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.
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 wendDigging 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.
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.
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. :)
ReplyDeleteI'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.
ReplyDeleteWhat 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.]
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteYour animal mask poems are wonderful, Elaine!
ReplyDeleteToday, 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
Just wonderful Elaine. I love the way you bring such clever characterization into these short lines.
ReplyDeleteYour mole is lovely!
ReplyDeleteMy 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.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Amy on the big brown heart of Mother Earth -- perfect!
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