April is #NPM18 - National Poetry Month.
There is not a particle of life which does not bear poetry within it. - Gustave Flaubert
Also celebrating today with Ruth Ayres and others who share.
And, see what many are doing for Poetry Month, by looking HERE at Jama Rattigan's post at Jama's Alphabet Soup.
My goal for Poetry Month: A haiku diary that may include other forms related to haiku, like haibun, haiga. monoku or renga. My first poem speaks of why I am handwriting the poems.
April’s garden,
growing poems
on lined pages
Linda Baie
Poem TenPoem Eleven
Poem Twelve
Poem Thirteen
Here's Poem Fourteen:
It's a special second birthday celebration. Poets celebrated the 80th birthday of Lee Bennett Hopkins yesterday on Poetry Friday!
Today is my granddaughter Ingrid's ninth birthday. She is a dear granddaughter, as are my other grandchildren, continuing to grow up year by year. I am grateful for them being in my life. I added the feelings to Milne's poem I imagine many kids have, but we adults may not as we watch our children, our students, too, and our grandchildren growing so fast!
age six |
Now We Are Six
When I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
When I was four,
I was not much more.
When I was five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six now
forever and ever.
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
When I was four,
I was not much more.
When I was five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six now
forever and ever.
above poem by
yesterday, almost nine |
Yet she did not stop
moved on to seven,
again kept moving.
though it was heaven.
Another year passes
then she was eight.
Now that year kept on -
marked off every date.
Now, Ingrid’s nine,
she loves this age,
at least so far
till she again turns the page.
Linda Baie (C) All Rights
I love your heart tug coda to Milne's poem, Linda!
ReplyDeleteWishing you many great page turns with all your grands. HB! to this April gal :)
Thanks, Jan, I love your wishes!
DeleteI love the pic of six year old Ingrid and your reflections that there is always more to come. The pic of almost nine Ingrid is delightful. Many happy wishes come with those growing-up gifts. Happy Birthday, Ingrid! Your years number nine and you're perfectly fine!
ReplyDeleteChange is good, but I also miss that girl of years ago, too. Thanks, Ramona, it will be a wonderful day I'm sure. I'll share your wishes with Ingrid!
DeleteHappy birthday, Ingrid! It seems that they "turn the page" too quickly.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alice, I agree about that 'turning the page'!
DeleteLove your addition. Nine is a wonderful year. I've loved teaching nine-year olds. Still solidly comfortable as kids, yet so capable and thoughtful. Nine will be a year for Ingrid to treasure.
ReplyDeleteFun to hear from a teacher of the nine-year-olds. Ingrid definitely is still a 'kid' but there are signs of older, too. Thanks, Julieanne!
DeleteWhat a treasure to have poetry written by your grandmother. Such a special gift of love.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maria. It's a fun thing to do to capture some of their lives.
DeleteBeautiful Ingrid. I echo Maria's comment - what a treasure to have poetry written from your grandma.
ReplyDeleteI also write haiku on most days. It is one of my favorite writing practices. I adore your poems.
Thank you Trina. I love hearing that you write haiku, too. I've enjoyed working at it again this month!
DeleteCelebrating a birthday with two poems is very impressive Linda! I sometimes think about what life will be like when our two grandbabies are a bit older. It isn't that I wish the time away, but I do look forward to doing different things with them.
ReplyDeleteIt will come and you will enjoy that time, too. Every year with Ingrid and her sister has been a little different, and lovely. Thanks, Cheriee!
DeleteHappy birthday to Ingrid. What fun to extend a poem and add a bit more meaning. Six is great, but nine is divine. So many treats in this post, Linda. Thank you! (Maybe you can still sneak a game of Candyland in every now and then.)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cathy, maybe will play a few, especially when the younger sister is here with her, too!
DeleteYour poems are wonderful, Linda. Something so poignant about "no more Candyland."
ReplyDeleteI think the hardest part of watching them grow up may be seeing them become self-conscious. There is something so delightful about not being worried about what people think of you.
Thanks, Tabatha, I know what you mean. Young children are a joy to spend time with.
DeleteHappy birthday to Ingrid! Like Tabatha, I loved the line, "no more Candyland" It seems like each age has it's own goodbye and hello. I loved, too, how you extended AA Milne's poem- when I taught first grade, that poem was one of the first ones I read to kids. Lots of them memorized it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carol, love that you read the Milne poem to your students and love it, too. I wonder if a poem could be written about those "ages-stages"!
DeleteLove your poems! It is so fun to see children grow. But it always seems to go too fast! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andrea, it was a wonderful day!
DeleteLinda, with my college freshwoman gone and my 15 yo son towering over me during the scant hour (yes, HOUR--I've counted it up) I usually spend in the same room with him on any given day, this post, I am bereft. Your pics and poems of Ingrid are joyful and nostalgic. I think I'll go become a nanny...
ReplyDeleteI know your feeling, and this same day, My daughter-in-law sent a picture of my grandson going to prom! I'm glad you have those little ones to teach! Hugs to you for your changes, Heidi. Thanks!
DeleteThis makes me smile and tear up all at once ... thinking of my own girls and their growing up....
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen, and yes, I suspect this touches many ages.
Delete