She Sells Seashells - Borrowing Lines

Painted Seashells by A. - Ocean City, Maryland

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Our family spent last week camping on Assateague Island, and one evening brought us to the boardwalk of Ocean City, Maryland.  There I met a young girl, perhaps twelve years old, who sells seashells down by the seashore, just like in the tongue twister.  I was enchanted by her and by her shells, and I bought one to hang on our Christmas tree this year.  (As soon as I find this shell, I will share a photo of it with you.) I asked permission to take the picture of all of this young artist's shells, and she kindly allowed me to do so.

Later, I saw some other customers talking with her about her work.

Seashell Seller - Ocean City, MD

Photo by Amy LV

One reason I love writing poetry is that it causes me to stop more often, to pay close attention to the beautiful people and things I find along the path of life.  And when a moment of life crosses a song or poem or book or tongue twister that I already have in my heart - well, wow!  That is like a small spark glowing.  I was excited all week to come back to this old wooden desk, to write about this creative child and her salty, painty shells.

You may have noticed that today's poem uses words from the famous tongue twister, and sometimes poets do this - borrow lines from other poems, songs, sayings.  There is even a type of poem called a cento, wherein a poem is completely made up of lines from other poems.  You might want to try some borrowing in your own writing. Simply open a poetry book, read some poems, choose a line you love, and let it inspire a poem of your own.  You might begin your poem with the line you love, or you might tuck it into the middle of your poem.  You might choose a line from a poem or song that you already have inside of you, as I did today.  If you borrow a line from a famous poem or song, your readers will have fun discovering it and remembering that other song or poem too. Your piece and the other piece will echo back and forth to each other.

Remember, borrowing one line is very different from copying someone else's poem.  If you read a poem by another poet, and if you love it, copy it into your notebook and include the author's name.  It is wondrous to have a collection of poems that match your soul completely.

She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore.

The shells she sells are sea-shells, I'm sure.

For if she sells sea-shells on the sea-shore

Then I'm sure she sells sea-shore shells.

Did you know that this seashell tongue twister was originally part of a song written by Terry Sullivan in 1908?  It is based on a real woman named Mary Anning.

I have been away for much of the summer: teaching, making jam, playing in water.  But now fall calls, and so I am back, here at the old desk, so happy to see you again.  

Jone is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup over at Check it Out.  Hop on over there to meet some new poetry friends, visit with some old ones, and simply enjoy the offerings.  Happy Poetry Friday!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Diving Into Poetry Friday!

Whee!

by Amy LV

I will upload audio for this poem as soon as possible (uploading troubles!)

Students - Summer is here, and with it...time at the pool.  Our family belongs to a community pool in town, and I love watching our children swim.  So far I haven't gotten in yet, but I will.  I do love watching our son Henry dive, and that moment of suspension-in-air (especially when he hasn't yet been in the water) always makes me smile.  This poem is about that moment between land and water when one wonders how cold the water really is!

You probably noticed some bouncing along in the line breaks here.  I did that to mirror the feeling of jumping from a diving board, that letting-go feeling.  Whenever I move lines around, it is for a reason.

This was a great month for me here at The Poem Farm.  I met my second cousin Kat from Georgia, US through a poem, and I also met a new artist friend.  George, from South Africa, will soon share a poem illustration here.  The Internet is some kind of magic.

Today I am very happy to host Poetry Friday and also to welcome my friend Emily Krempholtz who is visiting my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks.  Allow yourself to be inspired by Emily's notebooks, and don't forget to enter her giveaway by simply leaving a comment.

If you keep an ad-free blog, I would like to share this icon with you as well as the site it links to.  In this age of constant advertising, it's good to celebrate those marketing-free-zones that still exist.  If you have created one of these zones, please help yourself to the icon, generously made-to-share by its designer.  (There are other versions if you are not an owl-lover.)

Teachers - This week launched Teachers Write! over at author Kate Messner's blog.  All are welcome to participate, and it is a lovely community and way to dig into summer writing.  I have a new little notebook for this, and I'll be offering a quick-write on Tuesday, July 9.  For more information, visit Kate's blog.

And now....the round up!  I will be in throughout the day, linking to poetry goodness from all corners of the Kidlitosphere.  Please leave a one-line description of your post with your direct link in the comments - your words will be my descriptions. Please remember the direct link! Thank you, and Happy Poetry Friday to one and all!  Please watch for my comments throughout the weekend...they will trickle in.  I look forward to visiting everyone...

This Week's Offerings:

Come on up to the treehouse and visit with Charles Ghigna and Charlotte Rose. They are trying to write poems -- in between all of the giggles! Too much fun at the Father Goose Blog.

At TeacherDance, Linda shares an inspiring article about writing about nature with children - beautiful work.  Listen for her granddaughter's poetry too!

Our friends at TeachingAuthors today are giving a standing ovation in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Caldecott award...and the sound of applause inspires a poem.

At The Drift Record, Julie gets a little political with a sonnet by Shakespeare about removing impediments to marriage when love is true.

Inspired by a non-fiction book she read this week, Katya offers a Sarah Teasdale poem at Write. Sketch. Repeat.

Jama is buttering up her readers at Alphabet Soup today with a poem by Elizabeth Alexander.

Laura is reminiscing about summer camp today at Author Amok. Her post has bug juice, musical theater, and "Food, Glorious Food" poems.

At inside the dog... Steve offers up original poem about all the rain they've gotten in NE Iowa during the last week.

Tara has been thinking a lot about the DOMA decision, and the poem she shares at A Teaching Life reflects this.

At The Opposite of Indifference, Tabatha has a Voice of America recording with our U.S. Poet Laureate, Natasha Trethewey -  about finding the poem that speaks to you.

Ruth shares a Charles Simic poem and essay about poetry at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town.

Over at Today's Little Ditty, Michelle has an original Neil Gaiman inspired poem titled "My Mountain".

To help kick off the first week of Teachers Write, Catherine offers "The Cities Inside Us" by Alberto Rios to celebrate writers and writing over at Reading to the Core.

At Reflections on the Teche, Margaret shares an original ekphrastic poem prompted by Tabatha's summer poem swap.

At I Think in Poems, Betsy will soon have a poem about a gentle walk she hopes to take near her home.  And don't forget  this month's Chalk-a-Bration at Teaching Young Writers!  June's chalking fun will be two day's from now, Sunday, June 30. Link on in with Betsy.  Here's how!

Donna from Mainely Write shares her poem "Two Rainbows and the Moon", recently published in the ezine SHADOWS EXPRESS.  Her poem is on p. 51 - the last page, and she encourages us to enjoy all of the poems in the book!

Robyn is in this morning with some thoughts on "Island Time" for summer.  She has a poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey and an original haiku over at Life on the Deckle Edge.

Matt has questions - lots of questions - on his mind today at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme.

Today at Teach Mentor Texts Jen reflects on all the people who have impacted her life and how much people can mean to us.

Irene is in with Valerie Worth poems about household objects at Live Your Poem.

Diane is in with three posts.  At Random Noodling she has an original poem called "Independence Day."  Kurious Kitty has some thoughts on pyrotechnics.  And KK's Kwotes has a quote by Robert Frost.

At Thoughtful Corners, Renee offers two original poems inspired by this week's "Sometimes" quick-write from Teachers Write!

Buffy shares the delightful poetry gift she received from Mary Lee as well as the poem she shared for the summer Poetry Swap. Visit Buffy's Blog to read both.

Karen joins us with a summer poem by Amy Lowell over at Karen Edmisten: The Blog with the Shockingly Clever Title.

At A Year of Reading, Mark Lee is sharing "Turtle" by Kay Ryan in honor of a recent surprise visitor.

Cathy joins Poetry Friday at Merely Day By Day with an original moose-and-summer poem inspired by yesterday's trip to the zoo.

At Teaching Tomorrow's Leaders, Robin offers an original poem about how memories drift, stack, and pile in her mind.

Over at Kimberly Hirsh: Learning Enthusiast, Kimberly jumps into the pool with "Swim Your Own Race", a swimming poem by Mbali Vilakazi.

Dia over at Dia Calhoun: Children's Book Author offers her original poem "Loon Rise", a poem about a bird born not to fly, but to call a call that resonates in the heart.

Little Willow shares "Under the Light" from Laura Whitcomb's book of the same name at Bildungsroman.

Fats Suela at Gathering Books offers "Mnemonic", a poem by Li Young-Lee about the art of remembering.

At Keri Recommends, Keri shares the poetry anthology GOOD POEMS: AMERICAN PLACES, edited by Garrison Keillor, in celebration of the upcoming holiday.

Janet's selection at All About the Books is the picture poem book THE MOON by Robert Louis Stevenson and illustrated by Tracey Campbell Pearson.

Jim shares his original poem, "New Strings for Ukelele" at Hey, Jim Hill!

At Poetry for Children, Sylvia gives lets us peek at the "Cliff Notes" version of her upcoming ALA presentation with Janet Wong.  At the Poetry Friday Anthology blog and the Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School blog, please help yourself to some printable poems to share whenever you wish.

Teachers Write! with Kate Messner has inspired Stefanie to start a picture book/poem about the Pee Monster.  She shares her first draft of opening stanzas is at Morning Musings.

At Poetry for Kids Joy, Joy offers a painting, a dream poem, and a poetry writing suggestion.

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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My Poem Writing Year #97 - Don't Tell

 

Where do poem ideas come from?  It's a big mish-mash, I think.  This poem grew from our hot days, just watching everyone at the town pool.  It also grew from an image which you can see here at ripple sketches, an inspirational site where Kelly Light found an artistic way for people to help clean oiled birds in the Gulf.  I didn't purposely think about this image while writing, but after writing I realized that it must have crept into my subconscious mind.

Students - A person doesn't always have to know how s/he is going to find a writing idea.  But sometimes it is interesting to look at a poem (or anything else) after writing and ask, "Where did this come from?"  What we discover is that just like our dreams, our writings are crazy quilts stitched from daily impressions.  When we reread and think about our ideas, we also discover what matters to us, what sticks with us, and what makes us tick and tock and put pen to paper.

(Please click on COMMENTS to share a daily thought.)

MyPoWriYe #96 - Hope

Sky Afire
Photo by Mark LV

Today is the day after July 4, but fireworks are still bursting in my mind.  Hence, another fireworks poem!  I hope that you had a glorious day of food, festivity, and freedom.

If you would like to read poetry that celebrates our independence, Becca Klaver has compiled a fantastic list over at the Poetry Foundation.

If you would like to learn more about fireflies than you could ever imagine possible, you can do so at firefly.org.

And if you are interested in a classic writing workshop book to help your students or your own children learn how to write focused narratives, you will enjoy FIREFLIES! by Julie Brinckloe.

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(Please click on COMMENTS below to share a thought.)