Wednesday, April 21, 2021

The Kidlit Progressive Poems Stops Here Today!

Welcome to today's stop on the Kitlit Progressive Poem trail. Here is the poem thus far, including my pick from Robyn Hood Black.

I’m a case of kindness – come and catch me if you can!

Easily contagious – sharing smiles is my plan.

I'll spread my joy both far and wide

As a force of nature, I’ll be undenied. 


Words like, "how can I help?" will bloom in the street.

A new girl along on the playground – let’s meet, let’s meet!

We can jump-skip together in a double-dutch round.

Over, under, jump and wonder, touch the ground.


Friends can be found when you open a door.

Side by side, let’s walk through, there’s a world to explore.

We’ll hike through a forest of towering trees.

Find a stream we can follow while we bask in the breeze.


Pull off our shoes and socks, dip our toes in the icy spring water

When you’re with friends, there’s no have to or oughter.

What could we make with leaves and litter?

Let's find pine needles, turn into vine knitters.


We'll lie on our backs and find shapes in the sky.

We giggle together: See the bird! Now we fly?

Inspired by nature, our imaginations soar.

Follow that humpback! Here, take an oar.



I wanted to turn it back toward the kindness that we found in the first stanza. That became too difficult, so I continued with the imagination. (I truly hope someone more experienced than I am can do that!) Since the friends are grabbing an oar, I thought I would send them into the imaginary sea.


Here are my two choices for  Ruth Hersey at There is No Such Thing as a God-forsaken Town:


We paddle and paddle to the island we see.


or


Ahh! Here comes a wave--let's hold on tight!

Thank you all for your contributions! I look forward to seeing where our poem goes in these last nine days.

9 comments:

  1. Leigh Anne, your choices provide more action for the girls. While you are not touching upon kindness you are developing the friendship aspect with your choices. It's great that you jumped into the poem with all of us.

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  2. What an adventure they are having. I'm getting nervous that I chose the penultimate line!

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  3. Leigh Anne, is it OK with you if I change the punctuation in whichever line I choose, and continue the sentence?

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  4. It is fun to see how you've carried on with their fun, Leigh Anne, & to continue being together and enjoying the time is a kindness for the one who is new, I think.

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  5. Wonderful, Leigh Anne! You make a good point about that initial speaker being a case of kindness; somehow we got wrapped up in this new friendship between the two kids and their adventuring. Well, I'm sure it will all work out in the talented minds/hands still to come. :0)

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  6. I love the play in this year's poem. Imaginative play is the heart of childhood and both your lines reflect that!

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  7. Leigh Anne, I like your two lines and the imaginative play of the children. I agree about turning it back toward kindness, since it's in the first line of the poem. May this little case of kindness can continue.

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  8. Leigh Anne, I think the way the poem is developing is really fun! It will be interesting to see if it ends with kindness, but for now it's a good adventure--whichever line Ruth picked.

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