quatrains, but the rest of the poem is not structured in quatrains, even though the rhyme is. When you get to the fourth through sixth stanzas, things are a little different. The waiting changes to bleakness and then that one line of JOY followed by thinking and quiet rejoicing.  

One line standing alone packs power, and when you decide on line breaks, you determine how others will read your poem.  I thought about that a lot in writing today's poem.

The whole Mini story has special significance this week, because today I am honored to be visiting Greg Pincus over at Gotta Book for his 30 Poets/30 Days series.  The poem I sent to Greg weeks ago was inspired by Mini, and earlier this week I feared it would be a memorial poem.  Not so!  Mini lives on, and if you visit Gotta Book today, you can read about his double life.  (Perhaps this is what Mini was doing last week.)  Thank you so much, Greg, for inviting me to participate in this year's...


In case you are new to The Poem Farm, this month I am walking, letter-by-letter, through the dictionary, (closed-eyed) pointing to a letter each day, and writing from it. You can read poems A-N by checking the sidebar, and you visit Lisa Vihos and read her accompanying daily haiku at, Lisa's Poem of the Week.

You may also be interested to know that I have categorized 200 poems by both topic and technique - see the top tabs.  300 to go.

Many congratulations to Jone and Myra!  You have each won a copy of NASTY BUGS by Lee Bennett Hopkins!  Please send your snail mail address to my e-mail address at amy at amylv dot com.  I will be heading to the post office to send off your books this week!

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7 comments:

  1. I'm so glad Mini is back! Your poem is now up (and celebratory):

    Secret

    And it is, not surprisingly, fantastic.

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  2. Hi Amy. I'm so glad your kitty came home. Here is what I saw this morning:

    Morning Vision

    The deer ran over
    my back lawn, seven of them,
    white tails bobbing.

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  3. "O" is for Over

    You are over me.
    Who knew, when first we tangoed,
    Dancing with the stars

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  4. "O" is for overjoyed that Mini is back. I love cats. I,also, loved the poem on Greg Pincus's site. Mini is a true source of inspiration...that is very clear :-)

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  5. After stopping by GottaBook and then reading this poem, I can't help but wonder what Mini is up to each evening. I am glad Mini was found. I'm sure everyone was relieved.

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  6. Thank you for the good-Mini-wishes! He is the #1 cat! Lisa and Christophe - the deer are so beautiful, the lost love so sad.... a.

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  7. Amy, I am so glad Mini came back. I think I would say O is for "Outstanding" news! I loved your sweet poem, & the story about Georgia who made signs, that obviously helped. Not only do you have amazing talent in your family, but in your pets, too! Now I'll head over to read a calmer post, I think!

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