To Meet Mr. Lincoln

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To Meet Mr. Lincoln

If I lived at the time
That Mr. Lincoln did,
And I met Mr. Lincoln
With his stovepipe lid

And his coalblack cape
And his thundercloud beard,
And worn and sad-eyed
He appeared:

"Don't worry, Mr. Lincoln,"
I'd reach up and pat his hand,
"We've got a fine President
For this land;

And the Union will be saved,
And the slaves will go free;
And you will live forever
In our nation's memory."

~ Eve Merriam

Wishing you all a Happy Presidents' Day!

Valentine

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Valentine

I got a valentine from Timmy
Jimmy
Tillie
Billie
Nicky
Micky
Ricky
Dicky
Laura
Nora
Cora
Flora
Donnie
Ronnie
Lonnie
Connie
Eva even sent me two
But I didn't get none from you.

~ Shel Silverstein

Silverstein's narrator of this poem sounds so disappointed. Hope your day will be the opposite of disappointing! Happy Valentine's Day!

I Love You More Than Applesauce

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I Love You More Than Applesauce

I love you more than applesauce,
Than peaches and a plum,
Than chocolate hearts,
And cherry tarts,
And berry bubble-gum.

I love you more than lemonade,
And seven-layer cake,
Than lollipops,
And candy drops,
And thick vanilla shake.

I love you more than marzipan,
Than marmalade on toast;
For I love pies
Of any size,
But I love you the most.

~ Jack Prelutsky

This is a fun poem that makes me smile. (And drool!) :) 

I thought it was appropriate one to share this week, since it's almost Valentine's Day....

Is It True?

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Is It True?

The groundhog plays a little game.
(Woodchuck is his other name.)

If he finds no shadow here,
Spring is very, very near.

But if he sees his shadow small,
Winter isn't done at all,

And back into his hole he'll creep 
For six more weeks of winter sleep.

~ Margaret Hillert

Happy Groundhog Day! Will the groundhog see his shadow today -- or not? Here at our house, we're not ready for spring yet. We haven't had much of a winter so far this year....

Winter white trees...

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An excerpt:

Have you seen snow trees?
Winter, bright, white trees?
Turned-to-ice-at-night trees,
sparkling-in-the-light trees.
I can hear the SNAP
of the winter white trees!

~ from Have You Seen Trees?,

written by Joanne Oppenheim

I love the images and the rhymes in this excerpt! 

A big snowstorm is predicted to hit much of the midwest this week. But here in the Chicago area the forecast is calling for rain, much to my family's dismay. I'm posting this photo and excerpt in the hopes that those predictions will be wrong and that we'll seeing some winter bright white trees around here soon....

Singing to you...

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"There is 
something about poems 
that is like loving children: 
They keep returning home 
and singing to you all your life."

 ~ Felice Hoffman,

 in The Place My Words are Looking For

I love it when poems sing to me. Do you? :)

Travel with me...

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I know a way to open doors
and find adventure, tears and pleasure
where witches whisper,
frogs are men
and pirates on wild shores
call us to join a quest for untold treasure.
There
what we find depends on where we look.
A thousand worlds, or more, await us.
Travel with me,
come,
we'll go by the book.

~ Karla Kuskin

I love to travel and visit new places. However, I don't often have the money to physically travel around the country -- or the world. Luckily, I can travel by book whenever I feel like it! Through reading I can travel to the most remote places on the globe. I can even travel to other worlds, other universes. How about you? Do you like to "go by the book"?

The way of life...

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Have you ever noticed a tree standing 
   naked against the sky, 
How beautiful it is?  
All its branches are outlined, and in its nakedness 
There is a poem, there is a song.  
Every leaf is gone and it is waiting for the spring.  
When the spring comes, it again fills the tree with 
The music of many leaves, 
Which in due season fall and are blown away. 
And this is the way of life.

~  Krishnamurti

I love to see trees lush and green in the summer or ablaze with color in the fall. But I also appreciate the naked trees of winter. There is a poem there, and a stark kind of beauty. Can you hear the song in the bare branches?

Jack Frost

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Jack Frost

Someone painted pictures on my
Windowpane last night --
Willow trees with trailing boughs
And flowers, frosty white,

And lovely crystal butterflies;
But when the morning sun
Touched them with its golden beams,
They vanished one by one.

~ Helen Bayley Davis

I've always loved looking at the pictures that Jack Frost paints on my windows! I like the images in Davis's poem, especially the "willow trees with trailing boughs" and the sun's "golden beams". What do you like (or dislike) about this poem?

The Penguin

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The Penguin

A penguin isn't thin -- it's fat.
It has penguinsulation.
And it toboggans through the snow
On penguinter vacation.
The penguin's a penguinsome bird
Of black-and-white fine feather.
And it will huddle with its friends
In cold, penguindy weather.

~ Douglas Florian

Happy Penguin Awareness Day! :)

I love penguins and I love this poem with Florian's fun play on words. It makes me smile every time I read it!

Under my hood...

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Under my hood I have a hat
And under that
My hair is flat.
Under my coat
My sweater's blue,
My sweater's red.
I'm wearing two.
My muffler muffles to my chin
And round my neck
And then tucks in.
My gloves were knitted
By my aunts.
I've mittens too
And pants
And pants
And boots
And shoes
With socks inside.
The boots are rubber, red and wide.
And when I walk
I must not fall
Because I can't get up at all.

~ Karla Kuskin

Have you ever had days like this? I sure have.... :)

Now I Am Six

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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 and forever and ever. 

~ A. A. Milne 

Tomorrow is my son Nick's birthday. He's a *bit* older than six now -- eleven years older -- but I'm sharing this poem in honor of his special day....

Wintertime

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Wintertime

Snowflakes softly falling,
coasting on the hills,
Children building snowmen,
sharing Winter thrills.

Skaters on the ice pond,
dressed in outfits bright,
Lacy fir and pine trees--
such a lovely sight.

Drifts along the roadside,
frosted windowpanes,
Fence posts capped in ermine,
lining country lanes.

Crystal brooks and streamlets,
fairyland delight,
World of glistening beauty
blanketed in white.

Purple shadows lengthening,
moonlight on the snow,
Families snug and cozy
'mid the hearth fires' glow,

Fellowship and laughter,
happiness sublime,
Many joys to cherish
when it's wintertime.

~ Beverly J. Anderson

I love all of these "Winter thrills". Do you?

If you, like me,...

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If you,
like me,
were made of fur
and the sun warmed you,
like me,
you'd purr.

~ Karla Kuskin

This fun poem makes me smile. (So does the photo!) If I could be an animal for a day, I would choose to be a cat. I would love to be that limber and graceful and relaxed. And I would really enjoy stretching out in the warm sunshine for a cat nap.  I have no doubt that I would purr! 

How about you? Would you like to be a cat? Or is there another animal that you would prefer to be?

Silence

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Silence

Quiet,
so quiet
without a sound

Floating,
falling
to the ground

Snowflake feathers
from snow-white birds

Snow is a poem
without any words.

~ Eve Merriam

I love to watch snow falling, don't you? I love it when I'm inside, warm and cozy, gazing out my window and I love it when I'm outside in the cold, snowflakes landing on my face and melting there. I love how beautiful it is... and how quiet. 

Merriam's poem above makes me smile. I especially like that last line. And now whenever I watch the snow fall, I will think of it as poetry without words. :)

A Happy New Year

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A Happy New Year

What shall I wish thee?

Treasures of earth?  

Songs in the springtime,

Pleasure and mirth?

Flowers on thy pathway,

Skies ever clear?

Would this ensure thee

A Happy New Year?

What shall I wish thee?

What can be found

Bringing thee sunshine

All the year round?

Lasting and dear,

That shall ensure thee

A Happy New Year?

Faith that increaseth,

Walking in light;

Hope that aboundeth,

Happy and bright;

Love that is perfect,

Casting out fear;

These shall insure thee

A Happy New Year.  

~ Frances Ridley Havergal

I wish all of these for you in 2016... and also a year filled with good books to read! Happy New Year! :)

Dimmest and Brightest Month Am I

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Dimmest and brightest month am I;
  My short days end, my lengthening days
    begin;
What matters more or less sun in the sky,
  When all is sun within?

~ Christina Rossetti

It's the winter solstice, with the shortest day and the longest night in the year. Around here the days have been gray and gloomy and dim lately, but inside our house, everything is twinkly and bright for Christmas -- it fills my heart with joy! 

As Rossetti says in this poem, now the days (the hours of sunlight) will start getting longer again. The important thing, however, is how you feel inside. Hope the sun inside you is shining brightly this week!

Pine Tree Song

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Pine Tree Song

Little pines upon the hill,
Sleeping in the moonlight still,
Are you dreaming now of me
Who bloomed into a Christmas tree?
Baby moons of gold and red
Cuddle close beside my head;
In my tangled leaves a string
Of fairy stars are glimmering;
While my arms, for girls and boys,
Blossom with a hundred toys.
O little pines, it’s fun to live
To be a Christmas tree — and give.

~ Marjorie Barrows

I like how Barrows writes this rhyming poem from the perspective of a Christmas tree, and the image of fairy stars glimmering.  Which words or lines do you like best?

December

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December

First snow! The flakes
  So few, so light, 
Remake the world
  In solid white.

All bundled up,
  We feel as if
We were fat penguins,
  Warm and stiff.

Downtown, the stores
  Half split their sides,
And Mother brings home
  Things she hides.

Old carols peal.
  The dusk is dense.
There is a mood
  Of sweet suspense.

The shepherds wait,
  The kings, the tree--
All wait for something
  Yet to be,

Some miracle.
  And then it's here,
Wrapped up in hope--
  Another year!

~ John Updike

There are so many things I love about the month of December -- and Updike includes many of them in this poem. What are your favorite things about December?

I Heard a Bird Sing

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I Heard a Bird Sing

I heard a bird sing

  In the dark of December

A magical thing

  And sweet to remember.

“We are nearer to Spring

  Than we were in September,”

I heard a bird sing

  In the dark of December.

~ Oliver Herford

This is a hopeful little poem, especially when it's been cold and snowy for weeks -- which is not the case here this year. Here it already feels like spring, LOL. Do you dream of spring in December?