SALT CITY VERSE – Page 14 – Mostly Poetry for Children

Beginning

Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week we are hosted by artist and poet, Michelle Kogan, HERE. Stop by and check out what she has for us this week. Thank you Michelle for hosting!

First of all, the tragic school shooting has to be acknowledged. I’m praying for those families that are experiencing the unimaginable, for the children crying for their lost friends.

This week, on and off at my computer, I have been thinking about beginnings. After all, 2022 is about to begin and none too soon.

The calendar, of course, is totally empty. There is no choice but to arrive at January and see what will happen when we get there. Everything has a beginning. New Years Day is my favorite day of the year because it’s a beginning and I am always hopeful.

New buds on branches
Full moon rises in the sky
our calendar world. 

© Janice Scully 2021

I have been writing poems on the prompt “beginnings” for a submission to an on-line journal. Human beings are always beginning something, and maybe children have even more beginnings in their daily life. I don’t know but it seems they must. But adults have more begin agains.

I didn’t submit this poem. I revised it this morning and thought it might speak to teachers.

BEGINNER


Once, you didn’t know

how to read.

but you 

            learned words,

            turned pages.


One new word

led to another

            and soon you read

            sentences. 


Which led to reading 

your first book

and the next,

              which is how it is

              for everyone.


At the beginning 

is where everyone

              In the whole world
  
              begins. 

© Janice Scully 2021

I hope you find hope and joy in your week. Begin or begin again a few books.

Lastly, I have had good news this week. A short non-fiction essay I wrote from my childhood entitled SWIMMING TO PENNSYLVANIA, was published on line at RavensPerch.com here. I was thrilled. The piece began as a monologue for my playwriting group, but I turned it into an essay.

Thank you, Michelle, for hosting.

Thanksgiving Mouse

Happy Poetry Friday! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This week we are hosted by Ruth HERE. Make sure you stop by and see what poetry goodness she has for us this week. Thank you, Ruth.

I was AWOL from my blog last week preparing for the holiday, but today is Thanksgiving Day and I would like to share a poem about a visitor we had.

THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING
(After THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Clement C. Moore) 

On the night of Thanksgiving,
all through the house
my family was napping,
but not that gray mouse.

As I cleaned up the kitchen,
stowed the turkey away,
that soft furry creature
stirred up my day.

From out of the mud room,
past kitchen chairs
he dashed to the bathroom—
we cornered him there,

got out a trap,
anxious to get him,
but if I hurt that small mouse
I’d never forget him! 

So in a Tupperware bowl
we trapped the darn thing
and put him outside
for the relief it would bring.

He’s out in the snow,
that little field mouse.
We just couldn’t have him
inside our house. 

©Janice Scully 2021

He was actually tiny and cute and I’m not alone in writing about mice. Here is a well known anthology of poems about mice compiled by Nancy Larrick:

I found this charming poem by A.A. Milne:

MISSING

Has anybody seen my mouse?

I opened his box for just a minute,
Just to make sure he was really in it,
And while I was looking, he jumped outside!
I tried to catch him, I tried, I tried . . . . 
I think he's somewhere about the house.
Has anyone seen my mouse?

Uncle John, have you seen my mouse?

Just a small sort of mouse, a dear little brown one,
He came from the country, he isn't a town one,
So he'll feel all lonely in a London street,
Why, what could he possibly find to eat?

He must be somewhere. I'll ask Aunt Rose:
Have you seen a mouse with a woffelly nose?
Oh, somewhere about--
He's just got out . . . . 

Hasn't anybody seen my mouse?

A.A. Milne

Irene Latham posted several of Valerie Worth’s poems inspired by critters, including this one about mice, (the first two stanzas).

MICE

Mice
Find places
In places,

A dark
Hall behind
The hall,

READ THE REST HERE (AND OTHER POEMS ABOUT CRITTERS BY VALERIE WORTH)

Wishing everyone, and all critters everywhere, the best of the holiday!

Thank you, Ruth, for hosting Poetry Friday.

OUR CAPABLE COUNTRY

Welcome to Poetry Friday, hosted by thee capable and prolific Matt Forrest Esenwine Here. Thank you, Matt for hosting!

I simply have a short poem to share. It was inspired by the climate summit. Thank you to all the heroes who attended to work on the climate crisis.

I have always been optimistic that there are people in the world with the tools necessary to avert a catastrophe. So, when I think of the trouble we’re in, I think about past and it gives me hope.

OUR CAPABLE COUNTRY

In the past 200 years: 

We have cured terrible disease.
We have inspired democracy.
We have walked the moon.
We have defeated dictators.

We have ended slavery.
We have inspired children to learn.
We have rescued boys trapped in caves.
We have fed the famished.

We have respected those different than us.
We have loved our neighbors.

We have erected the statue of liberty
We have built twin towers.

If we want to, we can save planet.

©Janice Scully 2021

Little Libraries, Big Heroes, by Miranda Paul

Welcome to Poetry Friday. Our host on this first week of November is Mary Lee Hahn HERE. Thank you Mary Lee! Be sure to stop by and see what she’s sharing this week.

Today, I read a pile of picture books at my local bookstore and would like to share one by a writer who is passionate about kids and books, Miranda Paul. She is one of the founders of the WNDB movement. Her book, LITTLE LIBRARIES, BIG HEROES, Illustrated by John Parra, is a book worth adding to your library. I have. It’s not just about little libraries. It’s also about following a passion, growing an idea, generosity and public service all in one. This book is for everyone.

Several weeks ago I wrote wrote about my hometown Carnegie Library Here. But one doesn’t have to have 350 million dollars to build thousands of libraries. In LITTLE LIBRARIES: BIG HEROES, we learn that some libraries can be built for much, much less and still make a big impact.

In this true story, a young man named Todd, an “ordinary guy” who had been inspired by his mom to love books, built the first little library, like the one above. Neighbors loved it. It caught on. He told his friend about it.

     Todd felt his nifty box of books had potential. He called up his friend Rick, who was always chock-full of grand ideas. 

     Rick thought that they could 
build thousands of little boxes!

     Like Andrew Carnegie,
who once built 2,510 libraries! 

     They could take trips!

     Like Lutie Stearns, who brought
traveling libraries all over Wisconsin!

Rick liked the idea, but . . .

WAIT A MINUTE!

     Andrew Carnegie had been a
wealthy businessman. Lutie Stearns
was a trained librarian. The two of
them were just ORDINARY guys.
(And they were particularly low
on cash.)

     How man libraries could two
ORDINARY guys create?

     How far could ORDINARY people
spread an idea?

     They agreed on one thing--
they wanted to find out.

So the two “ordinary” young men decided to explore their dream of creating a Little Library movement. This is their story. The result: as of 2019, there were 75,000 official, registered Little Free Libraries in eighty-eight countries.

I was touched by this book about ordinary people doing extraordinary things and making a difference. It’s an important story.

Before I close I’ll turn your attention to the changing weather and the holidays looming with three seasonal haiku:

November winds howl.
Leaves rattle and acorns roll,
but winter still comes.


Holiday darlings.
Butternuts roast in ovens.
Hubbard waits its turn.


Christmas Spirit hides  
behind Thanksgiving's turkey,
practicing carols.

© Janice Scully 2021

Thank you, Mary Lee, for hosting today!

A Poem Inspired by Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (Zitkala-Ša)

Happy Poetry Friday! This week we are hosted by Linda Baie at her blog, Teacher Dance. Thank you, Linda, for hosting! She has a ghoulish poem waiting.

I wasn’t sure what to share this week. I’ve been revising old work this week, so haven’t written a poem, at least not one that’s ready for my blog.

But this summer I was paging through my Norton Anthology of American Literature and discovered Gertrude Simmons Bonnin’s “Impressions of an Indian Childhood.” I had never heard of her. A citizen of the Yankton Sioux Nation, Zitkala-Ša was an activist who believed she could be both an American Citizen as well as a citizen of the Yankton Sioux (or Dakota) Nation.

Zitkala-Ša was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in 1938. She was eligible for burial there because her husband, Raymond, fought in WW l. He joined her later. On her tombstone is inscribed “Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, Zitkala-Ša, of the Sioux’ 1876-1938.” On the reverse, a plains-style tepee is engraved, making it a symbol of both the United States and the Yankton Sioux Nation.

To learn more about her, I recommend an article entitled “Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, Zitkala-Ša: Advocate for the “Indian vote”, by Cathleen D. Cahill.

Zitkala-Ša

Reading her detailed writing about her childhood gave me a glimpse of what daily life was like then. Of course, there was much heartbreak and loss in her writing, about stolen land, murders of close relatives by white Americans and more.

But there was childhood play, too, in her work. In “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” she describes something universal to childhood, trying to outsmart her shadow. I found her writing charming and sweetly evocative of when I was seven or eight years-old.

 Zitkala-Ša writes: 

"Faster and faster I ran, setting my teeth and clenching my fists, determined to overtake my own fleet shadow. But ever swifter it slides before me, while I was growing breathless and hot. Slackening my speed, I was greatly vexed that my shadow would check its pace also. Daring it to the utmost, as I thought, I sat down upon a rock imbedded in the hillside. 

So! my shadow had the impudence to sit down beside me!

MY TRICKSTER FRIEND

 (A poem inspired by “Impressions of Indian Childhood.”by Gertrude Simmons Bonnin)

This morning
I walked,
the sun 
behind me.
My trickster friend
walked ahead.

As we danced down
the street,
she copied my 
dance moves,
leading
the way. 

When I turned 
to come home,
she disappeared.

But soon 
she was there again!
Sitting on my front steps
sharing my 
ice cream. 

© Janice Scully 2021, Draft.

On a different note, Happy Halloween! It’s almost here and thank you, Linda, for hosting.

THINGS WE DO, A “Hot off the Press” Poetry Anthology.

Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week we are hosted by Jama at her sumptuous blog, Jama’s Alphabet Soup. Thank you Jama for hosting! Stop by and check out her post for Poetry Friday.

As I write this, tomorrow, 10/22 is the the date that Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong’s new poetry anthology THINGS WE DO, for kids age 4-6, will be available on Amazon, Here. The title is on the Children’s Book Council’s list of new books for October Here.

Inside are poems contributed by well-known as well as lesser-known children’s poets. As listed in the Children’s Book Council page, the poets in this anthology include:

Beth Brody, Joseph Bruchac, Jen Bryant, Mary E. Cronin, Linda A. Dryfhout, Margarita Engle, Janet Clare Fagal, Marilyn Garcia, Nikki Grimes, Carol Labuzzetta, Marty Lapointe-Malchik, Grace Lin, Molly Lorenz, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Pat Mora, Linda Sue Park, Moe Phillips, Jack Prelutsky, Janice Scully, Linda Kulp Trout, Padma Venkatraman, Leslie Stall Widener, Carole Boston Weatherford, Janet Wong, Jane Yolen, and Helen Kemp Zax.

Those of us attending Sylvia and Janet’s on-line workshop, “Anthology 201” had an opportunity to contribute to the collection and learn about the details required in publishing work such as this.

Each poem is inspired by a photo that illustrates a letter of the alphabet.

I will share my poem here. I love this action photo. It really captures the focus and determination of a child kicking. I know others will be sharing their poems, too. From actions such as eating, to inventing to yawning to zooming, these poems are fun and it was an honor to work with Janet and Sylvia, as well as fun to be part of this creative group of children’s writers.

KICK

Grass Shaker
worm waker

High popper
cloud topper

Ball smasher
goal crasher

Tie breaker
score maker

Watch me
KICK!

© Janice Scully 2021

Have a great day, everyone! Stay well and warm, too, as the autumn chill slowly creeps in for Halloween, as it is where I live in Upstate New York.

Water Strider and Surface Tension For kids

Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week we are hosted by Bridget Magee, Here.

Thank you Bridget for hosting. Also, I’d like to congratulate Bridget on the release of her new poetry anthology for kids, 10*10 Celebration 10 in 10 Different Ways. In it, you will find the work of many poets who write for kids, including many Poetry Friday friends.

Two of my poems about science, about the phenomenon of surface tension, are included. One is about the Water Strider, which is, as many know, a bug that can walk on water. I found the photos below free on Pixabay. This picture actually shows visually what surface tension is. The water looks like a trampoline.

THE FLOATING WATER STRIDER

Skates on the pond;
it never sinks.

Water is helpful
to bugs when you think

how molecules huddle
together to float

the six legged strider
like a little bug boat.

©Janice Scully 2021

Surface tension also makes a raindrop possible because of the forces that hold water molecules together on the uppermost surface of water.

WHY RAINDROPS ARE ROUND

Water rains down
from clouds to the ground--
plump silver droplets
bounce all around,

each housed in a shiny
watery skin,
keeping its treasure
tightly within.

©Janice Scully 2021

I hope everyone gets a chance to read all the diverse poems, 100 in all, in this collection.

Thank you, again Bridget, for including me along with the work of so many poets I admire, and for hosting today.

Cinquain

Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week we are hosted by Irene Latham Here. Thank you, Irene, for hosting. Be sure to stop by and see what’s cooking.

Cooking?

It’s on my mind. I visited a good friend today who loves to cook. I was also thinking about cinquain poems and let food inspire me to write one.

What is a Cinquain? Five lines. Syllable count 2,4,6,8,2. Check out Kenn Nesbitt’s wonderful video Here. He recommends starting with something you like in the first line.

MY FAVORITE FOOD

Red sauce,

tomatoey,

concoction in a pot

ladled on a bowl of steaming

noodles.

Considering it’s Birdtopia month, here’s a cinquain about the Great Blue Heron I wrote after reading they eat fish, frogs, turtles, snakes, insects, birds and rodents. What a menu!

THE GREAT BLUE HERON

Stately,

but not fussy–

eats most creatures that move,

from Florida to Alaska.

Adapts.

Stay well, everyone. Be sure to stop by and see what Irene is up to this week on Poetry Friday.

Remembering Diptheria

Welcome to Poetry Friday, this week hosted by Catherine HERE. Thank you, Catherine for hosting! Be sure to stop by to see what she has for us this week.

What is Poetry Friday? Find out more about it HERE.

Today’s Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis vaccines given together

The hesitancy surrounding the Corona Virus vaccine is discouraging as is the lack of understanding and respect towards our public health officials who are trying to get America well and out of our hospitals. No one wants to be in the ICU, but too many people end up there when they could have been vaccinated and out and about living their lives.

Trees wave in a breeze,
sunshine, blue sky, stars at night--
viewed from ICUs.
Nurses put in overtime.
Sick patients lay bewildered.

© Janice Scully 2021

So now is a good time to ponder the past.

In the October issue of Smithsonian Magazine is an article entitled “The Plague Among Children” by Dr. Perri Klass, who recently wrote a book entitled HOW SCIENCE AND PUBLIC HEALTH GAVE CHILDREN A FUTURE.

No one today remembers when Diphtheria was a plague in the United States. But in 1735, Noah Webster wrote, that from a town in New Hampshire, the disease “Gradually travelled southward, almost stripping the country of children . . . Many families lost three or four children–many lost all.”

Children quiet, hands still,
whole families playing no more--
Diphtheria struck.

© Janice Scully 2021

“Throat Distemper” as Diphtheria was called, created a thick crust in the throat of children and slowly suffocated them as parents watched.

Having seen this horror, one day in 1894, there was shouting and applause, hats tossed in the air at a convention of Doctors in Budapest. Dr. Roux had presented certain research findings: the discovery of an antitoxin that could save the lives of children with Diphtheria! It wasn’t a vaccine, but a treatment that saved a high percentage of children.

A vaccine was later developed that would stimulate in children antibody formation against the disease toxin and totally prevent the disease.

Diphtheria was essentially eradicated in America and those who created it were celebrated. Most doctors today have never seen a patient with diphtheria, but as of 2017, children in war-torn countries such as Yemen who are who not are getting preventive health care and vaccination, die from this disease.

The scientists who, through painstaking work, developed vaccines that prevent horrible suffering and death, need to be remembered. They need to be thanked. Gratitude for those to those who risked their own lives fighting disease is appropriate. Dr. Fauci lived through several epidemics and should be listened to.

Young people today have been educated by the pandemic. I hope they might be inspired by their experience to study science and public health. I know some will.

We eat sleep and work
as if the past never was--
Leaves fall then winter.

© Janice Scully 2021

Have a great day. Stay well. May everyone get vaccinated.

Backmatter Matters

Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week the talented Laura Purdie Salas is hosting HERE. Thank you for hosting, Laura!

What is Poetry Friday? Find out HERE.

This week I began the Anthology 201 course by poets Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell. What does it take to create a poetry anthology? I signed up to find out. They are smart and generous teachers.

As and example of a well written anthology, I happened to have Sylvia’s 2020 anthology, A WORLD FULL OF POEMS. These poems are for young children, 187 in all, from almost as many poets. Many are well known, some you will recognize from Poetry Friday. But the book is not just poems. The back matter in this book is quite useful.

For parents, teachers, and curious children, you will find:

1) Poetry activity suggestions, such as reading aloud, ending each day with a poem and more.

2) Poetry Activities such as a treasure hunt tips on reading out loud.

3) Easy tips on how to have a conversation about a poem.

4) How to begin writing poems.

5) Different kinds of poems such as list poems and haiku.

6) How to add art.

7) How to get better as a poet.

8) It also includes clever ways for a family to put poetry into daily life. For example, keeping a book of poems in the car, ending each day with a poem and more.

A WORLD FULL OF POEMS is a beautiful book, an anthology full of wonderful poems, and a useful resource for all ages.

Thank you, Laura Purdie Salas for hosting. Have a good weekend everyone and stay well!