“Water often spells surprises
with its changing forms and sizes,
rain and snow, ponds and brooks,
water has so many looks,
sounds and moods and colors—yet
in every shape, it’s always WET!”

from Splish Splash by Joan Bransfield Graham (text) and Steve Scott (art)

This week was the start of our summer reading program, and it’s our first year participating in the national Collaborative Summer Library Program.  Since there’s a good chance libraries near you are using the same theme—Make a Splash, Read!—and since it’s now officially summer, I thought it would make a nice theme.

I love Splish Splash, because it’s great for young readers, with a healthy dosage of concrete poems.  Other picks for water-themed poetry are Splash! Poems of Our Watery World by Constance Levy, and Water Music by Jane Yolen.

Poetry Friday is here today!  Enjoy!

Low Tide (early)

• Laura from Teaching Poetry K-12 talks about the practical side of faith with Emily Dickinson’s poem #185.
• Toby from The Writer’s Armchair is in today with caterpillar poetry.
• Mary Lee from A Year of Reading is thinking about the work we do together, and about butterflies.
• Laura from Author Amok has a list-poem lesson/critical thinking for middle schoolers and up, using a found list-poem from Found Magazine and Laura Boss’ poem “At the Nuclear Rally” as models for writing.
• jama rattigan’s alphabet soup shares “The Veggie Life” by Michael Steffen.
• Amy from The Poem Farm has posted an original children’s poem about poetry.
• The Stenhouse Blog has a poem by Jack Prelutsky: “When I Am Full of Silence.”
• Diane has “Don’t Let That Horse” at Random Noodling, ekphrastic poetry at Kurious Kitty, and a quote by Thomas Macaulay at KK’s Kwotes.
• Doraine from Dori Reads posted “Noise, by Pooh” since is going to see her grandkids this weekend.
• Andy from The Write Sisters shares a powerful look at a devastated ocean.
• Ruth at There is no thing as a God-forsaken town is in with a poem called “Going Back.”
• Karen Edmisten is in with some Robert Frost and some notes about her Teacher Husband being home for the summer.
• Elaine from Wild Rose Reader has an original list poem entitled “Things to Do If You Are a Lawnmower.”
• Jeannine Atkins writes about a new book edited by Naomi Shihab Nye: Time You Let Me In: 25 Poets Under 25.
• Alison at Wistful Wanderings is in this week with a poem by Hilde Domin.
• Sherry at Semicolon has “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns.

High Tide (later)

• Barbara from Words Take Flight is in with her poem, “Of Cabbagges and (K)ale.”
• Sally from PaperTigers is in with a post on a poetry book called Anything But Hank.
• Father Goose has posted a tribute to Mose T.
• Little Willow from Bildungsroman posted ’Scaped by Stephen Crane.
• Gregory K. from GottaBook is up with a re-issue of an original poem called “Hello, Summer!”
• Beth from Endless Books reflected a bit on “Rain in Summer” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
• Janet at All About the Books posted about Have You Ever Done That? written by Julie Hofstrand Larios and illustrated by Anne Hunter.
• Jone writes about memorizing “Jabberwocky” this summer at Check It Out, and she has an original cento poem for Poetry Stretch at Deo Writer.
• Linda at The Write Time is in today with an original children’s poem about a silly dinosaur.
• Julie at The Drift Record offers up “At the Zoo” by A.A. Milne in honor of her grandson’s visit.

Clement C. Moore was a cranky, uptight theologian—not the type of person you’d expect to write “A Visit from St. Nicholas.”  In fact, an argument has been mounted against Moore being the author, though some counter-arguments have been mounted as well.

Regardless, there was a poem written around the same time that was about Santa Claus, and it fit Moore’s cranky, uptight writing style.  It’s a poem for which no one would question giving him credit.  As for “A Visit,” who knows?  That’s what those old sods get for publishing anonymously.

Anyway, enjoy this little cup of Xmas cheer!

Old Santeclaus (1821)

Old Santeclaus with much delight
His reindeer drives this frosty night,
O’er chimney-tops, and tracks of snow,
To bring his yearly gifts to you.

The steady friend of virtuous youth,
The friend of duty, and of truth,
Each Christmas eve he joys to come
Where love and peace have made their home.

Through many houses he has been,
And various beds and stockings seen;
Some, white as snow, and neatly mended,
Others, that seemed for pigs intended.

Where e’er I found good girls or boys,
That hated quarrels, strife and noise,
I left an apple, or a tart,
Or wooden gun, or painted cart.

To some I gave a pretty doll,
To some a peg-top, or a ball;
No crackers, cannons, squibs, or rockets,
To blow their eyes up, or their pockets.

No drums to stun their Mother’s ear,
Nor swords to make their sisters fear;
But pretty books to store their mind
With knowledge of each various kind.

But where I found the children naughty,
In manners rude, in temper haughty,
Thankless to parents, liars, swearers,
Boxers, or cheats, or base tale-bearers,

I left a long, black, birchen rod,
Such as the dread command of God
Directs a Parent’s hand to use
When virtue’s path his sons refuse.

Someone should turn that into a song-poem!

It’s summer, or close to it.  It’s warm (some might say hot) and colorful.  So today we have “Green Grass and Dandelions” by Margaret Wise Brown.

Never has the grass been so green
Bright and green and growing
Never have the dandelions been so yellow
Bright yellow
Constellations
Brave little lions
Suns in the grass

It goes on.  This appeared in the 2002 collection Give Yourself to the Rain, illustrated by Teri L. Weidner, but I’m partial to its inclusion in The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry, where this poem is nicely illustrated by Chris Raschka, sans dandelions with facial expressions.

Poetry Friday is at Susan Writes today.  Enjoy the long weekend.

Humanism, What’s That? by Helen Bennett (which I reviewed yesterday) has a poetry section near the end.  The poems won’t move you to tears, and they are blunt in some cases (i.e., “I’m Glad I’m Not a Bigot”), but the poems convey the sentiments of the book.

Probably the best poem is called “Thank You, Life.”  This is the second stanza:

Thank you, Life,
For swings to swing,
For games to play,
For everything.
And when I’m grown
I know I’ll be
Thankful still
That I am me.

I find the capitalization of the word “life” to be curious.  It appears to be an alternative to a thankful prayer; “God” could easily stand in for “Life.”  But you can’t just throw in a placeholder for God and call it Humanist.  So, why capitalize?

I don’t have an answer, but it is an interesting question, don’t you think?

Today’s Poetry Friday roundup is at Picture Book of the Day.

Happy Poetry Friday, everyone, and Happy National Poetry Month!  Thanks to everyone who has participated.  There’s a lot of great stuff here, so be sure to poke around a bit.

Suzanne from Adventures in Daily Living created a button for this week’s round-up.  Thanks, Suzanne!

Poetry Month Feature Posts

• GottaBook has its 30 Poets/30 Days project going, which features one previously unpublished poem per day throughout April.  Today’s post features Charles Ghinga’s poem cycle, “A Poem Is…”  The other entries so far have been “A Little Poem for Poetry Month” by Jack Prelutsky (4/1) and “Midnight Stray” by Rebecca Kai Dotlich (4/2).
• Liz in Ink is posting a haiku per day throughout the month. Today’s is Haiku 3. Be sure to catch up with Haiku 1 and Haiku 2 if you missed them.
• The Miss Rumphius Effect has its Poetry Makers series, which features one or more poet interviews per day during April.  Today’s interviews are with Avis Harley and Ann Whitford Paul.  The previous interviews have been with Kenn Nesbitt (4/1) and Rebecca Kai Dotlich (4/2).
• Pencil Talk – School Poems is posting a student poem per day this month.  Today’s poem is “School” by 4th grader Ryane.  Previous poems posted were Anastasia Suen’s own “Pencil Talk” (4/1) and “Cinquain Poem” by 4th grader Jack (4/2).
• Poetry for Children is reviewing a book of poetry each day throughout the month. Today’s review is of Steady Hands: Poems About Work by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer. Previously reviewed titles were Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems by Georgia Heard (4/1) and A Curious Collection of Cats by Betsy Franco (4/2).
• Read Write Believe is posting a quotation about poetry each day during April. Today’s quote is by Edward Hirsch.  Previous posts have featured Gaston Bachelard (4/1) and C. S. Lewis (4/2).
• Writing and Ruminating is posting at least one favorite poem per day in April. Today’s poem is “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats. Previous poems this month were “The Ovenbird” by Robert Frost (4/1) and “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman (4/2).
• a wrung sponge is also featuring a haiku per day throughout the month. Today’s installment is Daffodil Haiku. Catch up by reading the April 1st and April 2nd haiku, too.

Audio Recordings

• Just One More Book discusses I Am Small by Sheree Fitch.
• Susan Writes has a reading of “No Room,” one of the poems in her novel, Hugging the Rock.

NaPoWriMo Participants

• allegro has “Pulling,” written for NaPoWriMo.
• Black-Eyed Susan’s has a poem written as part of NaPoWriMo, and inspired by a Poetry Asides prompt about outsiders.  It’s called “Dichotomy of Race and Language: A Girl from The Hood.”
• Nickers and Ink has graduation poetry, written as part of NaPoWriMo.

Original Poems

• Blue Rose Girls has a post about Magnetic Poetry that includes four poems composed by Mary Lee of A Year of Reading, Pam Coughlan of MotherReader, and Meghan McCarthy and Elaine Magliaro of Blue Rose Girls.
• Fomagrams has twitku—twitter haiku from this past week.
• Karen Edmisten has a poem that points to other sites with poetry month features.
• Knocking from Inside has a triolet called “White Blossoms.”
• Laura Salas has this week’s 15 words or less poems up.
• The Mane Point has “Great Green Grub.”
• Miss Erin has an original poem called “Standing.”
• MotherReader has an original poem called “Packing”
• My World-Mi Mundo has an original poem called “Words,” written in response to an incident one of her students went though.
• On Point has two poems about gulls—“Suspended” and “Caught.”
• Write Time has a poem for the Peace Project.

Others’ Poems, Spring-themed

• Biblio File has “Loveliest of Trees” by A. E. Housman
• Carol’s Corner has a spring poem by Kristine O’Connell George.
• PaperTigers has “Where is Spring?” by Yang-Huan.
• Shelf Elf has “What the Horses See at Night” by Robin Robertson.
• The Stenhouse Blog has “Time and the Garden” by Yvor Winters.
• Stray Thoughts has “Spring” by Robert Frost and “Waiting for Spring” by John Newton.
• Write Sisters has spring poems—“An altered look about the hills” by Emily Dickinson and “Answer to a Child’s Question” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Others’ Poems, General

• Across the Page has “Portrait” by E. B. White
• Adventures in Daily Living has a meaningful hymn by Annie Johnson Flint.
• Bildungsroman has “The Dancers” by Michael Field.
• Farm School has three poems the kids recited this week:  “Mother Doesn’t Want a Dog” by Judith Viorst, “A Mosquito in the Cabin” by Myra Stilborn, and “Jim, Who Ran Away from His Nurse and Was Eaten by a Lion” by Hilaire Belloc.
• I’m Here. I’m Queer. What the Hell do I read? has “My true love hath my heart, and I have his” by Sir Philip Sidney.
• In Need of Chocolate has “Bed in Summer” by Robert Louis Stevenson and a link to a site with other classic poems for children.
• The Incredible Thinking Woman has “Pangur Ban” (which means white cat) written by an unknown Irish monk.
• Into the Wardrobe has “The Emperor’s New Sonnet” by Jose Garcia Villa.
• Kiddos and Books has “Who Has Seen the Wind” by Christina Rossetti, and also an original update.
• The Miss Rumphius Effect has “Ode on the Whole Duty of Parents” by Frances Cornford.
• Notes from New England has “An Indian Love Song” by Sarojini Naidu.
• Political Verses has “Poem at the End of the Twentieth Century” by J. Patrick Lewis.
• The Reading Zone has “Snow, Aldo” by Kate DiCamillo.
• Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast has “The Poems I Like Best” by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer and illustrations by Chris Raschka, both from A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout.
• There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town has “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T. S. Eliot.
• Yat-Yee Chong has “The Abnormal Is Not Courage” by Jack Gilbert, as a reminder of normal excellence.
• A Year of Reading has “I’m Building a Rocket” by Kenn Nesbitt, dedicated to a couple of students who are experimenting with AlkaSeltzer rockets.

Reviews, Responses, and Interviews

• Bookie Woogie has family responses to Jazzmatazz! by Stephanie Calmenson and Bruce Degen.
• A Chair, a Fireplace, & a Tea Cozy discusses Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems by John Grandits.
• Hope Is the Word spotlights Harvest Home and Least Things by Jane Yolen.
• jama rattigan’s alphabet soup has a review of Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School by Laura Purdie Salas.
• Kristy Dempsey discusses “A Dog’s Life” by Daniel Groves with a high school friend.
• Laura Salas has “Welder” from Steady Hands: Poems About Work by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, as well as an interview with the author.  She also had Douglas Florian earlier this week to kick off Poetry Month.
• A Patchwork of Books discusses The Swamps of Sleethe by Jack Prelutsky.

Those that Resist Categorization

• Kurious Kitty’s Kurio Kabinet has poetry in unexpected places.
• Picture Book of the Day has My Hippo Has the Hiccups And Other Poems I Totally Made Up by Kenn Nesbitt, and a word-choice mini lesson.
• Sally Murphy’s Writing for Children Blog has five exercises for writing children’s poetry.
• Shutta Crum has 30 Poems & 30 Days (& 30 Forms).
• Tabatha A. Yeats discusses various National Poetry Month special activities.
• Wild Rose Reader has a post about mask poems that includes originals by Elaine Magliaro, student poems, and book recommendations.
• a wrung sponge has National Poetry Month links to various blog happenings.

Now that I am the proud mother of a six year old, I figured a verse from Now We Are Six would be appropriate, so here is “The End”:

When I was One,
I had just begun.

When I was Two,
I was nearly new.

When I was Three,
I was hardly me.

When I was Four,
I was not much more.

When I was Five,
I was just alive.

But now I am Six, I’m as clever as clever,
So I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever.

—A. A. Milne

Poetry Friday is at the Miss Rumphius Effect today.

Cristina García’s tween novel I Wanna Be Your Shoebox (which I reviewed yesterday) took its title from the poem “I Want to Be Your Shoebox” by Catherine Bowman, which appeared in The Best American Poetry 2005.  The poem opens with an epigraph:

“Memphis Minnie’s blues line ‘I want to be your chauffeur’ was miscopied in an early Folkways recording song transcription as ‘I want to be your shoebox.’”

The poem then takes off in a series of lines that begin with “I want to be your…”  Initially the lines rhyme, but—let’s face it—“chauffeur” and “shoebox” don’t share much more than an initial sound.  The rhymes relax, and then the structure starts to vary.  Here are some of the best bits:

I want to be your moonlit estuary
I want to be your day missing in February
I want to be your floating dock dairy

[ . . . ]

I want to be your cheap hotel
I want to be your lipstick by Chanel
I want to be your secret passage

All written in Braille.  I want to be
All the words you can’t spell
I want to be your International

House of Pancakes.  I want to be your reel after reel
Of rough takes.

Read the whole poem here.

So.  Hands up if you know what a “floating dock dairy” is.  Well, I didn’t know.  Luckily, there is a “contributors’ notes and comments” section at the end of the Best American Poetry anthology.  Bowman explains that it is “an anchored wooden raft in the middle of a beautiful lake, probably in Vermont or upstate New York, that you can swim out to in July and have homemade ice cream.”

But here’s some poetry of a different sort:  the comment in the “contributors’ notes” section for the poem, this poem that is based on an error in transcription, actually has the line written (twice!) as “floating dock diary.”  For serious.  Just do a quick Google book search for “floating dock diary” and you’ll see what I mean.

That is just too perfect.  Don’t tell me that was an accident.  Don’t.  You.  Dare.

Poetry Friday is at Mommy’s Favorite Children’s Books today.

Mark Reibstein.  Wabi Sabi.  Illustrated by Ed Young.  Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers, 2008.  n.p.  Age 4 and up.

I think, maybe, I could read Wabi Sabi every day for the rest of my life.  As it stands, I read it at least half a dozen times in the one day it came down for cataloging.  My first read through, anxious to see what all the glowing reviews were about, left me enraptured with the art, but uncertain of the story.  Wabi sabi, as a philosophical concept, seemed much more than this one cat’s journey could express.  As someone who uses a flawed understanding of chaos theory as the basis of her life philosophy, things such as impermanence and imperfection hold great significance for me.

When I reopened the book for a second read I saw the note preceding the title page, which tries to define wabi sabi.  This put me at ease.  It’s very significant that this note comes before the story, rather than after (and not just because there’s a lot of end matter already).  We aren’t meant to take the exact same journey as the cat, subsequently spelled out as an afterthought in case we missed the point.  We’re meant to follow her journey with enough preexisting knowledge to understand as things unfold.

Outside of my own little world, wabi sabi is an aesthetic, not a philosophy.  It lives in quiet understatement, which is about the opposite of my tired ramblings.  So.  Here are a pair of haiku, even though I haven’t attempted any such feat of writing since tickets to see Adam West in legitimate theatre were on the line.  (Unfortunately, mine only got an honorable mention, and thus had to pay the $30 for the tickets.  As if I’d let $30 stand between me and Adam West!)  Anyway, here:

a stain left behind—
a coffee mug, overflown, in
early morning hours.

stillness in motion—
found art—photographs that wait,
that beg to be taken.

Of course, those are completely pointless if you have access to Wabi Sabi right now.  If so—go, grab it, and start by savoring the runny, asymmetrical watercolor backdrop of the title page.  I imagine that’s what inspired the coffee reference.

My actual definition of wabi sabi would be, “the inner desire that motivates people to buy distressed furniture.”  However, purposefully distressed furniture is just about the opposite of wabi sabi, as it has no history; apparently, for most consumers, the wabi sabi desire is defective.

The interesting thing that I did’t notice when I started this post is, the aforementioned poetry contest with the Adam West prize was actually a Valentine’s Day contest.  That was four years ago, and the last time I tried to write a poem of any sort.  So, bonus, for your reading pleasure—the honorable mention:

We bought each other
the same card.  Our love has grown
so comfortable.

Poetry Friday is at Big A little a today.

Wabi Sabi reviews: 
100 Scope Notes | A Fuse #8 Production | Kids Lit | 7-Imp