Monday Poetry Stretch - Haiku Riddles

This week's stretch is inspired by Laura Purdie Salas, who for her National Poetry Month project will be sharing a riddle-ku (riddle haiku) every day in April.

If Not For the Cat, written by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Ted Rand, is a collection of poetic riddles about members of the animal kingdom. Here's an excerpt.

I, the hoverer,
Sip the nasturtium's nectar
And sing with my wings.

Poem ©Jack Prelutsky. All rights reserved. 

For some additional examples, browse inside the book.

I also rather like this haiku found in A Hippopotamusn't, written by J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by Victoria Chess.

Suddenly Spring wings
into the backyard, ready
to play tug-of-worm.

Poem ©J. Patrick Lewis. All rights reserved.

So, the challenge this week is to write some haiku riddles. Won't you join us? Please share a link to your poem or the poem itself in the comments.

National Poetry Month - Poetry Lovers, Start Your Engines ...

I'm revving up for tomorrow's kickoff of my National Poetry Month project. This time around I'm going to focus each week on a subject area and offer pairings of poetry and children's books that support the topic. Inspired by the Book Links article Sylvia Vardell asked me to co-author, Nonfiction Monday meets Poetry Friday: Linking Genres, I've been thinking quite a bit since then about offering up carefully selected book pairs.

This means that beginning tomorrow, and starting with SCIENCE, I'll be off with a month-long look at books of poetry (or in some cases very special poems) and their perfect (I hope!) partners.

I can't wait for April to begin! I hope you'll stop by to see what I've thrown together.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Just the Right Word

Since I'm not quite clever enough to write a decent reverso, I've been using this poem of Marilyn Singer's as a model for form.

What Water Can Be
(from How to Cross a Pond: poems about water)

A furrow that's filling
       Water, collective
Your face in the puddle
       Water, reflective
A network of rivers
       Water, connective
Your boat drifting downstream
       Water, directive
A storm in the city
       Water, objective
One drop on your eyelash,
       Water, selective

Poem ©Marilyn Singer. All rights reserved.

Writing poems in this way is all about finding just the right words (adjectives) to describe the subject. It's hard, but I'm enjoying it immensely. Won't you join in trying a poem of this form? Please share a link to your poem or the poem itself in the comments.

Poetry Friday - Is It Spring Yet?

I failed to post a poetry stretch this week. Suffice it to say that a snow day on St. Patrick's day in VIRGINIA took me by surprise.

It still doesn't look like spring yet. I so hope it gets here before we head straight on into summer. Here's a little Emily Dickinson to usher in the season.

Dear March, come in!
How glad I am!
I looked for you before.
Put down your hat—
You must have walked—      
How out of breath you are!
Dear March, how are you?
And the rest?
Did you leave Nature well?
Oh, March, come right upstairs with me,      
I have so much to tell!

I got your letter, and the bird’s;
The maples never knew
That you were coming,—I declare,
How red their faces grew!      
But, March, forgive me—
And all those hills
You left for me to hue;
There was no purple suitable,
You took it all with you.      

Who knocks? That April!
Lock the door!
I will not be pursued!
He stayed away a year, to call
When I am occupied.      
But trifles look so trivial
As soon as you have come,
That blame is just as dear as praise
And praise as mere as blame.


Do check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Julie Larios at The Drift Record. Happy poetry Friday friends.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Dogs!

I've been reading Mary Oliver and any other dog poetry on can get my hands on. This weekend I read this gem at American Life in Poetry.

Dog in Bed 
by Joyce Sidman

Nose tucked under tail,
you are a warm, furred planet
centered in my bed.
All night I orbit, tangle-limbed,
in the slim space
allotted to me.

If I accidentally
bump you from sleep,
you shift, groan,
drape your chin on my hip.

Read the poem in its entirety.


It hasn't been a week yet, but I'm particularly inspired by the newest addition to our family. Say hello to Hemingway.

He's very sweet and in need of lots of love and affection. He'll get all of that and then some! Right now we're just trying to put some weight on his skinny frame. His hips and ribs are visible, but we'll have him right as rain in no time.

Since I'm home today for another snow day (this makes 9 so far this year!), I'm reading and writing do poetry. Won't you join me this week? Please share a link to your poem or the poem itself in the comments.