Monday, October 8, 2012

If I were my dog for just one day...

The Dogs of Heart Rock Farm - Cali and Sage in 2012
Photo by Amy LV


 
Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Our family laughs a lot when we watch and play with our two dogs. Cali is almost four, lovely, loving, and a bit serious.  Sage is only one, floppy, and as my Aunt Tom would say, "full of spit and vinegar!" They have a rollicking time together, and we have a blast loving and watching them.

Today's poem grew from a month-old notebook entry.  Usually, my notebook entries skip from idea to idea, thought to thought.  I just gather up as many little bits of braindust that I can find.  Then, later, I comb through them choosing something to stick with for a bit.  For today it was the image of a dog curling a tail around herself, just as Cali and Sage both do.

Notebook Entry Snip from September 11, 2012
 by Amy LV

To begin today's poem, I flipped through my notebook until I found something that struck me. Then, once on the page you see above, I reread those circled words, "I would love to be able to curl up in a tiny ball and wrap my big, fluffy tail around me." I thought about what other things I would do if I were a dog, played with rhymes, and wrote this poemlist.  (Have you ever wondered why dogs roll in dead things?  If I ever become a dog...at last I will know!)

This poem is nothing more than a rhyming list.  You'll notice that many poems that you read are lists, much like this one. Today's poem is also one super-long sentence, and the title is part of it.  If you listened to me read the poem, you may have noticed that I read the title right into the first line...with barely a pause at all.  This is because I used the rhythms in the title as part of the rhyme and meter scheme of the verse.  A  long pause would ruin the sound and song.

Update!  Shortly after this poem was posted, Matt Forrest, from Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme, shared an answer poem.  You can hear him read it here.  What do you think it might be about?

If you are interested in writing some list poems of your own, here is a list of some I have written.  It's fun to brainstorm all kinds of lists and then later come back and ask, "Hmmm...might this work as a poem?"

List Poems to Explore

If you are a notebook keeper, you will not want to miss Kate Messner's post over at Sharing Our Notebooks.  Looking into the notebooks of generous writers can give us ideas for our own writing.

FYI - Right now I am on the schedule to host this Poetry Friday.  But I have traded with Betsy Hubbard.  So if you  keep the calendar in your sidebar, please note that change. Poetry Friday on October 12 at Teaching Young Writers with Betsy Hubbard, and I will host here at The Poem Farm on November 30.

Please share a comment below if you wish.
To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.
Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes!
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , ,

1 comment:

  1. Linda BOctober 8, 2012 at 9:41 AM

    Truly you have described every perfect dog's life, Amy. I often wonder about those who live in city apartments-they miss a lot of fun! Great rhythm in this today.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)