Poetry Friday--The Round-Up is HERE!

Welcome! I'll start off with a short little poem from an old book (1898) entitled The Fairy Changeling and Other Poems by Dora Sigerson a.k.a. Mrs. Clement Shorter.

WISHES

I wish we could live as the flowers live,
    To breathe and to bloom in the summer and sun;
To slumber and sway in the heart of the night,
    And to die when our glory had done.

I wish we could love as the bees love,
    To rest or to roam without sorrow or sigh;
With laughter, when, after the wooer had won,
    Love flew with a whispered good-bye.

I wish we could die as the birds die,
    To fly and to fall when our beauty was best:
No trammels of time on the years of our face;
    And to leave but an empty nest.

I used to think that birds didn't die naturally since I hardly ever saw little corpses on the ground, only ones in cats' mouths. I suppose the fairies could have buried them in the night, but I never thought of that until just now. And speaking of now--the Round-Up begins right NOW!

Kurious Kitty has a cat (lady) poem by Ruth Stone called "A Pair," and at KK's Kwotes there's a quote by Ruth Stone on the importance of "getting it down."

At The Write Sisters you're invited to sit for a time "In An Abandoned Garden."

Matt Forrest Esenwine at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme provides our first link (aside from the ones I'm responsible for) to "Purgatory." Hey Matt, we're New Hampshire neighbors!

Charles Ghigna, a Father Goose without feathers, tells us he has been hiding and working on several books for toddlers. And growing some whiskers? (From the cute little grandkids' photos I've seen, which he's posted on Facebook, I can see how he's familiar with the audience!) Check out his original poem "Hidin’ in a Beard," and the photo of another bearded poet whose visage always struck me as kinda skeery. Can you name the poet?

Teaching Authors' April Halprin Wayland leads a discussion about whether or not to get an MFA, shares a poem about making a decision, and provides a great prompt.

Another NH neighbor, Joyce Ray, has an original poem to celebrate Saint Hildegard's feast day. Joyce has been researching Hildegard for many years.

Over at TeacherDance Linda has a pair of poems, "Dry" and "Wet," which came about as a result of one of the Miss Rumphius Effect "stretches." The poems are in trimeric form. (I first read the term as "triaminic," which, of course, is a children's pain reliever! It was late...and I was tired...)

"since feeling it first" by e.e. cummings is featured today at Gathering Books. Someone must have given cummings a challenge--"use the word syntax in a poem."

Joy, a fellow southpaw, checks in with an original poem, "Left Handed," at Poetry for Kids.

At No Water River Renee shares "Cookie" by David L. Harrison, a video clip, AND an interview! Teachers can look for "extension activities" at the end.

Gregory K's original "A Kitchen Mystery" reveals many a family's secret--"Dad did it!" You'll find it at GottaBook.

Need a little humor? Vikram has it at 1000 Poems with "The Briefless Barrister" by John G. Saxe. Take a little time to explore Vikram's drawings, too. He does fantastic work!

Tabatha explores American Sign Language poetry at The Opposite of Indifference with several videos, because it is, after all, meant to be seen.

It's trimeric week in blogland. Check out Mary Lee's "Stars" at A Year of Reading. She even made it rhyme!

My Juicy Little Universe's Heidi has a kindergarten inspired acrostic, "Listen With Your Eyes," which is just delightful!

Katya shares Kipling's "The Way Through the Woods," which begs to be read aloud--in an overgrown garden!

At Growing Wild Liz has an original acorn poem that I can relate to here in NH where acorns seem to be in abundance this year. I fear our winter is going to be a killer! Preschool teachers: Liz's poem would be a great one for the classroom!

Laura Salas introduces us to Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs, a new collection from Pat Lewis and Jane Yolen. It looks to be fun! And, she has this week's batch of 15 Words or Less poems here.

A favorite from the collection Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project, a compilation of lullabies to benefit breast cancer, can be found at Jama's Alphabet Soup. Jama says, "I know at least nine survivors and one person who lost her battle, and of course, we all recently learned that Judy Blume was recently diagnosed." Jama, you can add me to the list, and two more of The Write Sisters (three out of the seven of us are survivors) Our thoughts go out to Judy Blume.

Our other Laura S., Laura Shovan, has gone buggy on us--in a good way with a Mary Oliver poem--over at Author Amok. Her daughter, Julia, is an accomplished "wildlife" photographer, as you will see.

At Dori Reads, Dori shares some writers' tools that may be worth looking into, and, she includes "The Oak" by Alfred Lord Tennyson, just because she likes it! (I would say that's the best reason to share a poem!)

My Spark partner, Amy, at The Poem Farm, also shares my love of birds it seems. She's in today with an original, "I Was a Tree Before."

Welcome to David L. Harrison who announces that he'll be featuring poems written by visitors to his blog who would like to share their work. The first two poets, Catherine Johnson and Julie Krantz, will appear this Sunday.

At Think Kid, Think! Ed explains that he had a hard time coming up with outstanding first lines in children's poetry. He invites us all to weigh in.

Elaine and I had Polish grandparents, so I especially love her memoir poems, one of which, "Apples," she shares today at Wild Rose Reader. And check out Elaine's new backyard!

Violet Nesdoly / poems has an original entitled, "Prairie Autumn," make sure you see it, it is quite a surprise!

Tara @ A Teaching Life will make you think back to 6th grade...On the other hand, she also shares "The Alphabet Conspiracy" by Rita Mae Reese, which is chocky-block full of quotable lines like, her mind falls down the rabbit holes of grammar and history is a series of conspiracies/by accidental despots. Don't miss it!

Lorie Ann Grover has a birthday today! Happy birthday and a poetry-filled year ahead. At On Point Lorie Ann has an original poem, "A Board Book," that will tug at grandmothers' heartstrings! And at readertotz Lorie Ann has arranged for you to sing along with Nathan Lane and some greenly attired Muppets!

Don't miss Teaching Young Writers where Betsy is featuring the words of Leo Lionni's mouse child, Frederick.

Samuel Kent sent along a link to a plethora of what he referred to as "kid-ready poems." Get ready for some fun, and don't miss #470 "Show and Tell."

Andi at A Wrung Sponge shares "Lady, Lady" by Ann Spencer and goes on to explain one of the allusions for us.

Mrs. Merrill's Book Break presents us with some poetry words to live by, courtesy Mary Ann Hoberman.

After a busy day, Ruth joins us to share a poem by Elizabeth Alexander, "Ars Poetica #28: African Leave-Taking Disorder."

Photo © Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.