Happy Poetry Month!

It’s lovely to be back for another Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem! This is my seventh year participating in this wonderful event, and it never gets old. Thanks to Irene Latham for keeping us in suspense year after year!

This time around, Irene, Liz Steinglass, and Heidi Mordhorst cooked up a new twist: we were to record our first impressions of how Liz’s first line struck our imagination and what we thought the poem might become. Then we were instructed to hide this reaction and bring it back out on our day.

Liz posted her first line on April 1: Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched. I dutifully jotted down my initial thoughts and am looking at them again for the first time now:

I love that Liz has started us off with a solid nature image, and my initial hope is that the poem continues on this nature-related trajectory. In past years we tended to create wayward, accident-prone protagonists who wandered the earth in a dreamy haze, so it would be an interesting change to keep going in the more grounded direction Liz has given us. After all, there are so many possibilities for imagery, lovely language, plot twists, drama, danger — and yes, perchance a dream — even for a little seed.

It has not gone the way I imagined! There are parties and games and coyness, and it seems our protagonist is a bit of a jet-setter (owl-setter?). Jas has also begun a poem, but at this late hour, I think it’s time for little rootlets to collect their wordgifts and scamper back to bed.

So with the addition of closed quotations, I’m going to try to start gathering the tendrils and steering them toward home … although I admit to being slightly flummoxed.

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Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched.
Oh, what wonderful dreams she had!

Blooming in midnight moonlight, dancing with
the pulse of a thousand stars, sweet Jasmine
invented a game.
“Moon?” she called across warm honeyed air.
“I’m sad you’re alone; come join Owl and me.
We’re feasting on stardrops, we’ll share them with you.”

“Come find me,” Moon called, hiding behind a cloud.

Secure in gentle talons’ embrace, Jasmine rose
and set. She split, twining up Owl’s toes, pale
moonbeams sliding in between, Whoosh, Jasmine goes.
Owl flew Jasmine between clouds and moon to Lee’s party!
Moon, that wily bright balloon, was NOT alone.
……………………………………………..Jas grinned,

………………………………………………………stretched,

……………………………………………………………..reached,

……………………………………………………………………wrapped

…………………………………………………………………a new,

………………………………………..around……….tender
…………………………………………………rootlet

a trellis Sky held out to her, made of braided wind and song.
Her green melody line twisted and clung.

Because she was twining poet’s jasmine, she
wiggled a wink back at Moon, and began her poem.
Her whispered words floated on a puff of wind,
filled with light and starsong. “Revelers, lean in –
let’s add to this merriment a game that grows
wordgifts for Lee. He’s a man who knows
selection, collection, and wisely advising
these dreamers, word-weavers, and friends.”

Jas enfolded Moon-Sky-Owl into the cup of her petals     

***

And now I hand the poem over to my poetry pal Buffy Silverman, who I hope will figure out what to do from here.

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What Is the Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem?

For those who may not know, the Progressive Poem is a yearly event conceived and hosted by poet Irene Latham. Each day, the poem travels to a different blog, and the blogger adds his or her line. You never know where the poem will end up, but it’s always a fascinating experience. At the end of the month, Irene polishes the poem and adds a title and — ta-da! — we have a collective poem written by thirty poets!

                                       FOLLOW ALONG!
This is where the poem has been and where it’s going still…

April

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