Thursday, October 6, 2016

Poetry Friday


I had a conversation with my son about a pastel he created in school.

Me:  How did you make this?
Son: I drew the outline first with a fresh pencil eraser dipped in paint
Me: Huh. Then?
Son: I colored it in with pastels. I like those colors...but not how it's uneven.

This tiny back-and-forth sent me in search of pencil-eraser-poetry. None of what I found had precisely the right tone  but, Kalli Dakos' poem below is kid friendly and fun.

I wonder if you have suggestions for poems to illustrate the artwork below?

Thanks to Violet Nesdoly for hosting this week's Poetry Round-up.

The Pencil and Eraser Were in a Horrid Fight
The pencil and eraser
Were in a horrid fight,
It went on through the day
And well into the night.
The pencil wrote a poem
About erasers that can’t write,
The eraser erased the poem,
And he did it with delight.
The pencil wrote a sign,
Keep erasers out of sight,The eraser erased the sign,
And he did it out of spite.
The pencil wrote a note,
"You're just a parasite!"
The eraser erased the note,
Not a word was left in sight.
The pencil and eraser
Fought all through the night,
And when the morning came,
They had disappeared from sight.

(c) Kalli Dakos

"Dot" pastel by David....made with pencil eraser dots


6 comments:

  1. What a cute poem! Here's one about turtles to go with the wonderful artwork:

    Snapping Turtle
    by Steven Withrow

    An animal of minimal means,
    He owes no frog,
    He holds no debt.
    For travel, he’s a mobile home.
    For music, he’s a metronome.
    He’s blissful in a bog
    And wet.

    Counting time in a snarl of greens,
    He cara-paces,
    Ages slow.
    In summer, he’s too somber to snap.
    In winter, sleeps in a muddy gap.
    His blood thinks,
    Enough?
    His dream says,
    No.

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  2. Kalli's poem is delightful and your son's process for creating an image is interesting. Maybe he would write a poem to accompany the picture he drew.

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  3. Well, Kalli's poem is rather like The Duel, of the gingham dog and the calico cat, isn't it? I love the pencil eraser art. My students have made pointillist dots with Q-tips, and this one reminds me of a badge earned for something, perhaps courage? I thought of Maya Angelou's Poem "Life Doesn't Frighten Me". You can find it here: http://edhelper.com/poetry/Life_Doesnt_Frighten_Me_by_Maya_Angelou.htm Thanks, Linda!

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  4. I enjoyed your pencil/eraser poem and Steven Withrow's "Snapping Turtle." Are there any dot poems that would draw attention to your son's technique. It's a striking drawing, created, no doubt, with lots of patience.

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  5. That poem sounds like the makings of a great picture book! :)

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Friendly, positive comments and feedback are always welcome here. Please let me know I'm not just whistling in the dark!