Welcome to Poetry Friday, this week hosted by the talented artist Michelle Kogan, HERE. Thank you, Michelle for hosting!
What is Poetry Friday? It’s a group of bloggers who love poetry and like to share their thoughts and their work with others. Learn more about Poetry Friday HERE.
I learn something every week from this very smart group of teachers, librarians, poets and visual artists. This week I’ve written several poems called “Definitos” that I discovered on Mary Lee Hahn’s blog: A(nother) Year of Reading. You can find the definition and a fine example of a definito.
What is a definito? According to Mary Lee:
A Definito is ” a free verse poem of 8-12 lines (aimed at readers 8-12 years old) that highlights wordplay as it demonstrates the meaning of a less common word, which always ends the poem.”
I was up for learning new words to write a poem about, so I found this book on my shelf:
Who doesn’t want to sound smart? I wrote a few definitos:
WALL FLOWER
He avoids noise
is as shy as can be
the world can be rough,
like a roiling sea.
When people are mean,
he dives under a bed
hidden from sight
till it is peaceful instead.
Have you known a cat so
PUSILLANIMOUS?
A shy, pusillanimous cat
DOES IT MATTER?
An apple
in a bushel,
A drop of water
in the sea,
hardly of significance,
and no account to me.
So small I’d never miss it
if indeed it wasn’t there--
so in the scale of what’s important,
it is NOMINAL.
UNCERTAIN
When a strong rocky ledge
shows its c r u m b l I n g edge,
When you lie in your bed
and hear mice overhead
When you think the Earth’s flat
and someone's questioning that,
The world can feel oh so
PRECARIOUS.
Using a word in a poem seems an excellent way to actually feel and retain its definition. Pusillanimous will be with me for a while.
Next week, 5/31, I will be hosting and sharing work from Carol Lazuzzetta’s new poetry anthology, PICTURE PERFECT POETRY: An Anthology of Ekphrastic Nature Poetry for Students. See you then!
Janice, I love your definitos. Yes, indeed, those words stay with us when we spend time with them, researching and creating. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word pusillanimous, so I think that shy cat will remind me of it! I love the way you captured the precariousness of having ideas that have been/are being proven wrong. Such a good word to describe the wrong ideas we try to cling to:
“When you think the Earth’s flat
and someone’s questioning that,”
I enjoyed reading this post by Heidi M., when she was just creating the definito poetry form. https://myjuicylittleuniverse.blogspot.com/2009/11/one-of-my-many-projects.html
Thanks for recommending Heidi’s blog. I wasn’t aware she created it!
Definitos are very cool, Janice. And you’ve created some clever ones! I love the ‘nominal’ one, a new way to look at “Does it matter?” Words are intriguing, like that l o n g “pusillanimous”, certainly a mouthful when there are others that have similar meanings. But, I loved your poem with it! Thanks, Janice!
These are all fun Janice, especially pusillanimous, and it works so well with your cat pic too, thanks!
Great poems, Janice. Thanks so much for sharing them. You did a wonderful job of illustrating meaning and understanding with words. I loved them all, but PUSILLANIMOUS is my favorite (could be because of the adorable cat).
Fun poems, Janice. I love Precarious –and that you made it ‘concrete’ with the formatting! Also thought it’d be genius to name a cat PUSIllanimous. 😉
(HA – Patricia’s kitty name suggestion is too funny!) Love these poems, Janice – oh so clever as always. I’m in the favorite =“pusillanimous” camp! ;0)
I’m glad Denise gave Heidi the proper credit for the form! It’s a fun one, isn’t it? I like the way you included hints about the word meanings in your titles and the way you varied your stanzas in “Does It Matter?” Well played, all three!
Janice,
Thanks so much for sharing this poetry form. While I’ve heard of Definito, I have yet to write one. Your examples are inspiring – especially the first one – and I’ll have to give it a try.
Janice, your trio of definitos are delightful to read. I do love new vocabulary and word play. Thank you for the fun interlude.
I’m sorry I missed these last week! I love definitos. Your third poem makes me think it would be a good exercise for a whole group of people to write definitos about “precarious” to show what they’re worried about. xo