Poetry Month!

April has begun! And with that comes National Poetry Month & my friend’s AWESOME challenge to write a poem everyday. She has a fabulous blog where you can play along and learn a new poem form (or refresh and old) every day!! It’s never to late to start & you can always just hop in or even play catch-up! Here is yesterday’s since I didn’t get it posted!

First, the link to her instructions for Day 1 – She chose the Japanese form Dodoitsu. One thing I love is that she not only gives instructions, but the history of the form as well! Super cool!

Before I post my little poem, I want to give a little head nod to my dad – he inspired this one! When we were little he’d made up a cute little rhyme about two little fingers looking for a tickle. His fingers would walk up and down our arms or legs until he “found it!” and tickled us. Oh, we just loved it. And, of course, I’ve passed it on to my kids. So, here is my Dodoitsu, inspired by my father’s rhyme:

Two little fingers walking
all about, looking for that
silly spot, hiding ’bout… here!
Giggle, giggle, squeak!

 

 
PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. Thanks so much!

Last day of National Poetry Month & a long ago goal fulfilled

A long time ago – not too long after I started this blog – so probably at least 10 years, maybe more – I wrote a children’s poem. I always wanted to make it longer – long enough that I could turn it into a children’s picture book some day. Well, for today, Day 30, our challenge from the amazing Stephanie was Free Choice – whatever we wanted to wrap up this amazing month.

I decided, what better way close out this month’s challenge, than to finally finish that poem I started so many years ago. Someday became today. It was no small feet – I had a mere 6 stanzas written and I needed 10 more – and a title! I’m still not sure I love the title, but for now it will do. And now to close out this fun month of poetry I present:

Child’s Play

by Julia Wagner

In my imagination
I rule as would a king.
Each day a new adventure,
a fresh surprise will bring.

I am a fearsome pirate
upon the stormy seas,
sailing in my gravy boat
across the Bay of Peas.

I am a knight in armor,
riding for my lady fair.
Upon my head a helmet pot,
my stallion is a chair.

I am a cunning archer
in my Lincoln green.
I hit the bulls eye every time
with my stick and string.

I am a mighty dragon,
breathing flames both far and near.
The table is my cavern
all who pass go by in fear.

I am a western cowboy,
Daddy’s boots upon my feet.
I can’t see beyond my hat,
But with my lasso, I’m elite.

I am a brave explorer,
Dodging lava on the ground.
Leaping from pillow to pillow
In one enormous bound.

I am a race car driver,
Zooming down the track.
In my painted cardboard box,
All world records, I will crack.

I am a clever wizard
With my chopstick wand.
And if you make me angry,
You’ll be a frog in my pond.

I am a train conductor-
Kitchen chairs all in row.
“All aboard! All Aboard!”
Listen to the whistle blow.

I am a superhero,
My blanket is my cape.
Fighting off the villain,
I keep my dad in shape.

I am a wild jungle man,
Swinging through the trees
And hanging from the bars up high
With all the other monkeys.

I am a secret agent,
Red yarn lasers fill the hall.
I can make it through them
If I somersault and crawl.

I am a mad scientist
In my mom’s lab coat.
I can make a bubbling volcano
And a mind control remote.

I am a spaceship captain,
Hurtling through the stars.
I’ll land my cardboard rocket
On Jupiter and Mars.

In my imagination
I rule as would a king.
Each day a new adventure,
a fresh surprise will bring.

*PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone.

National Poetry Month – Days 28 & 29

We’re almost to the end folks!

Day 28

Cinquain pattern 3 – you can read about it here It’s a fun short little poem that I’ve come to enjoy over the years.

Practice

by Julia Wagner

Practice
Continued, Arduous
Halting, correcting, developing
Beauty accomplished
Music

Day 29

Bio Poem – there are lots of different formats & styles of Bio & About me poems – frankly I dislike them ALL – I just don’t really care to write about myself – writing in my journal is one thing, but poetry? Poetry about myself just makes me cringe. No reasonable explanation why. However, I believe in accepting every challenge put before me when I commit to doing something (unless it goes against my standards and what I believe in of course), so I did what I often do when I am in uncomfortable situations, asked to do hard things, or just plain doing something I don’t care to do – I crack jokes, try to find a way to make it fun, or laugh my way through.
So here is my SILLY bio poem (you can read about the details for this particular Bio Poem form HERE)

Moi

by Julia Wagner

Julia
Goofy, spoofy, and poofy
Enjoys dancin’ and shakin’ her booty
Able to make a smoothie that’s frutie
Feels like she’s having a hootie
Wonders how she bagged such a cutie
Fears she may fail her duty
Cares that her family’s not snooty
Dreams of mountains, and meadows, and beauty.

*PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone.

National Poetry Month Day 27!!

And on the 27th no less!! I know –

SHOCKING!!!

Okay, today is Terse Verse – basically 2 line riddles with rhyming answers – so addictive and fun to write!! I made up a ton some worked and were pretty funny (they will be posted) others were quite lame (they didn’t even make it into my notebook, lol) For the reules of Terse Verse go HERE.

*A note before we begin: Please, even though these are “jokes” or “riddles”, they are still my creation – if you wish to share them, please keep my name attached. Thanks in advance!!

PSA: I am a mom to 3 boys, keep that in mind as you read these poems (ahem)

Terse Verse Poems

by Julia Wagner

What do you call a hyper primate?
Spunky Monkey

What is a large serving of beans?
Farter Starter

What do you call a dirty diaper (especially in Britain)?
Crappy Nappy

What is another name for your nostril?
Snot Slot

And One Terse Verse poem

by Paul Wagner (the amazing husband)
What do you call a matchmaker?
Twitterpater Instigator

*PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone.

National Poetry Month days 23, 24, 25, 26 & yes! 21

Whew! I’ve been busy today! several of the more recent poem forms have been a bit more serious for me – but there’s some that should make you giggle too! Let’s get to it:

Day #21

One of the last poems I wrote today (out of avoidance, heh). A free verse (learn more about it HERE) – which sounds easy to most, but for me they are often harder with now hugely specific rules to follow, the wide open world at your feet (eek!) and add to that Easter as a possible topic with all the emotional ties it has to our family. I was so tempted to dodge or just post an old one, but I made a promise to myself that this year I would actually write 30 new poems in April. I pushed on and came up with something. It is nothing s great or grand, but it comes from my soul.

Three Words

by Julia Wagner

Three words simple, plain,
Yet in them lies all the
Hope of mankind.

Three words sweetly tender,
Showing the unconditional
Love of God and our Savior.

Three words of
triumphant glory,
a promise divine.

Three words,
Powerful,
Jubilant,
Heart soaring,
Tear coursing,
Carrying the yearning desire
Of every person ever touched by sorrow.

Joyous refrain
Shout it again
And again
He is Risen!
He is Risen!
He is Risen!

Day 23

The Tetractys Poem – a fun form – full of counted syllables. I did a double. You can learn more about the form & it’s rules HERE.

Cloudburst

by Julia Wagner

drip
drizzle
umbrellas
open beneath
stormy torrents. Scurry, quick, to cover.

Thunder shakes, lightning flicks, wind whips. Clouds roll
past. Sun peaks. Close
umbrellas
drizzle
drip

Day 24

The Diatelle poem – another completely new one to me – and quite the challenge. But I had a bit of fun with it! It’s full of syllable counting and rhyming patterns, so you can read the details HERE.

Comeuppance

by Julia Wagner

Pete
Did spy
Apple pie
Upon the sill
Away from watchful eye.
With careful step and silent thrill,
He pinched sweet temptation with expert skill.
Hastening on tip-toe, he escaped with his treat.
A bleat made him jump, the pie took a spill.
Demise of his prize made him ill
And with agonized cry
Watched the goat fill
Tummy high
With pie.
Beat.

Day 25

Credo Poem – a form taken from a scene in a movie – you can read all about it HERE. Just like the name of the form suggests, it’s about what we believe.

Beauty from Ashes

by Julia Wagner

I believe in the tender mercies of the Lord,
the hope of His promises fulfilled,
the balm He sends to heal our tattered souls,
the peace He gives when all feels lost,
the miracles that ease life’s daily pains,
solace, comfort, love

But I don’t believe we will receive them unless we open our hearts and souls to Him

I believe in healing
I believe in forgiveness
I believe in the Love of our Savior
Forever, always, eternal
And I believe in smiles through tears, hope through heartache and that our trials can be made beautiful and we can find joy again and again.

Day 26

Finally! All caught up! Today’s form is a cute, fun little thing called a synonym poem (or antonym, but I did mine as synonyms) Stephanie outlines the details HERE. By the time I got to these, I had gotten serious and emotional and was ready to have a bit of silly fun, so I had popped out three quick little ditties:

Laughter

by Julia Wagner

LAUGHTER
Mirth, chuckle, giggle, glee
My dad is tickling me!

Burnt

by Julia Wagner

BURNT
Singed, charred, scorched, seared
When you’re cooking, watch that beard!!

Sneeze

by Julia Wagner

SNEEZE
Gasp, wheeze, gesundheit, ACHOOOO!!!
I’m sorry, did it get on you?

*PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone.

Thoughts on Lizy & National Poetry month – Days 19, 20, & 22

Day 21 will come later. I got behind- like way behind. April is like that, with all that April holds. It’s kind of a huge ball of emotion just bouncing along and you never quite know when it’s going to slam into you – and it does, several times.  So, a little about our April before I get to the poems.

It’s been 7 years. Seven years since we made the choice to turn off the machine and let our sweet girl drift into endless sleep. Seven years that sometimes feel like less than seven days. Seven years that have been weirdly normal and painfully different at the same time. Seven years of yearning, seven years of hoping, seven years of growing, seven years of healing. Seven years of our family growing closer together, talking, sharing, learning to cope with and do hard things. Seven years of noticing every pink sunrise, sunset, flower, and tree. The joy has outweighed the sorrow. We know we will see her again someday, though the waiting feels painfully long at times and I wish I could hurry to my end of days (but not miss anything with my other kids- I love and cherish them so).

Healing has happened – like thick scar tissue, it never goes away, but the wound is no longer gaping open with continuous heart rending pain. Now it twinges and grows tight from time to time, but it is always there, a reminder of lessons learned, faith, hope, and testimonies grown. We try to be open and share in the hope our journey helps others who find themselves on similar unfortunate paths.

We have found wonderful ways to keep her memory alive and celebrate her, but I think that deserves it’s own post, so I will write about that soon. I am grateful for these seven years. I am grateful for what I have learned and how close my family has grown to each other and to God.

Now, on to the poems.  I’m far enough behind that I’m not catching up in order, I’m doing what comes to me easiest first. So here you go:

Day #19

Our challenge was to write a Rhyme Royal – a kind of septet. You can read about the rules HERE.

Majestic Paths

by Julia Wagner

Wind, sing me a song through forests of leaves.
Brook, tell me the story of each round stone.
Scent of earth, around me your magic weaves
As I ascend your noble mountain throne.
My soul quickens at each new glory shown-
I yearn to discover your secret parts
And sear your majesty into my heart.

Day #20

Our challenge was to write an acrostic – probably one of the more common poem forms. You can get details HERE. Being so close to Lizy’s birthday, she wound up being the subject of this one.

Angel

by Julia Wagner

Anxious, I await our reunion
Night after night until
Gravity no longer tethers me
Earthbound – at
Last I will hold you once more.

Day #22

I will come back to day 21 later- I want to take some time with that one. So I jumped to day 22 the If-you-were poem form. You can get details on this fun little poem HERE.

Stream of Consciousness

by Julia Wagner

If you were a paper
and I were a pen
I’d write my love upon
your heart again and again.

*PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone.

National Month of Poetry Day 18

Today is National Poem-in-your-pocket Day! You can read about it at Stephanie’s blog or go to poets.org.  Just like I have a hard time choosing favorite books, I have a hard time choosing favorite poems, but I did decide to share some of my own.

These first two poems are more serious (not my kid or silly poems, in other words).
The first poem was the first Villanelle I ever wrote – a challenging form and quite fun. I like playing around with the repetition and varying the punctuation to bring different meaning and lessen the constant repetitive feel. I shared it back in 2006, but thought it’d be fun to do so again.

Solar Flare

by Julia Wagner

Fists pound the empty air;
Defeat entwines with chords that bind.
Silent hours of repair

Do not exist where
Exasperation and distress find
Fists. Pound the empty air!

Anger licks a solar flare.
Sparks erupt when spirits declined
Silent hours of repair.

Petulance ebbs to despair,
And upon the weight in one’s mind
Fists pound. The empty air

Falls heavy. Hearts are aware
As souls are chastened and aligned.
Silent hours of repair

Ameliorate through ardent prayer.
Chasms bridged; no more do blind
Fists pound; the empty air
Silent. Hours of repair.

Next is a free-verse – not sure if I used that term correctly, but no specific rhythm or rhyme pattern that I wrote years ago. I’d forgotten about it until I started scouring my poems trying to decide what should go in my pocket today.

Passion

by Julia Wagner

How does one describe
emotions of the heart?
Words, insipid, fail to capture
the ardor with which I love.

Nor can it be painted with
the finest brush in hand.
Colors dull with time,
so opposite my passion.

What resemblance to
nature could I possibly compose?
The most majestic mountain or
delicate rose sallow in comparison.

As time erodes the most formidable citadel,
devotion, secured in the
fortress of my heart,
will crescendo through eternity.

And now, because I especially love kids’/light hearted silly poems, I have to include a couple:

A Wee Little Fella

by Julia Wagner

If I were a wee little fella,
I’d live in a red-capped
mushroom house;
I’d harness the snails and go
for a ride,
tipping my cap to the white-
knight mouse.

I’d drink the dew from blue-
bell cups and dine on daisy plates,
And glide across the ice puddles
on a pair of grapevine skates.

Excuses

by Julia Wagner

I cannot write a poem today
I promised I’d help Fannie Mae
I’m her back up wedding singer
You see she sprained her pinky finger
Then I need to dye my hair
and find pink polk-a-dot underwear.
I need to practice my ninja skills
And pay grandpa Joe’s ballroom bills.
I have an appointment at ten
to decide ownership of a pygmie hen.
I need to pickle some pigs feet
and tame a wild parakeet.
I promised old man farmer Zirkle
I’d investigate his crop circle.
I also need to catch a tree frog
I spotted hopping through a bog.
And so you see, I’m sad to say,
I just can’t write a poem today.

Thanks for reading and poke a poem in your pocket to share today!!

*PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone.

National Month of Poetry Days 13-17

Wow! What a weekend! Things have been just hopping around here! So, I don’t think I mentioned earlier that my daughter, Dot, has chosen to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has been called to serve in the Mexico Mexico City South Mission – we are so excited for her and preparations have been fun, busy and a little crazy wild at times! (Like an unexpected jaunt up to Detroit… 4+ hours away)

This Saturday she went to the temple and it was absolutely wonderful in every way. Consequently, that filled our day and we had grandparents visiting from Utah which filled subsequent days and I got behind on my poems. So here are the past several days worth of poems (with links to the how to!)

A lot of these are just silly kids’ poems, but they tend to be my favorite kind!

Day 13

we did Triplets– you can read about them HERE This poem was inspired by my daughter, Dot (her middle name is not Rose), who really did get a rock stuck up her nose – but she stuck it there herself (and not with her toes). She was probably about 4 or 5 and we were in the Wendy’s drive through when she started hollering about a rock in her nose. I hopped out and opened the side door, pushed on the empty nostril and told her to blow & out it popped! lol

Woes of the Nose

by Julia Wagner

Jimmy, how do you suppose
Sweet little Dorothy Rose
Got a rock stuck in her nose?

It wasn’t me! I oppose!
I was washing my elbows.
I bet she picked it with her toes.

Day 14

we did Couplets– you can read about them HERE. I did two….

Turtle Troubles

by Julia Wagner

I wonder how my turtle
wound up in Grandma’s girdle?

After the Rain

by Julia Wagner

After Spring’s clouds and showers
Earth dons her robe of flowers.

Day 15

we learned about the Tyburn. You can read about it HERE. This was totally new to me and a really fun challenge!

Speedster

by Julia Wagner

Funky
Spunky
Junky
Clunky
Classy cruiser, funky spunky sped,
Now it sputters, junky, clunky, dead.

Day 16

we did a Windspark poem – a kind of fill in the blank poem. You can read about it HERE. I did this one right after writing the previous poems, so I still had rhyming in my brain, so this silly little ditty popped out:

A Frog’s Life

by Julia Wagner

I dreamed
I was a frog
Nestled in a bog
Hopping from log to log
Gleefully

Day 17

Today!!! We did Haiku– specifically a poiku, which you can read about HERE. I just did traditional haiku because my poetry brain was starting to die

April

by Julia Wagner

Month of weeping clouds
bleeding hearts, forget-me-nots
hope grows with flowers

*PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone.

30 Days of Poetry day 12

Today’s poem form is a Nonet – a 9-lined poem you can learn about over at Stephanie’s blog – they’re quite fun, you should give it a try!!  Here’s my “experiment” – lol

In the Name of Science

(nonet)
by Julia Wagner

“What happened to my science project?
One more week and it would have glowed!
And where’s my bacteria
culture? I could have cured
the cough and cold.”
Shaking my head,
I sigh. “I
cleaned the
fridge.”

And here’s an older favorite – Though I enjoy writing various types of poems from the silly to the serious, my favorite are silly kid poems.

My Evil Twin

by Julia Wagner

It wasn’t me, it couldn’t have been
It must have been my evil twin
She looks like me, wouldn’t you know
but the things she does fill me with woe!

For I would never drink milk from the jug
with a chug-chug-chug-a-lug
And I would never bounce my ball
and knock down pictures in the hall.

I wouldn’t snitch a cookie from the jar
or hide mom’s keys to the car
I would never pinch my sister
I don’t know where she got that blister.

I wouldn’t feed my veggies to the dog
or water plants with your eggnog.
I would never dye the cat
though blue fur looks cool like that.

My brother’s finger is not a carrot
that bite mark must have been a parrot.
“Where’s the parrot,” you ask me?
Catch my evil twin, you’ll see.

I really couldn’t tell you why
My brother ate that mud pie.
And I don’t think we’ll ever know
what happened to the cookie dough.

I wish I could help, I really do
But I really haven’t got a clue.
It wasn’t me. It couldn’t have been.
It must have been my evil twin.

*PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone.

30 days of Poetry Day 11

Today’s poetry form was a quintain – a five line poem – of which there are several forms and variations. You can read about it at Stephanie’s amazing blog.

I decided to try several:

first a Gogyohka inspired by a joke I told my husband and his parents last night – oh how we laughed! I found it fit the poem for perfectly!

A Lesson to Husbands

by Julia Wagner

A good husband
is like a bra
supportive
uplifting
and adjustable when needed

Next I tried my hand at a Yadu – a five-line Burmese climbing poem

Dance of Spring

by Julia Wagner

Lightning streak snaps,
thunder claps, then
rain taps my nose,
soaks my clothes. I
decide to dance – why stay dry?

And finally I did a quintilla – well, I did two and two together is apparently a Copla Real

Childhood Adventures

by Julia Wagner

Sail with me in my cardboard boat-
We’ll plunder seas beneath the trees,
fight the sinister billy goat,
and capture gold from bumble bees.
We’ll storm the castle cross the moat

To demand cookies from the queen
with “pretty-please” and “thank you, M’am”
(we don’t want her to think us mean).
We’ll escape o’er the beaver dam
then sail back home across the green.

*PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone.