Mainely Write

This is the Zany, Zealous and Zigzaggingest Zoom beyond belief A-to-Z April 2015 Challenge!!!!  And I am an A to Z Participant.  And it is Day 26, Letter Z the last, LAST DAY, of the alphabet, the last letter of the month, the last day of the month!  Hey, tomorrow is May!

Again this year I am writing a poem a day to celebrate National Poetry Month.  It's my FOURTH YEAR in a ROW of writing a poem a day for the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year, is signs I've photographed and poems to go with them.



Slow School Zone
We think we must give warning There's a school that's moving slowly; It isn't that the kids are slow By no means oh, no, no-ly!
It's just the way the school proceeds When going down the road; No bus arrives to pick up kids - The school picks up the load.
This mobile school goes door to door Slowly motoring by, Picking up the school children From each home on the fly.
Students spend the day inside As in the zone it roams, And when at last th…

Yabba-Dabba-Do!!! And Yikes!!! It's the next to the last letter in the A-to-Z April 2015 Challenge!!!!  It is Day 25, Letter Y!

Again this year I am writing a poem a day to celebrate National Poetry Month.  It's my FOURTH YEAR in a ROW of writing a poem a day for the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year, is signs I've photographed and poems to go with them.



When I took this picture, it wasn't for the sign.  But I will do a poem for this sign, because I didn't find any other clever Y signs.  So this poem will not be clever.  I don't think it will be anyway.  I haven't written it yet.  I'll know in a little while.

So again.  I did not take this picture originally to be a sign photo.  This picture was snapped because of the cars in it.  See that car almost dead center in the picture?  That car thinks it is parked.  Or its owner does anyway. I think they needed to take a taxi to make it to the curb.

It's a good thing you can only turn right from this…

This is the eXtra, eXtravagant and eXcellent eXtravaganza beyond belief A-to-Z April 2015 Challenge!!!!  And I am an A to Z Participant.  And it is Day 24, Letter X!

Again this year I am writing a poem a day to celebrate National Poetry Month.  It's my FOURTH YEAR in a ROW of writing a poem a day for the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year, is signs I've photographed and poems to go with them.


No Ahs Allowed
Do not use ah ahs heyah. We'ah tryin' to reduce The times we have to use them And relieve their ovahuse.
In Maine we don't use ahs too much From early mawn till dahk We anchah boats in hahbah And ta home ah cahs we pahk.
Just say no to this heyah lettah The one just aftah Q And S can snuggle up to it If it's not next to U.
©Donna JT Smith, 2015
If that was too hard to read, I've recorded it here!




And today is the day Amy at The Poetry Farm adds her line to the Progressive Poem, and the day that I read it and fret over the next line...the line to …

This is the Wired, Wonderous and Weird Wallapalooza beyond belief A-to-Z April 2015 Challenge!!!!  And I am an A to Z Participant.  And it is Day 23, Letter W!

Again this year I am writing a poem a day to celebrate National Poetry Month.  It's my FOURTH YEAR in a ROW of writing a poem a day for the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year, is signs I've photographed and poems to go with them.
A truck on the highway in front of us...  Really?  That apostrophe is soooo enticing!  It LOOKS so intelligent!  "Use me!  U'se m'e!" it crie's.
This company needs professional driver's AND sign painter's (I know! No apostrophes necessary.  But they look so nice!)  Let's hope that "they're" drivers are more attentive and careful than their sign painters.


WANTED Professional Driver's Editor

I guess you can't have everything,
You can either drive or write;
You either choose good tires
Or make your punctuation tight.
I suppose that if yo…

I thought I'd recap a poem I sent to Laura Shovan for NPM and her clothing theme.  I did skirts.  And at the end, I have further work on the Progressive Poem's mermaid.  I'm just working on it, like a piece of writing.  Yesterday was the first stage, today is the second stage.
Drawing is like writing...
the balance, the fit, the perspective
Like writing, I'm not sure we ever think it is "just right" and leave it alone.
The image above irks me.  There are parts that I really like.  There are parts that don't fit the way I want them to.
This happens in writing, too.
Because this is my picture and I am practicing, I have opted to erase legs and try again.  The others were too long for as young a girl as I was envisioning.  Then they looked like they started too low.  Unfortunately with a pencil, I can't just select, cut and reposition... So the eraser gets used a lot.  Here's the 45th try (okay, I don't know that it is the 45th, I just know I'…

This is the Valiant and Very Vivacious beyond belief A-to-Z April 2015 Challenge!!!!  And I am an A to Z Participant.  And it is Day 22, Letter V!

Again this year I am writing a poem a day to celebrate National Poetry Month.  It's my FOURTH YEAR in a ROW of writing a poem a day for the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year, is signs I've photographed and poems to go with them.


Slow Village Ahead
A village of slow    slow people, slow mail, Slow cars, slow children    slow days and slow sails. The living is easy,    time slows to a crawl And even the speech is    slowed down to a  d r a w l.
I lived there one time,    a long time ago;  And I can attest to    the time going slow; But I moved away and    now time wooshesfast How I wish to return to    that slow village past -
Where summers were long    and a week was a year; And birthdays were spread out -    instead of too near. A village of slow    of long, leisurely days Is something for which    my heart and soul craves.
©D…

This is the Ultimate, Unbelievable and Utterly Underestimated beyond belief A-to-Z April 2015 Challenge!!!!  And I am an A to Z Participant.  And it is Day 21, Letter U!

Again this year I am writing a poem a day to celebrate National Poetry Month.  It's my FOURTH YEAR in a ROW of writing a poem a day for the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year, is signs I've photographed and poems to go with them.

And If you get a chance, stop by Laura Shovin's Author Amok and read her clothing poetry by guest hosts. I hosted this past Wednesday with totus and skirts poems.




Phew!  I did it.  I got a U poem.  And it's an A-okay double limerick for the sign above:

            (F) U T I L I TY
                WORK
               AHEAD

There once was a sign read: Utility -
It was really an act of futility;
There was no real Work,
Just made up by some clerk
So consumers would halt car mobility.

While waiting in line for the cars Ahead
The shop windows captured their gaze instead;
Seeing th…

This is the Talent-laden, Triumphant and Totally Thought-provoking beyond belief A-to-Z April 2015 Challenge!!!!  And I am an A to Z Participant.  And it is Day 20, Letter T!

Again this year I am writing a poem a day to celebrate National Poetry Month.  It's my FOURTH YEAR in a ROW of writing a poem a day for the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year, is signs I've photographed and poems to go with them.

I'm hoping you can also stop by Laura Shovan's spot at Author Amok and read my guest host post about skirts today, and check out the previous guest posts on more clothing related topics!  It's a month of fun clothing poetry she's offering!


Trail kissing? Are you serious? Is this a lovers' lane? Or do we kiss  The trail we tread? This seems a bit insane!
Maybe this trail
Is where we make
Our "x" to mark the spot
Where we have
Buried treasure hidden
Inside a golden pot.
 Or
It could be
That we're x-ing out
This trail and where it led,
So w…

This is the Super, Sumptuous, and Seriously Stupendous beyond belief A-to-Z April 2015 Challenge!!!!  And I am an A to Z Participant.  And it is Day 19, Letter S!

Again this year I am writing a poem a day to celebrate National Poetry Month.  It's my FOURTH YEAR in a ROW of writing a poem a day for the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year, is signs I've photographed and poems to go with them.
First, let me say this - read this A to Z Challenge post.
Then, let me say this - go visit me at Laura Shovan's at Author Amok today.  I'm guest hosting for her clothing themed poetry extravaganza today!  My topic is skirts, and I have some original poems, new and old, and some very old work by my favorite childhood poet.
Thirdly, I want to say it is Earth Day!  Celebrate!  The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970.

It is just Such a buSy day!  I Simply could not Select juSt one poem today.  I had to write two poemS here, becauSe I had two pictureS for S.  I did the firSt one and …

This is the Regal, Remarkable and Really Royal beyond belief A-to-Z April 2015 Challenge!!!!  And I am an A to Z Participant.  And it is Day 18, Letter R!

Again this year I am writing a poem a day to celebrate National Poetry Month.  It's my FOURTH YEAR in a ROW of writing a poem a day for the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year, is signs I've photographed and poems to go with them.

Tomorrow, meet me at Laura Shovan's Author Amok for my guest post!  The topic for April is Clothing Poems... I'll have a few originals and a few oldies and some good links, to boot - no I'm not doing boots.

Today I have a Rondeau (for R) for my R sign:
A Rondeau has 15 lines in all, arranged as three stanzas: first a quintet (5), then a quatrain (4), and a sestet (6).  Its rhyme scheme is: aabba aabR aabbaR. The R (refrain) is short and is a phrase from the first line.  All the other lines are longer and have the same metrical length.


Reserved Parking for Sweet Dreamers

Sweet dreame…

This is the Questionable, Quacky and Quirky Quintessential Gala beyond belief A-to-Z April 2015 Challenge!!!!  And I am an A to Z Participant.  And it is Day 17, Letter Q!

Again this year I am writing a poem a day to celebrate National Poetry Month.  It's my FOURTH YEAR in a ROW of writing a poem a day for the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year, is signs I've photographed and poems to go with them.

On Wednesday, I will be guest at Laura Shovan's Author Amok, where she is posting clothing poetry for the month of April.


Quit Zone

This zone is set for
You to quit in
It's like a mini quitting
Sit-in.

Quit your braking
In this zone
Quit your lying
And don't moan.

Quit your lessons,
Quit your doubt,
Quit complaining
And don't shout.

Quit leaving food
On your plate;
Quit eating meat,
Quit sleeping late.

Quit your running,
Quit your meanness,
Quit eating fat -
Stick to leanness.

Quit perservering;
Procrastinate -
No, just "quit the quitting"
For goodne…

This is an "extra" poem, not a part of the AtoZ Challenge or any other poem group.  The phrase "a color on the tongue" came to me while reading another blog way at the beginning of the month, or maybe last month.  It wasn't exactly this phrasing, and I don't remember what the actual phrase was or the blogger who had it on their site, but something about it resonated with me and I jotted down the phrase.  It has been fermenting (?) ever since, and I have jotted down parts of it ever since.  It is quite unlike the way I work on poems, in that it did not just come in one sitting.  I have returned to it a number of times and changed its wording and structure.  Today I added the last stanza, and edited the first one (it used to be the last).  And I changed a few words to now make it have a rhyme, which it didn't at first - at all.  But when the first stanza (that used to be last) came to me, I wrote the real last one and returned to the poem to see what else…

This is the Popular, Pampering and Positively Perfect beyond belief A-to-Z April 2015 Challenge!!!!  And I am an A to Z Participant.  And it is Day 16 , Letter P!

Again this year I am writing a poem a day to celebrate National Poetry Month.  It's my FOURTH YEAR in a ROW of writing a poem a day for the A to Z Challenge. My first year theme was Animals, the second was lobster boat names, and last year was Maine authors.  This year my poems will be paired with photos of signs I've taken the past few years.  Signs have always fascinated me.  Sometimes it's the mistakes on them, sometimes the different ways the language can be taken, and sometimes it's the surroundings that go with it.
I have two pictures for today, but I decided on the second one for the poem.  I did start one for the Pine Tree.  I'm sure it would have come out clever, if I just could have gotten more clever with it.  I twisted it around every which way, but it never produced a satisfactory po…