icon caret-left icon caret-right instagram pinterest linkedin facebook twitter goodreads question-circle facebook circle twitter circle linkedin circle instagram circle goodreads circle pinterest circle

Robyn Hood Black - children's author, poet, artist

Life on the Deckle Edge

Poetry Friday - Post Card Exchange Part Two :0)

January 26, 2017
Tags: Poetry Friday, poem postcards, poem post cards, Poetry, Poems, Penny Parker Klostermann, Mary Lee Hahn, Ramona Behnke, postcard exchange, #postcardXchange
Many thanks to Penny, Mary Lee, and Ramona - hopefully you can click and enlarge if the backstage of my blog is in a good mood!

Happy Poetry Friday!

I'm delighted to share the final three postcards I received in our wonderful January Postcard Exchange organized by the ever-generous Jone.

The first two came sauntering in with their caramel-colored cards and entertaining animals, bringing smiles I do not take for granted this month.

Many thanks to Penny for this fun poetic diversion (you can see the properly centered formatting in the picture.):


Dr. Goat

If my doctor were a goat
and if I had a sore throat
he'd ask if I would open wide
so he could take a look inside.

And, yes, of course I'd open wide
so he could take a look inside.

But if my doctor were a goat
looking down my sore throat
I definitely could not say, "AAAAAHHHH!"
Cause Dr. Goat deserves a "BBAAAAHHHH!"

©Penny Parker Klostermann. All rights reserved.


Penny shared the backstory on the reverse of the card: "Your postcard was inspired by one of my childhood picture books. I snapped a photo of a page and wrote my poem based on that. Enjoy!" I did! Thanks, Penny. Makes me miss the goats we used to have when we lived on a little farm.

The next two were haiku, as I enjoyed in the first two cards posted last week.

The text on the back of Mary Lee's adorable kitty picture reads:


desire
just our of reach
whiskers twitch

©Mary Lee Hahn. All rights reserved.


Ha! This one made me fondly remember my childhood cat, a "cameo" Persian with the same color coat as the mischievous meow-er in this photo. He was named O'Malley (Yes, after The Aristocats!) Many thanks, Mary Lee!

My last mailbox treasure was from Ramona, whose poem graces that beautiful snow scene above:


A snowy sabbath
A new year's soft beginning
Wintry white frosting

©Ramona Behnke. All rights reserved.


"No snow in a very long time in my part of the world," she wrote, "so this dusting of snow on New Year's Day was a special treat!"

Ramona also tucked in printed copies of the poems read at both of President Obama's inaugurations. I probably hadn't read or heard them since those occasions, and it was comforting to revisit the words. You can find Elizabeth Alexander's 2009 poem and Richard Blanco's 2013 poem at www.poets.org . Thank you, Ramona, for your lovely poem as well as these.

Borrowing from each of those inauguration poems (in order), I wish you a "Praise song for every hand-lettered sign, the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables" and "the unexpected songbird on your clothes line."

For more unexpected and welcome delights, visit Carol this week at Beyond Literacy Link. She always has wonderful surprises.
 Read More 
23 Comments
Post a comment

Poetry Friday - Post Card Exchange Poems Perfect for Today!

January 19, 2017
Tags: Poetry Friday, poem postcards, poem post cards, Poetry, Poems, rain, umbrella, Joy Acey, Laura Purdie Salas, postcard exchange, #postcardXchange
Poem Postcards ©Joy Acey and ©Laura Purdie Salas

Greetings, Poetry Friends!

I'm happy to participate in Jone 's wonderful January Poem Postcard Exchange. Even though I'm just getting my own mailed out today.... (Hey, the deadline hasn't technically passed yet.)

I received two right off the bat this month from poets who are more together than I. (Another came this afternoon - Thanks, Penny! - will feature that one soon.)

These first two seemed uncannily thematically "linked," and, I think they are both perfect for today, an important date in our country's history and one with a wet forecast.

Many thanks to Joy Acey and Laura Purdie Salas for brightening my month!


          Rain
quiets the world
the earth listens

©Joy Acey. All rights reserved.



Reality glares
I open my umbrella,
build my own blue sky

©Laura P. Salas. All rights reserved.


I really appreciate these delightful images and welcome messages in poetry. A reminder to listen to the rain and let it help quiet my world when I let too much noise in, and also the comforting notion that I can "build my own blue sky"!

On her blog last week, Joy wrote, "Today, I am trying to be aware of the vibrations I'm sending out into the Universe. I want it to be a glorious, happy, positive day."
(If you know Joy, you know that's what her dial is always turned to - ;0) .)

I'm going to remind myself of those words and revisit these poems all day.

Just above the border here in the states, the beautiful Violet has put together a "Poetry Friday - the Aim High Edition" for all of us! Many thanks, Violet - we'll take it.
 Read More 
19 Comments
Post a comment

Poetry Friday - Hangin' with Hermine.... and a poem by Melanie Braverman

September 1, 2016
Tags: Poetry Friday, Poems, poets, storms, Hermine
Screen shot from The Weather Channel website Thursday night...

Well, Thursday has gotten away from me as we have found ourselves awaiting the arrival of Hermine, after her expected Florida landfall and march across Georgia. (Hope you fellow Southeastern & Florida poetry folks are safe!)

Schools and government offices are closed here Friday. I checked battery supplies and such and helped another K-Mart shopper find the flashlights... (we'd both been aimlessly circling aisles in some sort of grocery cart ballet). There were some empty spots on the display wall, but we finally found some.

With all of this in mind, I stumbled into what I think is a gorgeous poem - maybe some of you know the poet? I did not, but am happy to discover her.


I used to love the run-up to a storm

by Melanie Braverman

I used to love the run-up to a storm, watching from the porch as the grown-ups hurried to bring things in, my mother rummaging through drawers for a flashlight, cursing: nothing was where it was supposed to be in our house. ...

Click here for the rest.


Then put on your rubber boots (or cowboy boots, you'll see...) and stomp on over to A Penny and her Jots for this week's Roundup. Thanks for hosting, Penny!

Stay safe, and wishing you and yours a good Labor Day Weekend.  Read More 
22 Comments
Post a comment

Poetry Friday - All-American Dogs

June 30, 2016
Tags: Poetry Friday, animals, Dogs, Poems, ponderings
Lucky in his later years, top: Cooper now, bottom, with Morgan and his beautiful portrait by Ann Goble.



Happy Independence Day weekend!

I'm freshly returned from our daughter's lovely and very fun wedding in Greenville, SC, followed by a week of dog- & house-sitting at Morgan & Matt's new home in Georgia while the happy couple was honeymooning.

[If you like wedding pictures, photographer Sabrina Fields featured "ours" on her blog a few days ago - family pictures will be ready soon! I just put up a post about the handmade elements over at my art blog.]

The new Mr. and Mrs. Whyte are pup parents to two-year-old Cooper, who is happy now I'm sure to have both of them in the same state and the same house. Coop always reminds me of our Shepherd-hound mix, Lucky, who joined our family as a rescued 5-week-old pup in 2000 and died in 2012, with lots of adventures in those dozen years. I might have even called Cooper "Lucky" a time or two last week before I caught myself.

Do you know what the American Kennel Club calls mixed-breed dogs? (I remember being delighted many years ago when discovering this, probably at an agility trial with son Seth and his canine partner, Oliver.) They are... All-American Dogs! Isn't that great?

In fact, now they compete in many AKC events, and this year's AKC National Agility champion was, in fact, a former rescue dog (and a repeat winner!). Here's that story and you can click around more of the AKC site.

Matt and Morgan elected to have DNA testing done to see just what their All-American is made of. I would have bet, especially when he was a puppy, that Black and Tan Coonhound would have been way up there in the results, but he's mostly Boxer, with a heap or two of terrier and hound mixed in.

He's a handsome fella, whatever he is, captured in the gorgeous oil painting above by our friend Ann Goble, who surprised the newlyweds with a gift they'll cherish forever.

Since it's an All-American weekend, I thought I'd share a couple of older dog poems. The first was inspired by our All-American dog, Lucky, and the second... just a little canine fun.


Heel


A hound dog is hard
to train.
Nose on the ground, he sniffs, he pulls -
You strain.
Nose in the air as if you're not there -
You complain:
This dog has got to go!
He looks at you with soulful eyes;
you fall in love
(again).



           ©Robyn Hood Black. All rights reserved.



           I Paper-trained my Puppy


           I paper-trained my puppy -
           he reads the New York Times.
           He starts at the beginning:
           the news, the views, the crimes.

           Then he reads the comics,
           while rolling on the floor.
           He moves on to the book reviews,
           the fashion, arts, and more.

           After that he grabs a pen
           and holds it with his muzzle.
           Hewon't get up until he's done
           the daily crossword puzzle.

           I paper-trained my puppy.
           I made one small mistake.
           The puddle in the corner
           is looking like a lake.

           ©Robyn Hood Black. All rights reserved.


Will a canine member of your family be part of your red, white and blue celebration this long weekend? Or perhaps there's a special dog you remember? Purebred or All-American? Please do share in the comments!

And then be sure to enjoy all the great poetry rounded up for us this week by Tabatha, friend of creatures great and small, at The Opposite of Indifference
 Read More 
23 Comments
Post a comment

Poetry Friday - Found Poem for Friends Old and New

December 18, 2014
Tags: Poetry Friday, found poetry, Poems, ponderings
©Robyn Hood Black. All rights reserved.
Greetings, Poetry Friday-ers!

I hope your holiday season is full of rich time with family and friends and a few too many calories. Thoughts and prayers for those going through difficult times in this ramped-up season.

My post today is simple. Here's an image I used on our personal Christmas postcard this year, a found poem I highlighted from LITTLE FOLKS - A Magazine for the Very Young, London, Paris & New York, Cassell & Company, LTD. (Bound collection from the late 1800s.)

It reads:

To My Readers

Once more, friends, looking back over
the past year, I
fancy each one of you, and express my hopes
that you
understand more and more fully
something of
old friends and
new ones too.

[Those are old typewriter and watch parts adding bling to the text, by the way. Might be hard to see in this picture, but one is providing a cradling branch for the illustrated bird.]

To say it's been a year of moves and transitions for our family this year is putting it mildly. But each one of us (hubby, me, recent-graduate-new-teacher daughter and recent-transfer-to-a-new-college son) has made new friends in new places, while appreciating even more our special friends who share our history.

This poem is my wish for online friends, too! Thank you for so much inspiration, fun, comfort and challenge. I look forward to a new year of poetry after the holidays. We'll be on the road next Friday, so I'll see you back here in the new year.

Safe travels and blessings to you and yours!

Lighting up Poetry Friday for us this week (it's almost the Solstice, you know!) is friend and talented writer Buffy over at Buffy's Blog.  Read More 
17 Comments
Post a comment
Loading…}