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Monday, April 9, 2012

Another Poem of Goodbye To Childhood

    Slice of Life Is Enjoyed Every Tuesday with Stacey and Ruth at the Two Writing Teachers blog.


This is the fourth poem in my personal project about different ways of looking at children (mine, others, and grandchildren, too) growing up.  I’ve chosen to do a series of poems at different stages in children's lives, essentially saying goodbye each time.  I hope to put them together in a book with pictures of my grandchildren (10 ½, almost 3, 7 months) and children at the particular stage I am describing in the poem.  Part of this comes from my talks with my daughter and the children growing and changing so fast.  Another part is that I love telling stories through poetry, and I love poems of goodbye, so I thought this would be a good way to combine both passions.  It's nice to have a goal and an audience to write for.



(4)
If you choose,
you can run down the block,
or hop
and skip.
There seems
nothing today you
cannot do.
I like the friendtimes,
playtimes with Bobby,
Sally or Mike.
I love the times
full of noisy rolling giggles and jokes,
the times we look at worms
and butterflies and bees.
I like watching the exacting work
with Legoes and Grandpa.
I put them in my
childtimes snowglobe
to keep frozen the scene
for future reference.

                                 ----------------------------------------------------------
And-Don't forget to check on the Poetry Tag Group shown at the right!  And look at Jama Rattigan's blog post at Jama's Alphabet Soup  to discover so many Poetry sites in the kidlitosphere doing wonderful things!  Cathy, at Merely Day By Day, is joining Mary Lee, at A Year of Reading in a poem a day this month. Other daily poem writers include Amy at The Poem Farm, and Donna at Mainely Write.

56 comments:

  1. Your poems leave me thinking and reflecting. Congratulations - I read Two Writing Teachers. The book Poem Crazy is on my to read list!

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    1. Thanks, Ruth. It's really a terrific book, I think. I hope you like it too!

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  2. I put them in my
    childtimes snowglobe
    to keep frozen the scene
    for future reference.

    This is exactly what I was thinking about when I sliced tonight! Only not as succinctly as you did here...really lovely poem, Linda.

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    1. Thanks, Tara. I'm looking forward to your post now!

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  3. What a great project Linda and one the children in your life, both young and old, will treasure

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    1. Thank you Anne. I am excited to work on it!

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  4. childtimes snowglobe - what an image
    This poem had joyfulness to it.

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    1. Thanks Terje. Great to hear that you like it.

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  5. Freezing Grandpa in there too, makes for a nice snow globe memory to look back on. Your kids and grand kids are going to love that you did this for them. Lovely poem again!

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    1. The photo pleased me very much. I had written the poem & there it was-perfect for what was in my mind. Thanks, Donna.

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    1. I agree-fours are so special. They can do a lot, yet are so very sweet. Thanks Mary Lee!

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  7. Your picture is itself like a snowglobe capturing forever a cherished moment in time between generations. Your words support the strong and powerful visual image.

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    1. Thanks Anita. I'm happy you agree that the photo works with the words. I loved finding it.

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  8. I love this poem and the images it brings up. Beautiful.

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    1. Just like your 'capture' of the boys which is special too. Thanks Katherine!

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  9. We're all going to want a copy of this book, you know. You write such beautiful poetry and I always love the pictures that go along with the poems. Just the right glimpses into your life.

    Thanks for your comment on yesterday's blog. I just took a couple of days off. Still have a small case of writer's block, so nothing I have written felt "worthy" of publishing. Plus, we opened the cabin over the weekend and were just busy!

    Hope all is well with you!

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    1. Glad to hear from you, Deb. Thank you for the words, and glad to hear you are back at the lake!

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  10. Love the poem, love the idea! Your poems will "freeze" the time for your grandchildren as well!

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    1. Thank you for that verb! You are so right about the freezing in time, what I'm working hard to do.

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  11. You have preserved the exuberance of a four year old perfectly. The world is theirs to explore and friends abound. Wonderful!

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    1. As I wrote earlier, fours are such a special age; I remember doing those fun things with my grandson, especially outside! Thanks, Elsie.

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  12. Love the exacting work of Legoes with Grandpa. The snowglobe image is perfect for freezing all these beautiful moments in time. Really enjoying all the poems you're doing for this project!

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    1. Thanks Jama-it is so motivating to have this goal of writing.

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  13. "I put them in my childtimes snowglobe"! You have such a way of capturing life with your words. I love this line...I think of my children when I read this. My hope is that I can capture their childtimes snowglobes through their journals and scrapbooks...there is not enough time right now-which frustrates me sometimes!
    I love your poem...your book is going to be awesome-I predict it will be a best seller!

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    1. I suspect you will find the time when needed, Amy. It's nice that you will have the journals and scrapbooks to pull from. That is some of what I'm doing, reviewing old scrapbooks and some work saved from school, etc. Thanks for the compliment, Amy.

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  14. Me too! I love this "my childtimes snowglobe". I may just lift that line.

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  15. Thanks Kristi-it brings up many memories, doesn't it?

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  16. I envy your ability to use words to give me the picture, the feel, the love of your experiences. I like, so many, was touched by "my childtimes snowglobe". Beautiful!

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    1. Thanks Seney. I appreciate your comment. There are lots of pictures in our minds just waiting to blossom, aren't there?

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  17. I agree with all of the others, "my childtimes snowglobe" gave me such a vivid picture and I think how I want to capture my granddaughters in that snowglobe. Thank you for your beautiful poem. I know your children and grandchildren will cherish this book when it's finished.

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    1. Thank you Judy. I wish there were time to capture all the snowglobe pictures in my mind. I am loving doing this for the future.

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  18. ooh, I love the snowglobe image! I also love "noisy rolling giggles". Such a sweet poem!

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    1. Young kids just dissolve into giggles & fall right on the floor so easily. I wish I was that agile when I am laughing! Thanks, Jennifer!

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  19. I love the playfulness and rhythm I felt in this line: "friendtimes,/playtimes with Bobby,/
    Sally or Mike." Four is one of my favorite ages and you've captured that silly, serious and super-hero feel of four so well. What a delight. Thank you for sharing it today.

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    1. Oh, you've reminded me of the 'cape' era too. Isn't it just the most fun to watch kids play? Thank you, Lee Ann.

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  20. These would make such great graduation presents for children. I wish you had thought of it for me earlier. lol Your grandchildren are so blessed.
    I hope all is well.
    Tammy

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    1. But Tammy, you could write one early one & then that final before graduation. I know this is a tender time for you too!

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  21. What a wonderful community of responses. It's so wonderful to publish to an authentic world right? I'm so happy to join the chorus. Poem Crazy is one great text for inspiration.
    I'm thinking snow globes too
    Bonnie

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    1. Thanks Bonnie. I have loved Poem Crazy & happy to give a copy as a prize! You have filled several snow globes by now haven't you?

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  22. Beautiful! I love the snow globe part and the way I can imagine everything so vividly. It makes me want to scoop up my kids and give them a good, tight squeeze.

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    1. I hope you do every chance you get, Robin. Time moves more quickly than we imagine even. Thanks!

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  23. Lovely. Really captures the age! "The exacting work of Legoes and Grandpa" - this was the world of my boys at four years of age, and always a favorite in the classroom. I know this is a very dear memory of your husband.

    Linda, I found myself thinking of you and this incredible book of poems when I was traveling with my high schooler over spring break, to visit colleges; there is simply no end to the "goodbyes" in parenting, is there? We will need a poem for every year!

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    1. You are so right, Maureen, a poem for every time/year is about right, although I have chosen certain areas to focus on. I think there will be a time when I am finished, but I'm not sure exactly when yet. Thank you!

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  24. I love the "childtimes snowglobe." What if we were able to have a collection of scenes from our childhood? What would we collect? What would we save? Linda, you beautifully captured childhood.

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    1. I know one thing I collect & I don't think kids do it anymore. We created endless 'clubs', with rules of joining, playing, themes, etc. Did you ever do that? I would put memories of clubs into my snowglobe! Thanks, Cathy!

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  25. These poems are so wonderful. I love how you are documenting these changes in your grandchildren's lives. The idea of capturing these moments and freezing them in a snowglobe is perfect.

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    1. Thank you Karen. I think I'm going all the way up, & adding some of my children's goodbyes too. I'm not sure I can wait so many years till the littlest gets to be a teen, or?

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  26. This poem is a sculptured smile, frozen in time as you have put it so beautifully. The snow globe reference is amazing. Your book will be treasured by your family. What a meaningful gift you are giving. I also love Cathy's questions above, it got me wondering what I would put in my collection of snow globes if given the chance.

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    1. Thank you Betsy. It is a great question, isn't it? She's already got me thinking about my own life. I have written a lot of certain memories, but there are others...

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  27. I love the childtimes snowglobe. You have a lot of those! This is a(nother) snapshot of a memorable moment in time!

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    1. Thank you. I suspect everyone has a few pictures to capture in their lives.

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  28. Linda, I think your poetry has always been your strongest writing, but lately it is beyond breathtaking. I know that is a figurative description of something amazing, but I really find myself completely still, not taking any breaths when I come out of one of your poems. I just imagine what an incredible gift of words and pictures these books will be for your grandchildren. You will be eliciting tears for years to come! (the good kind, of course) Thanks also for including some of the pics of your family for us too.

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  29. Christy, your words fill me up. Thank you for the compliment.

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  30. This series of poems holds so many precious memories. Even though they are written as "goodbyes" they are really potential"hellos"- hello again to a time remembered just when we need or want to revisit it, and the promise of the next stage coming in the next poem. As we read about your family, the images the words conjure are universal and immediately transform into our own memories, too. So glad you are sharing!

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  31. I love this poem, Linda, truth be told, I love all your poems - they come from a place of truth and groundedness. Thank you for sharing this and the photo is simply gorgeous! :)

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