Thursday, March 8, 2018

Poetry Friday

It is Poetry Friday!  And there is so much goodness going around in the poetry world!  Bear with me (oh, I just got that... a pun... you'll see later)  Read more for a suh-we-e-e-et challenge for you!


Our hostess today with all the link-ups to poetry is Michelle H. Barnes at Today's Little Ditty.  Visit her to find lots of poetic goodness.  On Wednesday, Michelle posted my Golden Shovel poem in response to Nikki Grimes' challenge.  You can read it here if you've a mind to...

Thursday evening the polls closed and I found out that I'd won my bout! Today Round 2 in the Madness Poetry Tournament, held by Ed DeCaria begins at noon with the second assigned word, and a new authlete "opponent".    I'm going on to the next round in a bout with J.J. Close - a formidable opponent.  We get our word in shifts sometime after noon on Friday, so I may not be making the round of poetry links until after Sunday.  We'll have 36 hours from the issuing of the word to write a poem.
Voting for these bouts in the second round starts at staggered times on Sunday as poems are revealed, and close at staggered times on Tuesday. Link to calendar

*UPDATE* The Round 2 voting is now open until sometime Tuesday, March 13.  My first round word was "imbroglio" - this round is "untenable"!  Lots of challenging words and fun kid poems in this round!
 
It is not too late:  If you have a classroom or are a homeschooler - register your students as a class, have them read, talk about the poems, and then decide how they'll vote!!  You will feel extra ready for April's poetry month.  They may want to set up a classroom challenge on their own with a word of the day to write to???  Or not.  And of course, any adult can go there to vote.  You will need to register with an email address before being able to vote.  All poems are geared to PreK through grade 12 - but most are aimed at about the 8-13ish age range.



https://madnesspoetry.com/matchups

Laura Shovan's birthday month is over for this year.  I got a poem a day in for the week before, during and after this year, my first year doing this.
I have a picture and a poem today to offer, and a request for a poem.  Because March 7 was the last day of the challenge... and most people were wiped out by then... my pastel image of a teddy bear, had only three ekphrastic poems written to it.  Thank you Linda Baie and Diane Mayr for your beautiful poems that I will be sharing with the artist.

This bear was won by my daughter when she was little, when she guessed the closest on the number of jellybeans in a jar at a Hallmark card shop.  He is a large bear, and when when she got older and wanted to put him in a yard sale, I snatched him up and took him to school.  He became Solar Bear, and we dressed him in either clothes from Lost and Found, or in the students' winter outdoor clothes so he could have his picture taken for our weather report posted on our school web page.  He did that for a number of years.  On day our art teacher, Jackie (McKeon) Johnson, took him down to the art room and did his portrait!   And that is what you see here.
Now I'm retired, and he sits in a chair in the bedroom, still dressed in a school t-shirt and "Lost and Found" pants (who could lose their pants??) so he doesn't get lonesome.

I'm wondering if anyone out there would like to give a go at writing an ekphrastic poem using the acrylic of our bear.  I'd love to be able to have more poems to share with Jackie.  She's such a talented artist and art teacher!  If his sweet face gives you some poetic words, either write them in the comments, or in the Padlet below!

Now here's some sweetness to add to the pot!  Remember those jellybeans way at the top of the page?  I'll give you a second to go check again....

Yes, those.  On the last day of March, I will draw a name from the "jar" of poets who submitted a poem for Jackie's pastel of Solar Bear, and that poet will win a jar of jellybeans, just like this!   Yum!  Gluten, dairy, fat and gloom free!

Woo-hoo again!  Looking forward to seeing what sweetness ensues!

Jackie's Website is here.
Here's my poem (I'm not putting my name in the jar):
The Luckiest Bear

 In the Hallmark card store
 Beside the jellybean jar
 He sat in the window
 Staring sad and far
 He was waiting patiently
 For someone who would know
 The number of the jelly beans
 And with them home he’d go
 To a home where he could lounge
 On a soft, warm bed
 And find a cushy pillow spot
 To rest his polar head.
 Then there came a little girl
 Who marched into the store
 And she wrote down a number
 Then went back out the door.
 The next day she returned
 And squeezed him oh, so tight
 For she was the lucky guesser
 And got the number right!
 She carried him out to the car
 Buckled him in carefully
 For he was an extra large bear
 Almost as big as she.
 When they got to the house
 He was placed upon a chair
 Where he thought to himself
 I am the luckiest bear!
 But she’d better not forget
 To tuck me into bed
 And read me a bedtime story,
 Give me a big hug instead
 Of leaving me right here
 In this chair for the night -
 And she didn't forget
 Any day of her life
 At least until when
 She had turned ten
 And he was then
 On the chair again.

by Donna JT Smith 3/6/18

Click on the square with an arrow up in the right corner to make the Padlet large enough to work on.  Then click the + in the bottom corner to add a poem.  I made each entry so that you can like them and comment, too.
Made with Padlet

37 comments:

  1. I did love your poem, Donna, here & in the Madness competition, too. Congrats for Round One and best of luck in Round Two. My poem was posted as you know, on FB, hope you have others writing about your sweet bear picture.

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    1. I think I'll put yours, Diane's and Kathy's up here, if you don't mind. Then I can steer Jackie to this padlet to read them.

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    2. That's nice, Donna! I'm glad to have it there, too.

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    3. I'll post mine on the padlet, too, along with another one.

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  2. Congratulations for moving onto Round 2, Donna! If there's anyone who can handle a quick-write poem turnaround, it's you. :) Such a sweet bear (and sweet bear poem, too)! I love that his new family cared enough to buckle him in on the ride home.

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    1. Thanks, Michelle! No power today. 18 inches of snow. Using my phone to tether and get a poem up for Round 2. I think I have it done...but you know how I am!! Last second edits are my specialty!

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  3. Congrats on round 2! Woo-hoo! I put my poem up. Congrats to the artist and to you for rescuing him from the garage sale and keeping him topped up with hugs for years.

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  4. Congratulations on moving onto the next round. What a great accomplishment! Your bear has had quite a full life and I love the portrait and your poem.

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  5. Congratulations on moving on, Donna! I don't envy you having to use the word "untenable," though! (And by the way, my poem's been posted on your padlet!)

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    1. Thanks, Matt! Yeah, I started a few times with that word today before something "caught". Loved the surprise ending on your poem! Had to laugh!

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  6. Woohoo, good luck with your next round! And what a lovely life that bear has had!

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    1. Thanks, Jane! I'm excited...hoping this word will give me the other words I need for this next round!
      This bear is now greeting my grandchildren when they visit! He (or she?) seems to be quite content!

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  7. Congrats, Donna, good luck, and extra pats on the back for all your poem-writing in recent weeks! Such a fetching bear - if inspiration strikes after more coffee, maybe I can circle back. ;0) Very sweet real story about him. (Or, as Matt might suggest, her?!)

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    1. Thanks, Robyn. Coffee is always a good company when you are writing!

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  8. So you lost power? At least half the homes here in southern NH did, too. Some power won't be restored until Sunday evening! I didn't lose electricity, but I had a tree come down on the corner of my house (no major damage, but it's a biggish tree and will require time and $$ to have it removed). I would have preferred darkness and no computer!

    As I said under Mary Lee's comment, I'll post my haibun on the padlet. I also wrote a cherita. It's a bit of a downer, but I'm in a rather dreary mood.

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    1. You beat me to it, on the haibun.

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    2. You can put it up again if you like, so your name is at the top. Then I'll just take the one I put up there down again. I'll check back and see which you chose!
      Yes, power gone again. It just came back. Ran the generator all night, but that just gives us water, heat and a few select power outlets. No internet or tv unless we run some extension cords (which we've done before if it's going to be too many days...before withdrawal symptoms set in).
      Dreary moods can make for some good poetry. Sorry about your loss. I hate losing trees - and parts of my house!!

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  9. Oh, I wanted her to give him a name! Your poem made me thing of Kate DiCamillo's Edward Tulane.

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    1. You know I asked my daughter if she remembered his name, and she didn't. Not sure if she did name him! She was never a real "drag the toy or blanket around the house" kind of kid!

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  10. I love the sweet story of this bear. I'm sorry I didn't write a poem for him yet. When March started I jumped into the TWT Slice of Life Challenge, so I left behind February's challenge. There must be a way to do both. Congrats on Round 2. I hope I don't miss the voting this time.

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    1. It would be great to get your class involved, too, since they are so into poetry!

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  11. Oh, my goodness.....count me as one of the pooped! I had a surge of activities hit last week at school including "school beautification" before a big visit next week. I will stop now and add a ditty for this beautiful and beloved bear. It's a beautiful portrait and definitely worthy of some poetry to go with. No need to send jellybeans....we are overflowing with them at my house. I'd love to see some go to kiddies near you.....you see I'm already assuming that my name will be drawn. I MUST GO WRITE THE POEM NOW.

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    1. The winter seems to be moving along fairly quickly with all that is going on. I barely notice it...except for the snowblowing and power outages! Looking forward to reading what you come up with!

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  12. Congrats on getting to round two in Madness Poetry! Go for the trophy! You can do this!!

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    1. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mary Lee. It's fun and a bit of the luck of the draw sometimes! We'll see what J.J. comes up with! He's good!

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  13. Congratulations, Donna. I was routing for you. Your rhyming is a real inspiration for me so I will give it a try as much as I can. The children around you must love your poems.

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    1. Thanks, Carol! All of the Round 2 poems are posted now. Open all day and night tomorrow and closing sometime on Tuesday.
      Saw your Solar Bear poem on FB! I love it!

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  14. Congrats on making it to the 2nd round! I can't wait to see what you've come up with. I'm hoping to catch up on the poems I missed in the February challenge group. I'll be sure to work on one for the bear. :)

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    1. Thanks, Rebecca! Phew! It is submitted and all the new poems are up. My word: untenable. Yes. First imbroglio, now untenable! Lol!

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  15. I love this sweet bear, Donna, and will write a poem for him sometime in March. Congratulations on moving on to round two!

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    1. Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the bear!

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  16. I posted, Donna. I used rhyme but since I am experiming with this format, I hope this poem recalls a wonderful memory. The pastel is beautiful.

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    1. Beautiful, Carol. I changed a formatting on the Padlet and could increase the size, so the words are very readable now!

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  17. Congrats on moving to round 2 Donna, hope it carries on! Loved this wonderful "Luckiest"Teddy poem!

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