24th Line of the 2018 Progressive Poem

Welcome to the 24th line of the 2018 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem! Thank you, Irene Latham, for this (now beloved) yearly tradition!

In Heidi's "pre-progressive poem pre-poetry month poetry friday round-up" post she assigned us the task of jotting some thoughts after the first line went live and then hiding them from ourselves until it was time for our line.

Here's what I wrote:

Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched.

Nature
spring
hope
gardening
POV the plant/seed?
internal rhyme/assonance

How very...thoughtful and...detailed of me! (NOT.)

Here's what I know now. We've got a seed named Jasmine (Jas for short) who has awakened on a moonlit night. She's playful, inviting Moon to a game with her and Owl. Jasmine first twines herself around Owl's toes, then around a trellis provided thoughtfully by Sky. In line 13, Jasmine and Owl headed for Lee Bennett Hopkins' birthday party. As Jasmine twines, she is writing a poem (or singing a song?). As for poetic moves, we have

• internal rhyme/assonance (nestled/bed) & (nestled/stretched) in the first line 
• internal rhyme/assonance in line 3 (blooming/moonlight) 
• fun compound words: stardrops, moonbeams, and starsong
• a concrete line that actually twines
• alliteration ("wiggled a wink")
• scientific truth (there really is twining poet's jasmine -- "Queen of Garden Vines, Poet’s jasmine (J. officinale) has long captured gardeners’ hearts with its vigorous habit and heavenly fragrance")
• a bit of dialogue, and 
• several poets have chosen to leave their lines open at the end.

As I write on 4/22, awaiting Amy's line on 4/23, I wonder if she'll move the poem ahead by adding to/explaining more about the game, the birthday party, or Jasmine's poem. Or will she surprise me?!?! (She surprised me.)

Cue several hours of brainstorming and doodling, hair-pulling and thesaurus-consulting.

And now, without further ado, here is the poem, with my version of stanzas and my line added. (Kiesha, feel free to add punctuation to the end of my line if you need it to make yours work):

Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched.
Oh, what wonderful dreams she had!

Blooming in midnight moonlight, dancing with
the pulse of a thousand stars, sweet Jasmine
invented a game.
"Moon?" she called across warm honeyed air.
"I'm sad you're alone; come join Owl and me.
We're feasting on stardrops, we'll share them with you."

"Come find me," Moon called, hiding behind a cloud.

Secure in gentle talons' embrace, Jasmine rose
and set. She split, twining up Owl's toes, pale
moonbeams sliding in between, Whoosh, Jasmine goes.
Owl flew Jasmine between clouds and moon to Lee's party!
Moon, that wily bright balloon, was NOT alone.

                                               Jas grinned,

                                                        stretched,

                                                               reached,

                                                                 wrapped

                                                             a new,

                                   around          tender

                                             rootlet

a trellis Sky held out to her, made of braided wind and song.
Her green melody line twisted and clung. 

Because she was twining poet's jasmine, she
wiggled a wink back at Moon, and began her poem.
Her whispered words floated on a puff of wind,
filled with light and starsong. "Revelers, lean in –
let's add to this merriment a game that grows
wordgifts for Lee. He's a man who knows
selection, collection, and wisely advising

These blogs are where the poem's been, and where it's going:

1 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass
2 Jane at Raincity Librarian
3 Laura at Writing the World for Kids
4 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty
5 Jan at bookseedstudio
6 Irene at Live Your Poem
7 Linda at TeacherDance
8 Janet F. at Live Your Poem
9 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
10 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
11 Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales
12 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
13 Linda at A Word Edgewise
14 Heidi at my juicy little universe
15 Donna at Mainely Write
16 Sarah at Sarah Grace Tuttle
17 Ruth at There is no such thing as a Godforsaken town
18 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
19 Michelle at Michelle Kogan
20 Linda at Write Time
21 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
22 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
23 Amy at The Poem Farm
24 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
25 Kiesha at Whispers from the Ridge
26 Renee at No Water River
27 Buffy at Buffy's Blog
28 Kat at Kat's Whiskers
29 April at Teaching Authors
30 Doraine at Dori Reads