In My Hand
Photo by Amy LV
Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.
Students - I have been busy. Happy busy. It's almost time for my book to come out, and with that comes a lot of fun busy. (See the giveaway information at the top left corner here!) But such busyness takes away from good, disciplined writing time. And I am trying to get back to that. Today's poem came after lots of staring and lots of writing about normal things I have done over the past two days. I kept writing and writing until I got myself into a writing mood (it was not easy because I've been away) and finally I did.
For me, writing is a lot about trust. If you sit there and work, a poem may want to keep you company. It may decide it likes you. Or it may feel sorry for you and want to wrap its wordy arms around you. Or it may play hide-and-seek with you for years. Or it just may hide. But should a poem land on your shoulder for a bit, a writer must be a good host, taking care of it, keeping it neat and feeding it new and wonderful words. It's a little like a pet, a poem is. You've got to love it. And if you are lucky, it will love you back.
Today's poem is not any special kind of form at all. You will find a few rhymes here and there, but they have no rhyme or reason. To make this poem sound good-to-me, I simply read it aloud again and again until I liked the way the words and lines played together, until I liked the way they felt in the air around me.
I am fascinated by buttons. Here are two older button poems:
Button in My Hand
Found Button
Do you have certain images that return to you again and again in your writing? If you're not sure, try writing more and then going back to reread your notebooks every few months. I bet that you will surprise yourself with the ideas that repeat over and over again.
In case you haven't gotten involved in the March Madness Poetry Competition over at Think Kid, Think!, Ed DeCaria brings us another season of poetry fun and celebration! Head over here to see the match-ups, read the poems, and vote for the poems you like best.
I am tickled to welcome Angela Stockman to Sharing Our Notebooks, my blog about writers notebooks, this month. Visit here to take a peek inside her notebooks and leave a comment to be entered into a drawing to win one of her favorite books.
Jone is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Check it Out. Do check it out here and see what is happening poetry-wise in the Kidlitosphere today.... Happy Poetry Friday!
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