Poetry Friday over at Simply Put

I'm finally participating in Poetry Friday again, largely because my 14-year-old gave me some new poems she wrote. But I'm participating from my other blog. So head on over to Simply Put and check out "Pippi's" latest poem.

It's Friday, Therefore Poetry

What am I thankful for today? That I have a daughter who writes beautiful poems. And she shares them with me and encourages me to share them with the world.

And today I have. You can find my daughter's latest poem over at my other blog, Simply Put.

Poetry Friday - The Anniversary Edition

In honor of our sixteenth anniversary today, I'm going to share a love poem for Poetry Friday.

How Do I Love Thee?

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love three with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love three with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

And just to show that after sixteen years, we're still on the same wavelength, I gave him a new desktop computer for an anniversary gift and he gave me a new laptop! (Our kids are really happy about that, they get use of the old ones now.)

The Poetry Friday Round-Up is at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup. Check it out.

Poetry Friday - Tessa in Wonderland, Part 5

Once again it's Poetry Friday and I have yet another installment of my daughter's original poem Tessa in Wonderland. The first four parts can be found here, here, here and here.

Tessa in Wonderland

by KRM

Part V

Horatio’s paws balled around

The reins,

“Spade? Under the rule of…

of…”

He couldn’t say it.

Queen Heart.

Queen Heart.

“Queen Heart,”

There. I’d said it.

Horatio’s furry face twisted

Into a grimace

“The only Province

Unclaimed

Is Diamonds…

Diamonds who actually

Likes Heart,

But is unwilling to give in.

They’re willing to fight, though.”

He hissed.

“Is there anything

We can do?” I asked

“Sell these Carrots in town,”

Horatio said.

“And then go home.”

There’s nothing we could do.

Carrots sold,

And we rumbled

Down an empty road to

Horatio’s home.

It was almost peaceful,

And I leaned against the

Rabbit as he drove along,

Silently, yet tensed.

A scream

Pierced the lazy twilight.

“NO!

DON’T LET THEM!

NEVER!”

And then…all was silent.

Horatio handed me the reins,

A look of horror on his furry face.

“That was my

father’s voice,”

He whispered,

And got out of the

Cart.

“Straight down the lane,”

He told me.

“I’ll be faster on foot,”

And he darted away.

I stared at the reins,

And gently urged the animals

On.

When we reached the house,

It had been ransacked.

“My father,”

Horatio whimpered,

Coming out

And helping me out of the cart

“I can’t find him.”

The Poetry Friday Round-Up is at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Check it out.

Poetry Friday - Tessa in Wonderland, Part 4

Once again it's Poetry Friday and I have yet another installment of my daughter's original poem Tessa in Wonderland. The first three parts can be found here, here and here.

Tessa in Wonderland

by KRM

Part iv

Spadedeck.

It’s wonderful

Hustle-bustle of city rhythms

The Frogs selling chocolate covered

Worms and Flies,

Giant Butterfly Messengers

Zooming around,

The thieves,

Patrolling the streets,

Asking for things,

The little shops

With amazing displays in

Their windows

The town square and

Clock Tower

The Theaters and

The restaurants

And the Castle

Looming in the distance.

Horatio drove right by,

Pointing

Landmarks out

Telling me who

To avoid

As if I’d need to know.

The rabbit brought me

To his house

And told me that I could

Stay there till

I figured out how

To get home.

I told him I wouldn’t be

There long, then.

Spadedeck.

The card soldiers

Marching in,

The Megaphone bird

Proclaiming that

Her Majesty, Monarch

Of the Heartlands,

Queen Heart,

Had officially won

The cold war

Against her sister Province,

Spades,

And had conquered.

The only Province

Unconquered

Was New Club.

The war was

Almost over

Tyranny,

Complete dictatorship,

Was now

The unfortunate

Future.

The Poetry Friday round-up can be found at Paper Tigers. Go, check it out!

Poetry Friday - Tessa in Wonderland, Part 3

Tim Burton may have his vision of Alice in Wonderland, but my daughter has her own. And in time for Poetry Friday here is part three of her original poem: Tessa in Wonderland.

Tessa in Wonderland

by KRM

Part III

“Spades?”

I said.

“As in the shovel?

Or the card?”

The rabbit had helped me into

His cart,

And I was sitting next to him.

It was weird,

He was as big as I was.

“As in the Province.”

The rabbit said.

“By the way,

I’m Horatio,”

“And I’m Tessa,”

I said,

Tucking

A strand of loose

Hair behind my

Ear.

“Where are we going?”

I asked.

“To my home.

It’s

In the outskirts of

Spadedeck,

Capital

Of the Spade Province.”

I nodded solemnly,

Looking down

At my sneakers.

I wished

That mom knew

Where I was

So that she

Could come get me,

Or that I hadn’t

Left my phone at home.

I wished

I knew

What would happen

Next.

Parts I and II of her poem are here and here.

The Poetry Friday round-up can be found at Some Novel Ideas. Go check it out!

Poetry Friday - Tessa in Wonderland, Part 2

This snowy Friday, I bring you the second in a continuing series by my 13-year-old daughter.

Tessa in Wonderland

by KRM

Part II
When I awoke, I immediately knew
It was NOT a
Dream.
The headache
I’d acquired from my
Run-in with the tree
Was real enough
The scrapes on my knees
Were real
I pinched my arm
And felt it,
This was no dream.

I propped myself up
Watching a cart or two
Filled with
Human-sized frogs
Card people
Walruses and
Things like that
Pass by.
Wondering if
Maybe they noticed me.
I never realized
That they were trying hard
Not
To.

“What is this place?”
I asked passersby
Who ignored me
Completely
Like the others.
I kept asking
Until a
Chocolate-colored
Rabbit
Slowed his mules,
Reigns held tightly in
His brown paws,
One ear was flopped
Over his right eye
And it twitched slightly.
“Where am I?”
I asked.
He stared at me.
“You’re an otherworlder?” He said
In awe

“I guess.” I said,
Rubbing my scraped knees
“Well, Otherworlder
This is
The Spade Province
Of
Wonderland.”

MsMac is hosting the Poetry Friday Round-up over at Check it Out. So go and check it out!

Poetry Friday - Tessa in Wonderland, Part 1

Knowing that I like to showcase her poems on Poetry Friday, my 13-year-old daughter has written me a series of poems specifically for Poetry Friday. Here is the first one.

Tessa in Wonderland

by KRM

Part I
I remember falling
Out of that tree’s
Strong arms,
The ground crumbling
Beneath me
As I fell into that
Sinkhole.
At least, that’s what I thought
It was at the time
Everyone
Told me that I had
Had a bad dream
But I knew it was anything but
A dream.

I fell through the hole
Yelling as loud as I could
Limbs flailing,
Then I hit the ground,
And I continued to yell
As I rolled
Down a hill,
Scraping my knees
Ripping my grass-stained overalls
My tumble only stopped
When a huge oak tree,
Ironically the same kind that I had
Fallen out of
Stopped my journey
After that
It was only
Darkness

Wonderland was a scary place
No one trusted the other
Rabbits talked
Flowers sang
Trees indulged in meaningful conversation
A girl from the otherworld,
Like me,
Is regarded like a freak
Because we hardly ever make it down there.
Wonderlanders had their own
Troubles,
It was surprising I made it out
Alive.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

The Poetry Friday Round-Up this week is by Irene Latham at Live. Love. Explore.

Poetry Friday

It's Poetry Friday once again, and luckily I came across another poem my 13-year-old daughter wrote (I'm very lucky she likes to write poems or I'd have nothing to put up on Poetry Friday!)

Odd and Queer but not Strange
By KRM

Isn’t it strange
How
In stories they never tell
About how
The character
Flunked Civics
Because he was fighting
Crime?
Or how so and so
Fell asleep in Math.
Or how the hero
Couldn’t open his locker
When Evil Character was
Dropping books
On His head?

Isn’t it Weird
How
Fairy tales conveniently
Have villains and
Princesses in stock?
Or how Princesses
Hate to sew…
And get locked in towers?
Where do they find these towers?
I’ll bet they make
Great
Detention and
Suspension rooms.

Weird, isn’t it
How they completely
Skim over the structure
Of government in
La-La Land
Except to say that
It was
Ruled by a dictator
King or Queen
Everyone loved….
Why didn’t Everyone fight
For
King and Queen
Instead of going against them
When they were overthrown?

Strange how
You think about this stuff
When you should be
Studying.

The Poetry Friday Round-Up is at Great Kid Books.

Poetry Friday

For Poetry Friday this week my thirteen-year-old daughter is allowing me to share another one of her poems. Though, let it be noted, this poem is not going to get her out of cleaning her room.

Why Cleaning your Room is Bad
by KRM

Six inches High
Standing on my desk
Chubby hands on hips
Looking Fierce
“What did I tell you?”
He asks
“Why didn’t you listen?”
I sat at my desk,
Staring at him,
Confused, Scared.
“Well, human,” He snaps
“Now this is WAR!”
He jumps down
Onto a bed of s
Stuffed animals
Back to his
Tribe under
A heap of doll clothes,
Binders,
And Bags.
I should’ve known better
Than to clean my room
And disturb
The gnomes.

The Poetry Friday Round-up is being hosted by Anastasia Suen over at Picture Book of the Day.

Poetry Friday

Yes, I know I haven't posted in almost a month. I'm going to try to remedy that. In the meantime it's Friday and my daughter wrote a new poem last night, so without further ado here is our contribution to Poetry Friday.

Jack
by KRM

I was no fool
The man paid me
Plenty more for that
Cow than it deserved.
And then he handed me
The beans.

Grinning, decaying teeth
Exposed,
He said, "Keep the change,"
Then he vanished,
With my cow.

I stood in the middle
Of the road for a moment,
Staring at the
Leather pouch
of coins, and the
Five beans in my
Palm.

Then I scampered home,
Tossed my mama the money
and planted those beans.

I never expected it to take one night,
But when the stalk grew
I had every intention
Of being foolish
And seeing what
Was beyond
The clouds it grew
up to.

The rest of course,
Is history.
And yet, I can't help
But wonder
Who would want a
Sickly cow
And part with
Magic beans?

The Poetry Friday round-up is at Liz in Ink.

Poetry Friday

My daughter was chosen to represent her school at "An Evening with Young Writers" at our town's art center.

The two poems that were selected are ones I've posted here before on Poetry Friday, but they bear repeating. I'll put one here and the other over at Simply Put (spread the wealth)

Beauty and the Beast
By KRM

I was the big
Big man,
Muscular
Athletic, wonderful.
But she didn’t want me.
She fawned over
A beast locked
In a haunted castle
These years
What did he
Have that I
Didn’t.
Naturally, I started
Pressing her buttons.
But that made her
Hate me even more.
So then I set
Out.
Last straw.
Kill the beast!
A little lie here
A little blood there,
The benefit was mine.
The girl…mine!
But still,
My plan backfired,
Pushed off a
Tower. Landing
KERSPLAT
Down below.
And that was
My story.
My intentions
Started out
Good.
All I wanted was
Beauty
And
Instead got the
Brunt of the
Beast.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is by Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

Poetry Friday

I've decided to post the poem for Poetry Friday over at my writing blog, Simply Put. Go check it out for a wonderful new poem by Pippi.

Poetry Friday

It's time for Poetry Friday once again, and I've got another Pippi poem to share.

Maybe
by KRM

Maybe I'm a
Giant
with hands
the size of
Houses
and eyes
the size of
Dinner plates,
Or a fairy
with glittery
Wings.
Maybe I'm
A tree swaying
in the fall
breeze.
Perhaps I'm a
lamp, shining
it's bright light
down upon
the paper
(of equations - ugh.)
Maybe I'm
A Manticore
a club in
my meaty
fist, horns
coming off of
my furry head
Fury spelled
across my eyes
of red.
I could be
a shy satyr
Or a unicorn,
Even.
I could be a
fish blowing
bubbles.
The one thing I'm
NOT
is doing my
incredibly
dumb
HOMEWORK.

Ah, doesn't it just bring you back to middle school again?

The round up this week is by Kelly at Big A little a.

Poetry Friday - another Fairy Tale Edition

This week I have another poem by my 11-year-old daughter (actually I have a whole bunch, but I'm going to parcel them out on Fridays). What happens when you take a familiar fairy tale and look at it from another point of view completely. Is it still Happily Ever After? (and I don't mind saying, when I read this poem I got goosebumps)

Happily Ever After?
by KRM

It was a cold
windy
night
and the wolf
had been slaughtered
by a wood-cutter.
Everyone was
living
Happily Ever After.
But Reuben
sulked, his back
against a tree
the wind whipped
around his fur.
Ice-cold tears
lined his eyes
of anger
He thought
of his
father
and his last
encounter
with him.
But now,
Gone.

Reuben looked
at the
sky, clouded
with
dark, menacing
clouds
The Forest
seemed
at rest
peaceful,
though
trees were
bending in a
Sixties dance,
and the wind
howled ferociously
the quaint
cottages were
at rest
oblivious to
Reuben
his story
or
his father.

The Poetry Friday Round-up is at Picture Book of the Day.

Poetry Friday - Fairy Tale Edition

Pippi has a love for fairy tales. And why not - there are a lot of good stories out there. She also likes listening to music from Broadway shows. So the other day she was listening to songs from Beauty and the Beast and started thinking about Gaston - the big guy who wants Belle to marry him. This is the poem that resulted.

Beauty and the Beast
By KRM

I was the big
Big man,
Muscular
Athletic, wonderful.
But she didn’t want me.
She fawned over
A beast locked
In a haunted castle
These years
What did he
Have that I
Didn’t.
Naturally, I started
Pressing her buttons.
But that made her
Hate me even more.
So then I set
Out.
Last straw.
Kill the beast!
A little lie here
A little blood there,
The benefit was mine.
The girl…mine!
But still,
My plan backfired,
Pushed off a
Tower. Landing
KERSPLAT
Down below.
And that was
My story.
My intentions
Started out
Good.
All I wanted was
Beauty
And
Instead got the
Brunt of the
Beast.

The round up is at Wild Rose Reader today. Head on over.

Poetry Friday - Buckingham Palace

When I spent a semester in London many years ago my friends and I ended up not doing a lot of the touristy things you might expect. And one of the things we never saw was the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. We did see the palace. We saw the guard there, but never were there for the "changing of the guard".

Yet, this poem by A.A. Milne reminds me of that time.

And - okay - here's the full story about our trip to Buckingham Palace. We were doing our 'let's be tourists' for the day thing - and we had a pathetic little tourist map and very little information. We came to a large building opposite a large statue of a woman (Queen Victoria as it turns out). We went up to the fence of the building (you'd think there'd be signs or something saying "This is Buckingham Palace" but there weren't - I guess you're just supposed to know, kind of like the White House.) But the guards were there and there were signs that indicated what time the "changing of the guard" took place. This resulted in some consultation between us and we decided that, yes, it was Buckingham Palace where the changing of the guard took place - so that must be where we were.

Without further ado:

Buckingham Palace
by A. A. Milne

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
Alice is marrying one of the guard.
"A soldier's life is terrible hard,"
Says Alice.

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
We saw a guard in a sentry-box.
"One of the sergeants looks after their socks,"
Says Alice.

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
We looked for the King, but he never came.
"Well, God take care of him, all the same,"
Says Alice.

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
They've great big parties inside the grounds.
"I wouldn't be King for a hundred pounds,"
Says Alice.

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
A face looked out, but it wasn't the King's.
"He's much too busy a-signing things,"
Says Alice.

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
"Do you think the King knows all about me?"
"Sure to, dear, but it's time for tea,"
Says Alice.

The Poetry Friday Round Up is by Sarah at just another day of Catholic Pondering.

Poetry Friday - Spring Carol

It's actually a beautiful spring day today - a day that they are predicting the temperature may get up to 80 degrees - which brings us a little more into summer than I'm quite ready for. The beautiful spring like days this year have been fleeting - a few to really enjoy - not enough to get complacent about them.

So in honor of Spring I offer:

Spring Carol
by Robert Louis Stevenson

When loud by landside streamlets gush,
And clear in the greenwood quires the thrush,
With sun on the meadows
And songs in the shadows
Comes again to me
The gift of the tongues of the lea,
The gift of the tongues of meadows.

Straightway my olden heart returns
And dances with the dancing burns;
It sings with the sparrows;
To the rain and the (grimy) barrows
Sings my heart aloud -
To the silver-bellied cloud,
To the silver rainy arrows.

It bears the song of the skylark down,
And it hears the singing of the town;
And youth on the highways
And lovers in byways
Follows and sees:
And hearkens the song of the leas
And sings the songs of the highways.

So when the earth is alive with gods,
And the lusty ploughman breaks the sod,
And the grass sings in the meadows,
And the flowers smile in the shadows,
Sits my heart at ease,
Hearing the song of the leas,
Singing the songs of the meadows.

The Poetry Friday Round up is at Wild Rose Reader today. Head on over.

Poetry Friday - Singing

It's another rainy Friday here. And it's time for more poetry.

Singing
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Of speckled eggs the birdie sings
And nests among the trees;
The sailor sings of ropes and things
In ships upon the seas.

The children sing in far Japan,
The children sing in Spain;
The organ with the organ man
Is singing in the rain.

Notice the line about rain? That's what made me choose the poem, even though there is no organ man singing in it (at least none I can see.)

The round up is at Two Writing Teachers today.

Poetry Friday

Although it's chilly and rainy here today, Spring is definitely here. And although the daffodils have already bloomed and faded, I thought I'd share this poem today.

Daffodowndilly
by A. A. Milne

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour:
"Winter is dead."

The Poetry Friday Round-up is at Findings.