Thursday, April 09, 2015

2015 Progressive Poem

Welcome to latest installment of the 2015 Progressive Poem! I'm going to honor the changes Irene, our fearless leader, made to the layout. She writes,

"You'll notice a couple of changes in this version of our poem. Jone's first line has been edited slightly, at Jone's request. (She and Joy decided "deposits" was redundant.) Also, I've broken the lines into couplets (one way to add white space to long lines."

I'm a flatlander from the arid prairies of eastern Colorado. I know nothing about deltas, let alone mermaids. This will be a stretch for my imagination! Excuse me for a minute while I go do some research!

...I hope Irene won't mind if I change her period to a comma! I'll leave my line unpunctuated for Michelle (Today's Little Ditty) to do with as she will!



She lives without a net, walking along the alluvium of the delta.
Shoes swing over her shoulder, on her bare feet stick jeweled flecks of dark mica.

Hands faster than fish swing at the ends of bare brown arms. Her hair flows,
snows in wild wind as she digs in the indigo varnished handbag,

pulls out her grandmother's oval cuffed bracelet,
strokes the turquoise stones, and steps through the curved doorway.

Tripping on her tail she slips hair first down the slide... splash!
She glides past glossy water hyacinth to shimmer with a school of shad,

listens to the ibises roosting in the trees of the cypress swamp











PO-EMotion -- Courage




SENECA ROCKS, WV

It's not enough
just to crawl to the top
plastering yourself to the rocks
in a smear of gravity.

Once you get there
you have to stand up
on your own two perilously unstable feet --
valiant and vertical.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015









Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.

Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month. 
Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!
Have courage, writers!

Steve, at inside the dog, is sharing his poems 
in the comments at Poetrepository.


Heidi, at my juicy little universe, will join us when she can.


Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.
Check the comments at A Year of Reading or Poetrepository for her poems.


Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,
leaving poetry trax in the comments.


Jone, at DeoWriter, is doing a "double L" challenge. 
She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible. 







Wednesday, April 08, 2015

PO-EMotion -- Joy


Flickr Creative Commons Photo by dutchy_42


QUILTING

In the last patch
of evening-lit sky
above the river,
a single heron
stitches one bank to the other
with steady wingbeats.
Bats zigzag
the seams of the day
to prevent unraveling.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015








Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.

Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month. 
Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!
Kay is hunting joy.

Steve, at inside the dog, is sharing his poems 
in the comments at Poetrepository.


Heidi, at my juicy little universe, will join us when she can.


Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.
Check the comments at A Year of Reading or Poetrepository for her poems.


Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,
leaving poetry trax in the comments.


Jone, at DeoWriter, is doing a "double L" challenge. 
She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible. 






Tuesday, April 07, 2015

PO-EMotion -- Acceptance




UNTIL SUCH TIME

My trio of tubes
were machined
to make music.

I hang inside
silent
dreaming of breezes
gathering dust.

In my bones,
I hum.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015





Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.

Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month. 
Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!
Of maple leaves and hawks...

Steve, at inside the dog, is sharing his poems 
in the comments at Poetrepository.


Heidi, at my juicy little universe, will join us when she can.


Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.
Check the comments at A Year of Reading or Poetrepository for her poems.


Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,
leaving poetry trax in the comments.


Jone, at DeoWriter, is doing a "double L" challenge. 
She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible. 






Monday, April 06, 2015

2015 Progressive Poem


I need to start getting ready to add my line!



1 Jone at Check it Out
5 Charles at Poetry Time Blog
7 Catherine at Catherine Johnson
8 Irene at Live Your Poem
9 Mary Lee at Poetrepository
10 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty
11 Kim at Flukeprints
12 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
13 Doraine at DoriReads
14 Renee at No Water River
17 Buffy at Buffy's Blog
18 Sheila at Sheila Renfro
19 Linda at Teacher Dance
20 Penny at A Penny and her Jots
21 Tara at A Teaching Life
22 Pat at Writer on a Horse
23 Tamera at The Writer's Whimsy
26 Brian at Walk the Walk
27 Jan at Bookseedstudio
28 Amy at The Poem Farm
29 Donna at Mainely Write


PO-EMotion --Sadness


from Google Images -- labeled for reuse


seven paper boats
a single candle in each
flotilla of grief


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015










Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.

Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month. 

Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!
Kay ponders the place of giggles in the midst of sadness.

Steve, at inside the dog, is sharing his poems 
in the comments at Poetrepository.

Heidi, at my juicy little universe, will join us when she can.
Her poem is "Why I Keep a Diary."

Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.
Check the comments at A Year of Reading or Poetrepository for her poems.


Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,
leaving poetry trax in the comments.


Jone, at DeoWriter, is doing a "double L" challenge. 
She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible. 



The roundup of 2015 Poetry Month projects throughout the Kidlitosphere can be found at 

Sunday, April 05, 2015

PO-EMotion -- Disgust


Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Quinn Dombrowski

ODE TO THE EASTER EGG WE FOUND IN MAY

Along with a dust bunny from in back of the shelf
the innocent cat rolled you out.
In the dark, shoeless Dad stepped upon you
and let out a startled shout.

Your elliptical shell crunched and shattered,
a noxious stench rose and oozed,
the cat wisely galloped away
as the stink cloud spread and grew.

We opened all of the windows,
shooed the stink cloud out of the door.
Next Easter there will be no hunt.
To quote Dad: "Nevermore. Nevermore."

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015







Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.


Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month. 

Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!
Questions for a Litterbug

Steve, at inside the dog, is sharing his poems 
in the comments at Poetrepository.

Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.
Check the comments here and at Poetrepository for her poems.


Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,
leaving poetry trax in the comments.


Jone, at DeoWriter, is doing a "double L" challenge. 
She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible. 




The roundup of 2015 Poetry Month projects throughout the Kidlitosphere can be found at 

Saturday, April 04, 2015

PO-EMotion -- Anger


"Wild Platypus 4" by Klaus - Flickr: Wild Platypus 4. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons 


WHY CAN'T YOU ACCEPT ME FOR WHAT I AM?!?!?

I'm an
egg-laying
duck-billed
beaver-tailed
otter-footed
evolution-confounding
naturalist-baffling
real-life
no-joke
Australian-born
coin-featured

MAMMAL!

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015


The first four hyphenated pairs in my poem today are borrowed straight from the Wikipedia article on the Platypus. Just goes to show that you can find your inspiration just about anywhere!






Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.

Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month. 

Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!
Kay WAS spittin' mad!

Steve, at inside the dog, is sharing his poems 
in the comments at Poetrepository.

Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.
Check the comments here and at Poetrepository for her poems.


Yay! Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,
leaving poetry trax in the comments.


Jone, at DeoWriter, is doing a "double L" challenge. 
She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible. 




The roundup of 2015 Poetry Month projects throughout the Kidlitosphere can be found at 

Friday, April 03, 2015

PO-EMotion -- Surprise




DRAGONFLY'S SURPRISE

All you can see
is the agile,
iridescent
aviator
I have become:
emperor of
the pond's airspace.

Imagine this:
in my nymph-hood,
I ruled below,
terrorizing
pond's murky depths,
spent years hunting
insects, tadpoles,
even small fish.
Extending my
overgrown lip:
flashing, snatching,
holding, munching.

Molting revealed
larger wing buds
each time, but no
hints of future
aeronautics.

Until one day,
in early dark,
I climbed a reed,
stopped with my head
above water,
learned to breathe air.
That accomplished,
I morphed from a
water creature
to the wonder
you see today.

Never, ever
undervalue
a lowly start.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015






Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.

Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month. 

Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!

Steve, at inside the dog, is sharing his poems 
in the comments at Poetrepository or A Year of Reading.

Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.
Check the comments here and at Poetrepository for her poems.

Yay! Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,
 leaving poetry trax in the comments.

Jone, at DeoWriter, is doing a "double L" challenge. 
She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible. 

Bridget, at wee words for wee ones, has a gardening surprise today!

Ramona, at Pleasures from the Page, has a spring surprise today!

The roundup of  2015 Poetry Month projects throughout the Kidlitosphere can be found at 


Amy has today's Poetry Friday roundup at The Poem Farm.





Thursday, April 02, 2015

PO-EMotion -- Fear


Flickr Creative Commons photo by Don deBold

FEAR

A shadow passes over my voice
like a hawk circling a field mouse,
like a heron targeting a bullfrog.

I freeze.

I didn't even raise my hand!
Why did she call on me?


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015






Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.

Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month. 

Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!

Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.
Check the comments here and at Poetrepository for her poems.


Yay! Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,
 leaving poetry trax in the comments.

Jone is doing a "double L" challenge. 
She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible. 
Today I have a bullfrog for hers and she has fear for mine!


The roundup of  2015 Poetry Month projects throughout the Kidlitosphere can be found at