Abecedarian

There's an old saying, "You learn something new every day." Well, here is one of the things that I learned today: there is a name for someone who is learning the letters of the alphabet -- he or she is an abecedarian [ey-bee-see-dair-ee-uhn]. This word can also mean "a beginner in any field of learning".

The term means something a little different in the world of poetry. An abecedarian poem is an alphabetic acrostic poem, meaning the first letters of each line make up the alphabet, from A to Z. It is an ancient poetic form, and can even be found in the Old Testament of the Bible. (Of course, the poems in there were written using the Hebrew alphabet.) I went looking for some examples online, and came across these Astounding Abecedarian Poems, written by school children in Kentucky. Here's one I especially liked:

School

A school

Beautiful

Class is fun

Do your best

Education

Fun to learn

Good teacher

Hard work

I love school

Jumping jacks

Kids learning

Lots of learning

Math and learning

Nice work done

Obey the rules

People help support the school

Quiet reading at school

Reading in the school library

Smart teacher

Teachers are great people

Up the grades go at school

Very fun learning

Work is fun

X-cellent work

You can have an education

Zealous people at school

~Justina J.

I don't think I've ever written an abecedarian poem before.  I decided to give it a try, and had a lot of fun with it!  Here's what I came up with:

Spring in Bloom

Azaleas,

Bluebells,

Columbine, and

Daffodils --

Each sway in line.

Forsythia next to my

Garden plot of grape

Hyacinths – I've quite a lot!

Irises, I have them, too –

Just my favorite

Kind, all blue.

Lilacs love the

Month of May,

Nesting

Orioles

Pass this way.

Queen Anne’s Lace,

Roses, wild,

Sashay in the breeze so mild.

Tulips

Underneath the eaves, and

Violets peeking through their leaves.

Wisteria climbs ‘round the door,

X marks the spot where I’ll plant more.

Yesterday I sowed some seeds.  Soon I’ll have

Zinnias where once grew weeds.

~Janelle H.

How about you?  Are you up for an abecedarian poem challenge?  Pick a subject -- any subject at all -- and then try writing a line for each letter of the alphabet.  (And then... please...  share your poem with me!)