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I am celebrating another week of poetry. This was testing week. I had the time (while monitoring a small group of 5th graders) to read and to write. I spent some time with my new favorite poetry book, Gold by Barbara Crooker. A poet-blogger friend recommended it. I love Barbara’s style. I sat with the poem At VCCA, I Hear a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, and Think of Martha Silano. I used the line This morning deliquesces. I had a dictionary nearby, so I looked up deliquesces. Then jumped over to the J’s. I found some great J words: jazz, jay, jettison, joyful.
I love playing with words. Thanks for being a part of my month of ABC’s in poetry.
I wish Storybuilder would appear in WordPress, but you have to click the link to see it.
Jabber
The blue jay jazzes up to the birdbath
looks left, then right
bobs his head up and down
jettisons oak leaves and pollen curly Qs
lifts his nutcracker beak
to let the water flow down his throat.I watch from the porthole of my kitchen,
think I should clean it today. This king
of jays shouldn’t have to drink dirty water.
This morning deliquesces, softens edges
of the dark night. I want to join
Mr. Jay making his daily rounds,
here and there, collecting
for his new nest. I would gather
blossoms from the fruit tree,
place their fragrance in your path
to let joyful praise of simple beauty
give your heart wings.–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved
For this poem, I just wrote. I didn’t change much from the written draft to the typed one. This rarely happens to me. I did play around with the line breaks. I enjoy reading about other poet’s processes. Amy Ludwig VanDerwater shares her process on her site The Poem Farm. At the Two Writing Teachers, Betsy Hubbard shares a process she learned from Georgia Heard. I celebrate being a part of a community that learns together.
This is beautiful! I love him being “This king of jays” as he “jazzes up to the birdbath.” And the idea of gathering nesting materials with “Mr. Jay” just sings to my own heart. I will think of this when I see my next Jay, Margaret…
It may have just come from your heart….and mind …but your word choices are divine and magical…..I had to look up “deliquesces,” but I am glad I did!
I had to look up deliquesces too…and now it may be one of my new favorite words. I love the process and I love watching the poem unfold on Storybuilder. Thanks Margaret! (By the way, I’m sharing your Sunday Digital Literacy Round Up like crazy!!!!) 🙂
Deliquesces – what a great word! Your poetry is just divine. I love following you!
I love the idea of you making daily rounds with the jay, Margaret. And like the way the J words come together in beautiful poem. “jazzes up to the birdbath” is terrific.
I just started a Georgia Heard book today. Love her. This is a wonderful poem. You have so much talent.
Hi, Margaret. Your opening line drew me in. We have a blue jay who’s been hanging around our back yard. He definitely jazzes up the scenery.