April 30! At Last!!

The End!
And none too soon.
I ran out of ideas
On the 17th - around noon.

Will you miss this?
The poems, I mean?
Seriously. Admit it.
They're the best you've seen!

I might miss it a little,
My challenge to me.
Though I am out of my element
Writing poetry.

Turns out I feel best at
Poems for my girls.
Those will keep coming
'Til the end of the world!

For my Tiny Muses,
I'm full of verse.
It comes on the spot.
No need to rehearse!

So thanks for the cheers,
The input, the guests;
Now it's back to the prose -
It's what I feel I do best!


(I still welcome guest poets at any time, even though National Poetry Month is ending. It's important, I think!)

Another Lulu Poem(?)!

I'm missing the

Sweet, funny, imaginative

Play-

There's a doggy in here, Mommy.

I'm a doggy (pant, pant)-

Frustration!

I can't play.

I will miss this

When you grow

But I wished you were

Bigger

So many times today.

One Last(?) Guest Poet

OCTOBER 23, 1997
My Father’s hands
Strong, sure and always there
Now still.


Thank you, Moomie!

Rain

Dripping,
Freshened, the green
Renewed, but just moments
Ago, the view through my window:
Downpour!

Dragging My Feet

They come later each day.
The ideas are farther apart.
My mind drifts away
And it gets harder to start.

I'm out of material!

What About Next Month?

I have
Enjoy'd this month
With all the poetry.
What will I do
Next month?

A Reflection on My National Poetry Month Challenge to Myself

The Grandpa said, "It's not complete."
"Well, duh!" was what I thought.
They are all just drafts, you see.
And done's what they are not!


Seriously, TG: Thank you for your encouragement this month!
And to all my guest poets, thank you!! It's not too late to submit something, any/everyone!

Pete and the Gnome

Long ago and far away
Lived little Lulu Fair.
She had eyes of blue and a loving smile
And golden yellow hair.

All who met her said,
“She’s so sweet!”
And, “How adorable!” and “Aw!”
For she was loved and cherished
And returned the same
By and to everyone she saw.

But one dark day,
Something changed,
And all she would say was, “No!”
She glared her blue eyes
And stomped her sweet feet,
And (I swear) fangs began to grow!

Oh, what will become of sweet Lulu Fair?
She has changed to a small wicked gnome.
Who will save her from her terrible fate
And restore peace to her home?

At that same time
Even farther away
Another maiden heard her tale.
A maiden so brave
She just knew she could help
And so Pete Petite set out, set sail.

When she came to the place
That the Lulu Gnome lived
Pete Petite pulled Lulu close.
She whispered to her,
“Use your words, sweetheart!”
And kissed her on her nose.

Oh, what will become of sweet Lulu Fair?
She has changed to a small wicked gnome.
Who will save her from her terrible fate
And restore peace to her home?

From that day on
When something went wrong,
Lulu would say, “That’s not right!”
And she’d ask for a change
And smile that smile
That would fill the whole world with light.

I've Got to Say This

I owe you an apology. And it's been bothering me all morning. My last post, the poem about Lulu, isn't complete. I really think it's just a beginning. I'm sorry. I hope it didn't bother you too.

Another One for Lulu...

“Wait!
"Hold my hand, Mommy.
“Don’t forget my hand!”

Never.

It's Been Done (a cop-out)

The green lace canopy
White puffy cotton ball clouds
Warm Earth waking up
I love spring.

Lulu

Who gives the greatest hugs?
Who's afraid of tiny bugs?
Who eats mostly bread and jam?
Who eats banana bread with ham (ew!)?
Who knows what sound 'S' makes?
Who leaves the oven light on when she bakes?
Who likes to read and rock?
Who'll tell you it's 'forty-eight o'clock'?

Just my Lulu.
That's who.

Husbandguy

The big
Disadvantage
Of never saying 'no'-
They don't ever listen to you.
Yes Man.

Meltdown

Remember when you were six
And the world was out to get you?

Remember how hard it was
To do what you were told to do?

Did you ever have those meltdowns
Where agony was all you felt you knew?

Did your parents tell you, "Go away from me," or
"Be gone from here," or "Shoo!"?

Know what Pete can say?
She can say, "I do."

Read That For Me, Please

Padding quietly toward me,
Uncertain still on her feet,
She carries The Giving Tree
And smiles, toothy and sweet.

"Read that for me," I hear.
Pleading softly, "Please?"
I take the book and pull her near.
She rests on me with ease.

I watch her wide, blue-silver eyes
As she becomes engaged.
“No! My do it myself!” she cries
When I reach to turn the page.

When I finish, I hear, “Read it again.
“Again please, Mommy? More!”
How can I not get pulled back in
To these minutes I adore?

Busy

Life got in the way
Of poetry today.

Don't Forget

Today is Poem in your Pocket day. You can carry Pete's poem if you want...

Lurking

My stalker –
mostly secret –
makes sudden,
mischievous, startling,
mystifying strikes.

Oh, Come On!

Nobody? Nobody is going to take my challenge? Seriously?

Guest Poet Challenge

Read my last post from earlier today.

Done? Okay. Here's my challenge to you. Write a better short poem about being blank/empty/without-verse and post it in the comments (here or there, either way).

I challenge you. Whaddya got? Bring it on!

Nil

Zero, zilch, nada -
Nothing is what I gotta.

Sorry

A New Perspective

I couldn't believe...
Oh! The disappointment!
Reaching beneath my pillow to find...
My tooth!
Not a dime
Or a quarter
Or a pack of gum.
My tooth,
Right where I'd left it
The night before.
My mom said,
"I'm sure she'll come tonight.
Maybe she was busy."
Whatever.
The Tooth Fairy forgot me.
I was wounded.
But I put the tooth back anyway...


(In case you wondered, Pete said the tooth fairy is about 3 inches tall, about as tall as one of those little mini golf pencils.)

Tomato Plant '08

Tiny green branches
Potentially promising-
Our tomato.

Tooth Fairy

Pete was disappointed in the measly $1 the tooth fairy left her until she found the toothbrush holder/teeth-brushing timer the fairy also left. Old TF might have to leave a little more next time. Uncle Big Brother said their TF leaves $5 per tooth! Hopefully Pete and Kiki won't compare notes next time they see each other...

Loss

Her First
Mom said, "Just give it a twist."
But Pete said, "No way!"
Midst cheese fries and in spite of the lisp,
The tooth fell out today!!

Oh! I Have to Tell You This!

I want to tell you this before I forget.

Three cool things about Pete's swimming:
1. Pete is ready to move up to the next level and be challenged even more.
2. Since 1 of the 2 other kids in her class is also ready to move up, the school is going to move the 3rd kid to another class and just change the name and skills-to-learn of Pete's current class so we don't have to find a new teacher or time that HG might not be able to make.
3. Pete is a better swimmer than I am.

Night

Awake
While they all sleep
I hush her and doze off
Just until she cries out again-
“Daddy!”

Birthday Dessert

Just Answer the Question!

'This' or 'that'?

Whichever.
Yes or no?
Whatever.
Just pick one!
You can pick. Either is fine.
It's not my choice!!

What do you want?!
'That', I guess.
Okay, then!
But not 'that' this way.
I want 'that' that way.
It has to be just so

Or it's wrong.

Waiting for the Bus

Birdwatching

From an odd angle in the shade.

"Ooo, Pete! Look at that bird. It's a towhee, I think."

"It's blue, Mom!"

"It's black on its back and orange on its front. See it?"

"Its back is blue. It really is."

"It has to be Spring then, if the bluebirds are here."

"Well, yeah. Duh!"

Sleep?

11:37PM
1:12AM
4:20AM

Thrust into Awake
Shrieking
Moaning
Whining
“No, no, no!”
What was I dreaming?

Stumbling, staggering
“Shhh… It’s okay.
Mommy’s here. Shhh…”
“I want Daddy!”
“Daddy’s sleeping.”
So was I.

“I want to get out!”
“No, Sweetpea. It’s
Night-night time.
Everyone is asleep.
You sleep too.”
“No, no, no!”
No, no, no!

Music and nightlight
“I’ll rub your back.”
“I’m all done?”
“No, Pumpkin.
Lie down.
You sleep now. ”
So I can.

Another Guest Poet (yay!)

Many thanks to PSP for agreeing to be in my guest poet program this month! And for the National Poetry Month plug on her blog!


My Arms - by Princess Sparkle Pants

Flabby and giant, they flop
Like the wings of squirrels in flight
Bigger than they ought to be,
Bigger than what matches the rest of me.

My arms aren't long like my legs.
My arms don't work all day,
Carrying me around,
Stuffed into shoes that lift and sparkle
and hurt!

My arms carry my groceries,
and my purse-bag
And my computer
And my keys.

My arms carry my babies.

My arms carry my life.

Stupid Viruses!

Guess who had the whole family at the ER Friday night? Husbandguy. But not because he was sick; just because he didn't want to take Lulu there for her croup by himself and let Pete and me actually rest. So from 10:30 PM to 3:00 AM, we were all awake and awaiting the inevitable steroid shot and the okay to go home. They did eventually let us wait in an exam room, which was way better than the waiting room except for the creepy Wiggles puppets on the TV in the exam room. Don't watch the Wiggles video "Yummy, Yummy" at 2:00 in the morning unless you want to be creeped out. Seriously. Seriously. I had to look away. If you Google "Wiggles Puppets," you'll probably come across a YouTube video called "Creepiest 4 minutes of children's TV ever..." Those are the puppets I'm talking about. Eeeee!

We did finally get out of there. Pete was disappointed because it didn't take long enough for us to stop for breakfast on the way home (I was too in a way because it seems like you should get something after spending 4½ hours in the ER - I mean aside from a well baby - but I had to be all mom-like and get my children to bed - what's wrong with me?). And the rest of the weekend was a bust. Only 50% of us got dressed on Saturday. Lulu was running a fever both Saturday and Sunday and was absolutely not feeling well (although, not croupy). And this morning, she was wheezing! AAAUUGGHHH! Remember before? When we went on vacation with a nebulizer? Yeah, that was fun. Weirdly, the girls are on spring break this week. There's something about vacation, apparently...

So she's napping, Pete's watching Spongebob, and I'm taking a break. I think I might watch Spongebob and eat granola with Pete when I'm done here. Send happy thoughts our way for the rest of our spring break. We had such great plans...

Responsibility

Big like Sister:
Would you carry the lunch,
From the car to the table?
Okay!!

Just like Sister:
Crunch, crunch, munch...
Did you sneak a cookie?!
Yeah.
Crunch, Crunch.

Color

One of two
Vanities-

The box says
Light ash brown,
Sunlit tones.

Why are my
Gloves purple?

The Picky Eater

No, Mom.
I don't like that mac and cheese.
I don't like that green beans.
Don't give that to me please.

I don't want pasketti,
Except maybe I like the meatball.
I don't want what you're eating.
I don't want that at all.

I want only one thing.
I just want bread and jam-
Not toast, not warmed, just bread.
Oh, and maybe a little ham.

Poem In Your Pocket Day - 4/17 (guest poet)

The 17th is Poem In Your Pocket Day. Pete is very excited about it and even wrote her own poem to carry. I will probably republish this closer to that day to remind you, but I couldn't wait to share it.

Pocket Song

I got a poem in my pocket
And I've got it with me.
I'm going to take it out
So everyone can see.

Pete said you can carry this poem on the 17th too if you want to.

Lulu's Request

To eat
She wants dessert-
It is time for breakfast!
Maybe there is a compromise.
Shortcake!

Moomie Says: (guest poet)

Moomie is getting into National Poetry Month, too! Yay Moomie!! She wrote this about something she saw yesterday.


From the ditch
the soft brown wings rose
an owl.

Poetry

This is not a poetry blog
And I am not a poet.
My dad? He writes proficiently.
I've tried but seem to blow it.

I can squeak a verse now and then
For my girls as they grow-
Silly rhymes in lines of four,
But I prefer to work in prose.

The Undoer

Like a shadow
Following seconds behind.
Undoes what is done.

No Go on the Poetry

Pete's class is too busy this month for me to do a presentation early enough for them to continue to celebrate poetry for the whole month. I did tell her teacher that I'll do the presentation at any time, even if it's not National Poetry Month. It is pretty late in the year, though...

That being said, I need to tell you about

The Monster Under My Bed

There’s a monster under my bed.
It’s furry with big orange paws.
Did you see it? The tip of a whisker?
The orange tail? The claws?!

It is really very frightening.
I’m scared! Oh, what should I do?
I can hear it growling
And moving around under there too!!

Wait a minute... Hold on…
What do you think? How about that?
The growling sounds a lot like purring…
Silly me! It’s just my CAT!