Poetry Challenge: Day 26

Today was damp and dreary and I was writing this sort of damp and dreary poem, but decided to write something a bit less damp and dreary and I will stop saying damp and dreary now so you can read the poem:

 On Life

Some lives burst like the blossoming flower,
full of color and vivacity
and scented like the sweetest blooms.
Lives that ripen and mature like the choicest fruits,
objects of envy and high regard;
these lives like flowers lack not content nor joy,
and end surrounded by their admirers.
Other lives spring up among the grasses,
like a simple cornflower, plain but pure,
and toil, unnoticed beside the milkweed
taking joy in simple bliss.
These lives fade like the wilting flower,
slow and without ceremony.
They go unnoticed and depart
but leave their seeds to carry on.

~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 25

Hello~
I have recovered from my need to write angsty poetry and as an apology I wrote something to a sweeter and more whimsical tune.

Arachnida

Spindle legged creature
who spins her silken thread;
and weaves her silver draperies
that hang above our heads.
She knits such lovely shawls
to drape about the arms,
and sometimes I leave out my socks
and by morning find them darned.
 
~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 24

I think it is an unspoken rule that no poet can go through life without having ever written an angst poem. Well, here it is; I severely apologize in advance.

...

All the world is full of fire!
blurred by abomination,
and reeks of self-suffocating ire:
All hate resides within this nation.
Oh! wretched thing, oh loathed being:
So immune to noble feeling.

~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 23

It is raining today, but it is a sweet kind of rain. Gentle and quiet.

Rain

When it rains in spring, all is quiet.
The farms and fields are hushed by
some sweet lullaby that calms and allays fears.
Rain falls in the country like a balm to soothe
the cold and cracked winter earth,
a live-giving drought that the soil drinks eagerly.
The fields become an old world scene,
a quaint pastoral vision,
a landscape from long ago.
Through this antique glass I cast my eye upon
the wonders brought out by the rain:
Lambs prancing merrily in the cooling drops and
bounding though small puddles.
Their black faced mothers chide them from the barn door.
I see the apple orchard over the hill,
the rows of blooming trees, robust and hearty.
In fall their fruit will yield a mighty harvest.
A pair of ducks court in the little pond o’er
yonder, fanning and swimming circles around
each other, they do not mind wet weather.
I withdraw from my antique view of the world
and make for the barn for eggs. My footsteps
are muffled in the sodden earth. Yesterday
I would have started with each step,
but now I plod on in silent reverie, my thoughts
lost in the quiet of spring rain. 

~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 22

Happy Earth Day!! (but really, shouldn't Earth day be every day?!)

This morning I woke up to the sound of birds singing and the moment was so pleasant that I wanted to capture it in words. You know how when you wake up early and it is all quiet in the house and you hear the birds outside, and slowly the house and it's occupants wake and begin to move around? But the birds keep on singing.

morning

the birds are singing
morning breaks
all the house is still-
the birds are singing
the house now stirs;
someone the kettle fills
the birds are singing
daylight reins
gone is the morning chill
the house is full of noises
and the birds are singing still

~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 21

Today is Charlotte Bronte's Birthday!
A poet and novelist, she wrote Jane Eyre (you should all read this!!!) which I am re-reading in preparation for the movie! I think I'm going to see it with my mom tomorrow!  Here is a link to some of her poems. (Lost of them are quite long so I didn't post one here)

And here is today's poem. If you write letters, you might be able to relate to this...

P.S.

I lingered on niceties that are not necessary with us,
I remarked upon the weather,
(which was not really a must)
so now all I have to say
is left at the bottom of the page
in a nicely-written, small-lettered postscript.

~Maya

P.S. I have had 'Think of Me' from the Phantom of the Opera playing over and over through my head all day!

Poetry Challenge: Day 20

Day 20 already!  How the time flies! We will be into May in no time.

Today is very damp and drizzle-y, hence today's poem:

 Drizzle

The clouds stretch out-
neutral, gray, homeless;
wandering across the damp horizon
in search of a place to sleep.

 ~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 19

I've found that I have been noticing crows around a lot recently. Yesterday I was walking next to the car and caught sight of a flying crow's reflection on the tinted windows.
This poem was sort of inspired by Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird  by Wallace Stevens.

Observing Crows

Cawing in the garden
they make a handsome bunch
of bachelors
My footsteps scatter
them from their morning
meal.
Hunched and dark,
they brood on the picket
fence amongst the
raindrops and ravens
A reflection seen in the
dark of a car window,
I turn to snatch a
glimpse


~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 18

Day 18's poem will be brought to you visually! I wrote these silly verses yesterday and drew the comics today, hope you enjoy!

Mellow Yellow

I bought a yellow bicycle last week when I went to town,

but I fear I'll never ride it for the rain keeps pouring down.

I made a yellow sundress yesterday in my spare time,

it didn't fit me so I sold it for 2 quarters and a dime.

I found a yellow pencil today on my daily walk

and traded it and a piece of gum for a blackboard and some chalk.

And there you go! Sorry that the photos were not in better shape...I did this sort of on the fly.

~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 17

I just want to mention that this vacation week I am dressing up in outfits from different time periods. I was inspired to do so after watching 'A Room with a View' (sooo good!) last night and dressed up in clothing from that time period today...And it's super fun!
So anyway, that little side note was brought on because the poem for today is about this certain article of clothing (shirt) that I always wore when playing dress up when I was younger, and I had to wear it today for my 'room with a view' costume. SOOO, without further ado, today's poem:


The Costume

It was just a shirt;
White, high-necked
button up, with torn shoulder.
When I wore it
I became
a boy,
a sailor,
traveler,
Victorian lady,
merchant,
gypsy,
Anything that our play required.
I was fit to travel
oceans, and
mountains,
on steam trains,
horses,
camels,
carriages.
A costume essential of mine,
always in need of repair
(and maybe a little grimy
from constant use).
I don it now, (too small
and missing buttons on the sleeve)
and return
to who I was
somewhere years ago,
when all I needed to become someone else
was an old white shirt,
and a little imagination.


~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 16

So today, I was excited to see the first of the crocuses spring up in the garden! There are not as many as past years, but the very sight of them made me so happy!!
I was also feeling a little like Emily Dickinson in the poetry world and wrote up a short blurb about the crocuses that went something like this:

To the Crocuses  

Oh! would I were a crocus!
Yellow, white, or purple,
such sweet cherubs of the garden
are they!
I do envy how they
buoy one’s spirit!
To bring such vernal joy to those
who cast their eye upon them,
would I were a crocus!
Resilient flowers be they;
each spring, above the snow
they peek their heads, against
all odds!
Dear, enchanting crocus,
you are much admired!


~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 15

Hello, hello!
My dear friend Emily's birthday was today and being the friend of a poet, she was gifted with a poem!
(don't worry if a lot of this is lost on you, reader, for we have some crazy jokes between us)


This is Not Your Only Gift (aka Emily’s Birthday Poem)

Cheers to Emily! All raise your glasses!
Her wit is a sharp as a cuttlefish flashes,
she surrounds herself with things like mustaches
and pine cones and breadfish and double rainbows!
She loves Japanese culture and music and clothes,
I’m practically positive she won’t wrinkle her nose
at purple ties, striped socks, or even banjos
(and when I get one I will write her a song!)
She spends her time reading and drawing and fencing,
practices the fine arts of sewing and dancing,
the girl is quite good at just being amazing,
a more eclectic companion could never be found!
Now every year, somewhereabouts Tax Day
We gather to somewhat rambunctiously say:
“Happy Birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday!!”
I hope you enjoyed your birthday poem, Emily!


    Happy Birthday Emily!

~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 14

Today my mind was full of snippets of poetry, though, none of them coming together into one complete poem...But driving home this evening I noticed the way that the trees were so dark against the pale blue sky... a nice mental image so I scrawled out this poem on the drive.

Gloaming

In the gloaming
trees and houses are silhouetted
against the gray blue sky;
the last traces of sunset
fade into the horizon-
Soft hints of yellow disappear
behind the stately clouds
that slowly move across the sky.


And now a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, a Maine poet who grew up in Camden. I just love this poem and have it committed to heart. :)

Recuerdo
We were very tired, we were very merry— We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry. It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable— But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table, We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon; And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon. We were very tired, we were very merry— We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry; And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear, From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere; And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold, And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold. We were very tired, we were very merry, We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry. We hailed "Good morrow, mother!" to a shawl-covered head, And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read; And she wept, "God bless you!" for the apples and pears, And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.

Recuerdo in Spanish means (loosely) a memory, a keepsake, memento. I never knew what it meant until recently, but now it really makes sense to me. 

~Maya 

Poetry Challenge: Day 13

This evening I went to a poetry reading at my library, and I read Day 2's poem, This Poem Does Not Exist, and a favorite of mine by Edna St. Vincent Millay which I will share with you tomorrow. :) I had a wonderful time (there was cheesecake!) and heard a few really great poems! One poem that was read during the evening was a poem by Ezra Pound which I just loved!

And the Days Are not Full Enough

And the days are not full enough
And the nights are not full enough
And life slips by like a field mouse
       Not shaking the grass

Anyway, I loved it, it sort of puts things into perspective...
And now here is today's poem:

Doubt  

It starts, a
hairline crack that
runs up and down
your consciousness,
barley noticeable,
but there, an
infatigable notion.
You push it away
again, and again
until it breaks,
opens up beneath you
and you are falling-
Reality a hungry mouth
opening wide,
ready to swallow you
whole.

I just realized these two poems are sort of downers...I'll try to write a happy one tomorrow!

Oh! and tomorrow is 'Poem in your Pocket day'! Carry your favorite poem with you all day and share with friends!

~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 12

Hello!
Today's poem is sort but sweet, about a very familiar observation for me in the spring...

Peepers

These harbingers of Spring
sing their shrill and restless
song,
tempting me into the warm
evening air;
their voices fill the night. 


~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 11

There was a crazy thunderstorm last night into the morning, and it woke me up and was quite scary at times! I was going to write about that but could not conjure the words for it.  Instead, I read my
'Poem a Day' email (sign up for daily poems at Poets.org) and was inspired by a poem by Dean Young.
I'm not quite sure how I was inspired by it, I just read the poem and found words for my own.


Thoughts

Thoughts, haphazard,
pasted on the brain in no
particular order, like some collage
created in 3rd grade;
Reaching perfection
is hardy the goal,
it’s more like reaching
a balance, though difficult
in this helter-skelter world
that operates at full tilt,
racing pell-mell, headlong
into the next moment
Just muddled, jumbled and
cluttered, with knick-knacks
and brickabrack, what a mess!
Spring cleaning otta fix it,
Racing running, forgetting
fixing, swerving,
Jotting mishmash chaos,
There! and I almost just
forgot.


~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 10

Sorry for not posting yesterday, it was late and I was exhausted!
Anyway, yesterday I went out to the Beaver Pond behind my house and ended up seeing a flying squirrel!
It was so cute, and its eyes were sooo big! See for yourself:

And now the poem inspired by this darling little creature:

Flying Squirrel

The creature,
quiet and still, staring
with black, round eyes
that hold my eager
gaze,
shifts down the decaying
bark of the dead tree,
just an inch-
No more.
Cautious,
    curious.
Tiny claws grip the
dead wood,
fighting
the urge to remain still
yet
intent on fleeing
from his lofty position...
And I wonder wha-
There! He goes -
limbs spread
gliding,
    flying,
and into the dead leaves,
scampering up a pine,
out of sight.
Quick
quiet
creature.

~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 9

Good afternoon!

Today was just lovely to out writing poems in! It was very warm and sunny, so nice...
Here is your daily dose of poetry (another sonnet!):


The Songs of Spring

In Spring the air is full of rhymes,
our laughter ripe with song and cheer-
in these brief months I often hear
the song of birds and churches’ chimes.
In Spring the air is sweet and warm
with the scent of roses on your nose-
the garden abandoned by scavenging crows,
instead, bluebirds and sparrows swarm.
In Spring our eyes are bright with love,
our furtive glances filled with mirth,
and welcoming the world’s rebirth
eyes shining from the sun above.
With every day, the songs of Spring abound,
our glasses filled, we drink the lovely sound.


~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 8

Salutations!

Today I spent the whole day learning about one of my favorite subjects: BIRDS! It was a Project WILD teaching workshop so I also got to learn about some good ideas to teach about birds!
It was so cool, and because one of the things I want to study in college in ornithology, it was really exciting for me. :) 

Needless to say, I have birds on my brain, so my poem today is about the winged ones in question:

Birds

Sing you the song the owls sing
that casts away light and the darkness brings.
Play you to the tune that the curlew calls,
that brings howling wind over wave-beaten shoals.
Mark you the loon, mark its mournful cry
that gathers dark storm clouds to cover the skies.

Fly you o’er oceans, take heed of white sail,
fly you by vast mountains of grandeur and scale.
Mark you the hush of feathers in flight
whose bearers bring mornings and play herald to night.


On another note, I am listening to The Low Anthem right now...specifically the song, 'Apothecary Love'. So good.


~Maya

Poetry Challenge: Day 7

Hello!

Tonight was the opening of Annie Get Your Gun and it went great! It was really fun being in the pit band.

So for my poem today, I began by just writing what was flowing through my head, but then decided to write a sonnet. (which I haven't done in a long while...)
The format of a sonnet (Shakespeare was famous for these) is a poem 14 lines long, in a 'ABBA, CDDC, etc.' rhyming scheme, ending in a couplet which consists of two lines that rhyme with each other.
There is your English lesson for the day. :)
Enjoy!


These Hands

These hands, with fingers spread
like unfurled petals, have sewn the seed
in spring and pulled the stubborn weed
with grasping fingers from the garden bed.
These hands have cast shadows upon the wall,
been butterflies and birds some countless times,
their shadows cast in playful pantomime,
and flew and chased each other down the hall.
These hands have known the winter cold,
and feared the weary feeling that follows age,
the aches and constant stiffness locks the cage;
feared being trapped in a body growing old.
Do not fear dear hands, of the unknown-
for though you weather, a child’s will grow.

~Maya 

Poetry Challenge: Day 6

Good evening!

I had another long play rehearsal today and I'm just about beat...

In the Art Club at the school, we are folding paper cranes to raise money for earthquake relief in Japan. You can find out more info here.

Coincidentally, my poem of the day was inspired by the simple yet elegant paper birds that have so captivated my attention:


Paper Crane

Paper Crane, I will write peace on your wings
and you will fly all over the world.

    -Sadako Sasaki


It has a humble beginning

for such a noble creature-

A single sheet of paper entrusted to

patient hands whose nimble fingers

form and fold and crease it;

like the transformation

from silkworm to moth,
    a ritual most mesmerizing...

now not a piece of paper, but a bird,
    with peace written on its wings.




    

~Maya

The Poetry Challenge: Day 5

Hola, amigos!

I was gone all day today! Library, Band, Play rehearsal (pit band for 'Annie Get Your Gun') and just got home! Anyway, I am suffering from writer's block; my muse Erato, muse of lyric poetry, seemed to abandon me.....
Anyway, today's poem is about that:

Verse on Lost Inspiration

Where hast thou gone,
my Muse?
Has wanderlust enticed thee
to leave me thus?
Stranded, pen in hand to stare
upon a blank page
while thoughts cease to inspire?
Canst thou return and
put end to this maddening lack
of creative thought?
Will thou ever return to me?
Answer, oh Muse!

You will come on your own will
I suppose...
When you see fit,
you will inhabit my mind once again;
Dear Muse, I await the day!
I can hardly stand the stagnant
flow of though that barely runs
through my head,
Oh Muse, remember me!
I am still sitting where you left me,
pen poised in hand,
waiting.

~Maya