CHEBC National Poetry Blog

Teddy Bears

2011-02-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

Teddy Bear Poem

I threw away my teddy bear,
The one that lost his eye.
I threw him in the garbage pail
(I thought I heard him cry.)

I've had that little teddy bear
Since I was only two.
But I'm much bigger now and
I've got better things to do

Than play with silly teddy bears.
And so I said good-bye
And threw him in the garbage pail.
(Who's crying - he, or I?)

~Judith Viorst

The Coming of Teddy Bears

The air is quiet
   'Round my bed
The dark is drowsy
   In my head.
The sky's forgetting
   To be red,
And soon I'll be asleep.

A half a million
   Miles away
The silver stars
   Come out to play,
And comb their hair
   And that's okay
And soon I'll be asleep.

And teams of fuzzy
   Teddy bears
Are stumping slowly
   Up the stairs
To rock me in
   Their rocking chairs
And soon I'll be asleep.

The night is shining
   'Round my head
The room is snuggled
   In my bed.
"Tomorrow I'll be
   Big," they said,
And soon I'll be asleep.
~Dennis Lee

Three Poems

2010-06-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

Click here to go to NimbleSpirit to read three poems by Luci Shaw. You'll be glad you did.

Burn ME

2010-03-01T19:30:00.001-08:00

"When the regime ordered

Books with dangerous knowledge

To be burned in public and everywhere

Oxen were forced to pull, carts with books

To the bonfires, one of the persecuted poets

Disconcerted, that his books were forgotten.

He rushed to his desk, flying on wings of rage

And wrote a letter to the authorities.

Burn me! He wrote with a quick stroke

Burn me! Don't do this to me! Do not spare me!

Have I not always reported the truth in my books?

Yet now you treat me as were I as a liar!

I command you: Burn me!"

By Bertolt, Brecht

Who Shall Deliver Me?

2010-01-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

Who Shall Deliver Me?

by Christina Georgina Rossetti
(1830-1894)

God strengthen me to bear myself;
That heaviest weight of all to bear,
Inalienable weight of care.

All others are outside myself;
I lock my door and bar them out
The turmoil, tedium, gad-about.

I lock my door upon myself,
And bar them out; but who shall wall
Self from myself, most loathed of all?

If I could once lay down myself,
And start self-purged upon the race
That all must run ! Death runs apace.

If I could set aside myself,
And start with lightened heart upon
The road by all men overgone!

God harden me against myself,
This coward with pathetic voice
Who craves for ease and rest and joys

Myself, arch-traitor to myself ;
My hollowest friend, my deadliest foe,
My clog whatever road I go.

Yet One there is can curb myself,
Can roll the strangling load from me
Break off the yoke and set me free.

Poetry of a Madwoman

2009-04-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

This is for all of you homeschooling moms out there. Pioneer Woman, aka Ree Drummond, takes a stab at poetry from time to time.

Poetry of a Madwoman, Vol. 2

May. 5, 2006

Mommy? Mommy? Mommy?
Their war cries pound my brain.
Mommy? Mommy? Mommy?
I slowly go insane.
Will you? Can I? Why not?
So goes the daily grind.
But wait–I am their mommy.
I love them.
Never mind.

Sometimes Poetry Doesn't Rhyme

2009-04-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is just a way with words that touches the soul. Ann Voskamp writes about her farmer dad BEING POETRY. Well worth the time to click over and read.

Intro

2009-04-02T10:35:00.001-07:00

Just a quick intro from me...I am thankful that Jacqueline has asked me to participate in writing and posting to this blog!

I am a mom to twelve poetry-lovers. Our tastes range from the silly (I never saw a purple cow) to the sublime (Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth), and from the wicked (Willie with a thirst for gore, nailed his sister to the door) to the heavenly (they also serve who only stand, and wait).

Not only do we love to read and memorize poetry, we dabble in writing a few here and there. Don't worry, I am not about to share them all...but I might be convinced to post one or two, especially the ones written by my little kids.

Why not follow the links I posted above and enjoy a smattering of poetry?

Jacqueline's NPM Reading Log

2009-04-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

A Little Poem For Poetry Month by Jack Prelutsky
http://gottabook.blogspot.com/2009/04/jack-prelutsky-little-poem-for-poetry.html

A Sister by Nellie Strowbridge
http://lcpnationalpoetrymonth2009.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/pasadena-newfoundland/

Summer at Blue Creek, North Carolina by Jack Gilbert
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20582

How Do I Love Thee by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15384

If Thou Must Love Me by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19429

Love is More Thicker Than Forget by e.e. cummings
http://cerene.wordpress.com/2006/07/17/love-is-more-thicker-than-forget-ee-cummings/

If by Rudyard Kipling
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15241

More Poetry Resources

2009-04-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

Be sure to check out the resources that Alex lists in her April is Poetry Month post.

What's this all about

2009-03-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

A spin off from the Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival, this is a place for Canadian Home Educating Bloggers to share poems they have read and written, especially during National Poetry Month, and to also share poetry resources. This will be a team blog. Canadian Home Educating Bloggers that want to participate can do so by emailing canadianhomeeducatorscarnival@gmail.com . They will then be invited to be a team member for the blog and will have permission to create posts for the blog. More guidelines will be put in place as the blog grows.

Inspiration for Reading Poems
Inspired by the Academy of American Poets Poetry Read-a-thon idea, I am inviting Homeschooling Canadian bloggers to use the blog to serve as a master log to record and share the lists of poems they read during the month. You can also use the journaling prompt suggestions on the Poetry Read-a-thon to journal about the poems. Use power point or some such program to turn one of your favorite poems into an Animated Text Flow Poem or create and share a Free Verse Project using lines from your favorite poem.

Inspiration for Writing Poems
Inspired by the NaPoWriMo Pledge Drive page I am inviting Homeschooling Canadian bloggers to use the blog to share poems that they write during April. The NaPoWriMo Pledge Drive page challeges you to write and post a poem each day in April, they even have a board where you can post your poems, whether you participate in the pledge drive or not. In the Poet's Workshop there are three poem writing ideas: Poems Based on Works of Art, Give Chance a Chance, Unexpected Odes. The challenges are more fulling explained in the "Post and Workshop" message board posts so be sure to click through to check it out. On the RePoWriMo (Refrigerator Poetry Writing Month) Blog the challenge it to write a poem a day using poetry magnets. If you don't have any you could always make your own or you can use the Online Magnetic Poetry site or the Shadow Poetry's Magnetic Word Poetry site. The English Room's 30 Days of Poetry site is a couple of years old but the suggestions are still great. It offers 30 Days of ooetry writing ideas especially geared to middle and high school students. On The Rubber Stamping Blog is a challenge to use poems on/in homemade cards, and for those that think poems must rhyme there is a link to Rhyme Zone for rhyming help.