Friday, April 09, 2010

Poem #9 -- More About Those Xs


Second grader came up to me
on the playground yesterday,
"Teacher, Teacher! There are so many Xs in the sky!"

I looked up,
and there were two immense contrails
making a huge X in the sky.

And then I turned and saw another...and another...and another...
five Xs in the blue spring sky.
I asked him how he thought they got there

and he said something about airplanes,
but I said I thought a leprechaun put them there
(X marks the spot for treasure)

and he ran off yelling about Xs
and treasure
and I was the rich one.

by Mary Lee Hahn, copyright 2010



I wrote about this yesterday in haiku form. Today's poem is actually the text of an email to a friend telling the whole story. Because she loved it so much (especially the last line), I decided to make it into its own poem.

The Poetry Friday Roundup today is at Paper Tigers.



Here's a reprint of a bunch of the Kidlitosphere (and other assorted) NaPoMo projects that I'm following:

Gregory K. is once again hosting 30 Poets/30 Days with previously unpublished poems by favorite children's authors.

Tricia Stohr-Hunt is interviewing 30 children's poets, beginning with Mary Ann Hoberman, the US Children's Poet Laureate. The Poetry Makers list is stellar!

Jone MacCulloch shares Thirty Days, Thirty Students, Thirty Poems: original poems by students.


At A Wrung Sponge, Andromeda is writing a "haiga" (photo and haiku) each day. Her photography is simply stunning. The haikus are amazing, too!

Kelly Fineman at Writing and Ruminating will continue the Building a Poetry Collection series she began last year -- selecting a poem a day in a kind of personal Poetry Tag (see Sylvia Vardell's version below) and providing analysis. I call this The University of Kelly Fineman because I learn so much in each post!

Sylvia Vardell is inviting poets to play Poetry Tag. She will invite poets to "play" along by offering a poem for readers to enjoy, then she will "tag" a poet who shares her/his own poem THAT IS CONNECTED to the previous poem in SOME way—by a theme, word, idea, tone-- and offers a sentence or two explaining that connection. What a creative idea!

Laura at Author Amok is highlighting the poets laureate of all 50 states this month...well, all the ones that have a poet laureate... Fun Fun!

Laura Salas is posting a children's poem per day from a poetry book she loves.

Lee Wind is publishing many new Teen voices during April for National Poetry Month. GLBTQ Teen Poetry.

Bud the Teacher gives a picture prompt every day during April and invites readers to post the poem it inspires in the comments of his blog.

ORIGINAL POEM-A-DAY CHALLENGE

Checks these blogs daily for new original poems by the following people:

  • Susan Taylor Brown
  • Jone MacCulloch
  • Elizabeth Moore
  • April Halprin Wayland
  • Liz Scanlon
  • Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

  • If I missed your project, please let me know and I'll add it to my list!


    12 comments:

    1. Bud Hunt (Bud the Teacher) posts a photo each day and asks for visitors to be inspired to write a poem.
      http://budtheteacher.com/blog

      I liked your X poems. A little inspiration goes a long way ..

      X

      You say X marks the spot
      but what about the Zs I see
      overhead
      and Y not Y,
      for while you view the world
      in dissecting criss-crossing lines,
      I close my eyes to envision the sky as open
      and connected
      and not at all expected.


      -- Kevin

      ReplyDelete
    2. Kevin,

      Thanks for stopping by and adding your poem! You're right, a little inspiration DOES go a long way. Maybe we'll get some more poems in the comments throughout the day!! I wonder what other folks see in the picture, or what it makes them think of...

      ReplyDelete
    3. Thank you for your poem; I will go out and see what letters I can find in our sky today! (Such fun to think of finding letters in addition to pictures.)

      I am writing and posting a children's poem each day for the month of April at www.poemfarm.blogspot.com

      Yours,
      Amy.

      ReplyDelete
    4. Thanks, Amy! I added you to my list! I'm looking forward to going back (that makes NO sense...looking forward to going back???) and reading your first 9 poems!!

      ReplyDelete
    5. Love the "X" poem, Mary Lee. I like the way you expanded your original haiku.
      Carmela
      TeachingAuthors

      ReplyDelete
    6. Love X marks the spot for treasure and the leprechaun! I'll be searching the skies today for my own treasures :).

      ReplyDelete
    7. Oh, Mary Lee, I love that poem! The ending is powerful.

      ReplyDelete
    8. I loved your haiku yesterday, and your comments about X marking the spot for treasure. The poems you've posted have been a treat to read. Thank you for sharing!

      ReplyDelete
    9. I love your poem - and the scenario it came out of too -. I don't suppose that littel boy will ever forget about treasure-hunting in the sky now!

      And thank you for all your links to all the riches around the Kidlitosphere for National Poetry Month...

      ReplyDelete
    10. I love how you gave us two versions of this poem/experience. Your last line rocks!

      Thanks for linking me and all the other NaPoMo bloggers here. What a wild ride!

      ReplyDelete
    11. I was on my way to work yesterday, and there were Xs in the sky here in Texas, too! ;)
      I thought of your poems and your sweet students. I took this picture with my phone through my windshield, so don't expect high quality!
      http://www.flickr.com/photos/38758683@N07/4605704852/

      ReplyDelete
    12. Way cool, Sarah! Thanks for sharing! I'm glad those Xs got into your imagination, too!

      ReplyDelete

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