Snowflakes

 

Recent snow in my neighborhood.

With snow covering most of the country, I think it's time again to share a poem Theo wrote when was a young boy. It's simple but describes fresh snowfall well. At least, I think so. (Of course, as his mother, I'm not biased. 😀)

Snowflakes

Snowflakes falling from the sky,
Landing softly on the ground,
Often times I wonder why,
They never ever make a sound.

Landing softly on the ground,

Snowflakes white and glistening,

Nothing ever to be found,

For someone who is listening.

P is for Poetry

April is National Poetry Month, so it seems appropriate to feature poetry for the letter P. I do not seek out poetry to read, but pick it up from time to time. A few years ago, my husband and I got a book that declared to include the 100 best poems of all time. We read it aloud to each other and I found it occasionally enjoyable and sometimes tedious. My speed is more the like the clever stylings of Shel Silversteen. However, I think my favorite poem of all time was one written by one of my childhood friends, Jon.

I was in sixth grade in Mrs. Greathouse's English class and we were writing poems. I dutifully wrote my totally unmemorable poem that I then read for the class. I was pleased with what I had written until Jon stood up and read his. Jon was one of those boys who was smart enough, but was always horsing around instead of doing his work. He tried to get away with the least amount of school work that he could. So not surprisingly, he only wrote a few lines. His poem went like this.

The thunder roared,

The lightning flashed,

A tree fell down, 

And a frog got smashed.

Even though the poem was very simple, I was impressed. With only a few words, he told a story that brought very clear images to mind. And it had a surprise ending. I was also impressed because he had spent most of the period goofing off while I slaved away on the assignment. That was the day, I developed a crush on Jon. The crush didn't last long, but the memory of his poem did.

A Second Look--April 2, 2014

As it should be, every week I am seeing more and more signs of spring. Plants are greening, flowers are blooming, peepers are peeping, and animals are birthing.  It's wonderful. All of this is happening despite the fact that we had more snow this week.

Here are a few things I saw this week during a Second Look.

Crocuses are popping up in various places now.

This picture of white crocus was taken at dusk.

We had a lot of rain this week which also encouraged fungus to grow.

However, some of that rain turned to snow. The cold, wet weather didn't stop this cardinal or starling from coming out.

I think the rain washed out these two bones from hiding.

Although there are no blooms yet, the daffodils are budding.

This nest has been completed, but it is still waiting for eggs.

The deer are enjoying all of the new green growth. Day lilies and azaleas are their favorites.

The most exciting thing I saw this week was this cow in labor at my back fence. The calf was stubborn, so the farmer had to go in with chains and pull it out. I chose not to watch this part.

And now for today's poem. This was written by Theo when he was about 10.

Signs of Spring

The last of winter fades away
Icicles shed their tears
Borne upon a sunlit era
Life awakens once again
In this never ending cycle

Trees grow green, grass is showing
Robins and bluebirds appear
New plants sprout, old ones awaken
New infants to all animals
A time of plenty

Rejoice! For it is Spring!

Our Trip and a Poem

Since April is National Poetry Month, I have been posting poems then and again. Today I am posting a poem about our trip to Boston this past weekend. We were visiting my sister-in-law and her family. She has been ill and we were hoping that this visit might buoy her spirits. I hope that it did that for her. I know it did for us.

 Our Trip

Trip: From Baltimore to Boston to Belmont

Belmont: Home to little sister, big nephew, and bigger dad

Dad: Showed movies, gave directions, and told stories

Stories: About big brother and little sister

Sister: Modeled black, green, and blue hats

Hats: Protected from sunshine at sheep festival

Festival: Amazing dogs, Morris dancing, and beautiful day

Day: Day turned to evening and grill cooked steaks

Steaks: Carnivores were happy

Happy: Everyone was happy with trip

Trip: From Belmont to Boston to Baltimore

Scenes from the Sheep Sheering Festival

Ponderings of Theodore--the Early Years

In honor of National Poetry Month this month, I am posting a poem then and again. Today's poem is one Theo wrote in elementary school about our cat, Lucy.

Lucy came to us as a kitten with her brother, Lucky. They were fairly typical kittens that liked to jump, pounce, and leap at anything that moved. However, Lucy had an her own special extra talent-chewing. She chewed paper and she chewed metal grates. She chewed strings. Actually, she cut strings. One bite and they were in two pieces. It was like she had a pair of scissors in her mouth. And shoe strings were her favorite. Many times we would start to lace up our shoes and realize that one or both of our strings were in two pieces. Eventually, we learned to hide our shoes because Lucy didn't grow out of this chewing/cutting phase for a while. Here's Theodore's comment about this situation.

It wasn't long after this that Lucy developed her scissor skills.

Strings

Lucy ate my shoe strings.

Now my shoes I can't string.

Because there's too little string,

To string up my shoe strings.

Simple Poetry

In honor of National Poetry Month, I will be posting a favorite poem then and again during April. As you might guess, most of them will be works from Theo's early years. However, today I'm going to share a poem by someone else that impressed and surprised me when I first heard it as it still does today.
____________________________________________________________________________________

I was in sixth grade in Mrs. Greathouse's English class and we were writing poems. I dutifully wrote my totally unmemorable poem that I then read for the class.  I was pleased with what I had written until Jon stood up and read his. Jon was one of those boys who was smart enough, but was always horsing around instead of doing his work. He tried to get away with the least amount of school work that he could. So not surprisingly, he only wrote a few lines. His poem went like this.

The thunder roared,

The lightning flashed,

A tree fell down, 

And a frog got smashed.

Even though the poem was very simple, I was impressed. With only a few words, he told a story that brought very clear images to mind. And it had a surprise ending. I was also impressed because he had spent most of the period goofing off while I slaved away at the assignment. That that was the day, I developed a crush on Jon. The crush didn't last long, but the memory of his poem did.