To My Kitten - A Poem Can Be About Two Things

Hercules

Photo by Georgia VanDerwater

Students - Our family is fostering kittens right now, something we love to do and yet have not done in a couple of years.  This means that we are taking care of kittens and their mamas until we can find homes for the kittens. Once we find homes for all kittens, we will give their mamas back to their owners.

It fills us with a lot of joy to watch these little ones grow up.  But it's always a wee bit sad too, because we want to keep them all with us.  

Eliza's Kittens (Eliza is eating!)

Photo by Amy LV

Mamacita and Her Roaming Kittens

Photo by Amy LV (with kitten on right foot)

As I wrote today's poem about these sweet kittens growing up and finding new places to live, growing into big new lives, I realized that I might also be writing about our daughter who graduates from high school this month and will soon be off to New York City for college.  Do you think that a poem can be about two things at the same time? (I do.)

Pay attention to your brain as you write. Sometimes you may think you are writing about one subject, and your brain or heart is thinking about another subject at the exact same time.  Please let me know if this happens to you!

I am thrilled to share that Linda Rief has opened her gorgeous notebooks this week at Sharing Our Notebooks.  That blog is back up and going again, so please visit and leave a comment to be entered into a giveaway of one of Linda's books.  You can find all kinds of notebook inspiration over there!

Mary Lee is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at A Year of Reading with wonderful story poem.  All are always welcome at these weekly gatherings of poetry and friendship.

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

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

Each Seed - Finding Poem Ideas by Looking Around

 

Money Plant

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Yesterday I wasn't sure what to write about (not an uncommon event).  I thought I might write about walking with my dogs, Cali and Sage.  I thought I might write about how sometimes life surprises you.  Then I looked around, and I saw the stalk of money plant I'd picked a few weeks ago.  Sometimes people call this plant silver dollars.  Its Latin name is Lunaria annua, or yearly moon.  It is also called honesty.  I love it.

Looking at the coins, I got to thinking about how many plants toss seeds around.  I adore blowing dandelions, opening milkweed pods, ripping burdocks apart, and collecting acorns.  'Just picked these up by the mailbox in September. They're brown now.

Handful of Acorns

Photo by Amy LV

When I sat down to write yesterday, I just loved the idea of plants throwing seeds (like snowballs) at each other.  It makes them seem so playful.  But they're like parents too, those plants, saying "Farewell" to their wee ones.

Part of this poem - the first part - is just a description, telling about what is happening.  Then, halfway through it switches to a mask voice, the voice of mother plant bidding adieu.  You can do this in your writing too.  Start by describing something...then, make it talk!

And if you don't have a writing idea right away, just look around.  Write about something you see right in front of your face, something you might usually just walk right by.

"Maple Mother" from 2010 is what I would consider a cousin poem to today's verse.  One of the fun things about writing many many poems is that I find themes that tickle my fancy again and again.  "Money Plant" from 2012 is another cousin in this family.

You can watch me open the money plant seedpods below if you'd like.  I think that they are incredibly beautiful.

If you are a classroom of readers that is interested in some money plant seeds for planting, please just let me know in the comments, and I will be able to mail some money plant seeds to a few classrooms of young writers.

Congratulations to Kristie Miner! You have won the fabulous book and notebook offered as a giveaway by Angela Stockman of the Western New York Writer's Studio over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks!  Please send me your snail mail address so that your gifts can wing their way to you.  And everyone - please know - I welcome you and your students to share your notebooks in that space as well.  The more the merrier!  Any boys or men out there with notebooks to share?  We could use a few more of those.

Tricia is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at The Miss Rumphius Effect.  Please fly on over to her place to discover all of the poetic goodies our friends are offering up today.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

A Candle No One Else Can See

(This is my final post for 2012 - Happy New Year!)

Candles
by Amy LV

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Today's poem, like Monday's poem, is a metaphor poem.  We know that people don't really have candles inside of them like in the drawing above, yet there is an invisible light that each of us carry...a light that we work to keep lit.  We all know people who seem to glow, people who make us feel warmer and more loved when we are in their presence.  Sometimes I will be shopping at a store, and the cashier will be so kind that I'll leave the store whistling!  So again, today's poem is about seeing something as something else, seeing a warm love as a candle's light.

Today's poem is also a bit of a bossy poem, it's written directly to a reader, giving instructions on how to take care of your candle.  If you believe something very deeply, you might decide to write a poem about it and tell your reader a little life secret as I have tried to do here.

This week, I have two happy writing announcements.  The first is that I received an F&G of FOREST HAS A SONG, and I could not feel more grateful. Students, 'F&G' stands for 'folded and gathered,' and in the publishing industry, that's just code for an unbound book.  For the first time, I can see the size and look of FOREST...and I am tickled.

F&G of FOREST

Photo by Amy LV

The second piece of poetry news is that I am a new member of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children Committee.  This means that I will have the good fortune to read many poetry books and have a voice in the next winner of this NCTE award.  It also means that I'll have more opportunities work with Mary Lee Hahn, also new to the committee.  It will be wonderful to meet great people, read oodles of poem books, and learn more and more.

Here are Peter, Paul, and Mary with Light One Candle, a reminder for all of us.

Thank you to Tabatha for organizing such a lovely Winter Poem Swap.  I was paired up with Joy Acey and found it to be joyful fun!

Over at my juicy little universe, Heidi Mordhorst is lighting the Kidlitosphere with today's Poetry Friday roundup.  May your world feel a bit brighter today because of the poems you find on your path.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

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our dove - a poem about healing

Dove Ornament, 1976

Photo by Amy LV

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Today's poem is a metaphor poem.  This means that while it is about one thing, it is also about another thing.  In one way, this poem is about an injured dove and some wise children who care for it.  But if you read the poem again, holding it to the light differently, you may see that it is also about all pain and healing, especially the sadness we feel in the loss of so many children and grown-ups in Newtown, CT.

I write poems to help me understand things, and while I will never understand what happened in Newton, I believe that the power of kindness is very strong. We do heal each other with love, and when we see someone suffering...we can make the world more gentle through our own kindness.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.
Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes!