2024 Progressive Poem is Here

The Kidlit Progressive Poem was created by Irene Latham and is now being organized by Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche. A different poet adds a line each day for the month of April. This is my 5th year participating in the collaboration, and I am always inspired by and learn so much from the other poets who contribute, and I am grateful they let me play along!

Here are the lines from Patricia, Jone, and Janice.

cradled in stars, our planet sleeps,
    clinging to tender dreams of peace

sister moon watches from afar,
    singing lunar lullabies of hope.

almost dawn, I walk with others,
    keeping close, my little brother.

It was suggested that we consider "the experience of a war child, a climate refugee, a migrant" and I hope I have done that! I also noticed and wanted to keep the -ing verbs to start the second line, so here is my contribution:

hand in hand, we carry courage

    escaping closer to the border.

Irene at Live Your Poem has tomorrow's line. You can follow the poem's journey below.

April 1 Patricia Franz at Reverie
April 2 Jone MacCulloch
April 3 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
April 4 Leigh Anne Eck at A Day in the Life
April 5 Irene at Live Your Poem
April 6 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
April 7 Marcie Atkins
April 8 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a God Forsaken Town
April 9 Karen Eastlund
April 10 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 11 Buffy Silverman
April 12 Linda Mitchell
April 13 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care
April 14 Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
April 15 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
April 16 Sarah Grace Tuttle
April 17 Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe
April 18 Tabatha at Opposite of Indifference
April 19 Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
April 20 Tricia Stohr-Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect
April 21 Janet, hosted here at Reflections on the Teche
April 22 Mary Lee Hahn at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 23 Tanita Davis at (fiction, instead of lies)
April 24 Molly Hogan at Nix the Comfort Zone
April 25 Joanne Emery at Word Dancer
April 26 Karin Fisher-Golton at Still in Awe
April 27
April 28 Dave at Leap of Dave
April 29 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 30 Michelle Kogan at More Art for All

The Progressive Poem is Here, 2023

 

The Kidlit Progressive Poem was created by Irene Latham and is now being organized by Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche. A different poet adds a line each day for the month of April. This is my 4th year participating in the collaboration, and I am always inspired by the other poets who contribute and grateful they let me play along!

I am receiving the handoff from Margaret Simon and Linda Mitchell will take it from here. Here is the poem so far along with my added line where the speaker is ready to see what lies ahead.

Suddenly everything fell into place

like raindrops hitting soil and sinking in.

When morning first poked me, I'd wished it away

my mind in the mist, muddled, confused.

Was this a dream, or reality, rousing my response?

The sun surged, urging me to join in its rising,

Rising like a crystal ball reflecting on morning dew.

I jumped out of bed, ready to explore the day.

Thanks for joining me today. The poem's trail continues below.

April 1 Mary Lee Hahn, Another Year of Reading
April 2 Heidi Mordhorst, My Juicy Little Universe
April 3 Tabatha, The Opposite of Indifference
April 4 Buffy Silverman
April 5 Rose Cappelli, Imagine the Possibilities
April 6 Donna Smith, Mainely Write
April 7 Margaret Simon, Reflections on the Teche
April 8 Leigh Anne, A Day in the Life
April 9 Linda Mitchell, A Word Edgewise
April 10 Denise Krebs, Dare to Care
April 11 Emma Roller, Penguins and Poems
April 12 Dave Roller, Leap Of Dave 
April 13 Irene Latham Live You Poem 
April 14 Janice Scully, Salt City Verse
April 15 Jone Rush MacCulloch
April 16 Linda Baie TeacherDance
April 17 Carol Varsalona, Beyond Literacy Link
April 18 Marcie Atkins
April 19 Carol Labuzzetta at The Apples in My Orchard 
April 20 Cathy Hutter, Poeturescapes
April 21 Sarah Grace Tuttle at Sarah Grace Tuttle’s Blog, 
April 22 Marilyn Garcia
April 23 Catherine at Reading to the Core
April 24 Janet Fagal, hosted by Tabatha, The Opposite of Indifference
April 25 Ruth, There is no Such Thing as a God-Forsaken Town
April 26 Patricia J. Franz, Reverie
April 27 Theresa Gaughan, Theresa’s Teaching Tidbits
April 28 Karin Fisher-Golton, Still in Awe Blog
April 29 Karen Eastlund, Karen’s Got a Blog
April 30 Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting, and Writing

Progressive Poem 2022

 

I am the latest stop on the Progressive Poem journey - and what a journey it has been! When I saw this year's poem was inspired by lines from novels and books and songs, I knew the book I wanted to use, yet I was worried it wouldn't fit in with the poem. This week, I skimmed, reread, and marked parts of the book, hoping one of them would work. And I think it does.

My interpretation of the poem is that we are all on a journey, which sometimes takes us to unexpected places--even when we don't want an adventure. When I listen and heed the call, I begin to dance and dream and discover that the whole world is a place of beauty, but through this experience I also learn the value of  home.

I took a line from one of the last chapters of Tuck Everlasting and adapted it as we head back home and think about how our own journey changes us. We change by the lessons we learn and the people we meet along the way. I also thought about the wonderful life journey of Margaret's father as he begins to find his way "home."

Here is the current poem with my line added at the end.

Where they were going, there were no maps.

   Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not today.

Take the adventure, heed the call, now ere the irrevocable moment passes!

   We have to go back. I forgot something.

But it’s spring, and the world is puddle-wonderful,

so we’ll whistle and dance and set off on our way.

Come with me, and you’ll be in a land of pure imagination.

Wherever you go, take your hopes, pack your dreams, and never forget –

 it is on our journeys that discoveries are made.

And then it was time for singing.

Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain, paint with all the colors of the wind, freewheeling through an endless diamond sky?

Suddenly, they stopped and realized they weren’t the only ones singing.

Listen, a chattering of monkeys! Let’s smell the dawn 
and taste the moonlight, we’ll watch it all spread out before us.
 
The moon is slicing through the sky. We whisper to the tree, 
tap on the trunk, imagine it feeling our sound.
 
Clouds of blue-winged swallows, rain from up the mountains,

Green growing all around, and the cool splash of the fountain.

If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden,

a bright, secret, quiet place, and rather sad; 
 and they stepped out into the middle of it.

Their minds’ libraries and lightning bugs led them on.

The darkwood sings, the elderhist blooms, the sky lightens; listen and you will find your way home.

The night sky would soon be painted, stars gleaming overhead, a beautiful wild curtain closing on the day.

Mud and dusk, nettles and sky – time to cycle home in the dark. 

There are no wrong roads to anywhere

lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove.

Standing at the fence of the cottage, 
    I hear the new note in the voices of the birds.

I added more white space in hopes that it would be the first line in the final stanza as we wrap up this week. If this doesn't work, feel free to change it. Take it from here, Marcie!

The source list:

1. The Imaginaries: Little Scraps of Larger Stories, by Emily Winfield Martin

2. The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien
3. The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
4. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
5. inspired by “[in Just-]” by E. E. Cummings
6. “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
7. Maybe by Kobi Yamada
8. Sarah, Plain, and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
9. inspired by Disney songs “A Whole New World” from Aladdin and “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas
10. The Other Way to Listen by Byrd Baylor
11. adapted from Cinnamon by Neil Gaiman
12. adapted from The Magical Imperfect by Chris Baron
13. adapted from On the Same Day in March by Marilyn Singer
14. adapted from a line in Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
15. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
16. Prince Caspian by CS Lewis
17. The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
18. Kate DiCamillo’s The Beatryce Prophecy
19. The Keeper of Wild Words by Brooke Smith
20. Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
21. ThePhantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
22. Dance Me to the End of Love by Leonard Cohen
23. adapted from Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Progressive Poem 2020 - Day 15

Today marks the 15th day of the Kidlit Progressive Poem, which is being organized by Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche. 

It also means it is my turn. My nerves of being a first-timer are somewhat frayed, but my line feels safe knowing it is placed between Margaret and Linda Baie's lines - two writers I adore and admire.

Yesterday Margaret gave me these two lines from which to choose:

Option 1:  I stumble, reach out...there's nothing to grasp.

Option 2:  I gasp! Shudder! Breathe out. Relax...

Both options continue the suspense that was started by Kat Apel, but I chose Margaret's option 2 because I feel like this place at the lake is special, almost sacred. I wanted to keep the spirt of that peacefulness, so I turned the suspense to more of breathlessness or awe of what I see. 

Here is the poem so far:

Sweet violets shimmy, daffodils sway

along the wiregrass path to the lake.

I carry a rucksack of tasty cakes

and a banjo passed down from my gram.

I follow the tracks of deer and raccoon

and echo the call of a wandering loon.

A whispering breeze joins in our song,

and night melts into a rose gold dawn.

Deep into nature's embrace, I fold.

Promise of spring helps shake the cold.

Hints of sun lightly dapple the trees,

calling out the sleepy bees.

Leaf-litter crackles...I pause. Twig snaps.

I gasp! Shudder! Breathe out. Relax...

Since we are at the lake, I began to think about what could be the cause of the twig snap. One choice I identify, and the other I let Linda reveal.

Option 1:  as a whitetail doe comes into view.

Option 2:  I slowly inhale so not to disturb

Check out Linda's blog tomorrow to see what was behind the snap.

You can follow the poem's trail below. 

1.   Donna Smith at Mainely Write

2.   Irene Latham at Live Your Poem
3.   Jone MacCulloch at deowriter
4.   Liz Steinglass
5.   Buffy Silverman
6.   Kay McGriff at A Journey Through the Pages
7.   Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
8.   Tara Smith at Going to Walden
9.   Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
10. Matt Forrest Esenwine at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
11. Janet Fagel hosted at Reflections on the Teche
12. Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
13. Kat Apel at Kat Whiskers
14. Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche
15. Leigh Anne Eck at A Day in the Life
16. Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
17. Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
18. Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading
19. Tabitha at Opposite of Indifference
20. Rose Capelli at Imagine the Possibilities
21. Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
22. Julieanne Harmatz at To Read, To Write, To Be
23. Ruth at There is no such thing at a God-forsaken town
24. Christie Wyman at Wondering and Wandering
25. Amy at The Poet Farm
26. Dani Burtsfield at Doing the Work that Matters
27. Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
28.
29. Fran at lit bits and pieces
20. Michelle Kogan