Last week my social studies methods class engaged in a series activities designed to explore the events around the Dust Bowl. In using primary sources, we listened to the Woody Guthrie song Dust Bowl Blues. That got me thinking about blues poetry. (You can read more about it at Blues Poem: Poetic Form.)
When William was six I wrote a number of blues poems for him, among them poems entitled Lunch Box Blues and Bedtime Blues. Today I'm sharing another I wrote for him in the spring of 2007 and recently revised.
Rainy Day Blues
Clouds loomin' and thunder boomin'
skies grayin' and people sayin'
here come the rainy day blues.
Drops ploppin' and garden soppin'
puddles growin' and rivers flowin'
with rainy day blues.
Gutters spillin' and pools fillin'
ground seepin' and trees weepin'
with rainy day blues.
Hair drippin' and shoes squishin'
umbrella flyin' -- there's no denyin'
I got the rainy day blues.
Skies clearin' and sunshine nearin'
storms endin' with rainbow bendin'
no more rainy day blues!
Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2007-2019. All rights reserved.
I do hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm. Happy poetry Friday friends! See you tomorrow for another original poem.
Tricia, this line was one of my favorites" "Hair drippin' and shoes squishi". I enjoyed reading your Rainy Day Blues poem. I am going to look up blues poetry with the link you shared because I am working with secondary humanities teachers who may be interested in the poetic form. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteFor a blues poem, this one sure is a lot of fun to read aloud! Great word choice and rhythm. We're due for several days of rain and you've inspired me to try to find some poetry in them! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteTricia, we've had a lot of rain lately, and your poem was the perfect anecdote to my rainy day blues.
ReplyDeletePerfect poem for today--we've got the drippin' and ploppin' and soppin' goin' on right now! LOVE this! Especially the rainbow bendin'!
ReplyDeleteThe fact you wrote your boy a collection of blues poems when he was six is the very best thing. This is a delight to read aloud, and I see and feel every line. Happy Poetry Friday, friend. xx
ReplyDeleteAmy, I only wish he'd been as excited about them as I was! He told me he preferred his "real" books.
DeleteI love the word choice and rhythm. It is a wonderful poem!
ReplyDeleteWhen you said you students were "engaged in a series activities designed to explore the events around the Dust Bowl," I thought, Wow! Sounds like an exciting class. In school, all I ever did was read a textbook and take a test!
It was an exciting class! I hope my preservice teachers leave armed with better ways to teach social studies than lecture and worksheets. We use a lot of children's literature and primary sources. It's a much more engaging way to explore history.
DeleteWe sure have had the "rainy day blues" around these parts, that's for sure! Here's hopin' for "Skies clearin' and sunshine nearin' " in time for our easter egg hunt on Sunday. Cheers! -- Christie @ https://wonderingandwondering.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteWith all the rain we have been have in the northeast, this is the perfect poem but like the end of your blues poem, we did have a lovely rainbow over Manhattan the other day. Thank you for sharing your poem today.
ReplyDeleteLike others here, I love this line, Hair drippin' and shoes squishin'. Here in Vancouver BC, it feels like we have rain more often than sun so we try not to let it give us the rainy day blues.
ReplyDeleteLove this, and here in Colorado, we sure would love some 'Rainy Day blues'. I do know Woody's song, Tricia, fits us well! And I love your idea of writing those blues poems for your son. That's wonderful!
ReplyDeleteLove this -- and that you wrote blues poems for William (too cool!).
ReplyDeleteSo great!
ReplyDeleteI love the first line:
ReplyDelete"Clouds loomin' and thunder boomin'" Having grown up in Oklahoma, booming thunder was a part of my springtime playlist and a rare happening in the Northwest. Thanks for sharing your Rainy Day Blues.
I love that you wrote blues poetry for a kid - honestly, I think that's so helpful when you're In A Mood.
ReplyDeleteTricia, my life is so much richer thanks to bloggers, teachers, poets like you. I wish I could read all of them daily. Your blues poem is both clever and well done. Thank you for the introduction to the blues poem form. I loved "Sence You Went Away" from 1922 by William Weldon Johnson found in the link. "Puddles growin' and rivers flowin' " describes the fierce "April showers" we had last night, but we needed it. Can't wait until later today to smell, see and sense the blooms of spring surely heading our way up here in unspring-like still, in CNY. You have lucky students who will bring social studies alive for theirs thanks to you. Janet Clare F.
ReplyDeleteThis is terrific, Tricia! I love how you made a blues poem so playful! There are plenty of "puddles growin' and rivers flowin'" in my yard this morning, and your poem is making me see poetic possibilities in this gloomy morning. Thank you!
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