Ayuh to Z Challenge - C

First up: Progressive Poem
(skip down if you are here for AtoZ
 and don't care about this wonderful piece of work being created)

Today is my day for adding a line to April's Progressive Poem for National Poetry month 2014!  I'm the third line writer of this awesome poem.  I wonder where it will take us.  Check on the sidebar to keep tabs on the poem and see what's been added!

I had some serious lines I considered.  Very serious.  But then I decided to get a bit more lighthearted and combine the idea of the peacock's attempt at airing feelings with Charles' idea of sitting out there talking to the skies.  Tried using some alliteration with the "e" and "m".  Plus, I thought if so inclined "moon" was a pretty good word for not only a rhyming pattern, but celestial objects if that were the way someone went.  However, I have no clue what will happen in the next days.  But I know it will be good!  So next stop, 4th line on April 4th is by Anastasia Suen at Poet! Poet!

 (Charles)  Sitting on a rock, airing out my feelings to the universe
(Joy)  Acting like a peacock, only making matters that much worse;
(Me)  Should I trumpet like an elephant emoting to the moon? 
(Remove ? if needed, Anastasia!)

 Now Back to our Regularly Scheduled Letter for A-to-Z 2014!

My theme: Book Titles A to Z written by Maine authors,
and my original poem using the title of the book each day for the month of April.

Today, I couldn't help it.  Had to do two because I remembered E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web" after I doubled up on Dahlov Ipcar and her book The Cat at Night.  I'd already written the cat poem, so you are stuck with two poems today.

Welcome to the Letter C:

C is for:

Charlotte's Web
by E.B. White

E.B. White once said,
"I haven't told why I wrote the book, but I haven't told you why I sneeze, either.
A book is a sneeze."

White lived on a farm in Maine. As for how he came up with Charlotte's Web, he said, “I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving. Gradually I worked the spider into the story...”

About Charlotte's Web on Wikipedia

Maine: An Encyclopedia - quotes from and about White

About E.B. White on Wikipedia 

Biography of E.B. White on Scholastic

Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte found a little ball;
She played with it all day.
As it unraveled down the hall,
It's yarn showed her the way.

She tossed the ball; it left a path
As it bopped on some chairs,
It rolled around inside the bath
Then toppled down the stairs.

It bounced under the tv stand,
It coiled around a lamp -
Then lamp to vase to lamp it spanned
Leap-frogging like a champ!

Round the handle of the broom
And then into the trash;
Under the rug, and through the room
It made a crazy dash!

It looped around the puppy’s bowl,
Leaped on the kitchen table,
Threaded through the door’s keyhole
As far as it was able.

Charlotte's ball was finally done
It wove and weft no more
It couldn't roll, it couldn't run
It ended in the door.

The weave could be much stronger,
More things could have been spun
If the ball of yarn were longer;
But Charlotte’s web was done!

That’s as far as it could flee,
That frayed end of her rope -
A glance behind and she could see
A rewind held no hope.

©Donna JT Smith, 2014

And the second book, which I actually did first is one by Dahlov Ipcar again.  I didn't think I was going to find
C is for:

 The Cat at Night

by Dahlov Ipcar

Information about Dahlov Ipcar and her works can be found on this page.  There you can see more of her beautiful artwork.  Then there are more links to Dahlov's work back on my A page.
She has some beautiful wool pillows offered through this site.  I'm tempted to get one, but I can't decide which one!

In this book the farmer's cat is out at night and the illustrations compare what the human sees at night - black silhouettes against a gray blue - to what the cat is seeing - bright colors against a black background.  Gorgeous!

An acrostic backwards and forwards with the word FELINES...kind of like the cat...back and forth, up and down, first outside at night then inside in the day.

Cat at Night

Sleek and
Elegant
Night prowler
Innocently
Lingering by the mouse
Exit to tap the
First mouse unawares -
Fastidious cleaner
Elaborate purrer
Lovingly sitting
In your lap
Nothing amiss
Except that
Silent "good-night mouse" kiss.

©Donna JT Smith, 2014

This post was brought to you by the Letter C! 
Charming!