HELLO MY NAME IS - Day 17

Happy National Poetry Month!

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Hello, Poetry Friends! This month I am sharing poems written in the voice of Little Red Riding Hood, and I invite you to join me in writing in the voice of someone else too. You might choose a fairy tale character or a book character or a person from history or anyone else real or imagined. These are your poems, so you make the decisions. Each April day, I will share my poem and a little bit about writing poetry. Mostly, we’ll just be writing in short lines with good words and not worrying about rhyming. Meaning first. Our focus this month will be adopting the perspective of another…for 30 days. I invite you to join me in this project! To do so, simply:

1. Choose a character from fiction or history or somewhere else in the world of space and time, and commit to writing a daily poem in this person's voice for the 30 days of April 2025. You might even choose an animal.

2. Write a new poem for each day of April. Feel free to print and find inspiration from this idea sheet that I will be writing from all month long.

Teachers, if you wish to share any HELLO MY NAME IS... subjects or poems, please email them to me at the contact button above. I would love to read what your students write and learn from how they approach their own projects.

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD'S POEMS SO FAR

April 1 - First Poem

April 2 - My Name

April 3 - Red

April 4 - Frank

April 5 - The Big Bad Wolf Had Been a Stray

April 6 - 8am on a Sunday

April 7 - Her Real Name is Orla Lola Bruin

April 8 - My Neighborhood

April 9 - Mushroom Hunters

April 10 - From Coat to Cloak

April 11 - Speaking of Coats

April 12 - Forgiveness is a Gift

April 13 - Here

April 14 - Running Home

April 15 - Nan's Apple Pie

April 16 - I Ask Nan How to Make Apple Pie

And now for today!

Students - Happy International Haiku Poetry Day! How beautiful and perfect to devote a special day to haiku here, as the Haiku Foundation's website says, "in the heart of the United States celebration of National Poetry Month."

As I often do when preparing to write a different form of poem, this morning I again read some of the poems in the archive of the Haiku Society of America's Haiku Award winners, in memory of Harold G. Henderson. 

I always learn so much about haiku from my friend Robyn Hood Black, artist, poet, and author who inspires me with her own haiku and knowledge of this form. You can read Robyn's haiku thoughts and ideas as well as some of her own haiku here at her website. Teacher friends, please note that Robyn generously includes many resources, including haiku teaching resources at this link.

Today's haiku brings us back into the forest as it is now time for Lou and Nan to deliver apple pies.

Thank you for joining me on this seventeenth day of HELLO MY NAME IS...

To learn about more National Poetry Month projects and all kinds of April goodness, visit Jama's Alphabet Soup where Jama has generously gathered this coming month's Kidlitosphere poetry happenings. And if you are interested in learning about or writing from any of my previous 14 National Poetry Month projects, you can find them here. Happy National Poetry Month!

xo,

Amy

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Hidden Beauty - Let's Find It!

Baby Cardinal Outside the Marriott Hotel

Photo by Amy LV

Students - The other week, I was staying at a hotel in New Jersey, and each time I left, a mama cardinal flew away from the door. I imagined that there was a nest in that holly tree....and there was! Above you can see the baby bird with its wide open mouth. Don't baby birds look like mouths with legs?

Today's poem celebrates this new life that I felt so happy to see just because I happened to be at the right place at the right time. It is easy to walk around talking and thinking and stuck in our heads and to miss what is right around us. This weekend I promise myself that I will pay more attention to everything around me, jotting down what I notice. Would you like to join me?

If so, go outside to a parking lot or driveway or a grassy patch or woods or anywhere outside near you. Quiet yourself and look around. Find something that surprises you, and write or draw about it. If you are unable to go outside, close your eyes. Imagine being outdoors anywhere you wish. Look around in your imagination. What do you see? Hear? Feel? Taste? Smell?

Beauty hides everywhere. We can each be a beauty detective.

I was so lucky to spend the past two days with the students and teachers of Cayuga Heights Elementary School in Depew, NY. Thank you to Librarian Tonya Bulas who organized such a delightful visit with all kinds of book preparation beforehand. I will be sharing more of her work at my website and also look forward to hosting a couple of Cayuga Heights poets and teachers here at The Poem Farm in the near future. 

Placemat with Book Love by Librarian Tonya Bulas

Photo by Amy LV

Next week I look forward to working with the students and teachers of Brook Park Elementary School in Brook Park, Ohio, the students and teachers of Tioughnioga Riverside Academy in Whitney Point, NY, and the Binghamton Area Reading Council in Binghamton, NY. 

Robyn is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Life on the Deckle Edge with love for mothers and a lovely haiku she wrote after her own son was born. Each Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community.

xo,

Amy

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If you are under 13 years old, please only comment 

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A Found Object, A Few Words

Spring Memory

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Some of you may have heard about the big winter storm we had here in the Buffalo, NY area last month. My mom's neighborhood was buried snow and felt so many heavy winds that a few of her trees blew to the ground. Last weekend, my husband went and cut them down and up. In one, he found the nest you see above on our woodpile. It is woven of sticks and rootlets and even a few ribbons that Mr. Cardinal found and brought to Ms. Cardinal who did the building.

My mom remembers last spring, the cardinals flying in and out of the cedar. So quickly one season moves to the next, so quickly an old cedar is here and then only a memory. And now the nest has traveled to our home where we admire it.

I knew that I wanted to write about this cardinal nest, but how? Should I write an ode to nests? A letter from the cardinal? I finally settled on haiku, a form that asks for few words, the form where less is always and truly more. 

To put my mind and heart in the mood of this nest and genre, I read the poems in the archive of the Haiku Society of America's Haiku Award winners, in memory of Harold G. Henderson. If you ever wish to write a certain type of poem, it helps so much to first read many examples. This puts a writer in the spirit of the writing, and I believe that I would not have written today's poem without having climbed up onto the shoulders of great haiku writers through reading.

Thank you to my friend Robyn Hood Black, artist, poet, and author who inspires me with her own haiku and knowledge of this form. You can read some of her haiku thoughts and her own haiku here at her website.

Susan is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Chicken Spaghetti. (I am unable to link to this post yet, but will as soon as it is available.) Please know that all are welcome each Friday as folks share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship.

May nature offer your a surprise gift this week.

xo,

Amy

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He Said So - Keep Snatches of Talk

Here and Gone

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Last month, I was visiting a school, and as a group of students left the library, a boy walked by me, looked into my eyes, and said, "Cardinals are angels."  Later, I copied his words into my notebook.

Notebook Snip

Photo by Amy LV

When choosing a topic for today's poem, I flipped through my pages searching for a subject that felt worthy.  The words of this young boy who spoke me to briefly and in passing beckoned from my notebook.  I just knew.  And I was thankful that I had copied his words down.  Had I not, even though this was but a month ago...I would have forgotten this brief interaction.

Two thoughts for you about writing today.  One - write in your notebook even when you do not feel like it.  You will end up with some strange odds and ends and useless things, sure.  But you'll also end up with surprising bits and snatches that may bewitch you on another day.  Two - Take note of rhymes you like.  Those of you who know me may be giggling at the birds/words rhyme here.  I just love that word pair and have ushered it into many small poems.

And for those of you who love cardinals, this was just in yesterday's Alabama news.  A yellow cardinal!  I added this clip to today's post later...what a coincidence!

Video from AL.com

In the sidebar, you will notice that I have added my Instagram feed.  Please know that this is another safe space where I share photos of my writing process, book news, and pictures of life around The Poem Farm.

Liz is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup at Elizabeth Steinglass with a thoughtful "Why I'm Here" poem, and an accompanying invitation that writers young and old might wish to try.  I am going to do so this week! Each week, we gather our posts together at one blog, so if you visit Liz this week...you will be introduced to many new poets and blogs and books.  

Please share a comment below if you wish.

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.