The Poem Farm: Writing the Rainbow Poem #6

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Writing the Rainbow Poem #6 - Yellow Orange

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2017! Students - Each day of April 2017, I will close my eyes, and I will reach into my box of 64 Crayola crayons.

Aerial View of Crayola Box

Photo by Georgia LV

Each day I will choose a crayon (without looking), pulling this crayon out of the box. This daily selected crayon will in some way inspire the poem for the next day. Each day of this month, I will choose a new crayon, thinking and writing about one color every day for a total of 30 poems inspired by colors.

I welcome any classrooms of poets who wish to share class poems (class poems only please) related to each day's color (the one I choose or your own). Please post your class poem or photograph of any class crayon poem goodness to our fast-growing Writing the Rainbow Padlet HERE. (If you have never posted on a Padlet, it is very easy. Just double click on the red background, and a box will appear. Write in this box, and upload any poemcrayon sharings you wish.)

Here is a list of this month's Writing the Rainbow Poems so far:

March 30 - Pick a Crayon, Write a Poem - Project Introduction

(Comment on this 3/30 post for book drawing through 4/11)

April 1 - Misty - Inspired by Carnation Pink

April 2 - Each Morning - Inspired by Lavender

April 3 - Outside My Building - Inspired by Dandelion (!)

April 4 - Mr. B. - Inspired by Olive Green

April 5 - Once in a While - Inspired by Tumbleweed

And now...today's crayon. Yellow Orange!

In Between

by Amy LV

Students - I was hoping to choose a warm color for today's poem...and I did. I sat for a while wondering where this young character might see yellow orange in her apartment building. Then I remembered when I lived in New York City and how enchanted I was by the colors of plants I saw growing on fire escapes and too, at streetside shops. The bursts of color warmed my heart.

But who would grow a fire escape garden in this community? Well, I had to make Miss Johnson up. Truth be told, though, she may have grown from a real life Mr. Johnson, the school custodian from my own elementary school so many years ago.

Mr. Johnson was so kind to all of us children, and his office and cleaning supply room was like a jungle! He had tens of ferns and big blooming green trees and plants growing on every surface. I do not know if Mr. Johnson ever had any children, but he treated us (and those ferns) as if we were his very own kids.

Perhaps today, if you are Writing the Rainbow with me, you will make someone or something up. A wondrous part of writing is when we can surprise ourselves. We never do know everything we think or can imagine until we begin creating. And who knows...perhaps what you invent will be connected somehow to your own real life. Try to see if you can figure out how.

Colors can take us anywhere. And if you'd like to join in with us on our WRITING THE RAINBOW PADLET, please do! It is growing like crazy, with calendars and videos and poems and book suggestions. Please join us! We're only 1/6 of the way through our month-long poetry rainbow!

Don't miss the links to all kinds of Poetry Month goodness up there in my upper left sidebar. Teachers - tonight don't miss the below Twitter chat...so many wonderful poets!