i
Make a place to sit down.
Sit down. Be quiet.
You must depend upon
affection, reading, knowledge,
skill—more of each
than you have—inspiration,
work, growing older, patience,
for patience joins time
to eternity. Any readers
who like your poems,
doubt their judgment.
ii
Breathe with unconditional breath
the unconditioned air.
Shun electric wire.
Communicate slowly. Live
a three-dimensioned life;
stay away from screens.
Stay away from anything
that obscures the place it is in.
There are no unsacred places;
there are only sacred places
and desecrated places.
iii
Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.
We'll have to delay our practice of the middle part of Mr. Berry's poem as we share and enjoy our poems via electric wire, communicating quickly, gazing at screens.
Leave your links in the comments. I'll round up periodically, and in between times, I'll find some silence and write some poems.
If you're interested in hosting a Poetry Friday roundup in June-December 2012,
the place to sign up is here. There are only six dates left, so don't delay! (Yes, I'll go back later today and add the blogs and links for some of the ones that are incomplete. Bad planning to do the roundup and the call for hosts on the same Friday...)
* * * * * * * * *
Steven Withrow, at
Crackles of Speech, shares an original poem about his Maine Coon Calico, Muffin.
Lucky for us, Tara, at
A Teaching Life, continues to investigate and explore the new Poet Laureate's poetry.
Meandering is the mode of the day with Robyn Hood Black, at
Read, Write, Howl.
Violet, at
Violet Nesdoly / Poems, meditates on the meaning of a metronome.
Charles Ghinga (
Father Goose) has an original moon poem for us this week.
Book lovers and independent bookstore lovers, head over to
Jama's Alphabet Soup for a wistful remembrance of bookstores and booksellers.
Julie Larios, at
The Drift Record, shares a poet with us, rather than a poem. Check out his rakish pose. (Some whimsical eye candy for Jama's blog?) And definitely follow the link to the new book on Frost and his poems. I'm predicting that sales w
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE A REDBUD IN SPRINGby Mary Lee Hahn
Burst
first.
Amaze
with the cavalier way
you explode whole constellations of purple stars
from your smooth grey bark.
Add glory
to the understory.
This is my 2nd round poem from the
Madness! 2012 kids' poetry writing tournament, along with the redbud in our backyard that saved me from writing a poem about dandelions. A tip of my poet's hat to
Elaine Magliaro, champion of the List Poem form. You're still a great teacher!
Voting for the First Flight of the Regional Semifinals should be live later today.
Add your Poetry Friday links in the comments. I'll start rounding them up as soon as you start sending them in!
A Warm Summer in San Franciscoby Carolyn Miller
Although I watched and waited for it every day,
somehow I missed it, the moment when everything reached
the peak of ripeness. It wasn't at the solstice; that was only
the time of the longest light. It was sometime after that, when
the plants had absorbed all that sun, had taken it into themselves
for food and swelled to the height of fullness. It was in July,
in a dizzy blaze of heat and fog, when on some nights
it was too hot to sleep...
I know the feeling:
"...I felt tears
come into my eyes, absurdly, because I knew
that summer had peaked and was already passing
away."
I mark the passing of summer by the length of the vines in the baskets along High Street in Worthington,
and in the march of blooming things -- the Queen Anne's lace has joined the chicory, which will soon be replaced by goldenrod and tall purple ironweed; and I saw my first mimosa tree blooming this week.
As the seasons turn and the pages on the calendar flip, let's take a minute to slow down and enjoy a variety of poetry. Leave your link in the comments and I'll round up the posts throughout the day. Happy Friday! Happy Poetry Friday!
Wild Atrocity
by Mary Lee Hahn
Glory be to God for silly things --
For running-dives all in a pile of musky autumn leaves;
For rollercoaster rides in the first car alone;
Wet late-March snowball fights; frisbee flings;
Junk food caloric and sweet -- pizza, french fries, sundaes;
And all jokers, their plots and puns and funny bones.
All things humorous, playful, joking, tickly;
Whatever is unplanned, spontaneous (who knows why?)
With smile, grin; laugh, shout; giggle, groan;
They maintain sanity whose beauty is past lunacy:
PRAISE THEM!
Last week I shared PIED BEAUTY by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Above is my take on his classic (last shared May 2008). I'm thinking I might try a new version for Poetry Month...
...Speaking of Poetry Month, I'm cooking up an idea that involves, of course, poetry (writing or finding), along with a little bit of "tag, you're it," and a little bit of treasure hunt...using QR codes. If you're interested in playing along, let me know in the comments or via our blog email (see sidebar).
Now let's get on with the roundup for this week! Leave your link in the comments, and I'll round them up throughout the day. Happy Friday!
Ah Poverties, Wincings, and Sulky Retreats
by Walt Whitman
Ah poverties, wincings, and sulky retreats,
Ah you foes that in conflict have overcome me,
(For what is my life or any man's life but a conflict with foes,
the old, the incessant war?)
You degredations, you tussle with passions and appetites,
You smarts from dissatisfied friendships, (ah wounds the
sharpest of all!)
You toil of painful and choked articulations, you meannesses,
You shallow tongue-talks at tables, (my tongue the shallowest of
any;)
You broken resolutions, you racking angers, you smother'd
ennuis!
Ah think not you finally triumph, my real self has yet to come
forth,
It shall yet march forth o'ermastering, till all lies beneath me,
It shall yet stand up the soldier of ultimate victory.
Mr. Whitman seems to have our number on this last day of a wrinkled, dog-eared, tea-stained old year. (Speaking of numbers, what will we call this year: twenty-ten or two thousand ten?)
On the last day of the year, we teeter-totter between looking back at the disappointments and failures of 2009 and looking forward to the shiny possibilities of 2010. (Come on "real self," I'm cheering for some "ultimate victory" this year!!)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Happy New Year and welcome, all, to the first Poetry Friday of the year! Leave your link in the comments; I'll update throughout the day, with a couple of hours off at some point to eat pork roast and sauerkraut.
In an effort to keep this great good thing we know and love as Poetry Friday running as smoothly as possible until such time as its founder, Kelly Herold, is able to take the reins again, and under the advisement of Greg (GottaBook), Tricia (Miss Rumphius), Susan (Chicken Spaghetti), and Diane (Random Noodling), I am putting out a call for Poetry Friday Round Up Hosts for the next three months.
I will post the schedule on our blog, on the calendar of the Kidlitosphere Yahoo group, and on the Kidlitosphere website. In addition, I will make the code for the schedule available to whoever requests it so that you, too, can have the schedule in your blog's sidebar if you so desire!
Leave your requested Friday in the comments or email me directly at mlhahn at earthlink dot net.
EDITED: Dates are filling up fast -- see schedule in sidebar. Thanks to all who have (and will) volunteer!!!
In a Poem
The sentencing goes blithely on its way,
And takes the playfully objected rhyme
As surely as it keeps the stroke and time
In having its undeviable say.
Leave your link in the comments. I'll round up throughout the day.
It's pretty simple:
Boys tease you if they like you.
I know! It's true! Sure, people told me that and I poo-
pooed it (because I thought they were just trying to make me feel better), but it's honest-to-God the truth. It's something in the male DNA or the
testosterone or something, but they love to tease girls. The more they like you, the more they'll tease you. Especially if you react to the teasing. Why? It keeps you thinking about the guy. If he teases you, you're aware of him. If you think he's being mean, then you hash about it and dissect it and wonder what's up. Well, mission accomplished for him because he is now on your radar.
I wish I'd known this. I mean
really known it was true.
It started in kindergarten when J.C. wiped his finger paint on me. I told him to stop, but he kept doing it. Little did I know he liked me. All I could focus on was my new red jumper that my grandma from New York sent me now looked like a used smock and I was gonna get in
troooooooouble! Stupid J.C. Then, at lunch, he sat next to me and poured his milk on my sandwich. What an idiot! Of course, I cried and Mrs.
Eagan got me a fresh sandwich from her kitchen and told me, "J.C.'s teasing you because he likes you." Yeah, right. He was teasing me because I had just moved to the south from Boston. Well, that's WHY I thought it. But you know, looking back at the memories...I'll be dog-
gonned, he
did like me 'cause he tried to hold my hand on the playground. Paint me surprised.
Then, in second grade, J.D. came all the way across the playground and pushed me off the seesaw. I fell in the dirt and tore my tights. (Again, with me destroying my outfit and getting in trouble.) But Mrs.
Strother told me he liked me and was just playing with me. The strong-willed little animal within me, sought him out and pushed him back. Then, my cousin stepped in to defend my honor and challenged J.D. to a "duel." The next day at recess, they made paper/cardboard swords and had a duel over my honor. (Are you laughing? I am, just remembering this!) My cousin was triumphant and J.D. was defeated swiftly by the Reynolds Wrap over the cardboard sword. Of course, in the end, J.D. bought me a cookie at recess, asked me to a dance and then kissed me on the cheek. So, wait...he really
did like me?
In sixth grade, the guys in my class all decided that they would declare "war" on the girls. Suddenly, they were shooting
rubberbands and paperclips at us and popping our bras. Whenever Mrs. Gilchrist left us alone, the room turned into downtown Baghdad. The boys would chase us around and snap our bra straps and then
whap us with the flying office supplies. Some girls would cower at their desk and beg for mercy. Others would fight back, being almost as aggressive as the guys. Not me. I wanted to cry. (What? I was 11 years old!) Why? 'Cause those paperclips rolled up inside paper launched by
rubberbands hurt like blue-blazing Hades! This one guy in particular, C.S., seemed to enjoy using me for target practice. I was convinced that he hated me with the passion of a thousand suns. A point proven when he maimed me so badly that my bra strap broke and I had a red whelp on my arm. (Imagine this today...it'd be on Larry King or something with the 11 year old being arrested for assault!
LOL!) So, what did
brainiac me do? I told on him. Yeah. Not a smart move. That ended the teasing...and his apparent "like" of me.
In tenth grade, I might have caught on a little more to the inner workings of the male mind, but I still wasn't convinced about this whole "I tease you because I like you" thing. On the basketball bus one night returning from a game (I was a cheerleader), I somehow got into an arm-wrestling match with L.O. that resulted in him literally holding on to my wrists, arms and hands all the way on the hour plus trip. Now, I had a
massive crush on him, so any contact was heaven for me. But I thought he literally was staving me off. Holding me away. Then, why not push me away instead of holding onto me over the seat of the bus.
Hmmm...if I'd known then what I know now, I'd know that he liked me because he was teasing me. Duh!!
And, it happened at work yesterday! Not in a romantic-like kind of way, but a good friend kind of way. A co-worker was giving me crap about something that was close to my heart and I got really offended by it. Being the
consumate professional that I am, I told him that he had really offended me and hurt my feelings. Then, I get an e-mail from him that said:
I was only teasing you because you and I are such good friends. I didn’t mean to offend you in any way. You are too nice and sweet! You know I would never intentionally hurt you in any way. You are a mega sweety!!!So wait...he was teasing me because we're good friends?
DOH!!! Why didn't I see that? 'Cause I was being a silly girl. We're still silly, even when we're "grown up." Go figure!
Any of you have any experiences like this? Do you think we'll ever learn?
Hugs,
Marley = )SORORITY 101: ZETA OR OMEGA?SORORITY 101: THE NEW SISTERSwriting as Kate HarmonMay 2008, Puffin BooksCurrently carrying around
Simone's Leaving Paradise in my bag, but haven't had time to read lately. I will, though!
Today's title is actually the theme for this week here at the Buzz Girls' Blog, and I can promise it's going to be fun!
I'm up first...
Up until I was in about 11th grade, I pretty much felt invisible around guys. Like I wasn’t pretty enough or funny enough or smart enough to stand out in a crowd, so why bother? I’d just hang back with my friends (who pretty much dressed in the same bland and oversized clothes) and watched the world go by.
The thing was, I had been going to school with many of the same kids for years, and guys had never paid particular attention to me before…so my thought was, why should they now?
What I was overlooking was the simple fact that we were all changing, and I was paying them new and more notice, whether I was showing it or not. I mean, wow, that formerly chubby guy was now football buffed. That twerp who sat beside me in sixth grade was a head taller now--and WHAT a head! And the guy with the locker above me actually needed to shave…
So this is what I bring to the table to girls in high school:
You may feel invisible, too. But guys totally notice you. Even the ones who look right through you and pretend not to know you’re alive. Even the ones with popular, fashionista girlfriends. Even the shy or geeky ones (especially the shy and geeky ones). Even the exchange students or the guys who “just transferred here for one year and can’t wait to go back”.
They are looking. So know it. Run with it…play with it…have fun with it. Who cares if you’re not the prettiest or the smartest or the funniest? You’re YOU and that in itself is fabulous. And like I said, the guys are noticing.
As a matter-of-fact, here’s a few checking you out right now:
What I'm Reading: The Second Virginity of Suzy Green by Sara Hantz
Tina
Tina Ferraro
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
How to Hook a Hottie, January, 2008
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, Spring, 2009
www.tinaferraro.com
Today we posted the 
Halloween is here — and so are Halloween books! Here are some recent recommended titles for you to share (perhaps through 
Happy birthday to one of kidlit’s most beloved and backlashed big-name characters, Harry Potter! (He’d be thirty-four this year. Holy hippogriff.)
Articles
Great images. WordPress makes the web truly worldwide.
Love these–especially Heather’s blog, 2 Summers. I blog from Ecuador, if you’d like to check out my posts from another gorgeous part of the world– http://reinventingtheeventhorizon.wordpress.com .
Blogging from Ecuador,
Kathy
Thanks! Ecuador is definitely in my future — I’ll be sure to check out your site.
Thanks, Ben! Ecuador is a lovely country, and Cuenca is a perfect setting for a WordCamp! HInt, hint!
Kathy
Thank you! you find the best blogs, too! I love Cathy from Ecuador. I am now following her (courage, inspiration to pursue the Dream<3). Have a blessed day.
Aw come on, two blogs from the USA? two from Africa? Nothing from Western Europe, nothing from the Indian sub-continent, and the Korean one is a foreigner who has to be at least North American if not US because he says bathroom when referring to a toilet. Nothing from Australia or New Zealand. If I was an Aussie or a Kiwi I would be well annoyed, because that’s where everyone goes on a world trip.
The Palestine blog is politically balanced out by a photo from Israel. And there are photos from Chile and the Filipinos and Vienna. But still, you could have at least included one blog from each continent (I go by the old five rule), without going for two from the USA (three if Dan is US). I appreciate most of your bloggers are American but it seriously racks the rest of us off when everything is so Americacentric.
I know, I know, another moan, but you have to admit it is not well balanced to have two US ones and nothing from Aus/NZ.
Amazing stories and photos! Amazing blogs!
Awesome. Thanks for this.
I have some reading to do!
Alas, our posts are bound to be too short to cover all the incredible locations people blog from.
That said, we’ll definitely include a different mix of regions in future installments — stay tuned!
Sharing and seeing stories from across the world truly inspires me to keep writing about things that I care about. Amazing stories really helps to keep things in perspective.