MONDAY'S POEM: Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis

 This little green leaf,

a peaceful place,

disappears

on a caterpillar's plate.

Chomp away

you wormy guy.

Grow some wings

and see the sky,

then light on leaves

uneaten.

                             Anne Knowles

MONDAY'S POEM: Tall Clover, Short Clover

Tall Clover, Short Clover 

Tall clover,

Short clover,

Bees buzzing

High and low.

Tall clover,

Short clover,

Someone's

Come to mow.

Bees fly.

Bye bye.

Clover

Has to go.

Short clover

Mower missed,

But clover

Has to grow.

Tall clover,

Short clover

Bees buzzing

High and low.

MONDAY'S POEM: BUG ON ITS BACK

Bug On Its Back

Dropped a penny,

bent to pick it up,

saw a bug on its back

pushing legs

against yielding air.

In the end it's always simple:

flipped the bug,

left the penny.

                    Anne Knowles

Kid Tea

I came across a wonderful picture book.  Kid Tea is written by Elizabeth Ficocelli and illustrated by Glin Dibley.  It's got great rhythm and and energy.  And I love the way it teaches colors.  It's the kind of book that is fun, fun, fun to read out loud.

MONDAY'S POEM: Word Was Spring

 Word Was Spring

Word was spring was coming in.

Word was it would come strong-hooved,

Pounding down snow until snow ran full in water;

Brushing flanks against bark until until leaves came out

To see what the rushing and brushing was all about.

Words was spring was coming in,

Breathing hard to breathe out warm breezes.

Word was spring would come strong this time,

Would stop to rear on strong legs;

Would stop to see if new birds knew flying,

Then gallop on with faster hooves,

Lest snow come and catch the hooves at play.
                                                Anne Knowles

Robert Louis Stevenson

I love children's poetry.  I've been reading Stevenson's A  Child's Garden of Verses again.  Three poems that I read today are wonderful for toddlers.  When my grandson first noticed his shadow, I took the chance to say the first verse of "The Shadow" to him.  "The Swing" is for trips to the park.  And when toddlers and pre-schoolers question why they have to go to bed when it's still light out, "Bed in Summer" is perfect.  I'm usually pretty good at remembering first verses.  I'll go back to the poems I want to memorize to the end.

When I first started teaching high school English, I was surprised at how excited students were to read and learn poetry.  I had expected a collective boredom based on a rather general sense in society that poetry isn't read anymore.  During my entire teaching career, I found that students memorized poetry easily and enjoyed reading and discussing it.

Once time in the book room  to check out novels, I asked my ninth graders to quiet down.  "You can talk," I said, "but soft."  The students chimed in, "...what light through yonder window breaks."  We'd memorized parts of Romeo and Juliet earlier in the year, and the students had already made Shakespeare's words a part of who they were.  Reading and quoting poetry to very young children has the same effect, even if they can't yet verbalize what they've learned.  It's a great gift to give them.

MONDAY'S POEM: LEXI'S PUDDLE

Lexi's Puddle

Wet Puddle,

Here I am.

I have elbows,

And here they are.

Do you feel me here?

I can feel you.

You make me wonder.

I look inside you

And find all your stories.

                                 Anne Knowles

              Photo by Canedy Knowles