all ages, cinquain, Fibonnaci, younger kids

Cinquain and Fibonnaci

Running

Feet go thumping

To the heart’s strong drumming.

I make my own beat when I go

Running.

Growing

I
am
bigger
all the time.
I am growing like
a vine. I am climbing to the
space above the house, the ground, the clouds, and even you.

Today I have two additional forms that follow specific syllable patterns. Both were invented in the US. I wonder if that makes them more suitable to English somehow. The first is a cinquain which was invented by Adelaide Crapsey in the early 20th century. The syllable pattern is two, four, six, eight, two. Sometimes the first and last lines are the same; sometimes they are not. The second is a Fibonnaci poem which means that the number of syllables in the lines of the poem follow the sequence of Fibonnaci numbers: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc. Do you see the pattern? You add two numbers in sequence to get the next one. Fibonnaci numbers describe the spirals in many things from the natural world, like pine cones, flowers, and nautilus shells. I wrote this in response to the Tuesday Poetry Stretch at the blog The Miss Rumphius Effect. There’s also a great video about the Fibonnaci sequence on the blog.

March 6, 2012/1 Comment/by lsteinglass

older kids, school

Four Tanka

she says to copy

the night’s assignment

in my diary

a girl flies off

the point of my pencil

she says to read

the next twenty-eight pages

in the book

he tips on the edge between

tables in the lunchroom

leaving the orbit

of desks, white boards, and coat hooks,

he waves, explaining

black holes are extremely dark

but you can still survive them

raindrops spot the glass

with tiny gray-skied planets

one by one they fall

my outdoor voice is too big

for recess in the lunchroom

I’ve spent the week exploring tanka. I’m drawn to the idea of two resonating images. I think perhaps tanka lend themselves to expressing some of the dilemmas of being a kid in a grown-up world.

I think it might be fun to do a tanka activity in a class of older elementary or middle school students. I can imagine giving everyone the same first three lines (maybe the first three of the last tanka above) and asking the kids to write the last two. It would be so interesting to see what everyone came up with.

March 2, 2012/2 Comments/by lsteinglass

older kids

Two Tanka

reaching for more

I topple the glass

spilling tears

not for the milk

for the sighs

in the hall

we all laugh

not seeing the boy

stuffing himself

in his backpack

I’ve decided to dedicate the week to tanka. Tanka is an ancient Japanese form, even more ancient than haiku. Tanka consist of five lines. The first three lines offer an image. The last two lines offer a commentary on the first image, sometimes through an additional resonating image. In Japanese tanka use 5-7-5-7-7 “sounds.” In English one might use 5-7-5-7-7 syllables or fewer.

I’m personally drawn to tanka for the double, resonating images. I think the form might be particularly suited to middle school students who often seem to be thinking about what’s happening and what they think about what’s happening.

Here’s a link to my current favorite tanka: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/22339

More later.

Liz

February 28, 2012/2 Comments/by lsteinglass

all ages, animals

Early Morning

In the dark they sing

For the folded crocus

In the dark they sing

For the dim daffodil

In the dark they sing

For the somnolent tulip

In the dark they sing

For the imminent crowd

In the dark they sing

For they cannot wait

In the dark they sing

For the lingering sun

February 24, 2012/4 Comments/by lsteinglass

animals

The Cat by the Door

Dear Scout,

begs to go out,

not so she can hunt.

She doesn’t go

to fight a foe

or meet up with a friend.

She doesn’t run,

or stretch in the sun,

or nibble a blade of grass.

Dear Scout,

begs to go out

so she can sniff the wind.

photo by Amos

February 22, 2012/by lsteinglass

all ages, animals

Flurries

photo by Naomi

Snow Cat

From the window she hunts

Snowflakes riding winter winds.

She leaps!

Pinning herself to the screen

Like a snow glob stuck to the glass

Before it seeps to the floor.

Snow Boy

From the window he hunts

Snowstorms riding distant winds.

He wishes!

Pressing himself to the cold

Like a breath that fogs the glass

Before it disappears.

Snow Girl

From the window she hunts

Snow angels riding glistening winds.

She peers.

Angling herself to the glass

Like a ray of sunlight that shines bright

Before breaking into color.

Snow Dog

From the window he hunts

Snow boots trudging through frigid winds.

He dreams!

Turning away from the cold

Like a door that shuts

Before the intruder arrives.

February 17, 2012/11 Comments/by lsteinglass

adults, older kids

Valentine Poem in Candy Hearts

CUTIE PIE

I HOPE

MY WAY

SWEET TALK

BE GOOD

BE MINE

ALL MINE

I DO

BE KIND

I DO

LOVE YOU

TRUE LOVE

HUG ME

MY BABY

YOU RULE

February 14, 2012/by lsteinglass

all ages

Snowball Poem

I am all cold hands piling, rolling, rounding happiness eventually accumulated.

February 12, 2012/1 Comment/by lsteinglass

all ages, younger kids

Going Upstairs in the Dark

I’m climbing up the stair.

It’s dark up there. It’s dark up there.

The light switch isn’t down the stair.

It’s way up there. It’s way up there.

I’m climbing up the stair.

Do I dare ask who’s waiting there?

I know that ghosts are very rare,

But still one might be hiding there.

I’m climbing up the stair.

I feel a tingle in my hair.

I think perhaps I feel a stare.

I think perhaps I feel a glare.

I’m climbing up the stair.

It isn’t fair. It isn’t fair.

To send me to the ghosts’ dark lair.

Don’t they care? Don’t they care?

I tiptoe, tiptoe up the stair.

I flip the switch. I’ve made it there.

The light shines here. The light shines there.

I gave that ghost a great big scare!

February 10, 2012/5 Comments/by lsteinglass

silly

A Shoe for Tying

When learning to tie,

You should give it a try

On a carefully chosen shoe.

The shoe should be new,

Preferably blue,

Extra large too,

Not belonging to you.

The shoe should have laces,

And never make faces

When fingers go places

There shouldn’t be spaces.

Its tongue must not fight

Even if you should bite

While pulling it tight

With all of your might.

Its toe must not tap

To your shoe-tying rap.

It should sit in your lap

And take a nice nap,

Though it might feel a whap

As its strings flip and flap.

The shoe must sit still

No matter how shrill

You scream with the thrill

Of tying it.

February 7, 2012/1 Comment/by lsteinglass

Elizabeth Steinglass

Poetry for Children and their Grownups

Cinquain and Fibonnaci

Four Tanka

Two Tanka

Early Morning

The Cat by the Door

Flurries

Snow Boy

Valentine Poem in Candy Hearts

Snowball Poem

Going Upstairs in the Dark

A Shoe for Tying

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