Misconception Addressed - It's Kalman, Again

I'm sure you're tired of the links I provide each month to Maira Kalman's column. Alas, I can't help myself. I think she's brilliant and want everyone who hasn't read her stuff to be initiated. This month on her blog (And the Pursuit of Happiness) she tackles Benjamin Franklin. I was won over from the very beginning by this statement.

Let's straighten out the first thing.
He didn't invent electricity.

If I had a nickel for every time a kid told/asked me this, I'd be a very rich woman.

You'll find all kinds of interesting tidbits here, accompanied by Kalman's terrific art. So, what are you still doing here? Get going!

Poetry Friday - What I Learned From My Mother

I just returned from spending nearly two weeks with my recently widowed mother. Despite her grief she is managing well, and still teaching me much. This poem is for her.

What I Learned From My Mother
by Julia Kasdorf

I learned from my mother how to love
the living, to have plenty of vases on hand
in case you have to rush to the hospital
with peonies cut from the lawn, black ants
still stuck to the buds. I learned to save jars
large enough to hold fruit salad for a whole
grieving household, to cube home-canned pears
and peaches, to slice through maroon grape skins
and flick out the sexual seeds with a knife point.

Read the entire poem.

The round up is being hosted by Sylvia Vardell at Poetry for Children. Do stop by and take in all the wonderful works being shared this week. Happy poetry Friday all!

Hitting the Road

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, William and I head out for the L-O-N-G (10 or 11 hours) drive to western NY to spend nearly two weeks with my mom. (Did I mention my husband is a golf pro? No summer vacation for him.) I may check in once in a while, but for the most part, I'll be enjoying some much needed time off. I'll see you back here at the beginning of August.

Poetry Friday (One Day Early) - Moonflowers

Forgive the early post, but I leave for some much needed time off tomorrow.

It's been exactly 10 weeks since my father's death and I am often surprised and unhinged by things I see that remind me of him. This poem speaks to these moments.

Moonflowers
by Karma Larsen

It was the moonflowers that surprised us.
Early summer we noticed the soft gray foliage.
She asked for seedpods every year but I never saw them in her garden.
Never knew what she did with them.
Exotic and tropical, not like her other flowers.

Read the entire poem.

The round up is being hosted by Becky at Becky's Book Reviews. Do stop by and take in all the great poetry being shared this week. Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday all!

Poetry Stretch Results - Poems of Confession

The challenge this week was to write a poem of confession. Here are the results.

Jane Yolen left this poem in the comments.

Chocolate Love

I want chocolate, dark as kohl,
Lining my eyes,
Slathered between my legs,
Decorating my nipples.
I could eat it for every meal,
Rub it into my arm pits,
Crush it between my molars,
Suck it through a straw.
I dream of chocolate each night,
Running down my chin,
Hot and cold,
In a cup, in a cone.
My tongue gives it a deep kiss
And I am lost in its sweet tartness.
Can you tell I am on a diet?

© 2009 Jane Yolen

Stephanie Parsley from Sparble shares a poem entitled While you were at your father's in July.

Here is my draft for this week.

How to Unburden Your Soul

Pull journal from its hiding place
Find a good pen
Retire to a comfortable chair
Put your feet up
Collect your thoughts
Start a new page
Admit to:
      drinking milk straight from the jug
      eating the last piece of corn
      stealing your husband's change (every day)
      crying for no good reason
      backing into the mailbox
      an incredible lack of patience
      swearing like a sailor in the car
      a desire to throttle close friends and family
      spoiling your son
      missing a birthday
      failing a friend
      being human
Close journal
Let go
Breathe a sigh of relief

It's not to late if you still want to play. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll add it to the list.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Confessions

Confession is good for the soul, or so they say. I find it quite liberating, though the thought of confessing my sins as a child was often quite disconcerting. (Really, at ten or twelve, what did I have to confess beyond disobedience to my parents and the admission of a using a few well-chosen curse words?!)

I thought it might be fun to write poems of confession. These are NOT poems of apology, but real confessions. Perhaps you might want to confess to a crime you didn’t commit, or an obsession you have. This one is wide open for some creative ideas, so have some fun. When you're finished, leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.

Resources for Teachers - Elementary Math Ideas

My math class will be coming to an end this week. Over at Open Wide, Look Inside, my students are slowly posting the online component for their instructional resource sets. You will find topical posts that highlight children's books, web sites and other resources for teaching elementary math. Hop on over and take a look. I know you'll find these posts useful.

Poetry Friday - Ode to Marbles

I spent a good part of the day yesterday experimenting with soap bubbles in an attempt to determine what kind of middle school math activities might come from them. I'm still thinking about them and other childhood entertainments. When I was young I absolutely coveted my brother's marble collection. Here's a poem just for him (and me!)

Ode to Marbles
by Max Mendelsohn

I love the sound of marbles
scattered on the worn wooden floor,
like children running away in a game of hide-and-seek.
I love the sight
of white marbles,
blue marbles,
green marbles, black,
new marbles,
old marbles,

Read the entire poem.

The round up is being hosted by Jama at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup. Do stop by and take in all the great poems being shared this week. Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday all!

Poetry Stretch Results - Recipe Poems

The challenge this week was to write a recipe poem. It's only Tuesday, but folks got out of the gate fast on this one. Here are the results (so far).

Elaine from Wild Rose Reader shared this poem in the comments. It is a (slight) revision of an earlier poem.

How to Make a Morning

Melt a galaxy of stars
in a large blue bowl.
Knead the golden sun
and let it rise in the east.
Spread the horizon
with a layer of lemony light.
Blend together
until brimming with brightness.
Fold in dewdrops.
Sprinkle with songbirds.
Garnish with a chorus
of cock-a-doodle-doos.
Set out on a platter at dawn
and enjoy.

Tiel Aisha Ansari from Knocking From Inside shares a poem entitled Starfish Chili.

Laura Purdie Salas shares two recipe poems this week.

Diane M. Davis shares a poem entitled How to Make a Quiet Space.

Julie Larios from The Drift Record left this poem in the comments.

How to Make a 2-Year-Old

Start with Heart for the first year,
plenty of it. Add Head tad by tad
(plus a couple of toddles,
don’t go for name brands
like Mozart or Einstein –
a few lumpy smooches
and multiple grins and waddles
are fine.) To leaven, add tickles
(often) until you’re fairly addled
and softened, and the baby
is thoroughly moistened.
Allow to double in size.
Do not punch down
or allow to curdle. Keep warm
and dry in pj’s with penguins.
Serve with a sibling or two (or more.)
Share the results w/ all of your neighbors.

Kelly Fineman from Writing and Ruminating left this poem in the comments.

Recipe For a Mountain Stream
by Kelly R. Fineman

Carve a pathway down the mountain.
Line the streambed full of rocks.
Julienne tree roots and branches
if they keep you from your course.

Melt the snowcaps on the hilltops.
Whisk along where rapids roil.
Moisten every single pebble,
speck of gravel, mote of soil.

Here's the poem I wrote early this morning.

Island Surprise

Heat rock into molten magma
Pipe through cracks in the ocean floor
Let rise until well above sea level
Pound with surf
Simmer for thousands of years
Drizzle with sun and rain
Marinate in season after season
Dust with wind-blown seeds
Splash with the colors of the rainbow
Sprinkle with flora and fauna
Protect and enjoy for generations to come

It's not too late if you want to play along. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll add it to the results.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Recipe Poem

Lately I've been spending my evenings outside with a few trusty companions--my son, our dog, a notebook, my new fountain pen, and the book A Crow Doesn't Need a Shadow: A Guide to Writing Poetry From Nature. In the section Creating a Landscape, Lorraine Ferra shares a recipe poem and guides readers through the process of writing their own. Here's an excerpt.

Look through a cookbook. As you read the directions for several different recipes, write down the verbs which tell you what to do with the ingredients. Make a list of about ten or twelve different verbs. Keep in mind that you probably won't use all the verbs you find. Be selective for your poem.

Some possible subjects might be a recipe for a cave, foggy morning, a bird refuge, a season or particular month, a moonlit field, a river, or a sunset. Once you decide on your subject, start listing some ingredients.

Elaine from Wild Rose Reader is a master at recipe poems. Here are the directions she shares for writing them.

Directions for Writing Recipe and How to Make… Poems

• Write each direction in a separate sentence.
• Begin each sentence with a carefully selected verb.
• Try to use a different verb in each sentence.

You can read more at her post Recipe & How to Make ... Poems, Part II. This, of course, means there is also a post entitled Recipe & How to Make ... Poems, Part I.

So, there's your challenge for the week. Write a poem in the form of a recipe. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.

Poetry Friday - I Hear America Singing

With Independence Day just around the corner, I'm thinking about America. Here's one of my favorite poems about her.

I Hear America Singing
by Walt Whitman

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand
     singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or
     at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of
     the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows,
     robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

The round up is being hosted by Tabatha A. Yeatts. Do stop by and take in all the great poetry being shared this week. Before you go be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results.

Poetry Stretch Results - Acrostic Poems

The challenge this week was to write in the acrostic form. Here are the results.

Jane Yolen left this poem in the comments.

Undertaker

Victim look up.
Under a low and
Lowering sky, the undertaker comes
To carry your particulars
Up to a bleak, black heaven.
Read the set of wings, cruel beak, hooded eyes. This is no
Easing into eternity but a short, sharp shock

© 2009 Jane Yolen

Julie Larios from The Drift Record left this poem in the comments.

Green

Squash and tomatoes
Up, white clematis vining, cherries done,
Me down on my knees
Minding the weeds.
Each year, I hear their green
Rebellion

All around. And by the time I stand
Up again, another season’s come
To nudge me along. There, in the back yard,
Under the bare maple I see
Myself on my knees again, and next to me
Narcissus bulbs – named Polar Ice -

Waiting for their dark dirt.
I turn, I turn, the year turns with me.
Now it’s time for the person I am
To go inside, out of the snow, tuck
Everyone I love into bed,
Read them stories. What could be

Simpler or warmer? Later, I see someone
Putting small seeds in their trays.
Rain does its job, too, and the sun comes.
I hear the year’s green complications.
Now, the season whispers, go ahead.
Go ahead. Grow.

Tess from Written for Children left this poem in the comments.

Senses have their own symptoms.
You may experience or
Not experience
A sense perception that switches.
Even
Senses that are
Tactile such as your
hand, you may just hear it.
Estuaries can
Slide sideways suddenly
Into intuitive structures,into
Almost anything -- your salted lip!

Tiel Aisha Ansari from Knocking From Inside shares a poem entitled Azan.

Laura Purdie Salas shares two acrostic poems!

Dianne White shares a yummy poem entitled Pizza Patch.

Jone from Check It Out shares a poem inspired by her trip to Disneyland.

Elaine from Wild Rose Reader shares an acrostic for Tortoise, as well as some reviews of Fables in Verse.

Diane left this poem in the comments.

After a Month of Rain

Wearily I
read
each day's forecast
today a
chance of showers, tomorrow
heavy thunderstorms
expected with 60% chance of
despondency.

I've spent every day this week immersed in conversations about the teaching of math and science for middle school kids. With my brain swimming in numbers and theories, poetry has not come easily. Here is one of the poems I scribbled and scratched in the margins of my notes.

Phrases imperfect, imprecise
Ordered and reordered
Endlessly
Turned and twisted end over end
Revised
Yet again

It's not too late if you still want to play. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll add it to the list.