It is also the month of the AtoZ Challenge, and my 8th year in participating.
Combining the two, I am writing poems based on Maine vanity plates I've spied this past year.
The AtoZ does not have a letter for Sundays, but I will post a non-vanity plate or extra vanity plate poem on that day.
Today is also Poetry Friday, so there are poems gathering - lots and lots of links to follow to great poetry at Irene Latham's place today. Check out the links at Live Your Poem, today.
Irene is also hosting the Progressive Poem for April. If you go to Reflections on the Teche later today, you will see Margaret Simon's line she's added. Today is the 12th so we are on line 12...follow along with us! I'll be adding the 30th line on the last day.
On this 11th day of the Challenge, we are on the letter K. I couldn't find a K plate before we moved, so I made this one up on the licensemaker site. Sorry!!! But this seemed like a plate you might find in Maine!
K is for...
 |
| License Plate Generator |
Krill Killer
I'm a Right Whale
Big, not bad;
No sharp teeth,
But I'm not sad.
Baleen strains
my food just right
My prey is small
and out of sight!
Sucking down mini
Crustacean dudes,
Those bigger prey
are not my foods.
Can't sip a seal
or slurp a shark
down in the deep,
down in the dark.
The ocean's tiny
glittery fish
Are what my lips
sip, slurp and swish!
by Donna JT Smith ©2019
Right whales got their name because whalers thought they were the "right" ones to hunt, as they float when dead and often swim within sight of the shore.
Their habitat is off the coast of New England.
Dear Donna, I love that you are continuing the vanity plate love... and I think it's cool that you made this one up. :) I wrote a poem about krill in my ANTARCTICA book... satellites can spot swarms of krill from space! Thank you. xo
ReplyDeleteSo maybe those little critters aren’t totally “out of sight”. Lol!
DeleteI have been reading Little Whale by Jo Weaver to groups of primary students this week. How serendipitous your poem is. Even though Little Whale is not a Right wale, it still is a baleen whale. I hope you don't mind if I read them your poem here to add to their learning about these magnificent creatures.
ReplyDeleteI would be delighted!
DeleteI was going to guess we had just read the world's first poem about krill, when I saw the comment from Irene. So, poems about krill are a "thing!" It's amazing how much there must be to sustain such large animals.
ReplyDeleteI know! Just think how many M&Ms you'd have to eat to get enough iron! It would be a lot! I've tried.
DeleteI love your theme and your poem was fab
ReplyDeleteDebbie
This one was lots of fun!
ReplyDeleteBlack and White: K is for Kasa-Obake
"The ocean's tiny
ReplyDeleteglittery fish
Are what my lips
sip, slurp and swish!"
Love that!!
DB McNicol, author
Microfiction: Kimono
The girls and I just talked about krill today! They're planning a trip to the nw and are researching Orca whales. This is a great nf poem, Donna, love that you created the plate, a "Maine" memory for you.
ReplyDeleteGreat poem! Love that delicious alliteration.
ReplyDeleteOK, mini
ReplyDeleteCrustacean dudes,
made me laugh out loud! Great words in this poem. I love it. You always have such great ideas and you knit themes and challenges together as if it were nothing. Carry on great poetry inspiration that is Donna!
I'm loving your vanity plate poems, Donna. Chuckled as I read the line about their diet and eating habits -- all the sucking, sipping, slurping.
ReplyDelete