Poetry Friday: Freedom Again

For poetry Friday today, I'm celebrating the end of another semester of graduate school. In honor of the occasion, I'm repeating an original poem I posted in the fall.

It's going to be a short-lived break, though. Summer school starts in two weeks.

The Poetry Friday round-up today is at Two Writing Teachers.

Freedom
Free from papers to write
Except for grocery lists.

Free from assigned books to read
Except for bedtime stories.

Free from homework to do
Except for work around my home.

Completely free.
Utterly free.

Until next semester.

Poetry Friday: Winnie-The-Pooh

I'm reading an absolutely enchanting book with my son. It's about a bear named Pooh and his friends Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo and Christopher Robin. (We haven't met Tigger yet. He isn't introduced until the second book.)

You've heard of it, you say?

My son hasn't. It's just wonderful to watch him discover these incredibly famous characters for the very first time. Also, I'm realizing (as countless other parents have realized) what a fantastic book Winnie-the-Pooh is to read aloud. It's filled with poems, songs, creative text arrangements (in a pre-computer era) and short chapters, all of which work well with a young crowd. Also, Ernest Shepard's immortal "decorations" break up the words nicely and keep my son interested.

Since today is Poetry Friday, here's one of my favorites poems from the book. It's a song that Pooh hums to himself as he climbs up the honey tree in chapter one.

"It's a very funny thought that, if Bears were Bees,
They'd build their nests at the bottom of trees.
And that being so (if the Bees were Bears),
We shouldn't have to climb up all these stairs."
-A.A. Milne

The Poetry Friday round-up today is at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup.

And, see this post for more about my face-to-face encounter with Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed bear at the Central Children's Room in the Donnell Library Center.

Poetry Friday: Weather

I live in a place that's always surprised by inclement weather. A few snowflakes or a hint of ice is enough to send the area into panic and cause school closings, massive traffic backups and lines at the supermarkets.

It sounds like I live in Texas or California or another place that doesn't see a lot of snow. Nope. I live in the Washington D.C. area.... where it snows several times EVERY winter.

Schools are closed in my county today. There was a small ice storm last night.

Although, if you're going to school or work in one, the closures are quite lovely and you get used to them. Many years ago, I was student teaching at a high school in Boston. When I woke up to go to work, there was almost a foot of snow on the ground. I called the school and reached the secretary. "Wasn't the school closed?" I asked. "Or at least delayed?"
"Why would it be closed?" she answered. "It's just snow."

So, here's a poem for the Washington region, which has had a very odd week weather-wise. A few days ago the temperature was in the 70's, and today ice is covering everything.

Whether the Weather
Author unknown

Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!

The Poetry Friday round-up today is at Big A little a.

Poetry Friday: Sandra Boynton

Today, I'd like to share a poem written by Sandra Boynton. Okay, technically it's a song, but I've seen lots of other bloggers use song lyrics for Poetry Friday, so I thought I'd give that a try.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that I'm a graduate student studying library science. And I work in an independent store as a children's bookseller (and a book buyer). And I'm the mom of a small child. And my husband is also in graduate school (and he works full time). And I just started an internship at a local library.

So, here's my family's theme song/poem for the semester:

BusyBusyBusy
by Sandra Boynton

"WE'RE
very very busy
and we've got a lot to do
and we haven't got a minute
to explain it all to you"

See Sandra Boynton's wonderful album/book Philadelphia Chickens for the rest of the song. Or listen to a sample of this song here... sung by the ever fabulous Kevin Kline. For you musical theater fans out there, BusyBusyBusy is a parody/homage of Gilbert and Sullivan's patter songs.

For a good laugh, see Sandra Boynton's website.

The Poetry Friday roundup today is at HipWriterMama.

Update: I just found an ANIMATED version of the BusyBusyBusy song on Sandra Boynton's website. It's fabulous. Think Kevin Kline as a chicken dressed in a suit and tie.

Poetry Friday: Conquering Mount Kilimanjaro

Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about my brother's trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. I received an amazing number of comments filled with support for him... from bloggers, friends and family. My brother told me how touched he was by the post and the reactions.

He just arrived home safely... having successfully reached the summit of the mountain. It was an amazing and arduous trip and I can't wait to hear about it in more detail.

I wrote a poem for him today in honor of his journey.


Conquering Mount Kilimanjaro

This poem is for

anyone who has dared
to go on an adventure

anyone who has journeyed
beyond the boundaries

anyone who has struggled
through unforgiving conditions

anyone who has fulfilled
a long cherished dream

This poem is for my brother

and for anyone who has
conquered their mountain.


The Poetry Friday round-up today is at Mentor Texts, Read Alouds & More.

Poetry Friday: Kilimanjaro

So far, whenever I've contributed to Poetry Friday, I've written an original poem. But, that's not going to work today, because today I want to write about something I haven't experienced. Today's post is dedicated to my big brother.

My brother is about to undertake a huge task: climbing up (and down) Mount Kilimanjaro. He loves physical challenges and has done some pretty incredible things, including: skydiving, running marathons and biking across Minnesota. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is his biggest (and farthest away) adventure. I want to wish him a safe journey and give him all the inspiration I can. I couldn't come up with the right words, so I'm turning to someone else who has been there.

The poems excerpted below are written by Susan R. Makin, who recently climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. She says it far better than I could.

Excerpt from Poem 2: Kilimanjaro, Day 4/1

Equal when challenged
Challenged when equal

The day is long
The body becomes strong

And so too the mind

For the complete poem, click here.


Excerpt from Poem 4: Day 5
Step by step
Minute by minute
Ache by ache
We’re closer to our goal

For the complete poem, click here.


Excerpt from Poem 5: Kili Ascent: Success

Those who can
Those who can’t

Those who could
Those who would

Those who did.

For the complete poem, click here.

All poems excerpted above are copyright of Susan R. Makin, 2007, and posted here with her permission. The full poems, as well as her thoughts about her adventure are posted on DocSusan's Blog. Here are the links to all of her Kilimanjaro poems:

Kilimanjaro Poetry: Poem 1
Kilimanjaro Poetry: Poems 2 and 3
Kilimanjaro Poetry: Poems 4 and 5
Kilimanjaro Poetry: Poems 6 and 7
Kilimanjaro Poetry: Poems 8 and 9

She also has practical advice about climbing the mountain that she relates in this post: Climbing Kilimanjaro: Making it to the Top.

I hope these words of encouragement will help my brother keep going throughout the difficult climb. I have complete faith in him and I wish him the very best of luck. I can't wait to hear all about his experience when he gets back.

Today's Poetry Friday round-up is at The Book Mine Set.

Update: My brother successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro! See this post.

Poetry Friday: Changing Interests

I'm having so much fun writing poems for Poetry Friday. This one is about my son, who really does revel in reading books these days. Last night he got ready for bed very early. Since we had lots of extra time and both of us were having a lot of fun, we read seventeen books (a new record, even for me... usually we read three books per night). When we were finished, he asked for more! Seeing that my throat was hoarse from reading P.D. Eastman, Dr. Seuss, Nancy Tafuri, Marjorie Priceman, Donald Crews, Sandra Boynton (and a few others), I decided it was time for him to go to bed.

The Poetry Friday round-up is at A Year of Reading today.

Changing Interests

When he was a baby
Books didn’t interest him

When he was one
He loved to eat books

When he was two
He loved to play with books

Now that he’s three
He loves to read books

Especially if it
delays
his
bedtime

Poetry Friday: Book of Memories

It's my third Poetry Friday and third original poem in a row. This one is about my thoughts as I wrote my holiday cards this year. The Poetry Friday round-up is at AmoXcalli.

Book of Memories
Memories unfold
as I flip through the pages
of the well-worn book.

Since the last time
I looked there have been
deaths
divorces
new babies
new houses
new marriages.

I see each one vividly
as I turn the pages.

Usually I need a photo album
to conjure the images.

Tonight,
all it takes is my
address book.

Poetry Friday: Freedom

I'm celebrating the end of the semester here at Wizards Wireless with my second ever Poetry Friday post... and my second original poem in ten years! The Poetry Friday round-up today is at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

Freedom
Free from papers to write
Except for grocery lists.

Free from assigned books to read
Except for bedtime stories.

Free from homework to do
Except for work around my home.

Completely free.
Utterly free.

Until next semester.

Poetry Friday

Poetry Friday is a tradition in the Kidlitosphere (the community of bloggers who write about children's literature). Every Friday, poems are posted at various blogs and one person writes a round-up where they link to all the poetry. This week, the round-up is at Becky's Book Reviews.

This is my first ever Poetry Friday post, because it's the first time I've had a poem to contribute. This poem came into my head on Wednesday while I was shoveling the driveway with my son at 7 pm. I haven't written a poem for ten years, so it feels good to write again.


A Good Mom
A good mom searches for the red snow pants
even though the blue ones fit
because red is his favorite color.

A good mom finds his boots
even though they are in the attic
because he wants to wear them.

A good mom lets him use the shovel
even though it's too big for him
because he wants to help.

A good mom gives him her gloves
even though it's her only pair
because his hands are cold.

A good mom plays in the snow at night
even though she should be working
because he wants to play with her.

Or, at least
that's what I did
today.