Poetry Challenge #254-Love is Kind
Because, as evidenced by our daily dose of news, kindness must be a learned behavior, July 27th has been designated National Love is Kind Day, a day set aside to “encourages you to become aware of how you are treating people, how people are treating you, and how you can become emboldened, supported, and empowered to lead the joyful and productive life.”
Poetry Challenge #254
Love Is Kind
Write an echo verse with “Love is Kind” as the theme.
An Echo Verse is one in which the last word or syllable in a line is repeated on the next line. In essence, that last word/sound is “echoed underneath to form a rhyming line, normally ending as the last line being the title to the poem.”
Below is an example of an Echo Poem YoungWriters.com.
Read it aloud and listen for the echo:
Set the theme of “Love is Kind” in your mind. Then, when you’re ready to begin:
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
After all, every day—especially on Love is Kind Day—What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love by Burt Bacharach! Hit it Dionne!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #253-Lolli-POP!
Lollipop, lollipop, oh lolly lollipop…
The very popular song Lollipop, written by Julius Dixson and Beverly Ross in 1958, used this line to ear worm its way onto #20 on the pop charts; and later, when the Chordettes covered it to #2 & #3 on Pop and R&B*
The song Lollipop originated when Julius Dixson was late for a songwriting session with Beverly Ross. He explained that his daughter had gotten a lollipop stuck in her hair, and that had caused him to be late. Ross was so inspired by the word "lollipop" that she sat down at the piano and produced a version of the song on the spot. —
Why the fixation on Lollipops? Because July 20th is National Lollipop Day, of course!
*Not to be confused with Lil Wayne’s Lollipop song: Lil Wayne - Lollipop (Audio) Ft. Static Major - YouTube
Here’s the perky Utube Video—Watch and Make this cute Lollies!
Poetry Challenge #253
Lolli-POP!
Lollipop, lollipop, oh lolly lollipop…
Read it aloud several times and listen to the L’s, the P’s, and the rolling rhythm.
Next, pick a different three-syllable word and make your own refrain, being sure to repeat a word or syllables.
Once you have your refrain, try to write at least 2 verses, repeating your refrain.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
All puckered up for a tasty read? Check out Rukhsana Khan’s Big Red Lollipop with art by Sophie Blackall.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #252-There Was a Good Old Cow . . .
A few years back on a tour of Margaret River, Australia’s wine region (near Perth), instead of the expected—kangaroos, wallabies, boomerangs—we stumbled onto painted cows. Everywhere! Along with the cows was some utterly ridiculous Moo-ology. (If you’re curious, I wrote an article about being on the Margaret River Cow Parade entitled “Where’s the Cow, Mate?” for Now! Jakarta Magazine. Moooore on that in the magazine (which I highly recommend!)
For today, because it’s National Cow Appreciation Day, July 13th, here’s some Moo-ology:
“MOO-OLOGY FROM MARGARET RIVER
Cow-operation for co-operation
Sh-udder, as in “I sh-udder to think about it.”
Cow-herd, as in “don’t be such a cow-herd, try some more…”
Cow-L-neck, as in “I’m chilly; I think I’ll change into my cow-L-neck sweater.”
Curd-yah, as in “curd-yah please mooove out of the way, I’m trying to snap a picture.”
Let’s moooooooove it!
Better hoof it on out a here. Cheers, Mate!”
Poetry Challenge #242
It Was a Good Old Cow . . .
Write an elegy about a cow. An elegy is a poem or song expressing sadness or grief. Write your elegy in three parts.
An elegy is lyrical but does not necessarily rhyme.
Part #1 Express grief
Part #2 Praise for the departed
Part #3 Comfort and support
If you’re at a loss as to how to begin, begin with this snippet of an elegy my mom used to sing to my brother and me on road trips:
It was a good old cow . . .
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
And if you’re really keen on cows, this month’s Visual Verse Anthology prompt might really mooove you… But hurry, submissions must be in by July 15th!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #251-Roll of the Dice
Know who coined the idiom “The die is cast”?
If you answered Shakespeare, thinking it one of the many idioms and phrases William Shakespeare coined for his plays, think again. It was Julius Caesar, and no not in the Shakespeare play either. The real Julius Caesar.
Technically, according to my go-to, Writing Explained.org, Roman historian, Suetonius, said, what Caesar said was Alea iacta est, the Latin phrase meaning “die is cast.” The year was 49 B.C and Caesar had just entered Italy with his army, thus starting a civil war.
Since then, the saying “the die is cast,” has come to mean that the dice—literal six-sided gaming cubes—had been thrown and whatever numbers had come up were the numbers that would be played. For Caesar it meant that it was too late to stop the war from beginning. He had already disobeyed orders, and he must win the war if he wanted to keep his life. On that cheery note, let’s toss some dice!
Poetry Challenge #251
Roll The Dice!
Topics for poems are all around us, but sometimes we don’t know how to start.
This is a simple exercise you can use as many times as necessary to create a structure for a poem.
Roll a pair of dice. The lower number indicates how many words should be on each line. The higher number indicates how many lines in the poem.
(If you don’t have dice, you can use the A-6 cards in a deck of cards. Or use a number generator on the computer. Or make slips of paper with the numbers 1-6 on them and draw numbers from a hat…)
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
Warm up the dice with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s song “Roll the Dice”! It’s a winner!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #250 Crunchy Toffee
Butter Crunch, English Toffee, crumbled Heath Bars . . . just thinking about it makes my teeth tingle. If like me, you love almond butter crunch anything, any time, any way, this is your lucky day! National Almond Butter Crunch Day (June 19th)!
So nice of the powers that be to declare gorging on crumbled almonds, toffee bits and chocolate mandatory!
See’s Toffee-ettes® are my fav! Hint-Hint!
Poetry Challenge #250
Butter Crunch
Almond Butter Crunch. It sounds good. It tastes good. If you repeat the words, they have a distinct rhythm—especially if you repeat the last word several times.
CRUNCH crunch Crunch Crunch
CRUNCH crunch Crunch
CRU uNCH . . .
Write a sound rhythm poem using the words “almond butter crunch”. You can add other ingredients: maybe other kinds of ice cream or ingredients for a sundae.
Use repetition to get the beat you want.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
And because you know you want to, treat yourself to some Almond Butter Crunch. This Almond Popcorn Crunch recipe by Queenkungfu is only half the calories—after all it is popcorn!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #249-Go For the Os
Fries or Rings? I go for onion rings every time. If like me, you go for the Os, then this is your lucky day! Happy National Onion Ring Day (June 22nd)!
Folks go round and round and round about who came up with the delish idea to batter-dip and deep fry rings of onion.
According to Spirit of the Holiday website:
Texas-based restaurant chain Kirby’s Pig Stand claims it played a big part in onion rings’ craze. Give me an O! Oh yum!
Ohhhh No Mooooooo! Kirby’s Pig Stand is long gone.
Give me an O! Oh yum, I want some!
Want Crunch? Watch and Listen!
Poetry Challenge #249
Go For the Os!
Write a circular poem.
Because the best onion rings are crunchy, use words with lots of hard C & K sounds so they really crunch.
Because the best onion rings—whether we like it or not—are fatty, add extra descriptive words to make your poem extra fatty. For, as everyone knows, when it comes to onion rings—and some poems too—flavor wise, fat’s where it’s at!
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just CRUNCH! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #248-Say Cheese!
I’ve got a Nikon Camera/I’d love to take a photograph…
If you remember that song, then you probably recall cameras as something other than an app on your smartphone. You might even, like me, have one tucked into a drawer somewhere… Nikon, Cannon, Polaroid, Camera Obscura!
Well dang, pull out your old box camera—or your big lens—and give it a good dusting for today is National Photography Day. That’s right, every June 15 the North American Nature Photography Association, otherwise known as NANPA, along with millions of photographers go snap happy!
Poetry Challenge #248
Say Cheese!
Find a photo from at least ten years ago (more is better). Study the photo.
If there are people in it, who are they?
What are they doing?
What might they be thinking?
Where is the photo taken? Are there buildings? Trees? Plants? Who was the photographer? Who wasn’t in the picture?
Write a free verse poem telling the story of this photograph.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
Still baffled? The song is Kodacrome by Paul Simon. Here’s a snappy version sung by the Muppets!
Click to the Muppets singing Kodachrome
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #247-Upsie-Daisy
Forget your troubles, come on, get happy…*
National Upsy Daisy Day (June 8)** is “set aside to encourage you to face the day positively and to get up gloriously, gratefully and gleefully each morning.”
Upsidaisy
Ups-a-daisy
Upsie-daisy
Upsy-daisy
Oops-a-daisy
Oopsy-daisy
Hoops-a-daisy
However you spell it, the term “upsy-daisy” dates back to the mid 1800s. (Maybe some nursemaid sometime said it to a child named “Daisy” while lifting her after a fall, and it stuck.) It just sounds happy. Try it “Upsie-Daisy!”
“You’ll find the life is more worthwhile if you just smile.”
Poetry Challenge #247
Upside Down and Right Side UP
In honor of Upsie-Daisy Day write a five-line poem beginning and ending with the same line.
And, in honor of the day, try to include the word “daisy” in your poem.
When your finished read your poem from the top down and then from the bottom up. Which view do you prefer?
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
If you need a boost, watch the Upsy Daisy Day video featuring “Bring You a Daisy a Day” song by Hank Snow.
*Judy Garland sang in Summer Stock (1950, Saul Chaplin), Forget your troubles, come on, get happy….
**Stephanie West Allen created National Upsy Daisy Day in 2003. Her desire in creating the celebration was to “make humor, laughter, and a positive attitude part of the Upsy Daisy Day way.”
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .