My students and I have been writing to Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s daily prompts at The Poem Farm. I usually write alongside my students, so some days I have three poems done because I teach 3 different groups of kids. On Monday, when we were writing using word play, I started writing at school number one about bees.
Dawson, 4th grade, helped me think about rhymes. He told me that bees carry pollen in their mouths and spit it back and forth with other bees until it becomes honey, thus “honey primers.”
I turned to bee research and RhymeZone.
At school number two, Chloe, 2nd grade, told me that a bee’s dance is called a waggle. Google confirmed it.
Last month, I had a bee incident in my classroom at school number 2 that caused a curse word to come out of my mouth, thus “cursing singer.” This incident happened in March, so I sliced about it here.
My students responded with pleasure at my completed poem. They exclaimed “Boomchakalaka.” Great word play for the ending!
Bees
hullabaloo
on flowering trees
humming,
drumming,
buzz-strumming.Bees
hokey-pokey
through pollen fields
persnickety climbers,
expert mimers
honey primers.Bees
waggle-dance
in the hive
insect communication
tapping out dictation
pointing to a destination.Bee–one bashful bee
squirming
in my hair
angry stinger
hand slinger
cursing singer.Boomchakalaka!
I am writing ekphrastic poetry this month for National Poetry Month. Michelle Kogan is an poet-illustrator I’ve met through Poetry Friday. Usually I start with the image to inform the poem. This poem came before the illustration, but I knew Michelle would have one that fit just right. Thanks, Michelle.
Love the word play in your poem and your references to dance. Even without the lovely art work I could imagine it all.
The poem and image are wonderful. I love the sounds of your poem and that you wrote it w/ students. I’m also writing a poem a day, and it’s all new to me (poem writing, that is), and I’m enjoying following Amy’s Orion posts.
I agree with your students, “Boomchakalaka.” And I agree with you, “Great word play for the ending.” Michelle’s painting is gorgeous! It’s great to see how Amy’s and Michelle’s individual work comes together to birth a poem in your writing — a good example, I think, for students to see how writing is a melding of words, thoughts, art, ideas from different sources, often unlikely combinations.
Delightful! I loved learning how your students contributed their bee knowledge and that ending line. The word choice and play in your poem is rollicking fun! “Hullabaloo”, “hokey-pokey,” “waggle-dance.” Wow!
What a fun poem, Margaret! I love all the rhymes and motion. Boomchakalaka indeed!
This is so much fun! Boomchakalaka! (Also, I think your bee post in March might be the first one of yours I read – I remember it well!)
Oh, I enjoyed your poem so much and the word – Boomchakalaka! I want to find ways to use it tonight and tomorrow! I just bought Amy’s book for my summer reading and thought I might try to use it join Poetry Friday myself.
Great idea. The book is full of inspiration and PF is a great community to join.
This is so wonderful–I love the word play. This one begs to be read aloud. And I also love learning new words!
Such a fun play with words and an especially fun topic too! Love how you weaved in your classroom incident as well. Your rhyming is spectacular!
Your poems FANTASTIC Margaret, I love it! I read the backstory post too. Thanks for sharing my “Towering Tulip” hope the bee only gets as close as this picture.
You know how much I like this poem! Thank you to you and your students for joining me this month – it makes the whole affair feel much less lonely. Your students are so darn lucky to have you as their teacher. xxxx