Poetry Friday

I want all of my students (children and adults) to view themselves as lovers of poetry. For that reason, I often share several poems at one time. Sometimes they are related to a particular theme. Sometimes they are related to a specific form or technique. Sometimes they are all by the same poet. Usually one is intended to delight- a lighthearted poem that everyone will love. Others are deeper and  take a little more thinking or processing. We read them all, then I ask students to choose a favorite and work with it a little more. Generally, over the course of the year, kids fall in love with lots of different poems and poets…

Watermelons

  by Charles Simic

Green Buddhas
On the fruit stand.

- See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15260#sthash.bK48irmO.dpuf

USDA Photo by Scott Bauer- Wikimedia Commons

 "Watermelon Bird"

In mid-July, my friends and I
were drinking lemonade
and eating watermelon
in the comfort of the shade.
We spat the seeds among the weeds.
We spat them east and west.
I spat one in a pine tree, where
it landed in a nest.
And there it lay till late in May,
when it sprouted as a vine,
and soon there grew a melon
in the branches of the pine.
A mother bird without a word
then settled in the tree
and nested on that melon
for a week or maybe three.

Read the rest of the poem here.

Eric Ode

Image from Wikimedia Commons by Beyond Silence

"Watermelon"
Green buddhas
on the fruit stand.

Read the rest of the poem here.

Charles Simic

Watermelon half by Lemur 12 from Wikimedia Commons

"Poetry"
Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.

Read the rest of this poem here
(Truthfully, these are my favorite few lines, and generally, these are are the only ones I ever use).

Wassermelon  by Togo from Wikimedia Commons

Sometimes I even share one of my own poems…

Watermelon
Crunchy green rind yields
juicy red flesh then
slippery black seeds
perfect for spitting
More juicy red
followed by paler pink
then bitterish white
and a return to
crunchy green rind.
Watermelon.

(c) Carol Wilcox, 2013

Poetry Friday is at Keri Recommends. Head over there for lots  more juicy offerings.