Day #4 of the 2016 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem, and, Ekphrastic Mondays #1

A two-fer for today! It's my day to contribute a line to the 2016 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem, the NPM tradition begun by Irene Latham. The poem took off (pun intended) on Friday and here is its progression thus far (contributed by Laura Salas, Joy Acey, Doriane Bennett):

A squall of hawk wings stirs the sky
A hummingbird holds and then hies
If I could fly, I'd choose to be

What a set-up! How could I not continue with the rhyme? So here goes:

A squall of hawk wings stirs the sky
A hummingbird holds and then hies
If I could fly, I'd choose to be
Sailing through a forest of poet-trees

It's now up to Penny Klostermann to take the poem to new heights! Here's the line-up of contributors for the month:

1 Laura at Writing the World for Kids
2 Joy at Joy Acey
3 Doraine at Dori Reads
4 Diane at Random Noodling
5 Penny at A Penny and Her Jots
6 Carol at Beyond Beyond Literacy Link
7 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass
8 Janet F. at Live Your Poem
9 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
10 Pat at Writer on a Horse
11 Buffy at Buffy's Blog
12 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty
13 Linda at TeacherDance
14 Jone at Deo Writer
15 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
16 Violet at Violet Nesdoly
17 Kim at Flukeprints
18 Irene at Live Your Poem
19 Charles at Poetry Time
20 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town
21 Jan at Bookseedstudio
22 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
23 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
24 Amy at The Poem Farm
25 Mark at Jackett Writes
26 Renee at No Water River
27 Mary Lee at Poetrepository
28 Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe
29 Sheila at Sheila Renfro
30 Donna at Mainely Write

The painting, by Frederick Childe Hassam, "Newfields, New Hampshire" (1918), is courtesy The Athenaeum.

This is the first of four April Monday poems about works of art. All the poems have been inspired by the works of a New England impressionist painter, Frederick Childe Hassam (1859-1935). Today's watercolor, "White Barn," was painted by Hassam when he around 23 years of age.

"White Barn" by Frederick Childe Hassam (1882), courtesy The Athenaeum.

The poem didn't start off as a humorous piece. It was quite serious with lines about indecision, and shadows, and essential-ness. I originally was struck by how the white barn was painted without a speck of white on it. I wrote the first poem over the course of two days. I let it sit a while and bingo, the whole thing changed--completely--even the title! I think the only thing that remains is "whitewashed planks." The "off-color joke" is my little pun about the white barn not being white. Come back next Monday for another Hassam-inspired poem.