Give Free Verse Advice

amylvpoemfarm · Sometimes It's Simple - a poem by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

Students - Have you ever watered a plant? When I water plants, I almost think I can hear them whisper, "Thank you." Sometimes it really is the smallest, simplest act that brings a person joy. Here's something to try: pay attention to every small part of a day. Which bring you clear happiness? Keep a list of these things. Maybe one day you will wish to write long about one of them.

Today's poem does not rhyme and does not have a special rhythm. But the lines are short, and they are short so that a reader slows down while reading. I have decided to call this a free verse advice poem.

Here is one of my freshly watered plants. It says, "Hi!"

Happy Plant

Photo by Amy LV

Catherine is hosting this week's Poetry Friday party over at Reading to the Core with a magical book recommendation and the magical poem one of its paintings inspired her to write. We invite everybody to join in each Friday as we share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship. Check out my left sidebar to learn where to find this poetry goodness each week of the year.

Please share a comment below if you wish.day 

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

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

What to Write? Assign Yourself an Idea and Structure!

Thinking Cactus

by Amy LV

  

Students - For this week's poem, I knew that I write a poem following the meter of someone else's poem.  But as of yesterday, I had not yet chosen which poem.  Nor had I chosen an idea.

I decided to force myself to find an idea by looking around the Aurora Town Public Library.

I looked at bookshelves, deciding to write a poem inspired by a book title.  I almost did too...I almost wrote a poem inspired by the title MAKING MISTAKES ON PURPOSE.  Can you find that book on the shelf below?

Bookshelf at the Aurora Town Public Library

Photo by Amy LV

Then I looked at magazines and the succulent wreath caught my eye.  I thought about cacti and how much I admire their toughness.  It was just a fleeting thought.

Magazines at the Aurora Town Public Library

Photo by Amy LV

I began freewriting about cacti to get some thinking down in my notebook.

Freewriting about Cacti

(Click to Enlarge)

Photo by Amy LV

Now, I had already assigned myself the task of writing a poem that matched the meter of another poet's poem.  So, I read in this book by Nancy Larrick to choose a meter and rhyme scheme to copy.

Beautiful Library Discard I'd Brought with Me

Photo by Amy LV

And I decided to imitate the meter and rhyme scheme of a poem I have always loved, the poem by Christina Rossetti that begins "Hurt No Living Thing" - in the public domain.

By Christina Rossetti 

Photo by Amy LV

Then it was time to get to work.  I had given myself an assignment: write a cactus poem in the meter and rhyme scheme of Rossetti's poem.  Below you can see some of that work. Note the numbers next to my lines - count to see if they match the numbers of syllables in Rossetti's lines.  What do you notice about the rhymes in each poem?

Draft of "Once"

(Click to Enlarge)

Photo by Amy LV

I played and I wrote and I tapped the table and I read aloud...and at the end of it all, I had written the silly verse you find above.  (To be truthful, I had a little giggle with cactus/fact is.)

Writing a new piece is a little bit like taking a trip.  Part destination, much exploration.  You might wish to document the journey of one of your pieces sometime.  And if you have never given yourself an assignment, try that too.  You might use mine or you might make up something completely new, just for you.  The important thing is to follow through.

As I left the library last evening, I giggled again as - for the first time - I saw:

this Christmas cactus...in bloom

Christmas Cactus at the Aurora Town Public Library

Photo by Amy LV

this jade plant, also a succulent.

Jade Plant at the Aurora Town Public Library

Photo by Amy LV

It's funny how once I start thinking about a thing...I see it everywhere!  Has this ever happened to you?

Congratulations to Linda A. for winning last week's giveaway - a signed copy of FINDING WONDERS by Jeannine Atkins!  Linda, please send me an e-mail to amy@amylv.com with your snail mail address, and I will pass it along to Jeannine. Thank you, Jeannine, for the beautiful post and book!

Keri is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Keri Recommends.  Please visit her place to think about reflection and to learn about what's happening poetry-wise all around the Kidlitosphere this week.

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.

Wallow in Wonder Day 7 - How Sweet is Honeysuckle?

Welcome to Day 7 of Wallow in Wonder!  For my 2016 National Poetry Month project, I will celebrate learning and writing from learning, writing poems from each daily Wonder at Wonderopolis.  As I did with my Dictionary Hike in 2012, I am looking to surprise myself with new inspiration daily.  This year, such inspiration will show up in my inbox each morning.  I will print it and carry each Wonderopolis Wonder around all day...and in the afternoon or evening, I will write and post the poem for the next day.  

I invite anyone who wishes to take this challenge too.  Just read today's wonder over at Wonderopolis, and write a poem inspired by it for tomorrow.  Share it tomorrow at your own site, and if you wish to link in my comments for others to find (or share your poem there), please feel free to do so tomorrow, the day after the Wonder is published at Wonderopolis.  If you would like to share any ways you have used Wallow in Wonder or your own site (safe for children only please), please link to the #WallowInWonder padlet.

My April Poems Thus Far

April 1 - So Suddenly - a poem inspired by Wonder #1659 

April 2 - Thankful Journal - a poem inspired by Wonder #1660

April 3 - The Storm Chaser - a poem inspired by Wonder #779

April 4 - A Jar of Glitter - a poem inspired by Wonder #641

April 5 - To Make Compost - a poem inspired by Wonder #1661

April 6 - Deciding Now - a poem inspired by Wonder #1662

And now for Day 7!

Wonder #1663 - from April 6, 2016

Little Sipper

by Amy LV

Students - I actually wrote two poems for today.  I worked on the first one, titled "Open Window," for some time.  And it was fine. It rhymed.  It talked about honeysuckle and spring and it featured a hummingbird too.  But it just didn't feel quite right somehow.  It was fine, but it was only fine.  And fine did not feel good enough.  I felt that I needed not to work more on that poem...but to write another poem altogether.

I have been asked how I "know when something is ready to share."  And this is an excellent question.  Honestly, though, I am not sure.  Certainly there are times when I do share and others may wonder, "Why did she share that anyway?"  And then there are times when I do not know what I think about a piece, times when I need to let a poem sit.  

But usually, when I work on something for a while, I get a feeling.  I read the words to myself over and over again and I keep writing and rewriting until I get an "I like this!" feeling.  I have learned to trust this feeling.  Usually.  Sometimes, though, this feeling is way off!  But we makers must be able to laugh at ourselves and just move on.

Today's poem makes me happy.  I like to pretend that I am other things, and I am very happy right now to be a mother hummingbird, so proud of my wee eggs.  I like the sounds of the words in this poem and the way the last two lines funnel readers to the proud ending.  I like the word secret and the line in the white pine by the water and all of those -ing words.  I like the bit of bossiness in this tiny tiny bird.  Who knows how I will feel about these words tomorrow, but right now, I like them.

Best of all, researching and writing this poem made me fall in love with hummingbirds.  Hard.  Writing about an enchanting subject can do that to a person.

Writing today's poem has inspired my whole summer garden plan.  In addition to the rugosa roses I'll be putting in by the road, all I care about now are some grand plantings for hummingbirds, everything from lambs ear and milkweed (for nesting material) to native trumpet honeysuckle.

If you would like to learn more about hummingbirds, particularly ruby throated hummingbirds, you can do so here at All About Birds or at Operation Ruby Throat.  There are different types of hummingbirds, so you may wish to find out which type lives near to you and learn about that one first.

You can read another poem inspired by Wonder #1663 if you visit Wonder Lead Ambassador, literacy advocate, teacher, and writer Paul Hankins at his Wonder Ground blog where he, too, is writing daily poems from Wonderopolis wonders.  He and I are in this together daily and some other writers are joining in on the fun sometimes too. All are welcome to wonder through poems with us.

I am so happy to be hosting middle school teacher and librarian Stefanie Cole and her students from Ontario, Canada to Sharing Our Notebooks this month.  Do not miss this post; it is full of notebook inspiration, a video clip, and a great book giveaway from Stefanie!

Happy Day 7 of National Poetry Month 2016!

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