Valentines, Friday Poetry and Cybils, oh my!

        Welcome everyone to our exciting end of the week, Poetry Friday.  I am so happy to be your host today.  The Cybils Awards were announced yesterday.  Congratulations to Laura Purdie Salas, winner of the 2013 Poetry Cybil for BookSpeak! Poems About Books, and to all the other winners!  The full list can be found here.  The finalists deserve another bit of love, too, and here is that list.
          And, I know Valentine's Day was yesterday, but I couldn't resist carrying it over just one more day!  Hope it was sweet for everyone!

             I've been much enamored of poet Laura Shovan's birthday countdown with postcards.   Find her at Author Amok if you haven't already.  I hope she won't mind if I sneak in a vintage Valentine postcard to welcome you to Poetry Friday.  As I've written in the past, my life these past months has involved moving and cleaning out, and in my house, that meant throwing out many postcards and other correspondence or memorabilia.  Don't worry, I kept a lot too!  In my 'keeping', I found a few old holiday postcards, still unused, so this one is for all of you, and especially Laura, on her way to a big birthday!  I wouldn't say the cupid is especially cute, but she is trying to be!  

         This has always been a favorite time of year when I taught my mixed group of middle-school students.   I shared, we studied, and then the students (and I) wrote love poems.  They could write to anyone, or anything, and despite some occasional reluctance, the poems were wonderfully fresh and creative.  I wish I could share some with you, but they have disappeared with the students.  Students wrote to elusive boyfriends or girlfriends, grandparents, pets, favorite foods or backpacks, etc.  And they shared discoveries of old love poems.  Here is one that I often gave them, one that was popular with everyone, because the students were always surprised how modern it seemed, even though written so very long ago.

           This is a small part of Trollius and Cressida, by Geoffrey Chaucer

How To Write A Love Letter 

 Don't write too neat, and use a little guile--

 Let tear stains blot your words once in a while

 But if you find a word you think is clever

 Use it but once, don't harp on it forever!

                                       The remainder is here.

RoundUp here:  -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laura Shovan is on a poetic road trip, and sends us a postcard-of course-and a poem from the "world's most unique restaurant".  You'll find out more when you click the link here!  

Stephen Withrow shares his poem inspired from the recent storm in the east, Blizzard Country.

Myra GB at Gathering Books gives us a review of an anthology with two voices and a love song by Joni Mitchell, carrying on the love from Valentine's Day.

Joy at Poetry for Kids Joy is playing with triolets this week, writing poems from two different sources.  

Iza has some surprises in store in her love poem about challenges and compromise.  

Laura Purdie Salas shares the poem, Skywriting, from her Cybils-winning poetry book, BookSpeak! Poems About Books.

Douglas Florian at The Florian Cafe shares an original poem about moving by Emily Bronte.

Robyn gives us lots of good information about Jill Corcoran's anthology, Dare To Dream...Change The World, including a poem from recent Cybil's winner, Laura Purdie Salas

Charles Ghigna offers a look at A Symphony of Trees at Father Goose and at Bald Ego, he shares Dream Girl, a poem fit for Valentine's Day!

Renee at No Water River requests our company for a fine puppet production of her poem that gives us Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in six verses, plus a visit with her co-producer, Julie Rowan-Zoch, fair artist!

Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference shares a number of poems from Elizabeth Smither, including interesting words and links about the Oxford comma.

At A Year of Reading, Mary Lee shares a poem reflecting upon her very tiresome week!  

Margaret has had a filled up week with Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day.  She has written a series of traveling haikus at Reflections on the Teche.

At Mainely Write, Donna writes of a part of Gull Haven, her new home that is being renovated. Read the story of this wonderful house here!   

Tara at A Teaching Life was inspired this week by a guest of honor for the State of the Union address, and shares a poem by Maya Angelou.

Jama, at Jama's Alphabet Soup, shares Irene Sherlock's prose poem about our complicated relationship with food.

Irene at Live Your Poem... has a wonderful interview with Laura Shovan (Author Amok), who not only writes poems from postcards but is a poetry journal editor.  The links are in the post!

Matt shares a lovely message for all of us in his poem at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme. 

Diane at Random Noodling shares two poems, her own Valentine haiga and another  poem from BookSpeak!! by Laura Purdie Salas!  And Diane has a poem by Robert Greeley at Kurious Kitty, as well as a quote by him at Kurious K's Kwotes.  

Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass writes an ode to her bed.

At Wee Words for Wee Ones, Bridget offers a poem of regret.

Violet, of Violet Nesdoly/Poems has begun a new project, poems about women in the Bible. This one is about Leah.

Tamera at TameraWillWissinger gives some sweet thoughts to mourning doves, more Valentines.


Carrying on their science/tech theme, Sylvia and Janet share a science poem at The Poetry Friday Anthology.

At  Poetry for Children, Sylvia features more about our Cybils' poetry winner, Laura Purdie Salas.  

At Bildebok from Cathy Ballou Mealey, Cathy shares a poem about a birthday made all the more special by a blizzard.

Amy at The Poem Farm has written a poem inspired by a gift from Joy Acey.  

There is a review of J. Patrick Lewis' When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders from Anastasia at Booktalking.

MMSocks wants to know if one can retrieve a Valentine at The Drawer of M. M. Socks.

At Bildungsroman, we find a poem by Philip Larkin.

Jone at Check It Out shares a sweet poem about doughnuts by Gregory K. and offers a giveaway of his poetry book, The Late Bird.  If you don't have it, go over to check this out!

Andi at A Wrung Sponge has an original haiku about snow.  

At Readertotz, Lorie Ann tells about a picture book about Passover, The Longest Night by Laurel Snyder and Catia Chien, and shares the text from it.  Then, at On Point, Lorie Ann shares a quote and a part of her verse novel, Loose Threads. 

Janet S. has a review of Twosomes:  Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom by Marilyn Singer and Lee Wildish at  All About The Books.

Instead of Chaucer, we receive a beautiful understanding of how to write a love poem from Ruth, at There Is No Such Thing As A God-forsaken Town.