It has been a full day around the blogosphere this Poetry Friday, with tributes and celebrations of all sorts. As Diane Mayr says at Random Noodling …

I like to look through a book of poetry and have my eyes alight on a poem that screams, “Stop! This is the one!”

What’s the poem that “screamed to me” and in which she sees herself? “Please, Not All at Once” by Jack Myers Read Diane’s full post  at Random Noodling.

Based on the comments at A Year of Reading, “875″ by Emily Dickinson is one of those “stop” poems, too. Check out Mary Lee’s post at A Year of Reading.

Similarly, Tara Smith saw herself in Sasha Dugdale’s poem “Dawn Chorus.” Do stop by to read the poem at A Teaching Life.

In honor of  Children’s Book & Teacher Appreciation Week …

Kurious Kitty shares her five favorite books of poetry at Kurious Kitty’s Kurio Kabinet

For Teacher Appreciation Week, Pam Coughlan’s daughter “Tween” gave her teacher Instructions,  “Neil Gaiman’s wonderful poem-to-picture book.” Head over to MotherReader to read her story, the poem, and watch the book trailer, too.

In a look back at National Poetry Month …

At a wrung sponge, Andromeda Jazmon shares the wiki with poetry by the students at the school where she is a Library Media Specialist. It is a multi-media presentation with the kids’ work and videos, too.

Jama Rattigan reflects on her conversation about letters with Rebecca Kai Dotlich, and shares Rebecca’s poem “Alphabet Collector” … and a few tasty-looking images at Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup.

Over at A Wild Rose Reader, Elaine Magliaro is also extending National Poetry Month with her poem “Sweet Dream.”  It is a “poetic tale” about Elaine’s adventure with three sweet characters: Hansel, Gretel, and the Gingerbread Man. For an added bonus, she shares “POP-UPS” a Poem” that J. Patrick Lewis sent her “to share for Poetry Friday.” You’ll find this one on Elaine’s Political Verses blog.

Have you ever thought about an essay as a poem? Over at Fomagrams, David E. has. He’s created a crossout poem from the opening of From the opening of “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines” by Andrew Sean Greer. Head on over to Fomagram to see “I Want to Make it Clear,” cross out poetry in action.

… speaking of adaptation, Sara Lewis Holmes shares “Hide and Seek,” “a found poem, adapted from a letter sent by E.B. White to the children of Troy, Michigan, to congratulate them on their new public library.”  You’ll find this AND a wonderful story about fan mail at Read Write Believe.

This week Lara Salas takes a different direction and shares Dan Paterson’s poem about poetry.

At My Juicy Little Universe, Heidi Mordhorst shares “Bike Ride on a Roman Road” by Alice Oswald. Heidi is hoping more of us discover this poet and her work.

To lighten the mood …

At Great Kid Books, Mary Ann Schuer explains that it’s testing week in her school, so she’s pulled out Fun with Monsters and Folklore to get the kids laughing a little bit.

Mary Calderaro tries her hand at nonsense poetry drawn from the word verification tools we all use. Pure Nonsense is guaranteed to make you smile … not just when you read it, but for the next quadzillion times you use one of those boxes.

Over at Secrets and Sharing Soda, Katie shares her review (and some poetry) from Nikki Grimes’  Oh, Brother!, a picture book in verse.

Bill Martin, Jr. is a master at children’s verse, and Anastasia Suen has one of his most beloved – Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? – at Picture Book of the Day.

For Celebrating  …

At The Miss Rumphius Effect, Tricia Stohr-Hunt  opens with “First, let me shout it from the rooftops, MY GRADES ARE DONE! Phew!” If you’re a teacher (or the daughter of one!) You know that finishing grades IS a cause for celebration. So what did Tricia choose as her “truly celebratory poem”? The “Grammar Lesson” by Steve Kowit. Go congratulate her … and check out the poetry stretch, too.

While we’re on the subject of words and grammar, let’s continue with Madigan McGillicuddy’s Poetry Friday post at Madigan Reads: An Owed to the Spelling Checker. The poem, by Jerrold H. Zar, came to mind as she was helping a student discover the “magic” of automatically checking a document.

In commemoration of the Sheep and Wool Festival in Howard County, MD, this weekend, Laura Shovan shares her original poem “Baaaad Hair Day.” Gather no wool … head on over to Author Amok to read her poem.

… speaking of all things rural, head over to The Poem Farm where Amy LV not only shares her poem Luna, but introduces us to third-grade poet Brianna Cocuzzi, who shares her thoughts about being and growing as a poet, as well as two poems: “The Tree” and “The Cat.”

At All About Kid Lit, Word Girl shares a story about her personal discovery of Shane Koyczan’s book of poems, “Visiting Hours.” She has recently been exploring it, and found a performance of his poem “We Are More” on Youtube.

Ruth is celebrating angels with two poems in her Poetry Friday: Angels post. First, she shares her personal poem filled with questions for angels and closes with the first three stanzas of  Denise Levertov’s poem “St. Peter and the Angel.”

At Twinkling Along, Carlie shares her mother poem and some wonderful family pictures. Head over to read Maternal Society.

The photo Blythe Woolston chose to “illustrate” Agha Shahid Ali’s “Dream of Glass Bangles” is as beautiful and poetic as the words themselves. Blythe is in Yellowstone, but this link will take you to a beautiful place.
Tabatha’s mom wanted a poem for her gift, and today, Tabatha shares her original poem On the Island of the Fay at Tabatha Yeatts: The Opposite of Indifference.

At Carol’s Corner, Carol shares an untitled poem by Mary Oliver and the Mother’s Day poems of her first-grade students.

Karen Edmisten wrote a virtual letter to her mom and included a performance by Billy Collins, reading his poem “The Lanyard.” Check out Billy Collins for Mother’s Day.

Doraine Bennett celebrates reading moms with “The Reading Mother” by Strickland Gillilan. Head on over to Dori Reads to enjoy this poem.

Be sure to stop by to see Nicole Marie Schreiber’s tribute to moms, too. Her Poetry Friday on Saturday post opens with a lovely painting by Mary Cassatt and continues with “The Mother” by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

—

One of my favorite forms of poetry is song, and this week I want to share

In My Daughter’s Eyes
by Martina McBride

In my daughter’s eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter’s eyes

In my daughter’s eyes everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light and the
world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me
gives me strength when I am weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter’s eyes

Here is the link to the rest of the lyrics on Sing365.com

Here is a link to MP3 Downloads

… on Amazon .com … in the iTunes store

To all the moms, grandmothers, and moms-to-be, Happy Mother’s Day.

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