V is for VIOLIN1 #AtoZ Challenge

Day 22 in the AtoZ Challenge is the letter V.
It is also National Poetry Month.  So I am writing a poem a day this month inspired by vanity plates spied around parking lots in Maine in 2018.

V is for VIOLIN 1:

Four Strings

The instrument that should have been

is a sleek and squeaky violin.

I asked my mother could I play

and she said, "I don't think today

would be so great to start that noise

for Sunday's your dad quite enjoys

the peace and quiet of football

and not a stormy violin squall."

No other days were good she said

for migraine's would engulf her head,

and so I never got to play

an instrument until today...

a ukulele...

Granddaughter says she likes it fine

and has one too, almost like mine.

So there.

    Taking uke out for a spin;

don't need no squeaky violin!

We will play ookoo-lay-lay duets,

and I am taking wagers and bets

that she will far out-ring my strings -

her little fingers are borne on wings.

While mine are stable in their ways,

they're not as nimble as younger days.

Yet still these four strings want to sing

There's surely not a more wondrous thing

Than sitting side by side with her

strumming four strings to make them purr.

by Donna JT Smith ©2019

...her 21" soprano ukulele and my 23" concert ukulele

Finger on C...

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U is for Unveil #AtoZ Challenge

I am doing a poem a day this month for National Poetry Month.  The poems are inspired by Maine vanity license plates I've photographed over the past year. 

Day 22 of the AtoZ Challenge is dedicated to the letter U!  And my U word is UNVEIL... 

Veils

The trees in fall becoming bare have rare and colorful beauty;

I wish they'd always look that way

For bright colored leaves just suit me.

It's always sad to see them go to drift and swirl to ground,

Unveiling all the tree branches

with a farewell swishing sound.

The winter snows attempt a veil with fluff and puffs of white,

But in the sun the snows unveil

and melt without a fight.

Winter's stark and dark will end when lightly springs the veil

On breezes blue with yellow sun -

as green tulle freshens stale.

Once more the trees are under wraps of multi-hues of green;

their heads all covered and their limbs

with nests, in veils, unseen.

Then summer's end sees all that change to colors red and gold,

until again the trees, unveiled,

Return to gray and cold.

We'll seek again spring's drape of green, we know its sure return;

This veil of haze rewards our gaze

From tree's top down to fern.

by Donna JT Smith©2019

 

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T is for TIMESTU #AtoZ Challenge

Day 20 in the AtoZ Challenge, the 23rd day of National Poetry Month.  I'm writing a poem a day inspired by vanity plates found in Maine in 2018.
Today T is for TIMESTU.

First - Is this "Tim, es tu?" or "Time stew" or "Times 2?  The world will never know...I did not get to talk to the owners of the vehicle.  So it is my call.  I think it is "times two".  However, my brain went with...

Time Stew

Just when I think I have it planned
It's poured into the pot
Astir with all the other things
Becoming what I'd not
expected or even wanted -
the unthinkable unthought wrought
We made do with the unplanned stew
and found it's not so bad
to have the life you didn't think
you'd have but now you had.
If I could take stuff from the stew
and rearrange this time,
I don't think I could do it better;
I think it's gone just fine.

by Donna JT Smith ©2019

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S is for SEA MATE and SOL-M8

Day 19 of the AtoZ Challenge, where I am gathering Maine vanity plates alphabetically.  Today is S.
It is also National Poetry month, day 22 of a poem a day for April!

S is for SEA MATE and SOL-M8

Together

My soul mate is my sea mate

we both fish in the deep

With traps and line,

both hers and mine.

In faith we took the leap

to fish together all our days

and weather every storm;

and so we sail

through every gale,

and keep each other warm.

When at last our boat hits land,

the ending of our journey

her heart and mine

remain entwined -

she with me and blue sea.

by Donna JT Smith ©2019

Some extra plates for S:

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Easter - A Vanity Plate Found Poem

Today I have written an Easter poem using only vanity plates.  At the end I also gathered extra plates collected over the past few years that might be used in a Bible passage or sermon/message:

Happy Easter

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” 

Mark 8:36

Here's my Easter Poem on a Plate for today, using only the plates - a found poem!.  Can you read it?  I've put the poem below the plates.

Easter Message on a Plate

Hey, you!

Sunbeam,

Give thanks
Forever;

Anchored
In faith,
Believe!

Look up,

Know Him;
God loves you!
Rejoice!

Love,
Jesus -
I am 

the only one.

by Donna JT Smith ©2019

R is for READ2M

It's R today for AtoZ!
R is for ride, too.  Our motorcycles arrived yesterday evening in perfect shape.  I had my denim skirt on, but I took it for a spin around the block as soon as it hopped out of the van...no helmet, no jacket, no gloves, no valid license plate...what a Rebel!  Boy, did that feel fine!  Now to get our driver's licenses here and get these registered and inspected here.  Sigh.  No real riding until that is done.

R is for READ2M - I thought first it was Read 2 ME and then I reread it... ah, "read to 'em" - probably a teacher's plate.

Read to Them

Read to them
   the books they need
   the books they want
   the books they breathe

read to them
   and give them words
   and give them thoughts
   and give them...birds

      and dinosaurs
      and little bugs
      and knowledge that's
      like little hugs

read to them
   from days of old
   those tales we loved
   that we were told

read to them
   of Alice, Seuss,
   of Treasure Isle
   and Mother Goose.

read to them
   the tried and true
   then read to them
   of something new

      comparing hair
      lights in the night
      how poems sing
      about Great White

read to them
   and read some more
   sit on the bed
   sit on the floor

   whatever you do
   wherever and when
   just remember to
read to them.

by Donna JT Smith ©2019

7th stanza references to:
*Can I Touch Your Hair by Irene Latham and Charles Waters
*Flashlight Night by Matt Forrest Esenwine
*Bayou Song by Margaret Gibson Simon
*Great White Sharks in Action by Buffy Silverman

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Q is for QUANDRY #AtoZ Challenge

First, it is Poetry Friday..  so you have to opportunity to read and relish poetry from all around the world today, just by clicking on a few links at Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, our Poetry Friday host today at The Poem Farm.
Secondly, yesterday was Poem in Your Pocket day - though no one seemed to know that.  But I gave my grandson poems to be handed out at school anyway - he handed out 30 poems for kids to put in their pockets!   I visited our local library and handed out a few myself.  I figured, why not?  It was a school break day for some area schools, so there were parents and students everywhere.

And then a side note...our motorcycles arrive today sometime, along with my helmet, jacket and boots!  So exciting.  Hope the trip goes smoothly!

And now for AtoZ Q day.  Honestly, this has been the worst letter every year!  People just don't like using Q on their plates.  I have used these all in the past on Q day.
Q is for...QUANDR3 - I made my own plate and posted all my other years entries...I'm not liking Q.  When I get back to Maine, I think I'll have to think of a good Q vanity plate for my car.

ACME LICENSE MAKER

Really Q?

It’s a quandary, a difficulty,
A dilemma with no end;
My plight is for the letter Q
And rules I’ve had to bend.

I’m bewildered, it’s a puzzle,
Though predictable predicament.
I’m in pickle, in a bind,
And in awed bewilderment!

The hang-up is the letter Q,
The letter after P -
All the other letters aren't
Fraught with perplexity.

The impasse I’ve arrived at,
This sheer uncertainty,
Of where my next plate comes from,
Is not my cup of tea.

Q could have been for QWEST
Or QUILT or QUILL or QWIK
Instead I’m left with nothing
And it just makes me sick.

So please, if you are reading this
And wondering what to do
Please reconsider plates with K
And changing them to Q.

ThanQ

By Donna JT Smith ©2019

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For AtoZ in 2018, I had this plate and wrote this poem:

Quatro

One and two and three and four.

Strumming on guitar?

Or counting?

by Donna JT Smith,  ©2018

I wrote a Quinzaine for this one.
A quinzaine is an unrhymed verse of fifteen syllables in three lines with the syllable distribution of 7/5/3.  The first line is a statement and the next two lines ask a question relating to the first line.
Quatro = four in Spanish
Quatro = a small guitar with four or five strings or pairs of strings, used in Latin American and Caribbean music.
********
In 2017 this was my posted poem and explanation:
So, you say, this doesn't begin with a Q.  But, see those two Q's!  So this counts.  And it is the only one I could find besides GQQD LF which I used a while ago on a Sunday this month.

MQQSEY

"Mooose,"
said Doc BrownCow,
"I think she'll be fine!"
"Thang-Q,"
Said Mommoose.
"I'll cut down on the pine."
"She does needed some fiber
But stick to the reeds,
That's all the fiber
a growing moose needs."
QT Moosey moaned,
"No more piney trees?
I love how they taste;
Just one more tree, please?"
"You heard Doc BrownCow now,
Not one more tree, dear;
You must eat in the marsh;
Doc BrownCow was quite clear!"
"I promise," QT said,
Then they moosied on down
For a snaque in the swamp
Brows furrowed with frown;.
They lunched on some ferns
For growing strong bones,
But then came dessert -
A cool treat of pine cones.

by Donna JT Smith, 4/19/2017

So, forgive me for no Q at the beginning?

************
On my first vanity plate year, 2016, I only had this one:
I didn't have a clue what to write about this one, not having any idea what it could possibly refer to.  Then I did a quick Google of the letters and came up with Quidditch, a game in the Harry Potter books.  I've not read or seen any Harry Potter stuff, so was at a loss as to what to write.  I researched this elaborate and kinda violent game, and this is what I came up with:

What, you have never heard of Quidditch?
You do not know the sport of Wizzes?
Why everyone who's anyone
Plays it and knows what this is.

1 seeker, 3 chasers, 2 beaters, 1 keeper
Make up two seven person teams;
Add 2 Bludgers and a Quaffle ball:
It's not as confusing as it seems.

Astride brooms players dodge the Bludgers;
The Seekers snatch the Snitch,
While Chasers try to score with Quaffle -
Worth 10 points in the game Quidditch.

Snatching Snitch earns 30 points
To bring it to an end;
If you're confused, you aren't alone -
How 'bout a game of chess, my friend?

by Donna JT Smith, 2016, all rights reserved

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P is for PTL PSHR #AtoZ Challenge

It is day 18 of National Poetry Month, and today is Poem in Your Pocket Day - the day to carry a poem around in your pocket to read to a friend.  I've posted that below my AtoZ.

I am writing poems each day this month 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 day 16 of the AtoZ, and we are on the letter P.

This plate was found on a florist's car in Maine.  As I looked at it again, I was reminded of the pedal pushers we used to wear, and the idea of a bicyclist being a "pedal" pusher, too.  But I went for the flowery kind...
P is for PTL PSHR:

Spring Push

The bulbs we planted in the fall

Are popping up, the big, the small,

Pushing through the soil to touch the rain.

They seek the sun and warmth above

and husky coos of mourning dove

while dancing on the edges of the lane.

The petals open one by one,

and in the brightness of the sun

The honeybees hum-buzz a sweet refrain.

A kaleidoscope is all a flutter;

A loveliness of ladies clutter.

The petal pushers drive them all insane.

Sweet spring has pushed the sun in view;

Restoring, starting life anew,

Reviving joyous birds in choral strains.

The bulbs we planted in the fall

Have pushed and poked to start it all -

The Symphony of Spring none can contain.

by Donna JT Smith ©2019

(Note: A group of butterflies is called "a kaleidoscope" and a group of ladybugs is called "a loveliness".)

And my poem for tomorrow's Poem in Your Pocket Day:

Dinosaur at Lunch

Chomp, crunch, roar, munch!
Dinosaur is eating lunch!
Don’t disturb those giant jaws!
Stay away from giant claws!
Crunch, munch, roar, chomp!
Watch out for big feet that stomp!
A dino’s dangerous to feed -
A suit of armor’s what you’ll need!

By Donna JT Smith ©2019
For Poem in Your Pocket Day April 18, 2019

But the whole poem goes like this:

A Poem in My Pocket

I need a poem for my pocket
Something nice and short to rhyme
I guess I’ll have to write one
I don’t have a lot of time...hmmm….

Maybe one about a dog!
Perhaps a cat or bird,
An elephant or porcupine -
Not anything absurd!

I know! I’ll write a poem
About a dinosaur,
And how it likes to chomp and munch
And how it likes to roar!

Chomp, crunch, roar, munch!
Dinosaur is eating lunch!
Don’t disturb those giant jaws!
Stay away from giant claws!
Crunch, munch, roar, chomp!
Watch out for big feet that stomp!
A dino’s dangerous to feed -
A suit of armor’s what you’ll need!

And that is how my poem goes!
Of dinosaurs and lunch
And how to feed them carefully -
I like my poem a bunch!

By Donna JT Smith, 2019 (Nannie)

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Extra P vanity plates I found:

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O is for O2GO2C #AtoZ Challenge

It is day 17 of National Poetry Month. I am writing poems every day in April.
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 day 15 of the AtoZ, and we are on the letter O.

I did not find a plate this year for O before we moved. But for 2016 I had this one in my collection:

O is for O2GO2C:

 Oh to Go

I've had landlocked days,

I have them still;

but, oh, to ride

the waves

until 

the night 

falls fast

and gulls at last

retire and hush their calling -

away the mountain,

trade the glen,

turn from creek

to ride 

again

upon the waves that crest

and bend

drawing back

to sea 

and when

too long my soul
has been adrift

ashore

no anchor aft nor fore

 my wish is

Oh, 

to go

to sea,

onto the

rolling sea

again. 

by Donna JT Smith ©2019

 And these were some others.  If you saw my 2016 AtoZ, you saw these extras.

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N is for NTHSTAR #AtoZ Challenge

It is day 16 of National Poetry Month. I am writing poems every day in April.
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 day 14 of the AtoZ, and we are on the letter N.
N is for...both of these!

And N is for Nonet.  The Nonet is a 9-line poem having 9 syllables in the first line, 8 syllables in the second line, 7 syllables in the third line, and continues to count down to one syllable in the final (ninth) line.

North Star

Look deep up into night’s clear, dark sky
Into the depths of sky’s ocean
Where the glittering fish swim
And the dippers tip hats
Merak and Dubhe
Point the way to
Polaris,
The North
Star

By Donna JT Smith ©2019

With just a little bit of tweaking, I turned this Nonet into an Acrostic-Nonet - which I THINK I just invented...I shall dub it the Acro-Donet!  Lol!

North Star


Night of clear, dark sky, I look upward;
Ocean’s depths overhead twinkle,
Radiant glitter fish swim,
Tipping dippers align.
Haste, Merak, Dubhe -
Seek Polaris.
The North Star
Anchor
Rocks!

By Donna JT Smith, 2019

 *****************************************

Extra N vanity plates:

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M is for ME AUTO #AtoZ Challenge

It is day 15 of National Poetry Month. I am writing poems every day in April.
It is also the month of the AtoZ Challenge, and my 8th year 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. Yesterday I did REJOICE.

Welcome back AtoZers for the letter M - the 13th letter.
It's for...ME AUTO:

Maine Autos

A parade of autos on 95

Are cruising at high speeds;

Other cars travel dirt roads -

from lanes and lines are freed.

Some jalopies rust encrusted,

abandoned in the weeds,

happily take lawn space

minimizing mowing needs.

When vehicles need license plates

some sport the standard feeds,

but others state their messages

in fancy letter reads -

like MCKYMSE and MYTHICL

to show their loves and creeds;

or in vanity they think we must

know something of their deeds.

I wish that crusty, rusty lawn car

amid the tangled weeds

would have a plate to commemorate

such a faithful, trusty steed,

so everyone would know at least

he's "R3TIR3D" not "GN 2 S33D"

by Donna JT Smith ©2019

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My extra plates:

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Sunday - Rejoice

A to Z resumes tomorrow with M.
This is for National Poetry Month...
a Sunday poem...

I decided to try a Rondine for the poem today. Maybe I'll try another Rondine on the day for R.  It wasn't that easy, but it worked itself out.

Rondine Poem:
12 lines - 8 or 10 syllables per line, except in the 7th and 12th lines
2 stanzas - 7 lines in the first stanza; 5 lines in the second
7th and 12th lines are a refrain
The refrain comes from the opening word or phrase of the poem
Rhyme pattern: abbaabR/abbaR

This is a plate from my collection this year that works for a Sunday.  It almost doesn't need a poem.  The word is a poem all on it's own. 

Rejoice

Rejoice with them, as trial’s embraced
For patience sprouts from those base seeds

Growing knowledge of truer needs
And happiness that’s been erased
with greater joy will be replaced
though still unknown just where it leads
Rejoice with them

Weep with them but decline to waste
A breath on unrequited deeds
For surely goodness all proceeds
From each test to be grace replaced
Rejoice with them.

by Donna JT Smith ©2019

~OR~

Joy

When joy returns again and again
When joy pours onto paper from pen
When you tell the world your heart's content
Though the road you're on has twists and bends
It’s the joy that you were meant to live
The joy that's given meant to give
And others see there's some unknown
More than the bit your life has shown
When joy pours out and freely spills
To where it overflows and fills
the space in other hearts and souls
both quenching thirst and flaming coals.
My greatest hope is in the voicing
Others know my heart’s rejoicing.

And they will also see that life

is not devoid of joy in strife.

by Donna JT Smith ©2019

I began the second one, JOY, first.  Got interrupted, and lost my momentum.  Began again and gave myself a challenge with the Rondine, and wrote REJOICE. Then I went back to my original poem and picked up from where I left off.  So which do you like better, or neither one?

Verses on the topic of rejoicing:
Luke 10:20 - Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Isaiah 65:18 - But be ye glad and rejoice for ever [in that] which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
Romans 12:15 - Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Romans 5:3 - And not only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

L is for LV2RID3 #AtoZ Challenge

It is day 13 of National Poetry Month. I am writing poems every day in April.
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.

L is for LV2RID3

Live to ride or Love to ride?

I Love to Ride

It started with a hassock,
a cowgirl hat,
a vest;
I giddy-upped and rode all day
till sun set
in the west!
And then came my bike, Daisy,
I stabled
in the shed;
I rode her on the driveway
until I
went to bed.
When I grew up I got a horse -
a real one, then
some more;
I loved to ride across the fields,
down lanes and
on the shore.
Nowadays I live to ride
and go where
I would like,
With motorcycle as my steed -
I love to
ride my bike!

by Donna JT Smith ©2019

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