Poetry Month, Day 12 - Cogitate

Today's word, COGITATE, was given to me by my Facebook friend, Kathy.  After much cogitation, I decided to write about Beverly Cleary for her 100th birthday! 

My favorite of her books is Fifteen, which I read multiple times - and for a slow, reluctant reader, that's saying a lot!  I still have my original copy, which I came to realize I "permanently borrowed" from the library.  Here it is - along with the remnants of the little check-out card envelope! OOPS!

            
          

Birthday Cogitation

Today I had to cogitate

to write a poem that’s worth the wait.

It had to have a special theme;

a topic worthy of a meme.

It came to me, so very clearly

an author whom we all love dearly!

That’s right – Ms. Cleary – the one and only,

 who kept this kid from being lonely!

Today she’s reached 100 years!

So we should give 100 cheers!

HIP HIP HOORAY!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEVERLY CLEARY!!

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Poetry Month, Day 11 - Haggard

Today's word, HAGGARD, was given to me by my writer friend, Julie Rowan-Zoch on April 4th and Merle Haggard passed away two days later!  Kind of eerie!!  So, I took a departure from my funny, lighthearted poems to write a short tribute to Merle Haggard.  In all honestly, I'm not really a country fan, so I'm only familiar with a couple of his songs. One I really like is Sing Me Back Home!  

Sing Me Back Home

On April 6th, Merle Haggard

left this earthly world.

For years he sang and swaggered;

his melodies unfurled.

He entertained the nation

as he sang his famous tunes.

and caused a big sensation

with his twangy country croons.

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Poetry Month, Day 10 - Birthday

I doubt anyone noticed but I didn't post a poem yesterday.  I thought BIRTHDAY was going to be an easy word but it gave me more trouble than I expected! I just wasn't feeling it yesterday and the several attempts I made were just not working.  So, I gave myself permission to skip yesterday and I wrote the poem today. It's still not the best (sorry Nancy), but it's better than anything I wrote yesterday.  So, I'm posting it and moving on!  

Birthdays

It’s funny how a birthday can be different at each age

They hit you in the worst way or bring joy – it’s hard to gauge.

Up until about age ten, you get no satisfaction.

You always look around the bend and and state your age in fractions.

The teenage years bring privileges and freedom from your parents.

You count the days with images of no more overbearance.

Your birthdays in your 20’s seem to all involve a party -

with food and drinks aplenty – in your 20’s you’re still hardy!

Your 30’s through your 50’s you just celebrate the tens.

Another decade’s nifty and you hang out with your friends.

In your 60’s and your 70’s your life starts changing gears

Your birthdays are redundancies – it’s just another year.

Then, after that, when birthdays near, they give you more elation.

You’ve made it through another year – it’s cause for celebration!

No matter what your age is, there is one thing that is true.

When you turn another page, you like a day that’s just for you!

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Poetry Month, Day 8 - Expeditious

Today's word, EXPEDITIOUS, was given to me by a fellow rhymer, Debbie Vidovich. Debbie and I met through RhPiBoMo and she attended the Rhyming Picture Book (RPB) Revolution Conference last December in NYC, where I presented.  After sitting through my session, Debbie knows I am anything but expeditious (although, when I was young, my mom did tell me I was short and sweet)!

http://cargocollective.com/

Expeditious

I tend to be long-winded; I will blather on for days!

I mean, I just keep going ‘til your eyes begin to glaze!

Today, I have decided not to be so repetitious.

I'm making this my final line – I’m being expeditious!

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