A Year of Reading: April 2013

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Chalkabration!

Betsy, at Teaching Young Writers, is hosting a Chalkabration on the last day of April, May, June, July and August. Here's my poem:

Here's a close-up of that yellow haze of oak pollen (and some CUTE little oak leaves):

Now multiply the pollen from those three bundles of oak flowers by an entire tree full, in a neighborhood filled with mature oak trees...

...and you'll understand why my red car has a distinct yellow tinge to it!! (AH--CHOO!!)

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.30

Animation by DemonDeLuxe (Dominique Toussaint), from Wikimedia Commons

Z IS FOR THE END

The month has zipped by,

although some days

the writing was

much zippier than others.

Like the teeth of the zipper

we writers came together,

locking ideas to make a chain.

The prompt was our slider.

I thank you, fellow poets,

for joining me

in binding word to word,

thought to image.

This common daily work,

putting one word after another,

has brought us close,

will link us forever.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

From Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind):

Where it ends is where it begins,
our words entwined like wires
moving with electricity through the world
from our fingers to our ears
to the universe beyond.

Where it ends is where it begins,
a spark of creativity and connectedness
and shadows of worlds unfolding on the page
from our fingers to our eyes
to our thoughts settled inside.

Where it ends is where it begins,
poems as stories as memories
as thinking, as sharing in this space
where time and distance are immeasurable
and where our words collide
forever.

©Kevin Hodgson, 2013
The podcast is here.

From Linda (TeacherDance):

Tasty Pleasure

Baby poems zipped, enthusiastic group.
This was our own alphabet soup:
dashes of some humor, facts there, too;
thought-filled words together - eclectic stew!

©Linda Baie, 2013

From Carol (Carol's Corner):

"Zipper"

I crouch down

take your down jacket

in my hands

fumble with the frayed

late winter zipper

until it catches

I draw the zipper

to just below your chin

tie your hood and

stuff your hands

into mismatched mittens

hoping this

little bit of love

will be enough

to protect you from

a frigid unloving world.

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project was

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

I used the media to inspire my poetry, but I invited my students to use my daily media picks to inspire any original creation: poems, stories, comics, music, videos, sculptures, drawings...anything!

Here are some of my students' creations:

Inspired by the fire breather

Volcano cake inspired by the fire breather

The above three inspired by Le Silence

Foodscape/sculpture of the Broadway Tower with an imaginative landscape surrounding it!

To go with the Rubik's Cube animation

And the poems that were inspired by the harp music:

that sound calms

me down every

time I hear

it going past

nice and fast

just the

way I

dream

--B

SOUND OF BEAUTY

The brush of a harp.

The melody.

The sound.

The feeling.

The beauty.

--No

ANGELS

It feels like

angels are flying

over me,

playing their soothing harps,

sounds relaxing.

--Na

FLOWERS AND HARPS

When I think of flowers

I remember the

sound of harps. They are

both peaceful and

relaxing. They make me feel

safe.

--Jo

peace harmony

freedom

happiness

Litmus

Lozenge

vengeance sorrow

pain agony

honor courage

respect

--Re

TWOs

Two harps

play

two beautiful

sounds

like two flowers

twirling around and

around

like two friends

caring for

each other

like two blue jays

singing

sister and brother

like two people

giving gifts on special days

like two children

wanting

to play

like two angels

watching

for us

like two harps

playing

two

beautiful

sounds.

--Ra

Had to remember

A loved one.

Running my fingers on the strings making

Peaceful music.

--M

NICE SOUNDS

That sound, what is that

it's so...peaceful.

It makes me calm down,

overjoyed, I went to where

it came from.

It was at a church

it was a girl playing

her harp.

I walk in and

she stops, she looks

at me then looks away

and starts playing

again.

--G

HARPS

The music from heaven

letting us know the right way

like a rainbow in the clear sky

it is quiet music that

makes us feel safe.

--Y

HARP

The music is peaceful

like crickets making music.

All the sounds come together

like every feather of a bird.

This piece had harmony

like a two instrument symphony.

Playing my harp

making beautiful music.

Plucking the strings,

playing something inspirational.

Inspiration,

that made this poem.

--J

no stopping

back and forth, forth and back.

no stopping; for there is no

time in this new world.

back and forth, forth and back.

as i lean against ellis,

i try to remember those days.

back and forth, forth and back.

one year more until

this war is out of my head.

back and forth, forth and back.

my life is full of melodies,

and i need them to live.

--S

Monday, April 29, 2013

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.29

Photo by Sara&Joachim, from Wikimedia Commons

MEERKAT JUMP ROPE RHYME

eenie

meenie

miney

three little meerkats

all in a row

one looks left

and one looks right

and the third won't

let you out of his sight

three little meerkats

all in a row

eenie

meenie

miney

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

From Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind):

Wait!

Did you hear that?

Stand still;

Hesitate.

Become the world -

Become the landscape -

Become a statue

and do nothing but

wait.

©Kevin Hodgson, 2013

The podcast of this poem is here.

From Carol (Carol's Corner):

"Meerkat"

Me?

Meerkat.

You think I'm kinda funny looking?

Those stripes

on my back?

unique.

none of the other

fifty fellows

in my large mob

(or some people call it a gang or clan)

look exactly like me.

That hairless patch on my belly?

The place

where my black skin shows through?

That absorbs heat while I'm standing

on my rear legs,

early in the morning

after cold Kalahari desert nights.

And those big eyes

on the front of my face?

For watching.

African tribesmen

trust me to

protect their villages

from werewolves

that attack stray cattle

And I gotta take my turn at sentry duty

while others are foraging.

We forage for food

every day

Meerkats don't carry around

any stored body fat.

That long curved claw?

That little hummer

can dig my weight

in sand in only seconds.

Mostly, I'm foraging for insects

but if I'm really hungry

I might dig up a scorpion.

Not to brag,

but did I mention

that unlike you humans

I'm immune to

the venom of scorpions.

And those black crescent-shaped ears?

they close.

keep out soil

when I'm digging

pretty handy

a fella's gotta be able to hear

to protect himself

from brothers

who might want to kill him

to up their status

in our meerkat mob.

My long tapering tail?

Yeah, it's different

from my bushy-tailed

mongoose relatives.

That tail helps me balance when I stand upright,

And I use it

for signaling.

The Dutch didn't call me

stick tail

for nothing.

Me?

Sun angel.

You still think I'm kinda funny looking?

From Linda (TeacherDance):

Mom says:

“Look at the camera, children.

Smile for Daddy!”

But I keep thinking that something’s up,

and Billy and Jake need to keep their eyes open

for

jackals on the left

lions on the right

and I need to look up

for the eagles.

They call us merely-cats

but we’re always lookin’.

Okay Mom,

we’re going to smile now.

Oops, where’s Billy!

©Linda Baie, 2013

From Cathy (Merely Day by Day):

Sentries

together

we listen for

hawks,

jackals,

eagles.

we watch

tirelessly.

together

we stand

while others

hunt

for lizards,

insects,

birds.

foraging

for food.

we are

ready

at a moment's

notice

to bark

our call,

warning all

to take cover,

to hide

deep

in our tunnels.

together

we stand

strong,

we protect,

we are

the lookouts,

guarding

our mob.

together

we are

one.

©Cathy Mere, 2013

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Each day in April, I will feature media from the Wikimedia Commons ("a database of 16,565,065 freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute") along with bits and pieces of my brainstorming and both unfinished and finished poems.

I will be using the media to inspire my poetry, but I am going to invite my students to use my daily media picks to inspire any original creation: poems, stories, comics, music, videos, sculptures, drawings...anything!

You are invited to join the fun, too! Leave a link to your creation in the comments and I'll add it to that day's post. I'll add pictures of my students' work throughout the month as well.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Screen Free Week, Concussions and Stuff...

A Year of Reading will be taking part in Screen Free Week 2013. This is a week for turning off screens to find more time to read, play, hang out with family, etc. Our Screen Free Week will begin after Mary Lee's National Poetry Month series ends on April 30. We will be off the blog from May 1-May 5.

Franki will have an extended Screen Free Week. Due to a never-ending concussion, she will most likely be unable blog for 4-6 weeks. Mary Lee will cover on her own for a while (as she has been for weeks) as Franki takes time to recover.

Enjoy your time during Screen Free Week!

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.28

Photos by Gideon Pisanty (Gidip) גדעון פיזנטי, from Wikimedia Commons

This photographer has five photos of this female long-horned bee collecting nectar and pollinating this flower. Yesterday's photo prompted poems about work, and perhaps today's will, too. That seems fitting, because today is Workers' Memorial Day, "an international day of remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured or made unwell by their work."

BEES

clamber

climb

pry

nectar

pollen

sky

home

hive

fly

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

From Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind):

My leg gets stuck
at every opening
I crawl into
so that I must always
ask for help
before returning
home.

©Kevin Hodgson, 2013

From Margaret (Reflections on the Teche):

fly

buzz

land

flower

sweet

syrup

busy

happy

bee

©Margaret Simon, 2013

From Linda (TeacherDance):

We appreciate

the time the bees

are busy buzzy,

making their knees

fat and golden,

pollen fuzzy.

©Linda Baie, 2013

From Carol (Carol's Corner):

"ABC's of Honeybees"

Apian adventurers

busily buzzing

ceaselessly collecting

diving and delving

ever exploring

fragrant flowers

groping gardens

hoping honey's

ingredients are inside.

joyfully journeying

keenly kavorting

looking leads to

miraculous meadow of

never-ending nectar

obviously the only option is to

pull from petals make

ready for recycling

suck into second stomach

through tubular tongue

unload and use

working wings to dehydrate

extract any extras

zweeeeeet!

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.27

Breakfast Break of the Scaffolders
Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-09409 / CC-BY-SA

Work and rest. That's what's on my mind today.

The trick

is learning to rest

in the midst

of your work.

That,

and balance.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

From Linda (TeacherDance):

Breaktime (in the clouds)

high time for breakfast

did you bring the news

I have a bag of donuts

for munching with the views

I can balance here on top

while I take my break

just don’t want the wind

to come and give a little shake

©Linda Baie, 2013

From Carol (Carol's Corner):

"Precarious"

Look
the view
from up here
head brushing clouds
fingertips cold steel

please
be still
don't lean much
because my perch
is precarious

your
courage
is making
me a little
uncomfortable.

(c) Carol Wilcox, 2013

From Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind):

My grandfather worked this place,

with brothers and cousins

and fellow blue-collar heroes,

riveting steel into the skyline

as dreamed by those down below ...

I listen to Springsteen -

with chords and lyrics

and stories of working-class men -

driving this steel on wheels

to spend hours in those towers ...

At lunch, I study the skyline,

watch the clouds,

imagine the dangerous balancing act

my grandfather's crew performed

each day, every day,

as they built this city,

from the bottom up.

The podcast of this poem is here.

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Friday, April 26, 2013

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.26

Creative Commons photo by Brocken Inaglory. The image was edited by user:Alvesgaspar
From Wikimedia Commons Featured Images: Natural Phenomena

BUBBLE

thin

skin:

just

water

and

soap

clear sphere:

a vessel

of hope

From Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind):

Hold me gently:

fingertips touching tender skin;

for inside,

I remain invisible

and vulnerable to the way things have been.

I float above this world,

in a cloak of color

but my rainbow drains easily,

so be gentle.

The podcast for this poem is here.

From Carol (Carol's Corner):

"Soap Bubble"

A gentle puff
rainbow carriage
appears
dancing
shimmering
glimmering
inviting me
to journey
to a magical
far away
fairy world.

(c) Carol Wilcox, 2013

From Margaret (Reflections on the Teche):

To see life
in a bubble
like a looking glass
transparent
spherical
silky
slide across
slip inside
pop
fly!

From Lisa (steps and staircases):

Chalk bubbles offer an invitation to draw.

and a haiku:

Bubble reflecting
my home, my world, me; this day
an island in time

©Lisa

From Cathy (Merely Day by Day):

Bubbles

Bubble, Bubble,
blow, blow.

Bubble, bubble,
grow, grow.

Bubble, bubble,
soar, soar.

Bubble, bubble,
more, more.

Bubble, bubble,
fly, fly,

Bubble, bubble,
high, high,

Bubble, bubble,
drop, drop,

Bubble, bubble,
Pop!

Pop!

Laura Purdie Salas has the Poetry Friday roundup this week at Writing the World for Kids.

Here is the other media I've featured this week (and, of course, the poems the media inspired--poems by me, and by the three or four other people who have been playing along with me this month):

Thursday: Photo of Broadway Tower

Wednesday: Video of a Sushi Train

Tuesday: Sound of Birdsong

Monday: "Irises" by Vincent VanGogh

Sunday: Animation of a Rubik's Cube (edited to add a video made by one of my students of him solving the cube in under 20 seconds)

Saturday: Old Map of San Antonio, TX

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.25

Broadway Tower, Cotswolds, England (Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year for 2007)
Creative Commons photo by Newton2 (cropped by Yummifruitbat)

FAIRY TALE

Once upon a long ago,
I stood before a tower.
Magic blew in from the east;
the hero met the coward.

Obstacles were overcome,
the happily came after.
Evil withered, crumbled, turned
the page to the next chapter.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

From Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind):

I light a match

to this cardboard castle

and burn the story to the ground,

finally free after so many years

of the roles into which we have been thrust:

the hero in shining armor

the damsel in distress

the fool juggling lives before the fickle king.

So now begins the new adventure,

free from the shackles of past

riding hard and fast

into the fading sun.

The podcast is here.

From Carol (Carol's Corner):

“Castle Dream”

the day is all about blue sky
and green grass and
a few wispy clouds and
i will march right up
to the enormous stone castle
after crossing the moat
filled with hungry alligators
i will lift the lions head knocker
bang authoritatively
on the heavy wooden door
and proclaim
i am a long lost princess
here to meet my prince
please let me into
and they lived happily ever after…

(c) Carol Wilcox, 2013

From Linda (TeacherDance):

A Plea

Will you come to my castle fair?
I am so awfully lonely there.
‘Tis sitting tall at the top of a hill
and surrounding land is bereft and still.
No forest primeval’s near this hold;
no witches or dragons to shiver you cold.
Just me in the upper turrets of stone
wanting, oh wanting to call you home.

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.24

Moving Sushi by Deror Avi on Wikimedia Commons

In science we learned about food chains

but clearly that does not apply

to sushi, which comes on a food train

chew-chewing as it passes by.

From Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind):

The predator hunts,
biding his time,
as his dinner cavorts
with others in line.

One might think
there were hours to wait,
as dinner flows by
on a small blue plate.

Another night
with too many choices,
the predator slinks home
in his stomach, the voices

call out for some meat,
some rice, some fish,
something of substance
from the small moving dish.

But, alas, that won't be
so he takes out his bread
spreads peanut butter and jelly
and slinks off to bed.

©Kevin Hodgson, 2013

The podcast is here.

From Linda (TeacherDance):

With Apologies to Joyce Kilmer

I think I never want to see

a sushi train click-clack by me,

a train who only runs to serve

those with quick hands and steely nerve,

a train full of makimono and

futomaki - nori the outside band.

I will accompany friends who wish

to grab each and every tasty dish

But I’ll sit calmly with spring rolls and tea.

These trains aren’t made for fools like me.

From Carol (Carol's Corner):

"Sushi Train"

The sushi bar

in the neighborhood

grocery store

opened to great fanfare.

Chefs banging gongs,

free samples

shouted invitations,

to come try this fishy delight.

And I watched

my neighbors-

carts loaded with

pepsi, hot dogs, white bread,

tortillas, enchiladas, frijoles,

chitlings, collard greens, mac and cheese,

crowd around

to partake

in a whole new world

of sashimi, wasabi, and squid.

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.23

"Bird songs recorded in the forest of Fontainebleau (France). You can especially hear some wrens."

The author, barracuda1983, has released this work into the Public Domain. It can be found on Wikimedia Commons.

BIRDSONG

The leader of the early morning bird walk was a quiet-spoken angular man.

He led us across dew-soaked grass to the forest's edge.

Robins and Bluejays were spotted in the October sky;

Carolina Wrens sang way too loudly for their diminutive size.

Rarely were there surprises.

I remember mostly the comforting sameness of the walks.

Sassafras leaves, worm castings,

and the sound of the woods waking up with a song in its heart.

From Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind):

I find peace and solace in this space
with only the birds singing
their musical refrains.

When no one is watching or aware,
I join in, too,
meshing my harsh voice with theirs.

We remix nature together,
them and I, here in these woods,
until only the sunset quiets us down.

As the moon rises it skyward arc,
the birds fall silent, to sleep,
yet still, I sing into starlight.

©Kevin Hodgson, 2013

From Linda (TeacherDance):

Back Home

Rasp and chatter
Carolina Wren
calls me
back to my forest friends
teakettle, teakettle
cheer cheer
cardinal flashing
spring is here

alive with chicka-dee dee
leafy-damp smell
walking in my forest
all is well

From Steve (Inside the Dog):

Where?

Where does
the birds’ song
come from?
Of course,
we know:
from deep inside
and past
the narrow
cords of sinew,
a drawn breath
squeezed tight,
a tiny explosion
of must
flung to the sky.
These things we
know. But
where does
the birds’ song
come from?
And how can
it alight so precisely
in the heart?

© Steve Peterson, 2013

From Carol (Carol's Corner):

frigid april morning

red breasted robin huddles

saving songs for spring

busy shovels throw

piles of wet slushy snow

no bird songs today

Hey Mr. Redbreast

ignore this swirling gray whiteness

sing your song of spring

welcome mr. robin

glad you brought your own sunshine

to this cloudy day

Three April blizzards

long to listen to bird songs

not clanking shovels

Mr. Weatherman

we should be planting flowers

not shoveling snow

One more blizzard then

we shut the door on winter

and welcome bird's song

Bird choir ignores

howling April blizzard to

sing spring aria.

April showers bring

May flowers, April blizzards

bring grumpy poets

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Pages

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Monday, April 29, 2013

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Friday, April 26, 2013

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Tuesday, April 23, 2013