Imagine the Possibilities

Welcome to Poetry Friday! Ruth has the roundup today where she is celebrating eighteen years at her blog and dreaming about Haiti. Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness.

Today I offer two new-to me poetry forms as entries to my April Poetry Project: “Call and Response: Picture Books and Poetry.” The first response is a trinet which I first learned about from poetry friend Alan J. Wright. A trinet is composed of seven lines. Lines three and four have six words each; all other lines have two words. My trinet is in response to the picture book Listen by Holly McGhee and Pascal Lemaitre.

For the Heart

your heart
can hold
the memory of people and places
the wonder of sun and stars
with plenty
of room
for more
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

After hearing about the pensee on posts from Buffy Silverman and Marcie Flinchum Atkins, I wanted to give it a try. The pensee has 5 lines of 2-4-7-8-6 syllables respectively. Each line has a specific job:

Line 1—introduces subject
Line 2—description of subject
Line 3—action taken by subject or for subject; has a verb
Line 4—info about time and setting
Line 5—final thoughts

I wrote “Henna” as a response to the picture book A Garden in My Hands by Meera Sriram and Sandhya Prabhat.

Henna

henna
ancient plant dye
dropped and swirled on waiting hands
for a wedding celebration
a garden of stories
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy this last Friday in poetry’s special month.

It’s Poetry Friday! Heidi has the round up today at my juicy little universe. Be sure to stop by for some fabulous art and poems by kids. It makes me think that our future is in good hands.

Keeping up with my Call and Response: Picture Book and Poetry project, this week I read a new picture book, Small Things Mended, written by Casey Robinson and illustrated by Nancy Whitesides. In it we meet Cecil, a kind and elderly man who has recently suffered a loss. When his young neighbor is concerned that her treasured pocket watch is broken, Cecil offers to fix it. Soon other kids are bringing Cecil an array of things to fix, including a stuffed elephant with a broken heart. As Cecil’s circle of friends grows, he understands what his own heart needs to mend. This is such a special book that I highly recommend.

All Better

Glue can fix a broken cup,
tiny stitches hide a hole.
One pastes a paper torn in two
or nails a fence together.
When strong winds cause a nest to fall
weavers will repair it
but only love can mend a heart
and hold it till it’s better.
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

And a little something in honor of Earth Day on April 22 inspired by In the Past, a collection of poems by David Elliott and illustrated by Matthew Trueman.

Step Back

to the wonder of what was
and what has become life
on our planet
remembering it’s up to us
to keep it going

Today is Poetry Friday! Jone has the round up today where she gives us two wonderful interviews. Part 1 is with Carol Labuzetta where we get a peek at her new book, Picture Perfect Poetry: An Anthology of Ekphrastic Nature Poetry for Children. Part 2 is with Liz Garton Scanlon and her new book, Everyone Starts Small, illustrated by Dominique Ramsey.

This was a busy week, but I was able to keep up with my Call and Response: Picture Books and Poetry April Poetry Project. One of the books I read this week was City Feet written and illustrated by Aixa Pérez-Prado (2023 Reycraft). The rhyming text, multicultural word choice, and colorful illustrations engage from the very beginning and demonstrate diversity for our youngest readers.

Aixa’s book made me think about the variety of tracks that spring up from time to time in my backyard and the diversity of animals they represent.

tracks

morning’s frosted grass
tells of friend or foe who passed
through the yard last night

two feet, four feet up and back
busy with a pre-dawn task
along the well-worn path

raccoons, foxes, hungry deer
looking for a tasty meal
to keep them satisfied
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

Thanks for reading!

Today is the first Poetry Friday in National Poetry Month! For my April poetry project I’m combining picture books and poetry. I call it “Call and Response: Picture Books and Poetry.” Reading a picture book is the call followed by a response in the form of a small poem. It was inspired by Laura Purdie Salas’ Poetryactions.

One of the books I read this week was Song of the Old City by Anna Pellicioli and Merve Atilgan (G.P.Putnam’s Sons, 2023). The book takes place in Istanbul where we meet a little girl who receives gifts from the many people she meets while journeying through the city. Somehow, she manages to find a way to pass along the kindnesses she receives.

Passing the Joy

wren welcomes morning
with her song flowing
through the trees
over the rooftops
into my heart
when we meet under the climbing tree
I’ll share it with you
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

I also wrote an elfchen in response to Follow the Flyway: The Marvel of Bird Migration by Sarah Nelson and Maya Hanisch (Barefoot Books, 2023)

Migrating Birds

flying
high following
wind, water, warmth
pulled south by sun
navigating
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

Irene has the round up today at Live Your Poem where you’ll find lots of poetry goodness including the next couplet for our community progressive poem.