This poem serves up a helping of EXAGGERATION to create a tall tale, a story that bends the truth in a humorous way. Ben didn’t really sit there for a whole year and grow cobwebs when he refused to eat his squash. But it seemed like it to him–and to his mother. Can you use exaggeration to create a tall tale about something that happened to you?
Click on the arrow to hear the poem read by the author.
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Squash
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Grandma’s Pickles
This is a brand-new blog of my poetry for kids. (See “Welcome” page to learn more about me.) I hope to offer kids, parents, and teachers ideas to use in creating their own poems. Any feedback is most welcome.
Can you taste the pickles? I wanted to SHOW how hot they were by describing the child’s physical reactions–scrunched nose, flapping eyelids, curling toes, red ears, and perspiration. How could you show by someone’s reactions that the water in a swimming pool is cold? That an icy sidewalk is slippery? I hope you will have fun saying the last line–I did. The illustration is by the delightful Paula Becker.
Click on the arrow to hear the poem read by the author.
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Whew!
Here is a poem for Poetry Friday, which is hosted this week by Cathy at Merely Day by Day.
Have you ever watched kittens play? They are more verb than noun, until they suddenly collapse, their energy spent–for the moment. In this poem I used ACTIVE VERBS, with SHORT LINES to emphasize the rapid movement of the whirligig kittens. What verbs and what kind of lines would you use to describe a snake? A sloth? A kangaroo?
PS. My son Ben is my illustrator. Thanks, Ben!
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Stormy Weather
Imagine my surprise when a bunny hopped over to my place from Donna Smith’s blog, Mainely Write, and wanted to ask me some questions. Curiosity being an admirable (if dangerous) trait, I agreed, so here goes:
Mortimer: What is the earliest poem you remember?
Me: That would be one I composed myself and set to music, at the age of four:
“I know the path to Fairyland,
Where wishes all come to true,
Come to my house some sunny day,
I’ll show the path to you.”
My mother bragged to all the neighbors about my poem, and a writer was born.
But “The Land of Counterpane” was one of my first favorites, partly because of that cool word “counterpane,” partly because of the rhythm: “When I was sick and lay abed, I had two pillows at my head . . .” and mostly because Robert Louis Stevenson was a genius at writing poetry for children. My copy of A CHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSES was well worn. Unfortunately, I don’t think he wrote any poems about rabbits.
Mortimer: Rabbits know about rhythm. You should see us dancing in the moonlight. That brings me to my second question, which I also asked Donna: if you were a rabbit and liked to write poetry, what would you write?
Me: Well, you just inspired this poem:
In the full moon’s silver glow,
Rabbits dancing in the snow.
Leaping high in pure delight,
Rabbits dancing in the night.
Twirling while the starlight gleams,
Rabbits dancing in my dreams.
Mortimer: Your mother would be proud. It’s time for my last question. Who’s your favorite rabbit?
Me: Besides you? That’s a tough question, but I think I’ll have to go with Hazel from WATERSHIP DOWN.
Mortimer: I believe I’m related to him on my mother’s side! Thanks for answering my questions. Next time I’ll be hopping over to talk to the delightful Charles Ghigna, aka Father Goose.
If you would like to have Mortimer visit your website and ask a few questions, here are the 3 guidelines:
1. Answer three short questions, one of them taken from the previous Mortimer Minute.
2. Invite another blogger (or two or three) to take part on the following week–writers, teachers, or anyone who loves children’s poetry is the perfect choice.
3. Link to the previous Mortimer Minute and to your choice for next week.
2. Invite another blogger (or two or three) to take part on the following week–writers, teachers, or anyone who loves children’s poetry is the perfect choice.
3. Link to the previous Mortimer Minute and to your choice for next week.
Here’s a poem for Poetry Friday, inspired by the change in weather. Irene Latham has the roundup at Live Your Poem, a blog I’m delighted to discover.
This poem is more or less a SNAPSHOT of what I was seeing out my window one afternoon, with a little IMAGINATION thrown in. As always, I used hard-working VERBS–sweeping, blowing, and dancing, to get the picture across. What can you see out your window? How can you use your imagination to go beyond what your eyes see? I like the sound of the internal rhyme in the third line: “It must be fun to BE a TREE”
The illustration is by the talented Nancy Cote.
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Camels and Unicorns
What rhymes with “caravan”? This poem provides one answer to that question–you can probably think of lots more. It’s also an example of COMPARISON. Animals tend to live in different places because of their habits–or maybe it’s the other way around. How would you compare a rabbit and a monkey? A snake and a lion?
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Meadow Mouse
When my sons were little, we loved to read Dr. Seuss’s ABC out loud. That man knew how to celebrate sounds! Each poem played with a different letter of the alphabet. One of my favorite lines is “four fluffy feathers on a Fiffer-Feffer-Feff!” (Guess which letter that was for.) This poem was inspired by Dr. Seuss. I wanted to play with the sound of “m,” using lots of words that REPEAT the sound to create a mood–sort of hummy and dreamy. Pick a letter and decide what kind of mood you’d like to create with it. 
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Antoine the Anteater
This poem was inspired by the 2013 March Madness poetry tournament and the word “razed.” I ended up submitting a different poem, but I liked this one, too. I had a feeling that I wanted to write about ants, and took notes as ideas and pictures appeared in my head. “Vacuum cleaner” led to “hose of a nose.” Sometimes rhymes suggest ideas, too. “Post mortem” led to “snort ‘em.” I was happy with my PORTRAIT of an anteater, one of my favorite animals. What’s your favorite animal? Can you capture it in a poem?
Antoine the Anteater
Antoine the Anteater
is a lean, mean vacuum cleaner.
That hose of a nose
Slurps up ants as it goes.
With no pause for pity
He will raze an ant city.
No time for post mortem.
If he sees ants, he’ll snort ‘em.
© 2013 Marileta Robinson
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Overachiever
This poem also came from one of my assigned words during the 2013 March Madness competition: “razed.” I wanted to do a LIST POEM, the outrageous kind of list a dragon would keep. What kind of list would a bear make before going to sleep for the winter? What kind of list would an astronaut make for “Things to Do on the Moon”? What kind of list would you like to make?
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Unendangered
The TITLE plays an important part in your poem. It can catch the reader’s eye and make him or her decide to read your poem. It can also help get across the point of the poem. With so few words to work with, the title can be important real estate. So don’t just slap a title on your poem–give it some thought and make it work for you. “Unendangered” refers to the fact that many animals on our planet are endangered–whole species could disappear if they aren’t protected. Ants seem to be pretty safe for the moment. So this poem is TOPICAL–it deals (in a humorous way) with an issue that people are thinking about. What issues interest you? See if any of them inspire an idea for a poem.
PS. Don’t you love that line of ants that Ben drew?
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Limerick
LIMERICKS are fun to try. The rhythm goes something like this: (for lines 1, 2, and 5) da da DUM da da DUM da da DUM. (For lines 3 and 4) da da DUM da da DUM. It’s ok to drop or add a “da” at the beginning or end of a line, as I have. The first, second, and fifth lines should rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth lines should rhyme with each other. Try making up limericks about members of your family. 
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Buggy
As you might imagine, almost all of these poems are based on real-life observations. Writing a poem is a good way to deal with overwhelming experiences, and I was clearly overwhelmed by this insectivorous invasion. REPETITION is a good tool to use for emphasis; note the repetition of “bugs, bugs,” and “they’ve come, they’ve come, they’ve come”! By the way, HUMOR is another useful tool, in life and in poetry. Try finding the humor in a situation that has “bugged” you. See if repeating words or phrases will help get your feeling across.
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A Spider
I’ve never been one to kill spiders. It may have something to do with reading Charlotte’s Web. My attitude toward spiders in my house is “live and let live,” especially since they catch other bugs that might be less welcome. But my tolerance has its limits. I used EXAGGERATION to imagine what animals I wouldn’t be so happy finding in my house. It’s also an example of CONTRAST–the poem suggests that it would be quite another thing to find a bear behind your door. Suppose you were writing about a flea–what animal would be even worse riding on your dog’s back? I like the rhyme scheme that appeared: aa bb bb aa. It has a nice symmetry to it.
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Prickly Mr. Porcupine
Click on the arrow to hear the poem read by the author.
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Tenderfoot
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Good Advice
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Thank You Not(e)
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Can’t Complain
I once saw a man who looked as if he had just come from the hospital. He had a broken leg, and his arm was in a cast. But when someone asked him how he was, he said, "Oh, can't complain." If you wanted to complain, what would be on your LIST? Make a poem about it.
![Can't-Complain-Final]()
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The Tub
For this poem, I used another poem as a MODEL: "Rub-a-dub-dub, Three Men in a Tub." Then I gave it my own humorous twist. Pick a short, familiar poem. Use it as a model to write a poem of your own.
![The Tub Final]()
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