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Two Original Limericks

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There once was a girl who loved trees.
She swung from their limbs with great ease.
When asked to come in,
The girl made a grin,
Then hung upside down by her knees.

 

My mother once gave me a date.
I snuck the old yuck off my plate.
My mother found out
When she saw the dog’s snout
In a strangely gelatinous state.

 

Earlier in the summer Michelle Barnes asked me if I’d be willing to send her a poem for Limerick Alley. I was so honored and inspired by her request that I wrote and sent three. She posted one earlier this week with a fabulous illustration by her daughter. Above are the two others written for Michelle.

For more Poetry Friday, visit Renee at No Water River.

(c) Elizabeth Steinglass, 2013, all rights reserved

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Sunflower

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Sunflower

Rising over the garden,
A helium sun on a string.
Parading above the lilies,
A crown fit for a king.

An eye with golden lashes,
A bonnet around a face,
A sprinter sporting a medal
For winning a backyard race.

A paintbrush dipped in lemon,
A splash of juicy light,
A toothless, sunny smile
Without a shadow in sight.

A nodding head grown weary,
A platter of snacks on a string,
A sprinkle of secret promises
To rise again next spring.

(c) Elizabeth Steinglass, 2013, all rights reserved

 

I wrote this last summer but I was reminded of it when this year’s sunflowers opened their bright, shiny faces.

For more Poetry Friday visit Semicolon.

 

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Haiku: The Wordless Poem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

for sale
a sparrow slips into the attic
trailing toilet paper

 

watching fireworks
from the car
chickenpox

 

screen door
song of the birds
cry of the cat

 

a sudden fall
of acorns—

chipmunk looks
at me

 

I’ve been focusing on haiku again, preparing submissions for Modern Haiku (deadline July 15) and Frogpond (deadline August 1). (Hint, hint…) I set these aside to post here because they were the most kid-friendly.

Haiku are sometimes called “wordless” poems. The idea is that the reader connects directly with the experience being depicted, not with the words of the poem. For me wordless also refers to all the words that might have been included but weren’t–words that the reader constructs for herself. We know from the words in the second haiku that somewhere there is a screen door, birds singing, and a cat crying but there are no words explaining that the cat is crying because she is on one side of the screen door and unable to hunt the birds happily singing on the other. According to Cor van den Heuvel, the poet Ogiwara Seisensui once described haiku as a circle–half provided by the poet and half provided by the reader. This is just the kind of active reading I hope to inspire in kids.

For more Poetry Friday visit Michelle Heidenrich Barnes at Today’s Little Ditty.

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Haiku for Kids, Questions for Bloggers

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pay dirt—
under the roses
a soccer ball

 

late at night—
a cricket sings
in the lizard’s cage

 

© Elizabeth Steinglass, 2013, all rights reserved

 

Ever since I started this blog, I’ve had two recurrent questions: Who is my audience? And why do I do it? It’s been a year and a half now, and I’m still not sure I have any good answers. Am I writing for poets, teachers, kids, friends? Is my goal to write more, share more, promote more, connect more?

I’m the kind of person who likes to talk through questions like these. So, fellow poet bloggers, I ask you:

1. Who is the audience for your blog?

2. Why do you blog?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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The Poetry Friday Party is Here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garden Party

Weeping willow wears a gown
Of leafy lace that sweeps the ground.
Under her skirt we blow grass horns
And watch the daisies dance a round.

(c) Elizabeth Steinglass, 2013, all rights reserved

 

Welcome Poetry Friday visitors. Please join the party
by leaving your links in the comments. I’ll come by later
and add them to my post.

Happy Poetry Friday!

Liz

Here’s today’s round-up:

Looking for something rhyming and funny? See Jeff at NC Teacher Stuff whose colleague Wayne Leonard made a short video in response to a student challenge.

During National Poetry Month Laura Salas was so busy with her poem starter videos and other commitments, she missed out on other blogs. This Friday she’s heading over to Jama Rattigan’s list of Poetry Month celebrations. She’s also wondering what Poetry Month blogs we particularly enjoyed visiting.

At Random Noodling Diane is taking a breath after National Poetry Month and sharing a favorite cat poem by Denise Levertov.

At Kurious Kitty Diane shares “I Left My Head” by Lilian Moore, a poem which may speak both to the younger and the older crowd, and probably quite a few in the middle.

Diane has an explosive quote by Lilian Moore at at KK’s Kwotes.

Author Amok, Laura Shovan has been working with third graders writing scientific Fibonacci poems. Today she shares a couple of her students’ poems and her lesson plans.

Bridget at Wee Words for Wee Ones has an original foggy day, dog walking poem.

At Crackles of Speech Steven Withrow has an original poem about the lion who guards “The Library Steps.”

Robyn Hood Black has some laugh-out-loud student limericks from the Fair Street School at Life on the Deckle Edge.

In the mood for something odd? Myra has Tim Burton’s Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy at Gathering Books.

Congratulations to Linda who is celebrating her 500th post at TeacherDance! This week she’s taking time to reflect on the important things about blogging. She also shares “The Seven of Pentacles” by Marge Piercy.

Charles Gingha, aka Father Goose, is celebrating May with his original poem “Happy Birthday, May!”

Renee LaTulippe at No Water River has two posts to share this morning:

The first stars Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, who comes out of her enchanted forest to share “Puff,” a poem from her new book Forest Has a Song.

The second is a poetry video and a video interview with the beloved poet and anthologist, Lee Bennett Hopkins.

Matt Forrest Esenwine at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme seems to have a touch of spring fever. This morning he shares an original poem, “Wildflowers, for Jane.” Who’s Jane? Jane Yolen, of course!

Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference shares poems from Poetry Out Loud, the amazing Nation Recitation Contest.

Mary Lee Hahn is also sharing poems about cats and has a link to even more cat poems at A Year of Reading.

Heidi Mordhorst has some really lovely poems by her kindergarten students, the Mighty Minnows, at My Juicy Little Universe.

Margaret at Reflections on the Teche has been reading I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse with her students and working with them to write Mother’s Day poems. I know some moms who are going to get really special gifts this year.

Now that National Poetry Month is over, it’s time for Get Caught Reading! Kick off this next celebration At Reading to the Core with Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Picture-books in Winter.”

Before heading to the ocean on the 8th grade retreat, Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town posted Jack Spicer’s “Any fool can get into an ocean…”

At Used Books in Class you will find a touching post about the impossibility of repaying mothers and Billy Collins’s poem, “The Lanyard.”

This week Irene Latham shares answers to questions such as “Why is poetry important?” and “Where do poems come from?

Irene has also posted the complete 2013 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem. It’s quite a ride.

Betsy at Teaching Young Writers shares an original poem, “Winter Memories,” and a link to #chalkabration celebrations from the week. If you have a moment and can visit it was a dusty good time.

At Inside the Dog Steve Peterson shares an original haibun about fly fishing that was inspired by Mary Lee’s April poetry challenge.

Capping off National Poetry Month, Penny Klosterman, a teacher for 26 years, shares an extensive Poetry Resource page for teachers.

Donna at Mainely Write has four different versions of her poem, “Robin’s Proclamation.” Which do you prefer?

Doraine Bennett explores sestinas at DoriReads.

Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong are already thinking about summer. Today at the Poetry Friday Anthology blog they are sharing Debbie Levy’s poem “My Best Friend is Leaving.” And at the Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School blog they have a poem movie by Phyllis Yarbro, featuring Marilyn Singer’s poem, “Body Art.”

Amy Merrill at Mrs. Merrill’s Book Break pairs poetry and origami (thanks to Kristine O’Connell George!).

Today at The Writer’s Whimsy Tamera Will Wissinger is  celebrating poets and National Poetry Month with a tercet epigram and also recapping her April Poetry activities.

At Wild Rose Reader Elaine has an original poem titled “Puddle Muddle” and announces the winner of “Puddle Wonderful: Poems to Welcome Spring.”

Becky Shillington discusses ekphrastic poetry and shares an original poem “Hope.”

Though it’s still snowing in Minnesota, Jill at Orange Marmalade is thinking spring and shares a hopeful poem about seeds from The Book of The Seasons: An Anthology by Eve Garnett.

At Bildungsroman, Little Willow shares the opening of Eva of the Farm, a verse novel by Dia Calhoun.

Today’s Little Ditty features “Tuesday’s Miracle” a celebration of spring and babies by Michelle H. Barnes.

Ms. Mac has more than 98 reasons to celebrate student work at Check it Out!

Readertotz has a wonderful rhyming board book “Tea Time” by Karen Rostoker-Gruber.

At On Point Lorie Ann Grover has a haiku entitled “Triangle Dresses.” Where have you seen ladies in triangle dresses?

David Elzey is in with his 30th and final Pulitzer Remix post. To celebrate National Poetry Month, he’s been extracting poems from “The Stories of John Cheever.” This week he has a stunning poem from the story “The Enormous Radio.”

Janet Squires at All About the Books shares Dogku by Andrew Clements, illustrated by Tim Bowers.

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Why Limericks?

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Two Original Limericks:

 

There once was a boy with a stick
Who wanted to try a cool trick.
He threw the stick up,
Held his hands like a cup
And grasped the fine point of the stick.

 

There once was a girl who loved rhyme.
She rhymed when she talked all the time.
Her friends grew to hate
This maddening trait
And prompted her interest in mime.

 

Why Limericks?

A few weeks ago I wrote about why I think we could all benefit from spending some time reading and writing haiku. This week I want to advocate for a very different form—the limerick.

Here’s why I think kids, and their grown-ups, should study and write limericks:

1. Limericks are funny.

2. Limericks have a strong, easily identifiable rhyme and meter.

3. Because of #1 and #2, limericks provide a perfect jumping off point for the study of rhyme and meter.

Lately, I feel like I’m reading more warnings against writing in rhyme and meter and even against teaching children to write in rhyme and meter because it’s so hard. It is hard. Often the difference between an excellent poem and a poem that makes you wince is the rhyme and/or meter. Rhyme and meter are basic elements of poetry, music, language, and humor. We can’t give up! We need to study and practice and work. Limericks provide a great opportunity to do that work, while also having fun.

 

For anyone who’s interested, here’s one possible approach to teaching the limerick:

1. Read a limerick out loud and have the kids read it out loud multiple times, until they can nearly sing it by heart.
(Be sure the example follows the rules of the form very closely.)

Here’s a classic by Edward Lear:

There once was a man with a beard
Who said, “It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!”

2. Work with the kids to rewrite the limerick in nonsense syllables like da and DUM: da for the unstressed syllables, DUM for the stressed syllables. Have them chant this a few times too.
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM

You could at this point talk about variations in the form, such as:
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
da da DUM da da DUM
da da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM

Or:
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM da
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM da
da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM da

You could also show them how people typically mark meter—with ˘ and ‘
As in
˘ ˘ ´ ˘ ˘ ´ ˘ ˘ ´
˘ ˘ ´ ˘ ˘ ´ ˘ ˘ ´
˘ ´ ˘ ˘ ´
˘ ´ ˘ ˘ ´
˘ ˘ ´ ˘ ˘ ´ ˘ ˘ ´
(For information about how to make these symbols on a mac go to ChrisWrites.com.)

3. Show the kids a different version of the same limerick that disrupts the rhyme:

For example, with apologies to Mr. Lear:

There once was a man with a beard
Who said, “It is just as I dreaded!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Jay,
Have all built their nests in my hair!”

What’s wrong with this version?

You might want to mention that Lear’s limericks often use the same word at the end of the first line and at the end of the last line. Sometimes contemporary readers don’t seem to feel comfortable with this rhyming of the word with itself.

4. Show the kids another version that disrupts the meter:

For example, again with apologies to Mr. Lear,

Once there was a man with a beard
Who exclaimed, “It is exactly as I feared!
Owls and white Hens,
Twenty-one Larks and Wrens,
Made nests in my long beard!”

What’s wrong with this version?

I think that by comparing this version to Lear’s, kids can see for themselves the importance of getting the meter right.

5. Give the kids another messed up limerick.

Here’s another Lear limerick I’ve taken the liberty of ruining:

Once there was a Young Lady of London,
Whose shoelaces were almost never untied.
She bought some clogs,
And some tiny spotted cats,
And frequently galloped about Ryde.

Can they fix it (alone, in pairs, or as a class)?

Here’s the original:

There was a Young Lady of Ryde,
Whose shoe-strings were seldom untied.
She purchased some clogs,
And some small spotted dogs,
And frequently walked about Ryde.

6. Finally, ask them to write their own limerick. I think it’s important to mention that it’s harder than it sounds. I would also provide opportunities to get help—either from partners or the whole group. And as always, when I ask kids to write, I write. I want them to see that I’m willing to take on all the risks and challenges I ask them to take on. Often I’m the very first to ask for help.

For more Poetry Friday, visit Laura Salas at Writing the World for Kids.

Next week, Poetry Friday will be here!

© Elizabeth Steinglass, 2013, all rights reserved

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March Madness–Round 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last weekend I participated in the second round of Ed DeCaria’s March Madness Poetry Tournament. I had 36 hours to write a poem using the word exertion, a truly ugly word in my opinion. The first thing I did was sleep, giving me about 24 hours to actually write. I kept my notebook by my bed, and first thing in the morning I wrote the poem I entered in the tournament:

 

Hitting the Snooze Bar

I lie back down across my bed.
I pull the pillow over my head.
I desperately need these minutes of sleep
After the exertion of stopping that

BEEP!

 

That’s pretty much how it came out. I agonized a little over these minutes of sleep, ten minutes of sleep, more minutes of sleep. I went with these because it seemed to work well with need. I liked the poem, but it felt light to me. It’s a moment, familiar and funny, but not much more.

My next move was to consider possible rhymes. Assertion and coercion leaped to mind.

I also started thinking about sloths because sloths are known for their lack of exertion.

Thus I found myself writing this couplet:

 

Swaying Sloth

The swaying sloth makes no assertion—
Standing up entails too much exertion.

 

The couplet has more going on than the snooze bar poem, but dare I enter a couplet? It’s so minimal! Also, no one I showed it to seemed to get the double meaning of the swaying and the standing up. I felt I needed something more.

So, for hours and hours, between kids’ activities, meals, chores, etc., I worked on this poem:

 

Sloth’s Weekly Exertion

 

Languorous sloth lives a life of ease,
Hanging around in rain forest trees,
Nibbling on leaves between long naps,
Moving so slowly nobody sees.

Yet, once a week the sloth must creep
Down to the ground to find some relief.
Exhausted by her great exertion,
She climbs back up and goes to sleep.

 

I really liked the first stanza, but the second one bothered me. I didn’t like the rhyme, and it didn’t seem to match the first stanza.

I kept at it, and hours later I wrote this draft:

 

Sloth’s Weekly Exertion

 

Languorous sloth lives a life of ease,
Hanging around in rain forest trees,
Nibbling on leaves between long naps,
Moving so slowly nobody sees.

But even a sloth can’t hold it forever,
So down the tree he must endeavor.
Exhausted by his great exertion,
He creeps back up to sleep whenever.

 

I still didn’t like it. It just didn’t seem to polish up nice and shiny the way I wanted it to, so I threw it back in the drawer and went with the snooze bar poem. Though the snooze bar poem doesn’t do as much, it does seem to do it well.

I was trounced by Dave Crawley and his clever poem about clichés. I am out, but the madness continues! There are many more poems to enjoy and votes to cast.

For more Poetry Friday visit Greg at GottaBook.

I’m going on vacation next week and I’m not taking any electronics! See you in April.

(c) 2013, Elizabeth Steinglass, all rights reserved

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March Madness

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Ed DeCaria at Think Kid, Think! has once again organized a crazy poetry tournament. Competitors have 36 hours to write kids’ poems using ridiculous words given to them by Ed. Outcomes are determined by those who visit the website and vote. Winners advance to the next round (like the March Madness basketball tournament). The whole tournament takes a few weeks.

 

My first-round word was hubris. (My opponent’s word was chisel.) I wrote two poems. You can find the first at the tournament website.

Here is the second:

 

The Girl in the Hole

There once was a girl with great hubris,
Who exclaimed without shame, “I can do this!”
When she came to a hole,
She leaped (like a mole)
And found that she’d been quite amiss.

(c) Elizabeth Steinglass, 2013

 

When you have a free moment, visit the tournament, read some great poetry, and vote!

For more Poetry Friday, visit Check It Out.

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Limericks

 

 

There was an old man with a hat.
The hat had a hole for a bat.
When the bat flew away,
The man cried, “Please stay!”
How I hate to wear a cold hat.”

 

There was an old man with a slug.
He wanted to give it a hug.
The slug cried, “Oh no!
You must let me go!
Your hugs are too snug for a slug.”

 

There once was a boy with a frog.
What he’d wanted to get was a dog.
The boy ordered, “Sit!”
The frog had a fit,
And burped, “First, you must get me a log!”

 

(c) 2013 Elizabeth Steinglass, all rights reserved

_____________________________________________________________________

Oh my poor family, for I have dedicated this week to the limerick. Once I started, I found it nearly impossible to stop. I can still hear the anapests galloping in my head. As you probably know, a limerick is a five-line poem in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme and use the following pattern of accents—da DUM, da da DUM, da da DUM. Lines three and four also rhyme and follow this pattern of accents—da DUM, da da DUM. (Alternatively, lines three and four can be combined into one line with an internal rhyme, which is how Edward Lear wrote them.) In some limericks the last word of the last line repeats the last word in either line one or line two. Though traditional, this repetition seems to offend some of today’s readers.

 

My favorite limerick is from Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense:

There was an Old Man with a beard
Who said, “It is just as I feared!–
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!”

 

To me this poem seems a perfect example of the kind of innocent silliness kids (and grown-ups) enjoy. But as a poet, what I really admire is Lear’s simple language and what appears to be an effortless use of the form. After a week of writing limericks, I’m guessing that what seems effortless is actually the result of great effort, great talent, and good fortune. Compared to the example above, many limericks act like contortionists, twisting themselves uncomfortably to fit the form. It’s the rare limerick that glides across the tightrope with grace and ease.

For more information about the limerick, visit Poets.org.

For more Poetry Friday, visit Julie Larios at The Drift Record.

(c) 2013, Elizabeth Steinglass

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Two Silly Poems

petits fours by Erica

 

The Sparrow at the Store

I saw a sparrow at the grocery store.
I offered to show him the way to the door.
“Thanks,” he said, “but there’s one thing more.
Do you know where they keep the petits four?”

 

 


 

The Secret of the Cat

What’s the secret
Of the domesticated cat?
She understands you perfectly,
But doesn’t care to chat.

Goodness, I’ve been grumpy. I hope it’s just the weather and the gray skies. I thought I’d use this week’s post to try to improve my mood. I got out my Ogden Nash poems. They always do the trick. Then I decided to write some of my own silly animal poems. I’ve posted yesterday’s work above. I hope it brings a little warmth to your winter.

 

For more Poetry Friday, go to Teaching Authors.

(c) 2013 Elizabeth Ehrenfest Steinglass, all rights reserved

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