So we're a week into National Poetry Month... how's everyone holding up? So much creativity flowing... I hope to catch up on my blog reading this weekend.
Real quick, I have to share my favorite pic from yesterday at Fay B. Kaigler:
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| Joyce Sidman & me (the person who photographed us said, "Smile, Poets!" And we did. :) |
I had such a great time... if you're curious, I live-tweeted from speeches made by Lois Lowry, Jacqueline Woodson, and Joyce Sidman. Search for the hashtag #USMCBF (University of Southern Miss Children's Book Festival).
But first, please join me in welcoming Janet Fagal, who is here to share the newest line in our Progressive Poem. Hi, Janet!
I am happy to be back as part of the Progressive Poem 2016 “team”. I loved watching the poem grow the first year and asked Irene in 2013 if she would host me since I do not have a blog. She has graciously agreed 3 times now. It is so interesting to see the poem grow, turn and sing. I don’t know about the other poets but I certainly spend a lot of time pondering what my line ought to be. Since I grew up on Long Island, the beach, the ocean and all things sandy hold fond memories. I feel a lot of responsibility to those who have started the poem but especially to those who follow. We have a nature poem, a poem of pondering and a poem of adventure, perhaps. Where will it go? I send it off to Margaret to see where she takes us next.
Thank you, Irene, for including me! I love watching this group poem grow.
A squall of hawk wings stirs the sky
A hummingbird holds and then hies
If I could fly, I'd choose to be
Sailing through a forest of poet-trees
A hummingbird holds and then hies
If I could fly, I'd choose to be
Sailing through a forest of poet-trees
A cast of crabs engraves the sand
Delighting a child's outstretched hand
If I could breathe under the sea
Delighting a child's outstretched hand
If I could breathe under the sea
I’d dive, I’d dip, I’d dance with glee
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Thank you, Janet! It's a pleasure to have you at Live Your Poem, and I'm so glad you are a part of our Progressive Poem yet again. :)
"Courtship (According to the Cat)" by Winslow Homer
"Courage" after Planting Corn by Stanley Mazur
"Orchard Barber Shop" after Gardener Pruning a Tree by Jacques Callot
"Gardener's Companion" after The Watering Can by Georges Seurat
For today's poem, I am focusing on the "eat" part of my theme... sort of! The piece I've selected is "Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit" by Paul Cezanne. My regular readers know I adore persona poems, so this newest should come as no surprise. Although it DID come as sort of a surprise to me... I started out trying to bring movement to this still life, but I just wasn't finding anything fresh... and I kept looking for some strange angle, some unusual way into the poem... voila! The plate! (It might actually be a bowl, but it's so shallow... and so unremarkable it didn't even make it into Cezanne's title of the piece, which gives me the freedom to call it a plate if I want to. :)
I Am the Plate
I am
the plate
that
sits
by
the jug
that
rests
full-bellied
on
the breakfast
table.
I
can hold on
to
nothing:
not
the apples,
the
pears,
the
lemon.
Not
time
nor
sunlight.
Not
even
this
poem.
Janet, I love your line. For me it continues the imaginative thread. I picture a mermaid, but not everyone will because your line allows readers to use their imagination.
ReplyDeleteIrene, Wow! I read through all of your poems for this project and I'm astounded! I just love them all but my most favorite is Orchard Barber Shop—Gardener's Companion is a close second! Nice job!
Janet, such a fun line: "dive, dip and dance with glee." I can't wait to see where our poem wanders this month.
ReplyDeleteIrene, I love the pic of you and Joyce Sidman! I'm hoping to go back and read your Tweets. Just caught up with your poems. My favorite is "Courtship (According to the Cat." My husband and I met on a blind date also. Happy Poetry Month!
Thank you, Penny. It is so interesting to see the completely unique path each year's poem has taken....Can't wait to see what is next and so grateful to Irene for organizing and helping me. And these poems of Irene's ...beautiful.
DeleteWhat fun to watch the progressive poem grow! I love not only the voice of the plate but also the discussion about finding a way into the poem. I'm happy to have some time today to try to catch up on all the wonderful April poetry posts!
ReplyDeleteThe PP is one of my favorites but as I said below on a comment, the online poetry world here is filled with such gems usually and especially this month. Irene's work is always a treasure as she is!!! I always feel blessed to be among the Poetry Friday and kids world poets.
DeleteTerrific action added, Janet! It keeps venturing into new territory. And, Irene, I like that end line so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda.....I really thought and thought about where to go with my line....this was not where I thought I was heading all day and then I landed on this one. Glad you like it. I love this plate poem of Irene's and that terrific photo with two wonderful poets and persons!
DeleteHi Janet--I love your addition with all your great d-verbs. Hi Irene--I'm really enjoying your Art Speak poems.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liz. You gave me a great opening. I wrote a gazillion lines and variations of each one. I drive myself a little nuts on this PP but love it. Each of the poems is pretty amazing and I am so glad Irene continues to sponsor this and just add so much to the kidlitosphere in general. Poetry love makes me happy!
DeleteOops. Didn't mean to press return yet. I feel for this poor plate who can't hang onto anything. : )
ReplyDeleteI love the movement and unwinding flow that travels down through your poem, thanks!
ReplyDeleteA nice transition to whatever comes next, Janet.
ReplyDeleteThis one is especially beautiful, Irene. Oh, those things we can't hold onto.
Thank you, Dori. The rhyming poem is always a bit tricky and in the PP format you don't get a second chance to adjust your line(s)! I hope Margaret likes it!! Today I had a kid stop me in the hall to ask me to explain what a "free verse" poem is all about. He's a 5th grader and I was subbing. So I gave him the basic description and talked about the challenges of being able to write a strong rhyming line. Did you see Sylvia Vardell's post yesterday with rhyming advice from some terrific poets? It is great. There is such gold online here in general but especially in April.
DeleteGlee is such a wonderful word to stop a stanza! Each line has made me smile!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you like that choice, Donna. I agree with someone who said that the poem seemed like it really was going to be a kid's poem this year. Any way it goes is always fine with me because I think the adventurous spirit of the PP poem each year is simply captivating and I am amazed at how they have worked and can stand alone.
DeleteA double treat with Janet's line and your persona poem. Absolutely delightful. :)
ReplyDeleteAs always, thank you, Jama! I do love Irene's poem!! So glad to be paired with her this way.
DeleteWonderful new line, Janet--I love the opening of this year's poem. And I love how you've captured the tilt and movement in this painting, Irene, and carried it over to your wonderful final line.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Buffy. I do love this year's opening, but I have loved the others, too. I find this intriguing. Easier than MM poetry, though. The sand crabs reminded me of you and Renee from last year!!
DeleteJanet, I do love the dipping d words. Thanks for sending it on to me, uh, when? tomorrow! Time to search the muse for inspiration.
ReplyDeleteIrene, love your art speaking poems and this tipping plate that is like so much in my life (the balls in the air that may soon come crashing down.)
Can't wait to read what you bring to this poem tomorrow, Margaret. It should be so interesting, I know.
DeleteLove your lively line, Janet! And Irene, the sort of melancholy tone of your plate is so...vivid. I feel sorry for him (it's definitely a him, to me).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laura. You got us off to a stunningly visual start!!! This is fun. And glad I am able to participate.
DeleteLovely progression going. What a melancholy plate. That's the power of the poem. You can't hold it, but it can hold a plate for eternity.
ReplyDeleteI am just watching the Progressive Poem and wondering wondering wondering where it will be by the time my line comes!
ReplyDeleteBrenda shares my thoughts about that plate and poetry!
I always look forward to your contribution, Mary Lee....it will be interesting to see where it will be by then.
DeleteThanks for the motion and the fun "d" sounds, Janet! This is a very playful poem thus far.
ReplyDeleteIrene, your poor plate is not terribly playful, but you've captured its angst and humble state. Great series!
I know, Robyn, such a different vibe from earlier years but that's the fun of this. And if one line is so tough (for me) I can't imagine being part of the poets for MM Poetry.....they were brave and talented.
DeleteEveryone is doing such wonderful series of poems... one could read all day and not keep up! Irene, I do love your untalented plate. There is something so endearing about the admission of lack.
ReplyDeleteThe fun part of this progressive poem is the writers explaining how they developed their line. Janet, your enthusiasm is contagious. (And, oh my, I'm up a week from today. I feel like a kid waiting for my turn at bat.)
It is nice to have so many talented poets chipping in on this poem. Thanks, Violet, can't wait to see where it will go and what you will add. I am so glad Irene started this!!
Delete"I am the plate" ...What an open gift on this Sunday morn to be reminded that holy detachment is a healthy way of life for a poet and a plate. Thank you for starting the poem in a light, fun, cumulative, circular effect, and ending it with a quick knockout punch!!! Hit me right where I need it, as I contemplate (struggling to actually implement) thinning out my accumulated possessions! God bless you! Many thanks for all your poetry sharings.
ReplyDeletep.s. Left this note on my reply to your comment on my site; not sure those replies ping back. Just want you to know that if you ever have a chance to read last week's poem/post, you'll see a big thank you to you at the end. In case you don't see the post, please just know that I am grateful for your influence. Peace. https://cbhanek.com/2016/04/01/lovely-lady-parasoled/
DeleteLove that photo of you and Joyce, Irene! I also love Janet's line in the progressive poem. It's the perfect fit, capturing the same joy as Diane's poet-trees line in the stanza above. Last but not least, it's been such a pleasure catching up with your ArtSpeak poems today. You're quite the story spinner! I'm especially fond of the your romantic poems, Courtship and Man, Reading. I was reading your plate poem today and thinking about how much rests on the word "can" in L8. The difference between being jealousy and empowerment.
ReplyDeleteThe action in your line is wonderful, Janet.
ReplyDeleteAnd Irene, your thoughtful poems matched with lovely art are a Gift.
Great photo from Fay. Kaigler - an event that sounds stupendously wonderful.
Thank you, Jan! Janet F. (Janet Clare on FB)
DeleteYou ARE a plate, Irene. And everything else. I think you are a shapeshifter!
ReplyDeleteJanet - your line with all of those 'd' sounds is delicious!
xx
Hello, Irene, and hi, Janet--
ReplyDeleteAs you can see I'm verrrrry late in following the ProgPoem this year, but I'm catching line by line so I can experience it the way punctual people have! I'm enjoying the stanzas with their different characters, and I'm a sucker for alliteration (who among us ain't?), so this works for me.
Love love your continued artspeak project, too, Irene. Now if I could just find that TimeTurner Hermione lent me, I could read them all....
I just saw I posted this on Facebook last year. I love your plate poem! <3
ReplyDelete