Happy Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month!

It's high time I started doing some posting again, don't you think?  I doubt I have many (if any) readers left, but just for my own personal growth I am going to post again, perhaps.  You know, when the mood strikes.

Today, a poem by e.e. cummings:

you shall above all things be glad and young.
For if you're young, whatever life you wear 

it will become you; and if you are glad
whatever's living will yourself become.
Girlboys may nothing more than boygirls need:
i can entirely her only love 

whose any mystery makes every man's
flesh put space on;and his mind take off time 

that you should ever think,may god forbid
and(in his mercy)your true lover spare:
for that way knowledge life,the foetal grave
called progress,and negation's dead undoom. 

I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance

I love that final couplet.  It speaks to me in so many ways.    Do you have a favorite poem?  A favorite poet?  Do you write your own poems from time to time?

Childhood Joy in the Sun

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to volunteer to help out COSI for the festivities when the OSU studios were moving to share space with them. Part of the family days included storytimes by a few librarians like me. The big, fancy event the night before, however, included one of my heroes, Caroll Spinney, who created Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. I got to speak with him at that event, but the next day noticed that he and his wife actually observed about 10 minutes of my storytime! I was thrilled out of my gourd!

The ladies who were my contacts at COSI knew what a crazy fan I was and told him I'd love to talk to him again, so they waited around a bit. I told him what a huge influence Sesame Street had on my life, my creativity and even my career because they always thought about what children really needed so that they'd be motivated to pay attention to the parts that would be informational. It is so entertaining that children don't even realize they're learning. I also told him that we sing the song "I Love Trash" (one of Oscar's hits) at our house, and he said "Let's sing it together now". This first picture was taken when we were singing together. You can see that I totally became a kid again with him (I know, not a stretch to imagine).

Imagine playing the most recognizable character in the world (Big Bird) and never being recognized on the streets. He is an amazingly down-to-earth and kind man, just the way you hope he'd be. I will never forget that brush with fame, that day when my hero took time to make me feel special by singing with me . . . in public . . . about trash.

Do you have a favorite song from your childhood? I have hundreds, but the bright, beautiful day outside makes me think of this one:

Sunny Day! composed by Joe Raposo


Sunny Day
Sweepin' the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame Street

Come and play
Everything's A-OK
Friendly neighbors there
That's where we meet

Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street

It's a magic carpet ride
Every door will open wide
To Happy people like you--
Happy people like
What a beautiful

Sunny Day
Sweepin' the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame street...

How to get to Sesame Street

How to get to...

Morning Rush

daily routine, 4/4/11

dreams interrupted
grumbling acceptance
stumbling descent
awaken youth
mumbling engagement
bumbling breakfast
grateful acquiescence
rushing preparations
obligatory kiss
dreams pursued

Hoppity

Hoppity
Christopher Robin goes Hoppity, hoppity, Hoppity, hoppity, hop. Whenever I tell him Politely to stop it, he Says he can't possibly stop. If he stopped hopping, He couldn't go anywhere, Poor little Christopher Couldn't go anywhere... That's why he always goes Hoppity, hoppity, Hoppity, Hoppity, Hop. Alan Alexander Milne Many thanks to PoemFinder for this, one of my favorites from childhood.

National Poetry Month

I'd like to pretend that I didn't write and post a poem yesterday for some deep, meaningful reason, but honestly I just didn't get around to it, even though it was my day off. So here is yesterday's extemporaneous poem:

4-1-11
I had a Princess Day
My sis and I did play
we had ice cream
like in a dream
and time was whiled away!


Today's poem:

4/2/11: haiku for you

serving the people
#Saturdaylibrarian
all day on the desk