Join the circus...

Image courtesy of NYPL Digital Gallery

"Writing free verse 

is my chance to join the circus!  

I walk across a tightrope, 

high off the ground.  

Carefully, I put 

one foot in front of the other -- 

completely absorbed by the going, 

never quite knowing 

where the rope will end." 

~ Bobbi Katz, 

in The Place My Words are Looking For

I hadn't thought about writing as walking on a metaphorical tightrope before, but after reading this quote, I have to agree with Katz.  (And in my opinion, it applies to other writing, too, not just free verse.)  Join the circus: Write!

Jovial

This week's word is jovial [joh-vee-uhl], an adjective meaning "endowed with or characterized by a hearty, joyous humor or a spirit of good-fellowship".  The word makes me think of happy times and people who are a joy to be around.  Here are a few sentence examples I came up with:

The classroom rang with jovial laughter.

Holiday decorations and music 

always put me in a jovial mood.

A hush fell over the crowd as a large, jovial man 

dressed all in red entered the room.  The children gasped, 

then whispered excitedly to each other, 

"Santa Claus!  It's really him!"

Who or what comes to your mind when you think of the word jovial?  How would you use it in a sentence?

Dragon Smoke

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Dragon Smoke

Breathe and blow
white clouds
     with every puff.
It's cold today,
     cold enough
to see your breath.
Huff!
   Breathe dragon smoke
     today!

~ Lilian Moore

We still don't have any snow where I live (I wish we did!), but it is cold enough for snow.  I was breathing dragon smoke myself this morning.  How about you?  Can you see your breath when you go outside?

A fine day for gingerbread...

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An excerpt:

     It was cold outside.  It was warm inside.  A fine day for gingerbread, Matti thought.

     Matti's mother put the big blue bowl on the table and lit the stove.  Matti took down a worn-looking cookbook with old-fashioned writing on the cover.  He opened it up to the page that said "Gingerbread Boy."

~ from Gingerbread Baby,

written by Jan Brett

Mmm... I can just smell the gingerbread baking whenever I read this book!  Our family made a gingerbread house at church yesterday. It has been a tradition of ours for several years now.  (And before that, we used to make individual "gingerbread" houses out of graham crackers here at home.)  I always love decorating them with frosting and candy ~ how fun!  What are some of your traditions for this time of year?

Happy Hanukkah!

Image courtesy of Clkr.com

Happy Hanukkah!

Outside, snow is slowly, softly
Falling through the wintry night.
In the house, the brass menorah
Sparkles with the candlelight.

Children in a circle listen
To the wondrous stories told,
Of the daring Maccabeans
And the miracles of old.

In the kitchen, pancakes sizzle,
Turning brown, they'll soon be done.
Gifts are waiting to be opened,
Happy Hanukkah's begun.

~ Eva Grant

Wishing all those who celebrate it a very happy Hanukkah!

Words are the apple pie...

Photo courtesy of PublicDomainPictures.net

"I write poetry 

for the same reason I read it: 

the sound of words, 

their taste on my tongue, 

is irresistible.  

Words are the apple pie 

in my pantry 

that draws me out of my warm bed 

and sends me shuffling down 

the dark cold hall 

in the middle of the night!"

~ Bobbi Katz,

 in The Place My Words are Looking For

Yes, this is why I write and read poetry.  I, too, love the sound of words and their taste on my tongue!  I had never thought of poetry as apple pie before, but I will now! :)

Cats take naps...

Photo courtesy of PublicDomainPictures.net

Cats take naps
from dawn to dawn.
They nap on anything they're on,
a pillow
antique chair
or lawn.
And when their need to nap is gone,
they stretch
and yawn
and look around for something else
it might be nice
to nap upon.

~ Karla Kuskin

I am a cat person.  Unfortunately, however, I am cat-less. My husband is extremely allergic to animals with fur, especially cats, so we can't have one in our home.  When I was growing up, though, we had a kitty (Hobbit) who looked like the one sleeping in the photo above.  Just like Kuskin says in her poem, he would nap all day long, moving from one comfy (or not-so-comfy) spot to another.  I love how she describes that behavior and uses rhymes to do it.

An act of optimism...

Image courtesy of NYPL Digital Gallery

"The act of writing 

is an act of optimism. 

You would not 

take the trouble to do it 

if you felt it didn't matter." 

~ Edward Albee

I like this quote.  I do feel optimistic when I write.  The things I write matter to me, and I hope that someday they will matter to someone else who reads them, too.

Colloquialism

My friends and I were discussing language on Facebook one day recently, and the word colloquialism [kuh-loh-kwee-uh-liz-uh m] came up.  Colloquialism is a noun that means "a word or phrase that is appropriate when used in conversational or informal language, but not in formal speech or writing".

A few examples follow:

ya'll

gonna

wanna

pop (soft drink)

It's raining cats and dogs!

Here are a couple of colloquialisms often used at our house:

kiddo

Hey, buddy -- whatcha doin'?

We're off like a herd of speeding turtles.

What colloquialisms do you hear on a regular basis in your life?

First Snow

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First Snow

Snow makes whiteness where it falls.
The bushes look like popcorn-balls.
The places where I always play
Look like somewhere else today.

~ Marie Louise Allen

First of all, I'd like to apologize for not posting anything the last few days.  I try to post something new here every day, but my schedule has been so chaotic lately that I didn't have a chance to sit down, even for a few minutes, to find good material for posting.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the rest of the month now!

Secondly... can you tell I am anxious for it to snow?  I'm sharing this poem about the first snow and hoping that nature will take the hint. :)  It was in the 60's here yesterday, crazy weather for December in the midwest. Now that we have our tree and other Christmas decorations up, I am ready to see a world of white outside....  How about you?  Are you hoping for snow or do you prefer a green December?