One Word Poem

I recently delighted in reading Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word by Bob Raczka. As I was writing a review about it on my book review blog, I suggested that it would be a good book to use in the language arts classroom to inspire and challenge students to compose their own. Of course, I had to try it and this is what I came up with:

Labradors
Lab        s
              s
            o
       ra
     br    o
        ad
     b ad
       rad
               s
l            o
    b         s

Translation:

Labradors
Labs
soar
broad
bad
rad
slobs

Photographic Evidence:

Book Spine Poetry II

 How to Grow Up and Rule the World

Head Games

Delirium

The Sweetest Thing

A Certain Strain of Peculiar

Ok, so now I'm looking at my book shelves in a whole new way thanks to Travis over at 100 Scope Notes.

First Warm Day

Just a day ago
tender nibs pierced the surface
warm days will do that.

I wish I took a before photo. I spotted the shoots when I had my dogs out in the backyard, and of course, did not have my camera. Temperatures hit 77 (!) yesterday and when I came home from work, found this in my garden.

Book Spine Poetry

Travis over at 100 Scope Notes is collecting centos made with titles of books. Here's the first one that I created using some of the books on my "to be read pile."

Because of Mr. Terupt
Sean Griswold's Head
Kick
Beautiful Creatures
Across the Universe

Snow Night

Snow fell, wind quieted
revealing lacy branches
lighting, not looming.

No Snow Day

The snow politely
waited until school started
on a Friday morn.

Failure

Vacation over
no pix or haiku all week,
resolution fail.

Birding

Fog shrouded the marsh

blanketing the waterfowl

disguising them all.

I went on my first birding outing today. The B.C. Audubon Society hosts a trip at the Meadowlands twice a month. The weather forcast was dire and the fog hung quite heavy on the water. Visibility was not great. The NYC skyline was barely visible. It looked really cool, but was not conducive to a photo. 

I was amazed by the collective knowledge of the leaders. They really know their birds! Where I saw ducks, they were pointing out buffleheads and ruddies and three kinds of mergansers! I learned so much. I also learned that birding is not hiking. I got no real exercise. Still, I'd like to do it again.

1/1/11

I hereby resolve

To compose haiku daily

In the coming year.

and

To take a photo

That represents a piece of

My world, thoughts, feelings.