The winner of a signed copy of my
book THINGS TO DO is Brenda Harsham! Congratulations, Brenda!
Just email me your address and let me know how you would like me to inscribe
the book.
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Friday, April 20, 2018
ROOSTER and CHICK: Two Mask Poems
I seem to "default" to the mask poem
whenever I begin writing a poetry collection. On Wednesday, I posted four mask poems about spring peepers from an unpublished seasonal collection titled
VOICES ALL AROUND ME.
The following two mask poems are the first two
verses from another unpublished collection titled FARM TALK, which contains
poems written in the voices of farm animals, a few wild animals, and a farmer
and his wife. Most of the poems are written in pairs--for example, a mare and
her foal, cows and a bull, mother duck and her ducklings, rooster and chick.
ROOSTER
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-do!
The
sun is rising. You should too.
It’s
time to wake and shake off night…
To
welcome in the morning light.
It’s
the dawn of a brand new day.
That’s
something to crow about, I’d say!
CHICK
Listen!
Dad’s
calling up the sun.
Wake
up! Wake up, everyone!
Night
is over. Day’s begun.
My other postings from earlier this week:
Four Mask Poems about Spring Peepers
Don't forget! I'm giving away signed
copies of my book THINGS TO DO during April. All
you have to do to qualify to have your named entered into next
Sunday's drawing is to comment on one of the blogs that I posted
during this third week of National Poetry Month (April 15-21).
Tabatha has the Poetry Friday Roundup
at The Opposite of Indifference.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Four Mask Poems about Spring Peepers
I enjoy writing mask poems. It's especially fun taking on the personality of an animal that I have learned about and speaking in its voice.
TURTLE IN JULY and Karla Kuskin's ANY ME I WANT TO
BE are the two books that got me hooked on writing mask poems. Unfortunately, ANY
ME I WANT TO BE is out of print. You might be able to find a used copy online. I think TURTLE IN JULY is still available
in library binding. I highly recommend both books!
Last year, I worked on a collection of mask poems
told in the voices of familiar animals and plants that takes readers through the
cycle of a year. I wrote four poems about spring peepers--one for each season.
Listen to spring peepers at this link:
SPRING
PEEPER IN SPRING
Awakened
from my winter sleep
And
ready to mate—I peep and peepAt night to woo a lady fair.
My heartfelt singing fills spring air.
Above
this vernal pool I wait
And
eagerly anticipate
That
special someone who will be
The
perfect froggy gal for me!
SPRING PEEPERS IN
SUMMER
The
day we hatched from jellied eggs…
We
looked like fish. We had no legs.
We
breathed through gills. We had no lungs.
We
didn’t have long sticky tongues.
We
didn’t look like frogs…for sure.
But
then we started to mature.
And
day by day we changed and grew.
To
tails and gills we bid adieu.
Now
we have lungs and four fine limbs…
And
we can croak
and
jump
AND
swim!
SPRING PEEPER IN FALL
Summer
was fun—so full of flies,
Beetles,
ants, and sunny skies,
Cricket
song…warm, lazy nights,
Dew
in the grass and other delights.
But…
Now
it is time to find a space
Under
a log—a snuggly place
Where
I can hibernate till spring
When
I will reawake and sing.
SPRING PEEPER IN WINTER
Quiet
please.
Do
not disturb.
Don’t
jog this log
While
I’m asleep.
I
need to get a good long rest.
In
spring, I must be at my best!
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
THREE NIGHT POEMS FOR CHILDREN
I worked on a collection of night poems for weeks last year. I could never shape it into what I wanted it to be--even though I tried hard. Sometimes, when I try too hard, my poems seemed forced. I had to put the collection away. Maybe I will work on it again one day. Here are three poems from two different versions of my collection of bedtime poems:
END
OF DAY
Sun
slid down the western sky
as
weary Day bid goodbye.
Then
Dark crept in on velvet toes
after
sleeping Night arose.
PICTURE
WINDOW
My window frames a patch
of sky
where I can watch stars passing by
and see the full moon’s beaming face
smile down on me from outer space.
CITY
NIGHT
When sun has gone,
my city puts her jewels
on--
a necklace of electric
lights
that glitter and glow.
My city sparkles from
head to toe!
***************
REMINDER: I am giving
away signed copies of my book THINGS TO DO during National Poetry
Month. I will collect the names of people who have commented on my blog posts
each week in April and put them in a bag. Next Sunday, I will draw a name from
the bag of someone who commented on a post that I published during the week of
April 8-14.
Drawing dates: April 22,
29, 30.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Wild Rose Reader Looks Back: A Belated 80th Birthday Post for Lee Bennett Hopkins.
I had hoped to put together a special 80th birthday post for Lee Bennett Hopkins before I left for Hattiesburg, Mississippi--but I got sick with a respiratory infection Easter weekend. I was keeping my fingers crossed that I'd get better by April 10th so I could accept my Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor Award at the Fay B. Kaigler Children's Literature Festival. Fortunately, I was fine by the day of my departure--but I never got around to whipping up a birthday post for Lee.
I decided today to post links to some of my previous blogs about Lee and his poetry books. I thought some of you might like to read them.
Here they are--in chronological order:
Party for a Poetry Man (2009)
Poetry for Little Ones: "Lullaby & Kisses Sweet" (2015)
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, DEAR ONE!!!
REMINDER: I am giving away signed copies of my book THINGS TO DO during National Poetry Month. I will collect the names of people who have commented on my blog posts each week in April and put them in a bag. Next Sunday, I will draw a name from the bag of someone who commented on a post that I published during the week of April 8-14.
Drawing dates: April 22, 29, 30.
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