Monday, April 9, 2018

Progressive Poem Day 9!



It's my turn! I've watched the progressive poem unfurling line by line and now it's time to add my line. This is the fourth year for me, a frightening and exciting opportunity that I return to year after year. It all started with meeting Irene Latham at NCTE in 2014. And then I received a Twitter invitation from Irene to sign up for a line of the progressive poem! 

This year Heidi added an additional challenge by asking us to take a moment on Day 1 to record our first impressions of how the line strikes our imagination and what we think the poem might become. Then we hid those comments (I folded down the page) from ourselves. And on our day to write, we're supposed to return to those thoughts and share them. 

Line 1 - "Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched."
And my response - "There's so much to love about this line that includes some of my favorite words - cozy, bed, stretched. And nestled is a cozy word too! This seems to be a perfect poem for springtime. I hope the poem stays literal and doesn't veer into fantasy. But with 30 days ahead, who knows where our seed may be stretching."

And so it's time to add my line. I laugh about my wish that the poem stay literal. After all, in our first line the seed stretched! I wanted my line to add to the childhood fun of this nighttime gathering. I pictured sweet Jasmine and Owl at the nighttime feast. I wondered how Moon would join the group. Would Owl swoop up to bring him down? Would he slide down a moonbeam? Would Moon invite a friend to come along? Maybe he'd bring some tea and the Little Dipper. And then, thinking about Moon's playful side, I found my line: 

Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched.
Oh, what wonderful dreams she had had!
Blooming in midnight moonlight, dancing with
the pulse of a thousand stars, sweet Jasmine
invented a game.
Moon?” she called across warm, honeyed air. 
I’m sad you’re alone; come join Owl and me.
We’re feasting on stardrops, we’ll share them with you.”
"Come find me," Moon called, hiding behind a cloud.

 
And now I hand off our poetic playground to Matt. Here's the schedule for the month if you'd like to follow along:

2 Jane at Raincity Librarian
4 Michelle at Today’s Little Ditty
Jan at bookseedstudio
6 Irene at Live Your Poem
7 Linda at TeacherDance
Janet F. at Live Your Poem
11 Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales
12 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
13 Linda at A Word Edgewise
15 Donna at Mainely Write
16 Sarah at Sarah Grace Tuttle
18 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
19 Michelle at Michelle Kogan
20 Linda at Write Time
23 Amy at The Poem Farm
24 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
25 Kiesha at Whispers from the Ridge
26 Renee at No Water River
27 Buffy at Buffy’s Blog
28 Kat at Kat’s Whiskers
29 April at Teaching Authors
30 Doraine at Dori Reads

National Poetry Month 2018
"Give praise with friends near and far,
flinging words to the sky!"
- Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

13 comments:

  1. I've been watching for you. Now we have that sneaky moon! I loved hearing your thoughts, and that idea of the moon bringing the little dipper, too. Maybe? Great addition, Ramona!

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  2. "Come find me," huh??? That opens up some possibilities...thanks!

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  3. Yet another lovely, satisfying line. Of course the moon would be hiding.

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  4. Loved hearing your comparison of initial thoughts and where we are now! I see we have another four long lines with quite a lot of action...I wonder if Matt will follow the pattern of the first 5 lines and put in a three-word kicker like Jan did. Thanks, Ramona!

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  5. We have been introduced to a playful little Jasmine and now you brought us the playful side of the moon. Like Heidi, I like the lead up to your line. There is so much to think about when trying to add the right touch to the poem. I admit that I am getting more nervous each day as Thursday approaches.

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  6. That's fun Ramona, I like this mischievous side of Moon, and your thoughts before too! Wonder which way these three will turn next…

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  7. Oh, it's like hide-n-seek! :) Much to love, and yes, I enjoy the continued dialogue. Thank you, Ramona! xo

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  8. Sweet silly Moon, Ramona! I enjoy your ideas the stem from reading Liz's perfect & cozy first line & also, your desire for literalness. Of course Moon would play immediately, tho' your line isn't what I anticipated - it's so much better. What words will Matt offer? What will the rest of our garden party do this month. It's a gift to open, each time. Appreciations!

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  9. Yes, a hide-and-seek moon! Wonderful, Ramona. Off to see what Matt did with it... :0)

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  10. (I'm catching up on days I missed.) Very fun! A hide-and-seek moon!

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  11. Hide and seek! Wonderful! And I really enjoy the alliteration, too. Great to see you at the #NYEdChat/#WonderChat Monday night, Ramona:>)

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  12. Weee! I love hide-and-seek! I am having fun playing catch-up on this ice storm morning. Spring is playing hide-and-seek with us! xx

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  13. Oh! Oh! I love this! I adore how your line adds whimsy and action. Thank you!

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