2021 Progressive Poem: Next Line

This is my second year of participation in the Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem. You can read more about it here. Yesterday Jan at Bookseed Studio chose Line #5:

I’m a case of kindness – come and catch me if you can!

Easily contagious – sharing smiles is my plan.

I’ll spread my joy both far and wide,

As a force of Nature I’ll be undenied.

Words like, “how can I help?” will bloom in the street.

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Jan then offered me these two lines to choose from:

A new girl alone on the playground – let’s meet! let’s meet!

or

See that child sharing grapes with a friend? (This was the line she didn’t choose from the lines offered to her).

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Both great lines that offer lots of possibilities to show kindness. I like the way this poem is playing out in rhyming couplets (at least that’s the way I see it), so I decided to keep that going:

I’m a case of kindness – come and catch me if you can!
Easily contagious – sharing smiles is my plan.

I’ll spread my joy both far and wide,
As a force of Nature I’ll be undenied.

Words like, “how can I help?” will bloom in the street.
A new girl alone on the playground – let’s meet, let’s meet!

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So, now it’s my turn to offer two choices to Denise at Dare to Care. The new girl on the playground kept coming up in my thoughts and I wasn’t quite ready to let her go yet. I thought about offering two lines about her, but the poem could also head in a different direction. I decided to let Denise choose. Here are my offerings :

We can jump-skip together in a double-dutch round.

or

I spy Mrs. J toting grocery bags.

I’m truly honored to be a part of this wonderfully creative group. Looking forward to seeing how the poem continues! Thanks everyone.

Posted in Poems | 12 Comments

Poetry Friday: The First of April

Happy Poetry Month!

Because it’s April, I’m challenging myself to write a poem every day this month. I thought about trying to find a theme, or a direction, but in the end I just decided to let my writing go where it wants to go, noticing, observing, and trying to find poetry in the rhythm of the day. And since my OLW for 2021 is TRUST, trusting my instincts seems like a good plan.

Yesterday began gray and chilly after some particularly warm and sunny days. Was April playing a joke?

The First of April

April enters drearily,
dreamily
in a gray-white sky,
in raindrops suspended in time.
But…
in greening grass dotted with daffodils,
and in tulips begging to burst,
No fooling!
There is promise of a brighter tomorrow.

Mary Lee has the Poetry Roundup today. And I’ll be back on Wednesday with my contribution to this year’s Progressive Poem that you can follow. Check here for the daily links.

Posted in Poetry Friday | 18 Comments

Spring Fling Contest: Suzy’s Bracelet

I love writing contests! Maybe it’s the challenge, maybe it’s the focus, or maybe it’s just because it’s fun. Yesterday I received word that I got an honorable mention in Vivian Kirkfield’s 50 Precious Words Contest, and I was thrilled. Today I’m back at it again for the 2021 Spring Fling Kidlit contest organized by Kaitlyn Sanchez and Ciera O’Neal. Basically, it boils down to matching a story of no more than 150 words to a spring GIF (or creating your own GIF). Hope you enjoy reading it! The link to the GIF is here.

Suzy’s Bracelet (145 Words)
by Rose Cappelli

The link to the GIF is here.

Suzy skipped along, her new bracelet shimmering in the sun. What fun to celebrate spring with a picnic in the park! Before joining her friends, Suzy laid her bracelet on a bench. She couldn’t risk her treasure slipping off and getting lost or broken.

The friends raced and climbed and tumbled. When it was time to eat…

 “My bracelet!” shrieked Suzie. “It’s missing!”

Suzy checked beside the bench. She dug around the snacks in her lunch bucket and combed through the tall grass.

Her friends helped, too. Tanya overturned rocks. Billy poked in a leaf pile. Marcy rummaged under trash. Yuck!

They searched and searched and searched until…

Caw! Caw!

Was someone laughing?

Instead of looking down and through and in and under, they all looked…

up!

There, in the crabapple tree, perched two cackling crows, a nest…

and Suzy’s bracelet shimmering in the sun.

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Sharing Our Stories: The Sunset Challenge

When Ruth challenged us to write about a sunset, my mind immediately drifted back in time to one of the most magnificent sunsets I’d ever seen. It was at the end of a kayaking trip with some friends (I previously wrote about it here). The challenge was to write about the sunset without using color words and to give a sense of the season without using seasonal words.

At the End of the Day

We pulled our kayaks to shore
aware of the heron standing guard.
A gentle breeze rippled the water,
crept inside our jackets,
cooled our sweaty arms.
The sky glowed,
blushed with a sailor’s delight.
We turned to the fire in the clouds,
the embers of a perfect day
bidding farewell.

Posted in Sharing Our Stories Magic | 7 Comments

Poetry Friday: Moonbeam

Olhar Digital

One morning a few weeks ago, I was scrolling through the New York Times headlines on my phone and came across an article titled “The Moon Has a Comet-Like Tail” by Robin George Andrews. With words like “beam” and “magical” in the short preview, it sounded so poetic. In addition to being a fascinating read, I thought it might provide material for a found poem.

Moonbeam

Meteorites bombard our volcanic pearl,
cause sodium atoms to fly…
high.
A mystifying moonbeam
in twilight skies
dusts earth with dandruff,
creates curiosity…
wonder…
magic…

Thanks to Linda who has the Poetry Round Up today at Teacher Dance.

Posted in Poetry Friday | 15 Comments