Changes coming!

 

Happy Poetry Month!  I am excited to be back and committed to writing a new poem every day this month.  Each of my poems will carry the theme of "Change."  I am excited to see what changes this month will bring.  

Today, I am learning about the poetry technique called assonance.  This is often confused with rhyme.  Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound in the unstressed syllable.  (Apparently rhymes have to happen at the end of the word!)  I will attempt to use assonance in today's poem.

Hope

by Melinda Harvey

The snow has melted.

The banks, they shrank.

The birds have begun to ping.

The breeze is mild.

A strange exchange:

Winter changes to Spring.

I'm not sure if I truly used assonance, but at least my Change work has begun.  Perhaps you will find some assonance in your day today.  When you hear it, jot it down.  Let it grow into a poem!

 March 31, 2025

Hello Poetry Fans!  It has been a minute!  I won't offer any lame excuses.  I have been off my poetry game for a long time.  I am inspired by my students poetic enthusiasm and vulnerability.  It is with great trepidation that I commit to writing a new poem every day for Poetry Month.  

My original poems this month will be inspired by Change.  This can mean different things depending how you look at. I will also be exploring various poetry techniques throughout the month.  I have a lot to learn, and I invite you to come along.  Learn with me.  Write with me.  Change with me.  

Have you registered yet for Madness Poetry 2020?

I just applied to be an authlete, but I also registered my class to vote.  This is the best way to experience fresh poetry with your class.  It's also a great way to introduce your children to new vocabulary and poetry styles.  

Get yourself over to Madnesspoetry.com to register as a poet or a voter!  You won't be sorry! Click here for an easy link for registration!

I had to write a poem as part of my application.  I share it with you here for fun...

Unfair

It’s absolutely unjust, It’s shameful and it’s wrong.”

(My thirteen-year-old daughter has made Fairness her theme song.)

“It’s biased, unethical, it’s immensely foul!”

She started in this morning and continues now to howl.

I can’t get a word in edge wise; she is on a roll…

Global warming, civil rights – now she’s on to gun control.

Ever the zestful advocate.  She’s passionate and tough.

Any thought of compromise is met with a rebuff.

But, when I suggest that with her sibs she try get along,

“It’s absolutely unjust, It’s shameful and it’s wrong.”

March Madness, Take Three

Hello!

I have been in serious dormancy on this blog!  I find myself so busy with school and family that I don't have time to be poetic!  Hopefully, my involvement in this year's March Madness poetry competition at www.thinkkidthink.com will change that.  My poem using the word "harrowing" is due tomorrow.  I have it written, but I can't share it with you here.  Please visit the link above to see my poem as well as 63 others.  Take a moment to vote for your favorite poem!

To entice you, I will share with you LAST year's first round poem.  My word was anthropomorphization.  It was a crazy hard word to use in an eight line poem, but I did it.  Here it is:

Fantastic Hope

Walter Disney was a talented man with an anthropomorphization plan.

From Micky Mouse and Oswald the Rabbit, he made turing objects into humans a habit.

McQueen from Cars thought that he was greater, but he learned to be humble, like his friend 'Mater.

Lumiere and Chip Potts urged Bell, "Be our guest."  

and though Gaston was handsome, the Beast loved her best.

Disney gave objects a heart and a face.  Can he do the same for our human race?

In last year's tournament, I didn't get past the first round.  I still had a ball following the many talented poets through the entire competition.  Please consider getting involved in this creative show of poetic prowess!  

National Poetry Month 2013 begins!

Today begins a month long celebration of poetry.  Clever writers from all over have committed to bringing poetry to the forefront in many creative ways.  My intention is to share a new poem here every day.  I will be sharing "found" poems.  These are poems created from words found in various texts....book bindings, articles, church bulletins!  All month long, I will be turning a keen eye to all things written, looking for hidden poems.  Please join me in finding poems in whatever it is you are reading!

The bad news is I will be away from technology for the next week.  I will be writing the old fashioned way- in my Wonder Woman notebook with my felt tip pen. Rest assured that I will post my catch up poems as soon as I can!

Today's poem was found in the church bulletin from last week's Maundy Thursday service.  I collected the most powerful words in the bulletin.  As these words were jumping out at me, I couldn't help but think of a special little girl who was born eleven years ago today!

Mercy and Grace
By Melinda Harvey


Your presence is precious
It brings to me peace
A daughter, a sister, a God child, a niece.

I can not forget your
Slight body, sweet face
Your message of mercy, your lessons of grace.

Trembling with memories
The years reach eleven
Lamb of God, sweet angel watching from heaven.

March Madness Poetry Tournament Starting soon

3/11/13

Stretch.....yawn.....wiggle, stretch again.  It's true, I am uncurling from my dormancy just in time for the 2013 March Madness Poetry Tournament.  In honor of the tournament, I have written a new poem.   It might be a bit of a plug for votes, but I still maintain this...Vote for your favorite poem; it doesn't have to be mine, just be sure to follow the tournament and vote, vote, vote!

Today is the day

It might sound absurd,

but today is the day

I am given my word.

It could change my life,

and I wouldn’t know it.

This mystery word

could make me a poet.

With this word and ten lines

I’ll be ready to fight

I’ll be thinking and drafting 

to make it rhyme right.

It’s up to the public

if I sink or I float

Go to thinkkidthink.com

and place your first vote!

I will get my word late tonight via email.  From there, I will have 36ish hours to create, edit and finalize a new poem.  Go to www.thinkkidthink.com on Thursday to vote!

Warming up!

Hello!  I am back after a long hiatus.  This weekend we are experiencing an unusually warm weekend in Western New York- I suspect we broke the record high of 60degrees.  Even though we are very much in the middle of winter, today makes me think of warmer days and springtime.  With Springtime comes the March Madness poetry tournament.  If you are a poet, consider applying to compete in this fun, challenging poetry competition.  You can apply at www.thinkkidthink.com.  I am getting warmed up for some heavy duty writing by revisiting some poems that I wrote last year.

One of my students tried her hand at "how-to" poetry and I'd like to share it with you now.  Welcome, Charity to Thinkinginrhyme!

Stack it!

Bu Charity P.

Take some

Pancakes

And stack

Them up

Then simply

Cut them

Into fours

And simply

Put the syrup

On and then gobble it

Up!

Stack it!

Poems as Celebrations

     Happy May!  I know it is a reflection of my age, but, holy cow...this year has gone by quickly!  We are already in the season of dance recitals and communions.  As I prepare for two first communions this weekend, I encourage you all to think about poetry as a celebration.  So many events are celebrated with family and friends...baptisms, birthdays, proms, honor rolls, weddings and even deaths.  These are all perfect opportunities to put pencil to notebook and commemorate the event with a poem.
     Recently a friend and colleague of mine received the "Educator of the Year" award.  Many congratulations to Mrs. June Marsowicz!  I am moved by the knowledge that many former students nominated this teacher.  I am impressed with Mrs. Marsowicz's humbleness in receiving the award.  I was so touched by her whole story that a poem just dribbled out the other morning...

You have made many

a worker

a thinker

a kid who could tinker

a reader

a writer

 a reacher

You have been

a mother

a pusher

sometimes a gusher

but most of all

an outstanding

teacher

     I barged into June's classroom and interrupted her math instruction to read the poem.  It was an emotional treat to honor June with my little poem.  She was thrilled with the gift; her students were delighted with the distraction and donuts I delivered!  This experience propelled me to write a poem for my Goddaughter's and my neice's  First Communions...

Age of reason, State of Grace

Wearing your faith

on your face

At the table, drink some wine

Taste the bread for

the first time

Let His body start to nourish

In His love

you will flourish

With your family, celebrate

Their beliefs you

demonstrate

Live your life with His respect

Always looking

to connect

Bow your veiled head, say a prayer

A love for you

we all share

Wearing your faith on your face

Age of reason

State of Grace

     Congratulations,Neleah and Hannah!  I really wanted to fit the word transubstantiation in there some place, but I couldn't do it! 
     I hope you'll consider poetry as a fitting gift to remember the special happenings in your loved one's lives!

A Fib at month's end

     Have you heard of Fibonacci?  If not, check him out here.  If you have, then you know that there is a pattern of numbers based on the philosopher's mathematical work.  The sequence starts with 0 and 1.  Then you add the two numbers to get the next...0 + 1 = 1, 1 +1= 2, 1 + 2 =3....keep following this pattern and you end up with these numbers: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.  It seems simple at the early stages.  To really challenge yourself, play the Online Fibonacci game.
     Wondering what all of this has to do with poetry?  Well, as you might have guessed, some clever lad figured out a poetry form using the Fibonacci sequence.  Seeing that today is the last day of National Poetry Month, I figured I would give this relatively new form a try.  As I understand it, Greg Pincus first wrote Fibs on his clever blog, Gottabook.  Katie Davis recently spoke about Greg's Fibish work at her blog, http://katiedavis.com.  I am grateful to Janet F. who pointed me in this direction.  Without further pomp, I share with you my fib in honor of National Poetry Month...

Empty Fib

By Melinda Harvey

At

the

end of

poetry 

month, an emptiness

creeps in like sprawling, golden thyme, 

spreading it's robust memory of a fun-filled past.  

     I am very grateful for the handful of you who have visited my blog this month.  It has been a challenge to write a daily poem (except for that one day!) Thank you for the comments and the encouragement.  I am not sure where I will go from here, but I will most definitely be blogging around!
   

Wondering, "How to?"

     I enjoy a good "how to" poem.  You have probably seen them before...a list of steps that explain the very mundane with a new clever perspective.  They seem so simple, but I bet they're not.  Even as I sit here and ponder a topic for today's poem, a how-to topic is not coming to me.
     A few minutes with my (almost full!) writer's notebook has left with me with a list of possible ideas.  Because I am looking forward to dessert tonight, I will go with "How to eat a cookie!"

Dunk it

By Melinda Harvey

Pick up two cookies

Pass one to a friend

Nibble just a little

from the bottom end

Hold the tender cookie

as if it were brown silk

Dunk your tasty morsel

into a glass of milk

Count the time in seconds

smile at your buddy

Pull your cookie out

'fore the milk gets all muddy

Put the cookie in your mouth

feel the cream and chocolate blend

Then pick up two more cookies

and pass one to a friend

     Look around you, right now.  Make a quick list of the things you do on a daily basis.  Now, turn one of those tasks into a "how to" poem!  Share it with me in the comments when you're done!

Laughing Out Loud

     Today I hope to attempt a metaphor poem.  With this form, you take a topic and then write three lines.  Each line should say something different about the subject.  The last line wraps it all up with a metaphor.

Laughter 

By Melinda Harvey

Laughter

head back, mouth wide open

fearless, careless

absolute connected-ness

Laughter is a hungry baby being fed by the mama bird.

     Even with a light topic like laughter, I don't feel comfortable with metaphor.  When I see writer's use metaphors in their stories or poems, I am always blown away with the obvious, but fresh comparison.  I don't seem to have a knack for that quite yet.  Perhaps with time.  I am off to laugh with family and friends tonight.  Perhaps I will find some metaphors with them!

Happy PIP Day!

PIP, PIP Horray!

By Melinda Harvey

It's Poem in Pocket day today!

 Hooray! Hooray! 

So pick a poem and read away!  

Hooray! Hooray!

Eat your lunch at the rhyme buffet! 

Hooray! Hooray!

Stuff yourself with rich word play!  

Hooray! Hooray! 

     I didn't mean to, but I wrote two poems today!  (I think that's a good thing as I was one poem behind!)  It's a special day today...Poem in Pocket day!  Today is the day that everyone, not just wacky teachers and passionate bloggers, but everyone, is encouraged to carry in their pocket a favorite poem.  That poem should then be shared randomly with friends, loved ones, or strangers.  Read more about this "holiday" at this NPR link.

    In respect of PIP day, I abandoned my commitment to a new form each day.  I could stretch it and call the above poem a repeating poem.  The poem below could probably count as a list poem.  So for all of you keeping track, I have kept my challenge.  However, it was a treat today to simply write down the ditty that was humming through my head!  Below, you will see the poem that will be in my pocket today. If I am lucky enough to see you, I will share it with you.  If not, I share it with you here!

What's in your Pocket

By Melinda Harvey

Some dryer lint, 

a ticket stub

A comb to fix your hair

A piece of gum

a paper clip

A trinket from the fair

A dirty spoon

a ball point pen

a paper with a prayer

The best thing for your pocket 

is a poem that you can share.

     Today is also "Pay it Forward" day...a day where we are all encouraged to do a random act of kindness.  Beyond sharing a poem, consider surprising someone you don't know well with a kind deed, word or action!  I hope I see enough good today to inspire my poem tomorrow!  Join me in creating a positive ripple of poems and kindness today!

A rhyme royale

     Aha!  I have found a poem form created, not recently, but years ago by one of the greats...Chaucer created the rhyme royal.  (I like to pronounce it rhyme roy-el!)  It is a seven line poem that follows the rhyme scheme of a-b-a-b-b-c-c.  Apparently it is up to the writer to make that a quatrain followed by a tercet or a tercet followed by a quatrain!  Okay, maybe I am trying to show off my newly acquired poem-speak.  I will try to be more humble!

     The crisis in our house today, besides the spilled jug of orange juice and the mild car accident that I endured this morning, is a lost lego mini-figure.  Mattie, age 8, was nearly despondent at dinner because she can't find her very special Statue of Liberty mini-figure.  This got me thinking about all of the things I have lost over the years.  The rhyme royal seems a perfect place to "find" these treasures again.

I've lost it

By Melinda Harvey

One would think I've lost my mind

when I stop to take a look

At all the things I cannot find

my rabbit's foot, my library book...

So just this once, let me off the hook

I can not bear to take the blame

I am truly sorry that I lost the championship game.

     It isn't very Chaucer-esque, but I like it.  I hope you do too!  If you try the rhyme royal, let me know by posting it in the comments!

Love that poem!

     I am nearing the end of the month and I feel like I am drying up!  There are plenty of poetry forms left for me to choose from, but sadly, I feel that I am losing stamina.  I have new respect for the writers who have been blogging daily for years!

     Today, in my parched mood, I turned to a great resource for children and teachers.  The Poem Generator shows a model of a poem and provides a fill in the blank form.  Once you fill in the blank, you click "create my poem" and voila, your poem is created, modeled after a specific form or mentor poem.  I feel a little bit like a cheater using this for my NaPoMo challenge, but it is a great tool to get beginning writers started.

     I chose to do a "Love that" poem.  I am tempted to say that the mentor text for this poem is Sharon Creech's Love that Dog.  But, then I remembered that Sharon's character in this clever chapter book written in poems, uses popular poetry as mentors for his writing.  Sharon's "Love that Dog" poem was really inspired by Walter Dean Myers.  

Love That Boy

By Walter Dean Myers

 

Love that boy,
like a rabbit loves to run
I said I love that boy
like a rabbit loves to run
Love to call him in the morning
love to call him
“Hey there, son!”

He walk like his Grandpa,
Grins like his Uncle Ben.
I said he walk like his Grandpa,
And grins like his Uncle Ben.
Grins when he’s happy,
When he sad, he grins again.

His mama like to hold him,
Like to feed him cherry pie.
I said his mama like to hold him.
Like to feed him that cherry pie.
She can have him now,
I’ll get him by and by

He got long roads to walk down
Before the setting sun.
I said he got a long, long road to walk down
Before the setting sun.
He’ll be a long stride walker,
And a good man before he done.

     After using the poetry generator, I came up with this:

Love her

By Melinda Harvey

Love that daughter,

like a camel loves its water

I said I love that daughter

like a camel loves its water

Love to call her in the morning

love to call her

“Hey there, daughter!”

     I am sure you notice that my version is much shorter than the mentor text.  This is more proof that the generator is a great tool for beginning poets.  Take a look at this website today and you'll be generating poems for dinner!

Backwards but wishful thinking

     I have been intrigued by the reverso poetry form for a few years now.  I first saw this clever type of poetry during the original game of poetry tag hosted by Sylvia Vardell.  The reverso poem is actually two poems.  Written in the original direction, the poem expresses one point of view or opinion.  Written in reverse, the opposite opinion is often expressed.  I am amazed by Marilyn Singer's  collection of reversos in her book titled "Mirror, Mirror."  If you have not read these brilliant poems, get your hand on her book today!

  Today, many people in Western New York are bracing themselves for a late spring storm.  We are expecting heavy, wet snow and serious winds.  Like many children, as soon as I saw the storm warning come across the tv's ticker I thought, "SNOW DAY!"  I don't think we'll have the day off, but the storm  did inspire my first ever reverso poem!

Wishful thinking

By Melinda Harvey

Get ready for school!

Put your backwards pajamas 

and white crayons "away."

This late in the season

it is unheard of 

to have snow and sleet and blinding winds

It could happen...

A snow day in late April!

A snow day in late April?

Like THAT could happen...

It is unheard of

to have snow and sleet and blinding winds

this late in the season.

Don't count on it.

Put your backwards pajamas

and white crayons away

Get ready for school!

     I have been intimidated by this style of poetry for a while, but you know what?  It's kind of fun!  Think of a topic that often has two sides to it...playing video games comes to mind.  Wearing a coat or hat during colder weather, doing homework before playing, the things parents and kids argue about.  Try writing a reverso poem to illustrate both sides of the issue.  Better yet, grab your parent (or your kid!) and write a reverso with him!  Let me know if you try it!

  

Learning about Lento

     I don't know why I am still surprised.  It happens more often than not now; I am browsing through my google search looking for a different, new-to-me poetry form and it happens.  I find yet another poetry form that yet again, someone just made up.  I think at the beginning of this challenge, I believed that all of the poetry forms were created centuries ago by the great and powerful poets.  Now I realize that we all have the power to create a form, give it a name and work to make it popular!
     Today's surprise form is called the lento.  That's right it rhymes with cento, but I don't see the similarities.  Lento was created by a man named Lencio.  You can read his post about his creation here.  I really appreciate the lento he wrote that describes how to write a lento.  Take a look:

A Lento

written by Lencio Rodrigues

                     Composed in winter of Two Thousand Five,
                     Proposed by my dreams, this entire theme,
                     Exposed now for all to write and have fun,
                   Supposed to be easy though it doesn't seem.

                    Two verses of four lines each you will write,
                    Do rhyme the beginning word in every line,
                     Pursue to keep last rhymes in line 2 and 4,
                    Chew your brain a little, you'll do just fine!




     Here is my educational attempt:

Fading Away to Nothing

By Melinda Harvey

Weathering is the slow "wearing away"

Feathering of rock and land

Sweltering heat and harsh blowing winds

Sheltering our earth as rock turns to sand

Implosions are ways it sometimes begins

Corrosion can oft add to it

Explosions of nature do their fair share

Erosion is the washing away of grit.

     I am not exactly in love with it, but I have created a lento just the same.  Perhaps you'll try one now?

A late night tritina

Driving Late Night
By Melinda Harvey

Instead of flying, does the black bat wish he could be driving?
Would he like to be up early, instead of waking up so Late?
Has he snuck out during the day, only to be caught when his batty mom called , "Good night!"

Instead of rising each morn, does the sun dream of rising at night?
Would she keep careful watch of all the blurry-eyed truckers driving?
Has she hoped to not start the day early, but end the day late?

Instead of being punctual, what if the bird was late?
Would he skip looking for worms by day and look for them at night?
Has he pondered purchasing an umbrella to avoid rain that is driving?

Are the bats driving the sun crazy, looking like birds late at night?

Today's form is a tritina. This represents yet another recently created poetry form that is brand new to me! It also depicts how you can start with one seed idea and end up someplace completely different!
A tritina is a 10 line poem, composed of three tercets and one ending line. The added trick is to choose three words that consistently finish each line in the stanzas. These words rotate in each line. Look back at my tritina...do you see late, night and driving at the end of the lines in the first stanza? Now find them in the second and third stanzas...they have been shifted around. Finally, you see those same words in their original order in the last line.
I am grateful to Skylar Spring for the description of tritina at http://skylarspring.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Write-a-Tritina-Poem. I am also grateful to the clever Teaching Authors who are holding a raffle at their site. Take a look at http://www.teachingauthors.com/ to get yourself entered!

Wandering through a writer's notebook

 This morning I have a new appreciation for my writer's notebook.  I was stuck for what to write today's poem about so I followed some writerly advice and wandered through my writer's notebook, reliving the old entries that I have been collecting.  It was a delightful treat to read the list I had made at the end of our February vacation.  I paused at the gritty post it note that I rescued from my classroom floor.  I tried to decide if a list I had started in December could become a Christmas poem.  The only problem with reading my notebook is that it has seriously cut into my time to write!
     At the same time I was harvesting a poem topic, I had in my head that I wanted to write a persona poem.  These poems have also been called mask poems.  With either name, when you write this type of poem, you write from the perspective of someone or something else.  I began understanding this poetry form by reading this page.   After further research, I found Elaine Magliaro who keeps a blog at wildrosereader.blogspot.com.  Lastly, I revisited Amy Vanderwater's Poem Farm.  She keeps a great catalog of her poems; there is a whole section of mask poems.
     After much deliberation, I went back to the surprisingly shiny penny from the year 2000.  It was taped into my notebook with a caption that said, "Found on 1/1/12 on my New Year's walk.  If my penny could talk, this is what it would say...


See me, kid, pick me up
All year long, you'll have good luck.
I've been around, that much is true
but now I'm counting all on you.
My last owner was a sloppy soul
let me fall from her jacket hole.
Before that, I lived in a car
which was slightly better than my old jar.
I never did have time to thank
that guy who sprang me from the bank.
I've seen the mall, gas station and more.
I bobbled 'round from store to store.
Now I'm laying on the street
Wishing that I could grow feet.
So see me, kid, pick me up
All year long, you'll have good luck.

Happy Birthday, Baby Bro!

     Senryu is the first cousin to the Japanese haiku. The pattern is the same 5-7-5 syllables over the course of three lines. The big difference is in topic. Where a haiku traditionally deals with a topic grounded in nature, the senryu focuses on a person, usually in a humorous way.
My little brother, Matt, turns 35 today. I thought I would "honor" him with a senryu poem in honor of his birth!

Still Glad

By Melinda Harvey

You came after me

But you have caused more trouble

Still glad that you're here.

     I have learned a lot about haiku by watching Laura Salas work through her NaPoMo challenge.  She is writing a haiku each day this month.  The thing with haiku or senryu is that it seems so easy; we have to really challenge ourselves to say a lot using only a little!  (That might be true in life also!)

     If you have a little brother, a big sister, a mother, father, friend or teacher, consider honoring them with a senryu today!

PRAP time

     Today's a big day for many students throughout New York State...the ELA test begins today.  I know that at our school, the students have been amply prepared by reading a lot of great books, learning about essays and practicing sample questions.  I hope these skills stick with my students long beyond this week's test.  I know many teachers pull out all of the stops when preparing students for the test; we sing, dance, even hop on the desks to draw the children into these lessons. One clever colleague invented a rap to help her children remember some important strategies for test-taking success.  She calls it the P-rap.

P- preview the questions
R- read carefully
A- answer the questions
P- prove it

   Today, I will attempt a controversial style of poem- a rap.  I think Mrs.Winiecki's rap (above) is just fine, but at her request, I will embellish it.  Rap as poetry is highly debatable.  Some feel that as an artistic expression, with rhythm and rhyme, rap is absolutely a viable form of poetry.  Other people believe that this type of music isn't sophisticated enough to count as a poetic device.  I'll leave the debate to the essayists...right now, I must rap!

Kickin' It!
By Melinda Harvey

C'mon gather round for today's the day
We're gonna kick it on the ELA
We've written papers, read lots of books
We know all about effective hooks!

One more time, 'fore the test comes out
Do the P-rap with me, let me hear you shout!
P is for preview, we're gonna read
all the questions first so we focus where we need
R is for reading, we'll do it with care
underlining, branding, highlighting here and there
A is for answer, we'll slash the trash
Getting every one correct, we will not abash*
P is for prove it, that's what we'll do
I'll go back to the text to show I know it's true

So c'mon teacher, bring it...give us the test
It's the ELA and we're gonna do our best
You showed us the way, we'll walk the path
And after ELA, we'll do the same with Math!

*abash means to cause to be embarassed

     There you have it, Mrs.Winiecki, and everyone else...chant it one more time and then pass out those tests.  They're ready for it!