Poems Can Grow from Special Dates

Thor and Me, 1971

Photo by Debby or George Ludwig

Baby Book Note 

by Debby Ludwig

(I will find a photo of Valentine to share!)

Students - Happy Valentine's Day! This morning I was thinking about my second childhood dog, Valentine, and the story about how she became part of our family. We really did get her on Valentine's Day, 1981, and Thor really did die the day before, which happened to be Friday the 13th. That date stuck with me for a long time.  To be honest, it's still with me. He was at the vet for an operation on his cancer...and he never made it home.

At first I was going to write simply the story of getting Valentine on Valentine's Day, but then Thor wanted to be in the poem. So did Eli. And Cali and Sage were here at my feet asking to be part of it too. So there you have it, a poem including my most special five dogs. And of course I also love my mom's dog Max who is the dog on which I based Betsy in last April's (to be published in a book by Eerdmans) JOHN AND BETSY collection.

I could have chosen to write this poem in quatrains and almost did...but then instead at stopping with four lines (lines 2 and 4 rhyming), I decided to tack on an extra unrhyming line at the end of each stanza. I rather like the feel and sound of this. Remember: read your poems aloud and play. There are no set rules, but working with rules and choosing when to live by and when to break them in poems is what makes for your own voice.

Do you have a story about when someone or something special entered your life? Is there a date that stays with you for some reason? A season that always brings back a certain feeling or memory? Such stories and dates and season-feelings can lead us to writing ideas of all kinds. In a way, this is also a timeline-poem, walking through the dogs of my life. Now I am thinking of other timelines from my life which might hold poem ideas.

Linda is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at TeacherDance with hearts everywhere and the sweetest, skinniest Valentine poem. 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.

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

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

Love Repeat Love Repeat Love Repeat

I Love Granny Square Afghans

(I buy them at thrift stores...)

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Valentine's Day, the holiday of love, is just around the corner.  And today's poem is a celebration of love.  The other afternoon, I was walking with my husband, and I loved kicking a round rock down the sidewalk.  Yesterday evening, our daughter said, "I love drinking water!"  And always, I love black ink and cheese. 

One of my favorite poets, Billy Collins, has written a poem (and a book) titled "Aimless Love."  This poem is about loving the small things of life, and am quite sure that his poem planted a poemseed in my mind, a poemseed that grew into today's "Did You Know."

Writing is very much about love and falling in love with feathers and pumpkin muffins, socks and bike rides.  And Valentine's Day is a cozy time to think about how many good things there are to love in our world.  There are many many.

Today's poem does not rhyme, but you will notice some repetition.  Sometimes writers repeat lines throughout a poem and sometimes at the beginning and end of a poem. I've done both in this one, and you can try repeating in one of these ways too should you wish.  Writing techniques are free for the sharing.  I love that.

What do you love?  

If you write a poem today...will you play with repetition?

Love

Repeat

Love

Repeat

Love

Repeat

Last week I was honored to host teacher Holly Van Epps and her eighth grade poets with their haunting free verse poems written in refugee voices.  Please be sure to read their words if you have not yet done so. And Tony Johnston's beautiful book, VOICE FROM AFAR: POEMS OF PEACE, will soon be on its way to giveaway winner Linda B.  Please send me snail mail address, Linda, and I will get your book in the mail to you.

Katie is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup over at The Logonauts.  Head over there for poems, ideas, and community.  We are a welcoming group....and we welcome you!

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.

Writing About Love...What I Want to Squeeze

Mini

Photo by Hope VanDerwater

Students - This Sunday is Valentine's Day, and this has me thinking about people and pets and things that I love.  One pet I love a lot is Mini Monster, and I have written about him many times including HERE.  Sometimes my family laughs at me when I hug Mini really hard and he tries to wiggle of my arms, but he often stays in my arms and lets me kiss him on his ears and tell him how handsome he is.

Today, or anytime this week, you might think about writing about someone or something you love.  What do you want to squeeze and hug and what do you adore?  Valentine's Day is a grand time to think about love, big love and small love...like my love of drinking tea and of teeny pine cones.

You will notice that today's poem is written in free verse, in quatrains.  Nothing rhymes, but I still needed to read this aloud to myself many times to hear if it sounded just right to my ears.  On another day, I may reread this poem aloud again and make some more changes, but today it sounds as I wish it to sound.

Kimberley is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup over at Written Reflections with a delightful story and a celebration of one of my favorite poetry collections. Enjoy all of the offerings and the good people who join together each week to share poems and thoughts about poetry.

May this week fill you up with love, for things you know and for unexpected surprises too.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Hearts - A Little List Poem of Love

Sock Heart

Photo by Amy LV

This poem 

is trying

to be

in a book.

xo, Amy

Students - Happy almost Valentine's Day! We call our little home Heart Rock Farm because we love finding rocks shaped like hearts in our creek.  Many people like to find hearts in the world: in petals, in clouds, in patterns on our pets' fur.  We can find hearts and we can make them ourselves.  Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Don't you think it would be fun to leave little secret hearts around your home for the ones you love?  (Warning: the sock heart is tricky.  It took me a while!)

Today's poem is a list poem.  Each line is simply one more way to bring hearts into our lives.  Then, as with most list poems, you hear that change, that twist, that surprise at the end.  If I had simply ended the poem with another way to make a heart, the reader might not realize that the poem was finished. However, by breaking the pattern at the end of the poem, I make this clear.

Here are two more Valentine poems from The Poem Farm archives: "February 14" from 2011 and "February 13" from 2012.

In honor of Valentine's Day and love, today I would like to offer a recommendation and a giveaway of LEND A HAND: POEMS ABOUT GIVING written by John Frank and illustrated by London Ladd.  This is a book that reminds me of the many ways people are kind, and of the many ways I can be kind too.  You can read the Kirkus review of this wonderful book here.  I will draw one name from the commenters on today's post next Thursday, February 19 to be announced next Poetry Friday.  This person will win a copy of LEND A HAND.

IndieBound

Teachers and Other Adults - If you enjoy poetry and poetry books and poetry quotes and news, please know that I keep a Poem Farm Facebook Page as well. Over there, I share news about books and awards and poetry goodness that comes my way during the week.

This month over at my other online home, Sharing Our Notebooks, I could not more pleased to host Olga McLaren and her Grandmother Journals.  Please visit and comment on Olga's post to be entered into a book giveaway.

Cathy is hosting today's sweet Poetry Friday party over at Merely Day By Day. Pack up your heart, and head on over to join the roundup.

I wish you many surprise hearts today, tomorrow, all week long!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Frosty Heart & Happy News

Thor & Me, 1971
Photo by George or Debby Ludwig

Students - Today's poem is a love poem, a remembering love poem.  I wrote it because of an event and a conversation from this week: some dear friends are missing their dog who was hit by a car, and I had a talk with a young man about the dog he loved and still misses.  Even after loss, love lives on inside of us, and sometimes writing a poem or reading a poem can help us hold onto and remember a loving time.  Let poems be there for you, all the time, in the reading and in the writing.

When I think of old pets, like Thor in the picture above, I think of Miller Williams' poem, Animals.  Each new and loved animal begins a new chapter in my life.

And now, a little bit of happy news!  Each year, the Cybils (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards) are announced on Valentine's Day, with one winner in each category chosen from several nominees.  I am honored to share that my book with Robbin Gourley, FOREST HAS A SONG, was chosen as the 2013 Cybils poetry winner.  

Much gratitude to Laura Purdie Salas for the nomination, and to the judges for your kind words and for believing in our book.  My husband woke me up this morning, laptop in hand, to tell me tell me that FOREST had won!

Round One Judges:

Ed deCaria, Think, Kid, Think!

Kelly Fineman, Writing and Ruminating

Jone MacCulloch, Check It Out

Anastasia Suen, Poet! Poet!

Sylvia Vardell, Poetry for Children

April Halprin Wayland, Teaching Authors

Bridget Wilson, What is Bridget Reading?

Round Two Judges:

Linda Baie, TeacherDance

Matt Esenwine, Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme

Renee La Tulippe, No Water River

Julie Larios, The Drift Record

Irene Latham, Live Your Poem

Linda is hosting today's special Valentine's Day Poetry Friday over at TeacherDance.  Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Poetry Friday both...may your whole weekend be full of love.  xo

Please share a comment below if you wish.

February 13 & Tap-Tap-Tapping

 

Henry's Valentine Hearts & Scraps

Photo by Amy LV

Students - When I sat to type and reread and revise today's poem, our daughter Georgia came to ask me a question. I said, "Just a minute...I have to finish something." Then she watched (and listened) as I drummed my right hand fingers quickly and quietly on the desk.

When finished, I looked up at Georgia and said, "Yes?"

"What were you doing?" she asked.

"Counting syllables in each line," I said, proceeding to tap again. I showed her how every line in this poem has eight syllables, except for line six, which only has seven syllables.

Yes, poets do count! Try this with a rhyming poem you like. Count and see if there is a pattern to the beats. You may notice a pattern to the rhymes as well. In "February 13," each group of four lines ends with a different rhyme:  -OO,     -ACE, and -ISS

There is still time to make a valentine for your family, friend, or crush! Try a woven heart basket, as in the photo above, or sewn paper hearts like the ones below...or maybe a heart snowflake like the one you see at the bottom of this post.

Gigi's Valentines

Photo by Amy LV

Here's another crush poem!

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

Hope's Heart Snowflake

Photo by Amy LV

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#320 - A Valentine's Day (Crush!) Poem

Aunt Tom's Cookie Sheet

Photo by Amy LV

Students - this is one short poem.  I knew that I wanted to write today's verse for Valentine's Day, one of my favorite holidays, but where to start?  As I daydreamed, the words crush and hush appeared in my mind.  And thanks to my pal the rhyming dictionary, more words joined this poem parade: gush, mush, blush.

For a book about animals all smitten with each other, Marilyn Singer's TWOSOMES celebrates this (or any) day of love!

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The winners of the 2010 Cybils (Children's and Young Adult Literary Bloggers' Literary Awards) are announced today.  Congratulations to all of the winners!  Marilyn Singer, author of TWOSOMES (above) and many other books, won in the poetry category for her unbelievably clever MIRROR MIRROR: A BOOK OF REVERSIBLE VERSE.

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Have fun dusting Valentine's Day with powdered sugar and tossing rose petals about!  Happy Valentine's Day!

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