Write About a Quiet Kindness

Friend of Kitties

by Amy LV

Students - Our eldest daughter attends college in New York City, and this week she told me a story about a lady she met while walking back to school from a babysitting job. The lady was standing near some scaffolding, reaching down and into a cut-out in the wood.  When our daughter stopped to chat, she learned that this lady is a feeder-of-city-cats.  This lady and some of her friends regularly bring canned cat food and blankets to homeless city cats.  I think that this lady is a special spirit, and I am very grateful know that she exists.  I loved hearing the story and right away knew that I would write about it in my notebook.  I did not know at that moment that I would write a poem...but here it is.

Sometimes people write poems about folks they admire.  About people they believe make the world a strong and light-filled and happier place to live in.  We can write thank you letters and opinion pieces or give written awards to such people.  Or...we can also write poems about them.  We don't even need to know the people or see them in action.  We may just learn a story about such a person, as I learned one from our daughter.

Here's a little challenge for you.  Listen to people talk.  Watch people.  See if you can uncover a kindness, a gentleness, a surprise-and hidden-goodness that many people might not know about.  Write a poem about this person or kind act, not using the person's name, but just offering it up to the world.  I sure would love to read such poems - and maybe even share them here. Such poems and stories make me want to be better myself, so I like to read as many as I can.  If you write a poem celebrating a kind act (and if you really work on it), I welcome you to have your parent or teacher send it to me through my CONTACT ME button....and I will write back.

Did you notice that the sentences in this poem get very short at the end?  I did this on purpose.  The first stanza is one long and rollicking sentence, describing the many kinds of homeless cats one might find in the city.  The second stanza, on the other hand, focuses on the actions of one human: kind and good.  I wanted that part to be read slowly.  With pauses.  That's why the lines and sentences are so short.

Here are some photographs that our sweet daughter sent to me after reading this poem:

From a Distance

Photo by H. VanDerwater

Closer

Photo by H. VanDerwater

Even Closer

Photo by H. VanDerwater

Closest

Photo by H. VanDerwater

The Educator Collaborative is currently (now through February 14, 2018) running its Global Kind Project 2018 for classrooms.  Please check it out if you are interested.  You can connect with others from all over, sharing stories and finding ways to be kinder....together.

At Sharing Our Notebooks, my other online home,  I am superhappy to host third grade teacher Dina Bolan and her third grade writers from Alexander Hamilton Elementary School in Glen Rock, New Jersey.  Please read their nonfiction notebook entries, and leave a comment to be entered into a drawing.  I will send the winning name a cool new notebook!

Please visit Kay's place today's Poetry Friday roundup at A Journey Through the Pages. Every week a group of us gather our posts together at one blog, so if you visit Kay this week...you will be introduced to many new poets and blogs and books.  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.

Time - Think about Two Perspectives

Sage in the 4-H Barn (2010?)

Photo by Amy LV

Students - I don't know where today's poem came from.  I was writing in my notebook, and I think that the holidays got me thinking about visiting relatives which made me think about how quickly children seem to grow up.  This made  me think that if children are getting older, I am getting older too...but I never really feel like this is true.

Then I got to thinking about when our own children first talked about babies they once know seeming so big or how our pets have gotten older without us even noticing where the time has gone.

In a way, this is a comparing and contrasting poem.  In the first stanza, we see what the grownups say and feel.  In the second, we get the narrator child's point of view.  It is interesting to explore an idea from a couple of different perspectives.  We learn about others and about ourselves too.  You might want to give this a try!

Below, enjoy a little kindness video of our cat Mini Monster giving grown-up Sage a little face bath last weekend.

Over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, you can find a very cool peek into Julie Patterson's notebooks. Leave a comment...and you just may win a book!

Diane is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Random Noodling.  Please stop by if you'd like to visit many different blogs, all celebrating poetry.  We meet weekly, and everyone is invited!

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.

New Year's Resolutions - Imaginary Conversations

Sage

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Happy New Year! Yesterday afternoon, as I walked our dogs Cali and Sage, I asked them what their New Year's Resolutions were.  They didn't answer, but later, as I wrote in my notebook (I am doing lots of that lately), they did answer.  And their answer became today's small poem.

Many poems grow from words we hear others say or from conversations we have, but we can also imagine conversations and play with ideas about what might be or could be said.  Try playing around with "what might have been said" or "what could be said" sometime in your own notebook.  You can words from people and animals you know or from historical figures or inanimate objects...anyone or anything at all.  What might have been said?  What could be said?

Today's poem is not full of full rhymes, but there are some similar sounds that hold the lines together.  Can you find them?

You can read two other New Year poems in The Poem Farm archives.  Find New Year's Eve from 2014 and January 1 from 2011.  It's amazing how the years keep on rolling by, isn't it?

Over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, I am pleased to share that we have two winners for Tanny McGregor's generous giveaway. In 2016, I hope to feature more student notebooks in addition to these wonderful adult notebooks, so please, teachers and students, drop me a line if you're interested in sharing!  I will make it easy for you to do so.

In other celebratory news, my first nonfiction book, EVERY DAY BIRDS, illustrated by Dylan Metrano and published by Scholastic, joins library and bookstore shelves next month!  I could not feel more grateful.  If you are a blogger who is interested in reviewing this book, please send me an e-mail, and I will have one sent to you.

Mary Lee is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup over at A Year of Reading. Visit her place for a beautiful, wise poem, and enjoy the poetry bounty!  How lucky we are to have this community.

Many New Year blessings and joys to all of you!  Happy 2016!  I thank you for visiting.

xo, Amy

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Apology - A Poem of Address

Wood Thrush - After Hitting a Window

Photo by Amy LV

Doing OK

Photo by Amy LV

Flown Away!

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Today's poem tells the story I share with a little wood thrush, a story this bird and I lived together just yesterday morning.  It is a story with a happy ending, but I at first I could not know how it would end.  I was worried about this pretty bird who hit my living room window, worried about this small body so beautiful in its feathers.

My poem above is a poem of address, a poem which speaks directly to someone or something, in this case - a small soft wood thrush.  Have you ever found yourself talking to something that cannot talk back to you?  Sometimes I talk to keys and socks that I cannot find, asking them to come out and make themselves seen.  Sometimes I talk to my kitten.  Sometimes I talk to my car.  In a poem of address, you can come right out and talk to whatever, whomever you wish.

So many congratulations to the wise and wonderful Jacqueline Woodson, who this week was named by The Poetry Foundation as our new Young People's Poet Laureate.  Author of BROWN GIRL DREAMING, THE OTHER SIDE, SHOW WAY, LOCOMOTION, and many more books for young readers, Jackie is a gift to us all.  I can't wait to see what she does for poetry...for children...for humanity...in her new position.

It is summertime now, and I wish everyone many beautiful adventures outside. Don't forget, though, to take your notebook with you!  You may lalready know that I am collecting ideas for summer notebooking ideas over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, and I invite you to visit and share your own idea too.  It is great fun to learn about all of the ways people find writing and drawing ideas - 66 and counting!

Today I'd like to especially thank third grade teacher Kim Doele and her students from Wealthy Elementary in East Grand Rapids Michigan.  These students have shared so many great posts and ideas at Sharing Our Notebooks. Many readers have already told me through Twitter how excited they are to try these students' notebooking ideas.

Below you can find links to these students' specific posts at Sharing Our Notebooks. Big hugs to all of you!

Inspire Yourself with Walks and Books - by Finn

Write About People You Love to Be With - by Eoghan

Begin With the Day's Weather - by Greta

Write as Something or Someone Else - by Hayden

Compare Two Ways to Do Something - by Julia

Write About a Subject You're Interested In - by Mo

Look at One Object in Many Different Ways - by Teagan

Write Two Poems about Alike/Different Things - by Alyssa

Get Writing Ideas at Wonderopolis - by Henry

Buffy Silverman is hosting today's Poetry Friday extravaganza over at Buffy's Blog. Head right on over there to join in the poetry fun!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Teaching Poems - What Do I Know?

New Friends
by Amy LV

Students - I am a dog lover!  Our family has two dogs, Cali and Sage, and we love them and they love each other. Sometimes when I walk down the street and see a new dog, I just want to get to know it.  But it's not so safe to pet strange dogs, so I always ask the owner and follow the steps in this poem when meeting a new dog.  When our chidren were small, I taught them to ask the owner for permission before petting any dogs as well.

This is a poem that teaches HOW to do something.  And writing a procedural poem is almost like writing a how-to book, only in a poem, the writer writes from line to line and the reader reads from line to line instead of from page to page.  You may notice that today's poem rhymes, but it rhymes in a conversational way.

What do you know how to do?  Funny things? Serious things? Crafts? Cooking? Games? Friendship tips? Building? Anything in the world...what could you teach? Might you write a poem about it?

Here is a dog I met last month in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Just looking at his picture makes me smile.

Happy week ahead!  I wish you dogs!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Ducks, Requests, & a Poetry Peek with Emma

Word Play

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Today's poem grew out of a request.  On Wednesday, I received the following e-mail:

It was great fun to come home from teaching a class and to find this note.  I loved sitting in snowy Holland, NY, imagining classrooms of students - across the whole world from me - reading all about ducks this term. So this one is for you, for Rose and for all of the teachers and children and duck lovers in Murray Bridge, South Australia.  Thank you for the idea, and so many happy wishes to you for a celebration of ducky books over the next few weeks.  I welcome you to send some of your own poems (ducky or not) to be published here in this space should you wish.

Sometimes writing from someone else's idea can take you in a new direction than you might have ever found on your own.  This can be a gift indeed.

You will notice that today's poem is full of wordplay.  I very much enjoyed playing with the words in this poem. I started with thinking about waddle and paddle and then just looked for more by using RhymeZone, one of my favorite little workbenches online.  It's a joy to let the words burble around in my mouth sometimes, just listening to them snuggle up next to each other.  And of course I like writing in the voice of another, writing a mask poem, today asa mama duck.

Here is a great little clip of a duck swimming.  You can really see those feet at work.

If you would like a bit of information to go along with your duck books and poetry, you can learn more about ducks at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology site, All About Birds or a-z animals

Today I am so pleased to welcome fifth grade poet Emma Trowbridge, a student of my friend, library media specialist Dr. Vida Zuljevic at Rosalind Franklin STEM Elementary in Pasco, Washington.  A couple of weeks ago, Vida wrote me a note about Emma that read, in part, "Yesterday, she came to give me two new poems and I said jokingly "Emma, you are like a poetry machine" and we both laughed. Then she looked at me and said "I don't know why, but where ever I look I see a poem in it. I sit and write, and that's it!"

This Poetry Peek is in honor of Emma's writing and in honor of Vida's work in encouraging her.  Welcome, Emma!

First, none of my poems would be available without my AWESOME library teacher. She realized my talent and asked me to write more. Now a lot of people can see my poems. To get inspiration, you have to look around the world. You could write about changing seasons, maybe about your family, or something beautiful; something in your life. I love writing poems. It puts light into my life like the brightness of a burning torch. In other simpler words, it makes me happy that I can make others happy through poetry.

Dog, Sort of…

Emma Trowbridge

A dog is a man’s best friend.

They’ll always have a paw to lend.

I have one myself. Well sort of, in a way.

If you ask my baby sister, here’s what she will say,

She’ll say she’s a dog, even though she’s not.

She’s crazy, I’ll admit, but I still love her a lot.

She crawls on the floor like a dog on its feet

If you tell her to sit down, she will take a seat.

I’m okay with her being a puppy and not a girl,

But if she ever licks me, I swear, I’d hurl!

I was busy doing my homework and my sister was bugging me. “Bark. Bark! BARK!” She wouldn’t stop barking. I knew in a flash to write a poem.

The Important Thing About My Dad

Emma Trowbridge

The important thing about my dad 

is that he supports me in everything I do

and I am thankful for my dad.

He is in the army.

He loves me.

He has a very sharp mind.

He also wears glasses, like me.

He doesn’t always smile

But he can bring joy to anyone

 in any tough or exciting situation.

But the most important thing about my dad 

is that he supports me in everything I do

and that I’m thankful for my dad.

My dad inspires me. He supports me and he makes me happy I decided to write a poem about someone who is special to me and that’s him.

Winter

Emma Trowbridge 

White snow like fluffy, white kitten on the road

Ice on windows, excited kids everywhere that it hangs

Never ending fun for all of the hyper snowman builders and it’s

Time for hot cocoa, brown like a hibernating bear

Eating peppermint sticks  off of the Christmas tree like sneaky bandits and getting

Ready for another day of fun tomorrow.

I love winter. In fact, it’s my favorite season. I am inspired by the white snow. It makes me think of kittens; lots and lots of white kittens. So I wrote up this poem.

Mattresses

Emma Trowbridge

I walk into a mattress store 

and all I see are beds galore! 

I jump on mattresses almost piled to the top. 

Jumpity-jump and a hop-hop-hop.

Then finally I see a memory foam bed

I practically fly over just to try to rest my head.

I am super tired from jumping around

So I pass out instantly like I fell on the ground. 

When I walk up, I see my mom. 

She says to get up now, 

because it’s time for my prom!

I thought up something random. Sometimes, you can just go crazy with it and let your mind run wild. Just like the girl in this poem.

Giving Trees

Emma Trowbridge

There is a thing that has thick, brown bark.

It is no dog or a great white shark.

It’s not even an animal but it does still matter.

The size of this thing is so very much fatter.

The thing that I am describing to you is a tree

And they all have an impact on you and me.

I’ll tell you the reason why, and it’s this:

They give us oxygen through photosynthesis.

That’s not the only reason we need them so much.

In a way, trees are like our wooden crutch.

They give us syrup from sap and all our paper, too.

So now you see the reason; I’m sure you do.

We have to save them quick before they all die out. 

So go ahead and save the world, let out a big shout.

We can all save the world, or just you or just me.

Let’s save the population of the giving tree.

My mom was driving me somewhere and I happened to have paper. I was looking outside and I saw a tree stump. It reminded me of trees and that’s when inspiration struck.

Poetic Poem

Emma Trowbridge

To be an inspired poet

You have just to look around.

Be confident because there’s no inspiration

When you are looking at the ground.

Everyone can be a poet;

You just have to try

Don’t copy anybody’s work though

Or they’ll think you’re sly.

You can copy techniques though,

Or some different ways to write.

You can write a factual poem

Like on the zooming speed of light!

You can also write a humorous poem, 

One to tickle your funny bone.

You can get inspiration by looking

At a blanket that’s neatly sewn.

My point is that poems aren’t hard to write,

So write on, you’ll surely be alright.

Thank you so much to Emma for sharing these rich and joyous poems and thoughts with us today.  And thank you to Vida for bringing her work to The Poem Farm.

Paul is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at These 4 Corners.  As is true each week, all are welcome to join the poetry fun, to learn new poems, find new friends.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

My Spirit Animal - Inspiration from Others

Deer Mom & Fawns

Photo by Hope LV

Students - Sometimes things just come together.  Last week, Laura Shovan posted about spirit animals at Author Amok.  She recommended ANIMALS SPEAK by Ted Andrews, and I now have it sitting on my nightstand, just waiting!

\

IndieBound

At the same time, I decided to read our daughter Georgia's favorite book, WHAT THE MOON SAW, by Laura Resau, a beautiful nature-full and mystical book including spirit animals and much love.

IndieBound

And early this week, our daughter Hope took the doe and fawn picture you see atop today's post.  Could a deer be Hope's spirit animal?  I wonder.

Can you tell that spirit animals are on my mind?  I am watching for signs, wondering if I will find my own spirit animal.  Have you ever felt especially connected to a wild animal?  Do you dream about one particular animal?  Do you see one animal over and over in the wild?  Who might your spirit animal be?

As a writer, it is good for us to keep our eyes and hearts open for where different areas of our lives meet. If a friend says something to you that connects to a book you are reading, pay attention.  If you see something and then read about that same something, listen.  There may be a lesson you are meant to learn.  

Last week, author and My Juicy Little Universe blogger Heidi Mordhorst commented on Laura Shovan's spirit animal post, "I think one of the things that distinguishes poets from 'regular people' and even from other writers is a kind of intense openness to connections of all kinds. It's part observation and part discernment: I notice these signs; I begin to see meaning in them."

Linda is hosting today's Poetry Friday fiesta over at Write Time.  Visit her warm and inviting blog to discover all kinds of poems and poetrylove swirling around the Kidlitosphere this week!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Manny the Manatee & A Poetry Peek

Manny & Imaginary Friend

by Amy LV

Students - Are you asking yourself, "Why on earth is Amy writing about imaginary manatees?"  If you are, I completely understand.  And I can tell you why.  Yesterday I was scooting around online, and on Twitter, I came across this video from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  After that, I could not get the word manatee out of my mind!  Somehow, pat-a-cake entered my mind too, likely because these two words have the same number of syllables and the same stresses too.

If you're interested in these cows of the sea, you can learn more about manatees at the Mote Marine Laboratory or the Save the Manatee Club.  In fact, if any classroom of poets researches, writes, and shares a manatee poem in the comments of this post or on Twitter (I am @amylvpoemfarm), I think that The Poem Farm might just have to adopt a manatee this weekend.  It will be our manatee to love from afar.

Lately I have been working on revising a couple of new books, so it was fun to switch over to a new imaginary manatee friend.  Perhaps Manny will join us in another wee verse down the road.

Monkey See, Monkey Do 

Bookstore Reading

April 2014

Last month, I had the good fortune to visit Monkey See, Monkey Do Bookstore in Clarence, NY for an April Poetry Celebration.  As part of this celebration, three young writers read their poems about what they love and how they feel.  It was a treat to be a part of that morning, and it is an honor to share their work here today.

Horses

They gallop in the fields,
Running like brave warriors
With riders on their  backs.

Sometimes they stand,
Tall and proud,
Neighing hello to their friends.

Although they love to run free,
They love to rest at home,
Munching on hay.

by Ada, age 8


Monkey See, Monkey Do

Monkey See, Monkey Do
We’ve got tons of books for you.
Come on down,
It’s right through town
Chapter books,
and raptor books,
Books big and small’
and off the wall.
I have been hooked
on books!

by Martha, age 8


Tossed and Turned

Tossed and Turned
Tossed and turned in the waves of life
I am a twig fighting in the current
Nothing will be the same again
Every friend I make digs a hole in my heart
Filling it up with friendship and love
Then comes the horrible day when I am swept away
Tossed and turned in the waves of life
Fighting the current just to survive
“Help Me! Help Me! friends”
You are so kind

by Mira, age 10

Thank you to Monkey See, Monkey Do Bookstore and to these poets for this celebration of poetry.

In other happy news, FOREST HAS A SONG was just named as a '2014 Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts' by the Children's Literature Assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English.  I have not yet seen the whole list, but I would like to offer congratulations to another poet friend, Margarita Engle as her THE LIGHTNING DREAMER: CUBA'S GREATEST ABOLITIONIST was also named to this list.

Liz is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Elizabeth Steinglass!  Head on over to her place to taste the various poetic offerings in the Kidlitosphere this week.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Hermit Crab - Mask Poems

Looking for a Home
by Amy LV

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

Students - This is a mask poem, a poem written in the voice of something else - a hermit crab.  Our children had hermit crabs as pets for a time, and Georgia's first grade teacher kept a hermit crab as a class pet. I will never forget how Mrs. Kellner invited the children to write poems for Gus when he died partway through the school year.

It's neat to pretend to be something else, and mask poems are one of my favorite kinds of poems to write.  You can find more mask poems - and other types of poems - here at the FIND A POEM section of The Poem Farm.

Pianist Daniel Bailey opens his music notebooks for us this week over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks.  Stop on by, peek at Dan's music, and listen to him play.  You may even win a music notebook of your own!  If you're interested in keeping a notebook or teaching students about notebooks, this blog is getting fuller and richer by the week.

Laura Shovan is our host of today's Poetry Friday round up.  Visit Author Amok to join the festivities and read about what is happening in the our poetry community this week.

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.

Visit Sharing Our Notebooks to peek in all kinds of notebooks.

Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest!

I Understand - a Villanelle

Chester

Photo by Honour V.

'

 

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

Students - I have set myself a Poetry New Year's Resolution!  I'll be writing a poem every day of this year, and I will share some of them here.  This will give me an opportunity to explore many different forms and deepen my skill as a writer.  Sometimes we all get into ruts, and I do that with sound.  I like and often write in certain meters, so experimenting with new ones will help me grow.

Do you have a New Year's Resolution for writing?  It's not too late!

Today's poem is a villanelle, a form you may remember from V is for Vulture of my Dictionary Hike last April.  This is quite a complicated form, 19 lines with 5 tercets and 1 quatrain.  You'll notice that there are two repeating lines, and they repeat in a very particular order.  There are only 2 ending rhymes, and those, too, are in special places.  You can see exactly how this whole form works at poets.org or at the Poetry and Prose Writers' Blog.  There are many other places to look as well, but these two helped me yesterday.

Villanelles do not have a particular meter, but I chose to write in imabic pentameter (daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM).  Next time I'll try something different, but since I wrote a sonnet on Monday, I was in the groove of that meter!

Below you can see the beginning drafting work of today's villanelle.  I followed the advice I read and began with a theme - becoming different animals and understanding all creatures, a theme I return to often.  Then I wrote out the form to help me, like a skeleton.

When I awoke this morning, after this post had been up for 5 hours, I read today's offering at The Writer's Almanac, also about the connection of creatures.  Today's poem at The Writer's Almanac is "The Fish" by Billy Collins.

I took these process photos at a ski lodge while writing during my children's ski club afternoon.  You can see how I left blanks for needed lines and how I wrote dots and letters to help me know which lines and rhymes were needed where.

Notebook and Paper with Villanelle Draft

Photo by Amy LV

Computer Villanelle Draft

Photo by Amy LV

If you would like to read lots and lots of villanelles (I just might), here is a whole book about them.

Available through Amazon

Thank you to Matt Forrest Esenwine over at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme for hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup, the first of this new beautiful year.  Be sure to stop by and celebrate 2013 with poems!

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!

Peacock - A Couplet Poem

Magic!

by Amy LV

 

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

Students - Today's poem started as an assignment as it started with couplet I wrote for Irene Latham's celebration of her new book, DON'T FEED THE BOY.  Irene is hosting Poetry Friday today and she invited many of us to write animal couplets to celebrate the book. You can read the collection of animal couplets at Live Your Poem.

Irene's idea is a fun one and one you might enjoy trying with your friends.  All you need to do is think of a topic that is easily broken up, a topic like school, or pets, or favorite foods.  (There are endless possibilities here!)  Then, each person write one couplet.  Once you gather them all up, decide on an order and title...and you've got it!  If anyone tries this, please let me know.  I'd love to host a collaborative couplet poem here.

If you would like to learn more about peacocks, visit National Geographic.  I am thinking that I might want to write a nonfiction peacock poem to go along with this one.

Speaking of animals and National Geographic, if you have not yet seen National Geographic's new BOOK OF ANIMAL POETRY, edited by Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis, and full of gorgeous poems and photography, do not miss it.  I just checked it out of the library, and I'm in love.  This book is on my order-right-away list!  As you read, you will recognize many wonderful classics, and you'll be happy to find lots of your current Poetry Friday friends too.

Available through the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Store

Nina Crittenden is my guest at Sharing Our Notebooks this week.  Stop by and see the types of notebooks she uses and how she continues to create.  (You will also have a chance to be entered into Nina's generous drawing of a book and pocket notebook.)

Happy Poetry Friday!  Head on over to Live Your Poem to celebrate Irene Latham's new book, DON'T FEED THE BOY, and to see all of today's Poetry Friday posts.

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!

He's My Bud - Poems from Life & Books

Goldfish Backpack

by Amy LV

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

Students - When I was a little girl, my grandmother had a pet goldfish.  His (her?) name was Goldie, and he (she?) lived in a fish tank on Grandma's kitchen counter.  He (she?) got bigger and bigger and then stopped, just as they say fish do, depending on the size of the tank.

How did I get the idea for today's poem?  I have no idea!  But as I trace back in my mind, I think it may because last week, I read aloud Dan Yaccarino's THE BIRTHDAY FISH, an adorable book which includes a picture of a girl pulling her fish bowl in a wagon.  This picture must have stayed with me.  That and Goldie, of course.  I often pretend to know what other creatures are thinking...and goldfish probably do want to travel a bit more.  Don't you think?

Available through Amazon

If you are not sure what to write about today, you might want to read a picture book or a magazine first.  What picture strikes you?  What does it make you think and wonder?  Just start writing, and see what happens.  You might surprise yourself.  I did.

Almost every line in this poem has eight syllables.  But there are four lines with only seven syllables. Can you find them?  You may also notice that the last two lines are much shorter, really one line broken in two.. Sometimes it's neat to finish a poem like that, funneling it down to a slowed-down, short-line ending.

This week I am thrilled to have author Kate Messner visiting Sharing Our Notebooks.  If you are notebook keeper, you will want to visit here to peek inside her notebooks.  If you are a teacher and your class keeps notebooks, this site is growing to be quite full and useful!

Remember, it is Banned Books Week and also time to nominate books for the Cybils too!  Here you can see the poetry books that have already been nominated.

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