Friday, April 13, 2012

MOLE: An Original Animal Mask Poem


Here is a another animal mask poem that I wrote recently in the voice of the lowly mole:

MOLE

Psst! Psst! HEY! I’m right down here.
I’m a busy little engineer
Building tunnels underground.
You rarely hear ME make a sound.

My life is lonely…one of toil.
I claw my way through darkness, soil.
The sun’s is not a face I know.
I live where seeds begin to grow.

Dear Mother Earth is my good friend
And through her big brown heart I wend
Digging tunnels right down here.
Listen! Listen! Cup an ear.

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Anastasia Suen has the Poetry Friday Roundup at Booktalking.

Check out my Wild Rose Reader post in celebration of Lee Bennett Hopkins Birthday!

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REMINDER

Win a Poetry Book!
Every week during April, I’ll be giving away a children’s poetry book at
Wild Rose Reader. If you leave a comment at one of my poetry posts during the second week of National Poetry Month (April 8-14), I’ll enter your name in the drawing to win a copy of Cousins of Clouds: Elephant Poems. The book was written by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer and illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy.



9 comments:

jama said...

It's amazing that you can make a mole sound so endearing. The ones we've had in our yard are so destructive -- yet now I'm looking at their lives a little differently thanks to your poem. :)

Bridget R. Wilson said...

I've always liked moles, but I know they're something of a pest in yards and gardens. Too bad they can't all live in fields, meadows, and forests.

Robyn Hood Black said...

What a fun look at the world from the mole's point of view! Thanks for sharing. [I will not share with my dogs - they're pretty rough on moles, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to your poetic narrator.]

Amy LV said...

I was so excited to see this! Having just wrote a mole poem for Think Kid, Think!, I am rather fond of moles. And yours, Elaine, is adorable. That big brown heart of Mother Earth is fantastic. Love. a.

Martha Calderaro said...

Your animal mask poems are wonderful, Elaine!
Today, you've got me thinking of The Wind in the Willows. Just for fun, here's a clip of the 1995 animated film adaptation. My daughter loves the score. You'll see Mole at around the 2 1/2-minute mark:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNI1HfSkivE

Linda B said...

Just wonderful Elaine. I love the way you bring such clever characterization into these short lines.

Ruth said...

Your mole is lovely!

Betsy Hubbard said...

My hand grazed over a mole once when I was making a new garden. That will surprise you! I too loved how you make the mole an approachable soul.

Mary Lee said...

I'm with Amy on the big brown heart of Mother Earth -- perfect!