Friday, March 1, 2019

Poetry Friday

Someday a kitchen...
Life has been hectic.  I have just deleted a bunch of "hectic" and "weights"... they are unimportant in the grand scheme.  It was just venting, but could feel the waves overtaking, so, no.  Sometimes you don't need a public "venting"!!  It was good to write it down and then delete it.  Have you ever done that?  It is good to do, I think.  Just to say it aloud to yourself and then move on (or write it down and erase it).

I have not written terribly much.  But the times I have, it has been weighing on me to write, so much so that I find myself scrambling suddenly for paper and pen or computer so that the words can tumble out of the confines of my brain and into freedom on the page.

Today I am in the back and forth of life, packing up more things to take to Pennsylvania tomorrow, while also packing up stuff to take to our someday home in Friendship, Maine - perhaps.  Every item I pick up or see has a question/poem attached.  "Will you go here, or there, or find a new home somewhere?"  I never dare to use the word "plan" anymore.  Plans have only gone awry lately.  The interesting thing to me is that "awry" in my eyes, is not always that.  Sometimes it is "set aright".  I just have to look for the rightness.

So here's my poem this morning.  I got up extra early to write for Poetry Friday!  My friend, Linda Baie, is our gracious hostess!  Go to her blog, Teacherdance, to read her amazing welcome to spring anagram poem today, and for more links to good stuff - way good stuff!
        
             Say Thank You

           The business of life
         Has me trapped and worn,
       But all must go on
    Without the forlorn
      Attitude and the frown -
        That's my smile upside-down.
           So I'll stand on my head
         Till my toes touch the sky
       And giggle at how
     The birds in it fly,
       Below heels and soles
         Where sleeping ground moles
            Would normally go
          But then I get thinking
        I'm standing up-down
     And my cold head is sinking
       Where it doesn't go...
         Into cold snow.
           So I must stand up
        Get back in the fight
      This business of life
    Needs more of the light
      To turn it around
        Upright on the ground.
           And not only that,
         I must hold my head high,
      Hum with the birds,
    Stifle my cry,
      Sing to the trees,
        Always ask "please"

          And always say thank you.

by Donna JT Smith, 3/1/2019

On Sunday, Madness! Poetry begins - at least for all the authletes of which I am one (insert excited face here)!  I get my challenge word and 36 hours to write a poem using that word.  Then the poems go up for a vote on Tuesday-Thursday, March 5-7, for the first round.  You are invited to sign up to vote on all of the poems.  Classrooms are especially needed to vote.  What a great way to get a start on April's Poetry Month with a class.  Here's a link to the calendar for your voting convenience.  You do need to sign up in order to vote...go to the corner link to "Get Started"!

Okay, Linda B.  I've left off packing for a few minutes to write to your anagram challenge:


When wolf moon over river’s flow
Stops in spots
Then owl’s slow
And steady wings swing
Overhead and vole, head-over heels,
Is owl flown low o’er river bed
Tasty meal is sent to nest
Where lowest form becomes owlets’ best,
For owlets love the crunch of vole,
But how mom loves to eat voles whole!

by Donna JT Smith, 3/1/2019



15 comments:

  1. I imagine you will love Jama's poem and post today, Donna. This is, like your others, so wonderful, a taste of what life does throw at us, and what we can do to make it right anyway. Love " So I'll stand on my head
    Till my toes touch the sky
    And giggle at how
    The birds in it fly,"

    Best wishes in the Madness. I'll be reading and voting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am making today a pattern of cleaning/commenting/coffee/packing...I've started the washer, then commented here while sipping coffee. Jama shall be next after a bit more packing! I should be able to see how much work I got done by looking at the Poetry Friday links! Lol!

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    2. And then I think my challenge interrupted your plans, and I am so glad it did, Donna. And you included rhyme, too! It's perfect, love that ending: "For owlets love the crunch of vole,
      But how mom loves to eat voles whole!" Ha! Wish owls were slow, because - poor vole!

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  2. Exciting that the madness is beginning!! I commented on Irene's blog that you are brave to take the last day of April, and you are also brave to do March Madness, especially with all the back-and-forth. Good for you!

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    Replies
    1. April will also be a poem a day month in the AtoZ Challenge. I sometimes find, when the pressure is on, the pimple bursts...but for me, hopefully, in a gooder way!

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  3. Love your optimism and determination to find the time to write and join PF this week! Good luck with March Madness!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jama! I am actually avoiding work right now! But I really do need to stop writing and get back to packing...sigh.

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  4. Love your work avoidance strategy, Donna. If you're going to be bad, atleast you want to feel good about it!😉 I too love the line that LindaB commented on - especially that 'birds in it fly'.

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    Replies
    1. I have managed to get some packing done amid the writing. I try not to feel guilty about it, as I find I can get more done if I take frequent breaks.

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  5. I love your poem. It reminded me that sometimes we just need a different perspective.

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    Replies
    1. Perspective is everything! Simply changing the “I HAVE to....” statement to “I GET to....” makes a big difference in attitude!

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  6. Hi Donna!
    Thanks for stopping by my Slice of Life blog. I registered for Madness Poetry and my students and I will visit to vote...or at least that's what I'm planning! Kids can never get too much poetry and what a fun way to expose them and get them engaged. Thanks for the personal invite!

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    Replies
    1. Awesome!! I wish they’d had this when I was teaching. Such a great way to get April poetry jump-started

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  7. Well done with the anagram, Donna - I love the spirit of your first poem, too. Hang in there - Spring is around the corner!

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    Replies
    1. I started looking at anagram poems and -whoa! They are too complex to write AND make sense! So I’ll stick with this simplified version!

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