Poetry Friday--The Poetry Friday Round-Up Is Here!

Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine, courtesy Library of Congress.

Caption: Small family group hulling berries at Johnson's Hulling Station, Seaford, Delaware. Date: May 1910.

I've got two poems completed for my entry in The Sketchbook Project, and at least two more, which I wrote prior to taking on the project. That's four down and about eleven to go!

This one is especially relevant since June is the start of strawberry season!

Two Cents a Quart

All of us are here.
Papa's in the shed shaving
wood for quart baskets.
Gran and Grampy, and
Mama and us youngins share
a bench hulling strawberries.
We gets 2 cents a quart.
Mr. Johnson says he ain't
gonna dock us for all the wood
we take home in our fingertips!
He's a real corker, he is.
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.

If you're here for the Poetry Friday Round-Up, leave your links in the comments and I'll be collecting them all day Friday. I'm quitting by 9:00 PM because Saturday is the Friends of the Library of Windham's annual Strawberry Festival and Book Fair, and I need my rest so that I'll have the strength to lift all those heaping spoonsful of biscuit, strawberries, and cream!

Laura Shovan showcases the poems created by kids during Laura's recent residency at Northfield Elementary. I read them and had to stop in the middle to get a snack to stop myself from drooling!

Tara joins many in remembering Maya Angelou, who passed away this week. Tara shares "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Angelou is now flying free, but those of us stuck on earth will miss her presence.

Julia Wendell's "My Mother's Handwriting" takes the stage at Jama's Alphabet Soup, and it's not soup Jama's serving up, but her mother's chili! (Wait until morning, though, the post isn't live until 6 am.)

Laura Salas at Teaching Authors has a poem by one of my favorite children's poets, Valerie Worth, "Geese."

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes issued a challenge for the month of May. Write a cinquain relating to water, post it at Today's Little Ditty, and you'll be entered in a drawing for a copy of Laura Salas' book, Water Can Be. Michelle has the entries rounded up for us. There's still time to post yours. I thought I had posted one, but I don't see it. Maybe I just intended to and never did! Wait, I found it:

And You Thought It Was Just Yucky

Drooling--

continuous

stream of protein-laden

water ensures germ-protected

babies.

I'll go post it now! This is everything that had been left in the comments prior to 11:00 PM, I'll be back in the morning to start on the rest!

Good morning! I'm back and will be posting with a cat on my shoulder! It sometimes makes it difficult to type, but she's getting old and likes the nearness. How can I turn her away?

Matt Forrest Esenwine's daughter had an encounter with a giant of the woods and inspired Matt's poem for today, "Problem Solved."

At Beyond Literacy Link, Carol is joining us with an original Memorial Day poem, framed very nicely. She also shares a vintage postcard from her ephemera collection. I'm looking forward to seeing what other things she has in her collections!

Linda at Teacher Dance has been working with student writers all year and now collects some of their work for us--poems, stories, and even an essay about the decline of whales!

Our Amazing Days has a post about my favorite type of poetry--ekphrasis! Check out Karin's awesome poem inspired by Andy Warhol's "Grevy's Zebra." It is an amazing day!

Mary Lee's Year of Reading ends the school year with "Sumer Is Icumen In." Make sure you take the time to listen to the poem sung in a round. I have "sing cuckoo" stuck in my head now. Help!

Another tribute to Maya Angelou is posted by Jone. "Still I Rise" is a favorite with many.

Iphigene from Gathering Books takes us in another direction with a poem by Pablo Neruda about an onion! Yes, an onion, and it's wonderful!

Imagine you're in the Trojan horse. Imagine you ARE the Trojan horse. That's what Tabatha has done for us in her original poem, "Wooden Horse," we're there!

At Carol's Corner the Maya Angelou tribute continues. Carol has a poem by Kevin W. Riley, which was inspired by Angelou's words.

Down at The Poem Farm, Amy has an original tenting poem (also recorded for your listening enjoyment), and she shares some children's responses--art and words--to poetry.

A big shout out to Heidi Mordhurst who stopped by to say she "wanted to wave at you all from under the rich, mucky surface of the Kindergarten Frog Pond.... " Hang in there, Heidi, the school year is almost over!

Irene at Live Your Poem shares news of embarking on a new adventure, and, she includes her poem about Harriet Tubman called, "All Aboard the Freedom Train." Bon voyage, Irene!

I almost forgot to link to KK's Kwotes! Today, there's a quote by Ntoxake Shange with a link to an article, "A Poet With Words Trapped Inside." Kurious Kitty is taking the day off at her Library blog, so there's no link.

Down on the Teche today, Margaret Simon was moved to write a sestina to celebrate Maya Angelou. Look for lines like these,

She knew who heard her voice
above all others; her curls
were born to adorn our hearts.

Keri is recommending jumping aboard the cinquain bandwagon. She includes two cinquain that were inspired by a walk along, and a tumble into, a creek.

For those who are in need today, there's an incredibly hopeful poem, "Marigolds," by Robert Graves at Bildungsroman.

Karen Edmisten has been bitten by the Dickinson bug! She is fascinated by Emily Dickinson, the woman and shares a link to "Emily Dickinson" by Linda Pastan, and links to other musings on Dickinson.

Trica at The Miss Rumphius Effect is back. She's been having a difficult month and so, she's posting a poem called "Sorrow." Since a shared sorrow is a sorrow halved, then by the end of the day, her readers should have her back on the joy track.

At There Is No Such Thing As a God-forsaken Town, Ruth is thinking about cleaning now that the school year is over. She shares "Mother's Closet" by Maxine Scates.

Project Chameleon explores the National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry and Kelly asks what poems are favorites for use in a classroom?

All About the Books with Janet Squires provides us with an introduction to The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science and Imagination, an anthology of poems selected by Mary Ann Hoberman.

We'll close out the night with some Wendell Berry at Rogue Anthropologist.

It's been a long day. Any comments that come through later tonight will be posted tomorrow. Goodnight all!

Readertotz points out that Shel Silverstein's Don't Bump the Glump and Other Fantasies is now 50 years old!

Poetry for Children's tribute to Maya Angelou focuses on Angelou's children's poetry. I'm amazed by the scope of her work!

Lori Ann at On Point experiments with Superstickies (welcome to the club!) to create "Twilight's blush."

If you've never tried putting a poem on a sticky note, you can try it here. I've been a fan since 2009 and have now posted 255 weekly stickies!