Crunchy Puddles Are Crunchalicious!

Picture by blabla5 from Pixabay

WINTER WALKING

On winter walks

on crisp cold mornings

my favorite part

of frozen gravel paths

is finding

rumpled edges

and shallow ditches

where skims of

clouded ice

hang waiting for

my ice-searching

puddle-crunching

foot to

smash crash crinkle crackle crunch through

to the hollow space beneath.

© Rebekah Hoeft February 2020

Michelle, over at Today's Little Ditty, interviewed Buffy Silverman.  Buffy is a Michigan author who writes nonfiction books and poetry for children--sometimes combining the two.  You can find out more about her work on her website.

Buffy has a new book called On a Snow-Melting Day:  Seeking Signs of Spring.  It's full of photographs and beautiful words that make you feel like spring is right around the corner!

Buffy challenged Michelle's readers to write a poem that uses combined or invented words.  Head to Michelle's February padlet for examples or to post one of your own.

I gave it a try with the above free verse poem about crunchy puddles, which are in my top 10 things that make me happy during the cold months.

Thanks, Michelle, for posting it on your site.  Seeing it there was as thrilling as stepping through a crinkle crackling puddle! 

Susanna Leonard Hill's Valentiny 2020 - Heart Hunt

It's that time of year--Valentiny time over at Susanna Leonard Hill's blog! 

Write a teeny-tiny children's story following these basic rules:

💜Make it tiny--214 words or less!

💜Make sure it is Valentine's story.

💜Make sure it includes someone who feels curiosity.

You can find more information at her blog.

Heart Hunt

214 words

Samuel shook his sister.  “Josie. Wake up.”

“Samuel,” Josephine grumbled, “it’s not dignified to be shaken.  Kindly desist.

“Princess Josephine, your royal presence is requested on a scavenger hunt.  Might you get up NOW?!”

Josephine popped up.  “To find what?”

Samuel shrugged, holding up a heart-shaped card with glimmering, golden words: ‘Head to the HEARTh.’  “Mother and Father left this before they set out for the Valentine’s ball.”

They ran to the great room.  There they found a warm fire and another card.

Josephine read:  'Go where cLOVErleaf grows.'

“The meadow!”  

Once ready, they crossed the moat to the snowy meadow.  Josephine sighed. “I wish Herbert was here. He loved adventures.”  

Samuel’s eyes grew hot with tears.  “I know. But he had to go. He didn’t like scaring people.”

The next crimson clue hung from a snowy branch on the edge of the meadow.

'Find your HEART’s desire where foxgLOVE’s found first.'

Josephine wondered.  “The only thing my heart desires is -- Oh!  Maybe through the woods…”

“...by the cave!  Do you think…?”

“I do.  Let’s go!” 

They ran until they reached the cave. 

Curled in the clearing was their dragon.  

“Herbert!”  

A golden heart around his neck read: 'Herbert’s here to stay. Happy Valentine’s Day!'

Herbert purred as they gave him a welcome-home hug.

Update: Not a finalist :) but there are some stories you can read at Susanna's blog that did make it to the finals! Read for fun or you can read for fun AND to vote by February 22, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.

Susanna Leonard Hill's 9th Annual Holiday Contest - Merry and Bright

Susanna Leonard Hill, author, blogger, and chocolate lover, has given her annual holiday challenge:  write a teensy tiny holiday story.  Here are the basic rules if you want to play along:

-Story must have a clear holiday theme

-Story must be about a treat 

-Story must be no longer than 250 words

-Story must be for kids 12 years old and younger

Post your story on your blog and go to Susanna's site between December 9-11 and give her your story-specific link (or copy and paste your story in her comment section).

Happy Christmas and happy writing!

Merry and Bright

by Rebekah Hoeft

250 words

You'd think Christmas Eve on the tippy-top of the world would be merry and bright.  But Christmastime in Christmastown is covered in cold darkness.  The only light comes from what stars and moon peek through the clouds.  This Christmas, not even the moon showed its face.

Grumpy Christmastown elves, wishing for their cozy homes and well-deserved naps, were not cheered by Abner’s letter. 

Tomkin waved his lantern around, casting strange shadows on the other elves.  “Abner said there’d be something splendid out here.  All I see is dark...and a little more dark after that...wait...I see something.  Oop.  More dark.”

Pierette said, “Tomkin, Abner never lies.  If he said we’ll have a treat tonight, we will.” 

The elves agreed and huddled together, passing the time with elf song and stories.

After hours of waiting, elves started taking stealthy steps back home until Tomkin gasped and pointed at a glimmer growing in the sky.  Soon, it looked as if the sun had decided to wake from its sleep.  Brightly colored packages dropped, gliding to the ground on shimmering parachutes.  The elves scampered to open them:

“Candy canes!” 

“Cotton candy!” 

“Chocolate covered carrots!”  

—all the makings for a fine elf feast. 

The last parachute floated down, carrying a giant lantern and another letter:

Dear Ones,

You worked hard this year!

Enjoy your feast!

Love,

Abner

Head Elf,

Delivery Division

And so they did and all were merry and bright, even in the darkest, most tippy-top part of the world.

Thanksgiving

Funny and Smart

Michelle, over at Today's Little Ditty, interviewed Kate O'Neil, an Australian poet. Kate challenged Michelle's readers "to write a poem based on the sheer delight of words at play: malapropisms, ambiguities, unintended meanings, puns, clichés, etc." You can find the interview and a padlet to post your own poems here.

I'm an appreciator of word play, but not a pun professional like my siblings and husband. This was a bit of struggle but fun once I found a joke to use. Feel no shame if you have to search the web for puns and jokes to try this challenge!

I Guess I'm the Funny and Smart One

Mom thinks my sister Lily is intelligent,
but then I asked why mountains feel so tired.
She shrugged; I smiled, “Because they do not Everest.”
I’d hoped she’d screech and say I was inspired.
Lil had no clue that I was being comical.
She didn’t catch my grin and great big winks.
Instead, she strangely said, “That’s so hill areas.”
Poor girl is not as smart as my mom thinks.


©Rebekah Hoeft November 2019

Instruction Poems by...not me.

It's May.  

The 30th.

I think maybe I need to stop committing to a poem a day during April's Poetry Month festivities.  Or ever.  Because life makes me a liar.  :)

But today, I do have poems for you.  But not by me.  My third graders are a spectacular bunch of kids who happen to love poetry--hearing it...reading it...writing it.

Michelle, over at Today's Little Ditty, had a great interview with Elizabeth Steinglass, who gave a challenge:  write a poem of instruction to an inanimate object. 

My kids tried it and, as usual, did a great job.   We try to write quick poems--I give them between 10-20 minutes to write a poem and we decided to not worry about rhythm or rhyme (though some couldn't stop themselves--I totally understand!) but instead to focus on making good word choices.

Happy reading!

Instructions for Crayons

Be pink for a drink.

Be green for a bean.

Be yellow for Jello.

Be red for bread.

Be blue for clues.

Black...oh, yeah...be black for a black Cadillac.  

Jessica, 3rd Grader 

in Mrs. Hoeft's Class

Instructions for a Playground

Stuff outside, be fun.

Be a fun place to play.

People like recess.

Antoine, 3rd Grader

in Mrs. Hoeft's class

Star Instructions

Star in the sky, 

shine so bright.

Only come

out in the night.

Be sparkly 

and shiny

when you glow. 

Ani, 3rd Grader 

in Mrs. Hoeft's Class

Instructions for Video Game Controller

Move smoothly.

Don't break.

I'm awake.

Ready to play

my video game.

If somebody takes you,

if they break you...

...they're in for it.

Aaron, 3rd  Grader 

in Mrs. Hoeft's class

Instructions to a Car

Do not run out of gas

Always stay powered up

Go, drive away

Down and up.

Go, go, go, as fast as you can!

Be very big just like a minivan.

Flash your lights.

Beep your horn!

As long as you're driving in the morn.

Naomi, 3rd Grader 

in Mrs. Hoeft's class

Sun Instructions

Shine real bright.

Don't come at night.

Don't come close to Earth.

When Winter comes, knock him back to

Aunt Artica.

Be the star of the show.

Let everybody know:

you shine bright.

Isabella, 3rd Grader

in Mrs. Hoeft's class

Bike Instructions

Don't let me fall!

Hold me tight!

Don't blow your wheel!

Don't let me slide like a seal.

Don't let my feet slide.

I don't want to use training wheels.

Listen to what I say.

If you don't, 

I'll love you anyway.

Isabella, 3rd Grader 

in Mrs. Hoeft's class

Catching Up With A Poem A Day Challenge

I'm catching up today.

It's silly to feel behind during this completely self-imposed challenge but I do, so since I'm in charge of this here blog, I'm posting twice in a day.  

Today's catch up poem (more like what I call a piece of prosetry: writing that is more like prose but looks like a poem) is inspired by the phrase 'catch up.'

I've got this kid in my class who works her tushie off to completely understand any concept I teach and is not satisfied with guessing or hurrying through. Consequently, she doesn't finish anything first.   Which is just fine in my book because she's got diligence and a heart for wisdom and true learning.  

Which means she's got my heart.

Catch Up

Sometimes,

I know,

they want me

to catch up.

And sometimes,

you know,

I want

to catch up

but

I have to take things slow--

it's the way I grow.

Rebekah Hoeft 2019

Day 4, Poem 3 of a Poem a Day for National Poetry Month

For this poem, I looked to Dictionary.com's Word of the Day for inspiration.  Today's word is multiverse, which means "a hypothetical collection of identical or diverse universes, including our own."

Being a sci-fi kind of girl, I decided to go with a parallel universe poem, in limerick form.

'Cause nothing says science fiction like a limerick.   ☺

Filters...The final frontier. 
Excellent everywhere in the galaxy.
#alwaysclassy

Edit:
To be honest, this read EXACTLY like a limerick precoffee.  But now, mere hours later, it's a clunker unless you read it just so.  Which means this post has become  an anecdote for the lesson all poeming people learn the hard way:  let things simmer.  It's best not to throw your words to the world without a little time to notice the complete horror of what  bad meter brings to your poem.  

I suppose I could delete this.  But nah.   

*Grits teeth.*

That is not what this month is for.  

It's for embarrassment and hideous poetry.   

Just kidding.  :)  

For me,  it's for the joy of writing. And practicing throwing my words to the world.  

Sigh.

Cringing and moving on.

Day 2 of National Poetry Month

It is day three and I am on day two of a National Poetry Month challenge: I'm determined to write a poem a day in April.

Today's word to incorporate into a poem is pithy, given out very generously by the madman behind Madness! Poetry, Ed DeCaria.
.

#iheartfilters

Unlike yesterday's nonet form, the form I used today does not, that I know of, have a name.  If I were to rewrite it, I would change the rhyme scheme a bit so that there was rhyming between the stanzas to create a better flow in the poem.  But, since perfect poetry is not what I'm after this month, it remains.

If you're playing along, here is its basic form (- unstressed syllables, / stressed syllables):

- - / - - / A
- - / - - / B
- / - - / - - / B
- - / - - / C
- - / - - / D
- / - - / - - / D

Happy National Poetry Month!

Happy National Poetry Month!

I'm planning on writing a quick children'sish poem a day.  I say quick which means not perfect and barely edited.  :)

Last year's poetry month plans went south fast, so we'll see if my resolve resolves.

I should mention I'm a day late so already the outcome seems a little grim.

Play along if you wish with your own quick, not perfected poems.

Today's poem is a nonet: nine lines. First line nine syllables, second line eight syllables..and so on and so forth until line nine, which is one syllable.

It can rhyme.  Or not.
Have rhythm. Or not.

Be any subject.

Some may say it's barely a poem.

Maybe true.  But fun to write.

Cheesy background?
I say classy background.

Today's poem brought to you by Amelia Shearer, who assigned me a word (sprouted) ever so nicely, because I asked. 

Susanna Leonard Hill's 4th Annual Valentiny Writing Contest: Eve and Mort

Eve and Mort

by Rebekah Hoeft

214 words

Eve folded, cut, and glitter glued

so many Valentines that you'd
be certain she had made enough for all

her class of twenty-eight, plus two--

a card for Mrs. Mackenrue

and one for her best friend across the hall--

but you'd be wrong, for Eve was short

by one sweet heart.  I must report

it was no accident that Mort was missed.

For he on playground three days past

had beat her in a race; aghast

she claimed, "He cheats!" and bopped Mort with her fist.

So she was sent to Mrs. Brahm

who shrilled, "Detention!," called her mom,

who picked Eve up and grounded her for life;

or so it felt to Eve:  "Not fair!"

She pouted, stomped, and vowed, "I swear

I'll never be a friend to Mortie Drife."

On Valentine's she made her move 

to show him up; with hearts she'd prove

that she was not his friend and never would

forgive him for his besting her,

for stealing "Fastest Kid," no sir,

but when she saw his card she felt no good.

It was impressive, glittered gold,

Amazingly with words in bold:

"Two kids as quick as us should be fast friends."

Guilt-ridden, in remorse Eve cried

"You won!  You didn't cheat!  I lied!"

With Valentiny hug she made amends.

*     *     *     *    *     *     *    *     *     *     *

Interested in writing a 214 word Valentine's story and sharing it with all the world?  Okay, not ALL the world, but whoever wanders over from  Susanna Leonard Hill's blog?!

Here are the rules:

💗214 words--can be less but not more!
💗clearly about Valentine's Day

💗has a character who feels guilty about something (or makes someone feel guilty about something)

💗be written for children

Your story can be poetry or prose.  If you don't have a blog but want to compete for fabulous prizes you can post your story to the comment section of the blog post she posts on February 13.  Or email her.  Or don't compete and just use her prompt as a prompt.

Or don't write a thing and just go read all the teeny-tiny stories about Valentine's Day.

Thanks, Susanna, for a fun challenge!