Liz In Ink

It used to be that my presence on the morning bike ride to school was kind of incidental.
I was there to double check for cars and carry backpacks that were especially heavy.


And the girls would chit-chat.
The entire way.
About who knows and what not.

But now, Tall One's gone off to middle school and Small One's got me, alone, as her target audience.
And our morning bike rides are streams of consciousness that Virginia Woolf herself would be wowed by.

This morning went something like this:

Small One: So, there's this song that everyone, and I mean everyone, in 4th grade loves. Except me.

Me: What is it?

Small One: It's called Tick Tock and it is not good. It has hypnotized people into thinking it's good. But it's not.

Me: Oh, gosh. Well. What don't you like about it?

Small One: I wouldn't even call it a song. She just wrote a song and got a computer to sing it. Actually, she probably got a computer to write the words for her, too, now that I think about it.

Me: Oh, yeah. I know what you mean, honey. That's not really my kind of music either. 

Small One: Right. Because we like REAL STUFF.



And she's right.
We do. 
Lots of people do.
I'm off to try to write some real stuff that I'm not going to have to hypnotize anyone to like.
You?



 

Hello, friends ...

I haven't hosted Poetry Friday in a long time and, if the truth be known,
I've only been a mediocre participant for awhile.
So I'm really happy that we're gathering here today --
it legitimizes my wallowing in words for most of a day, and I get to catch up with all of you...

It's been a time of big and heavy around here. 
One of my closest pals lost her beloved sister this week, way too early.
Another friend finalized her divorce.
And then, the Chileans pulled 33 miners out of a hole in the ground -- alive and well after 70 days buried and scared. 

Life is like this, so startling in its tragedies and its miracles.
And here we are, so ill equipped but carrying on -- crying as we need to and laughing when we can.
Thank goodness for poems that seem to understand.

Here's my selection for today:



Nurture

BY MAXINE W. KUMIN

From a documentary on marsupials I learn
that a pillowcase makes a fine
substitute pouch for an orphaned kangaroo.

I am drawn to such dramas of animal rescue.
They are warm in the throat. I suffer, the critic proclaims,
from an overabundance of maternal genes.

Bring me your fallen fledgling, your bummer lamb,

lead the abused, the starvelings, into my barn.


(Read the rest here...)



And here are yours:


BREAKFAST

Amy at The Poem Farm shares a wealth of poetic examples and musings, including her 199th original poem in a year-long daily poem effort!

Susan Taylor Brown keeps with the poetic theme, bringing us a Borges poem about Browning!

Tabatha Yeatts has been playing with reversos or, in her case, same-os, and Greg at GottaBook keeps it original with This is Not a Poem.

Tanita Davis broached both poetry and fiction with a piece by Marie Ponsot.

At Carol's Corner, you'll find a poignant piece by Henry Van Dyke.

Follow that with one of Andi's trademark photo-and-poem conbos at a wrung sponge.

Mary Lee at A Year of Reading has a deserved day off, and is heading to the county fair!

And lucky, lucky Author Amok has been at The Dodge Poetry Festival (along with poet Kay Ryan).

So has Diane at Random Noodling, and she's in with a full report. (Plus, from her other blogs, we've got a look at Cynthia Rylant's Boris, a lovely Cynthia Rylant quote, and a bonus video with some cat poems, too!)

Linda Kulp has it out with stink bugs at Write Time.

You'll appreciate the seasonal thoughts -- and Wendell Berry's poem -- at Across the Page and ALSO at There is No Such Things as a God-forsaken Town -- with a Robert Frost poem. Great minds think alike.

Deo Writer's been on retreat and wouldn't mind going back (as illustrated by Thomas P. Lynch).

And talk about retreats, don't you want to go to Hawaii with Jama Rattigan and Robert Louis Stevenson?

Karen Edmisten shares just a lovely Ellen Bass poem that maybe, in tone and theme, is not unlike the Maxine Kumin I shared.

Sara Lewis Holmes takes us to one of my favorite poetry sites for a poem by Julie Leschevsky.

And from another one of my Poetry Sisters, Laura Salas, this poem by Wislawa Szymborska. (Also, it's Laura's birthday so swing on by to wish her well!) Also, go get yourself a prompt at her 15 Words or Less and don't forget to read the poetic responses!

The always lovely and thoughtful Jeannine Atkins discusses inspiration at her blog this morning.

And Father Goose IS inspired -- by bluebells! And also check out his painted window at Bald Ego.




LUNCH

It's National Poetry Month in Great Britian and our friendly fomograms wants us to know about g.p.s. -- the global poetry system for found poems. Tres cool!

Elaine Magliaro has, as usual, shared some finely wrought originality over at Wild Rose Reader.

From the Windowsill has a seasonally-appropriate review today, of Scarum Fair.

The Stenhouse Blog brings us an original, dog-centric poem by a 2nd grader -- pretty remarkable.

And speaking of dogs, Jeni Bell shares a Valerie Worth poem called.... drum roll, please.... DOG!

We have another review from Paper Tigers Blog -- of a book called Around the World in Eighty Poems.

And finally -- something to listen to, with our friends at TeachingBooks.Net!



DINNER AND DESSERT

Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe shares another seasonal poem -- a delightful original. 

And finally The Small Nouns brings us a Deborah Garrison poem.



Thanks for being here everyone...