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Happy Poetry Friday!
Thank you round-up champion, Laura Salas, Writing the World for Kids. Her original poem last week, Lunch in a Refugee Reception Center, is powerful.
It's National Kite-Flying-Day! Aren't kites grand? My library partner, our assistant and I love kites so much that we spruced up our middle school library ceiling with kites from around the world.
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| some of the kites in the library where I work |
I went looking for a kite poem to share today. And, I found lots! Kites inspire poems. After looking at lots and lots, this one is a new favorite.
The
Kite
Today I watched a boy fly his
kite.
It didn’t crackle in the wind –
but
gave out a barely perceptible
hum.
At a certain height, I’d swear I
heard
it sing. He could make it climb
in
any wind; could (read the rest here)That ending..whoa, right?
In response, I looked up Kites at Wonderopolis --where I found some haiku neatly tucked into the non-fiction paragraphs.
1.
no one knows for sure
who tied his hat to his head
love of kite flying
2.
young and old, fly kites
just for the pure joy of it
a favorite toy
This lovely photo was waiting just for this post in the Library of Congress Archives... its citation led me to check out A Children's Garden of Verses online:
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|
Frissell, Toni, photographer. Toni
Frissell's
daughter Sidney as "The Wind" in A Child's Garden of Verses, Southhampton,
Long Island.
Photograph. Retrieved
from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2015645221/>.
|
By Robert Louis Stevenson
I saw you toss the kites on high
And blow the birds about the sky;
And all around I heard you pass,
Like ladies’ skirts across the grass—
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
I saw the different things you did,
But always you yourself you hid.
I felt you push, I heard you call,
I could not see yourself at all—
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
O you that are so strong and cold,
O blower, are you young or old?
Are you a beast of field and tree,
Or just a stronger child than me?
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
And blow the birds about the sky;
And all around I heard you pass,
Like ladies’ skirts across the grass—
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
I saw the different things you did,
But always you yourself you hid.
I felt you push, I heard you call,
I could not see yourself at all—
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
O you that are so strong and cold,
O blower, are you young or old?
Are you a beast of field and tree,
Or just a stronger child than me?
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
I didn't know there was a "National Kite-Flying Day", Linda. How wonderful that you & your colleague filled the library with them. I have a wonderful box kite that we take to the beach every summer, & I've flown it with students, always makes special memories. "There's something about a kite. . ." And your poems, yes, beautiful. That first: "a tiny/bird in mid-air courtship." and Stevenson seems to find the images for our vision. Thanks for all, & Happy Kite-Flying!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful tribute poems for National Kite Day.
ReplyDeleteYes, what is it about kites? I love that you decorated your library ceiling with kites from around the world. Even a kid with bookophobia would feel at home in a space like that! I am particularly enamored of that photo. Is that joy, or is that joy?! Thank you! xo
ReplyDeleteSurprise to hear it's National Kite Day (I thought it was in March). What a fabulous celebration, Linda. Love the library decor as well as the poems. Joy!
ReplyDeleteIn love the way you celebrated National Kite Day, in your library and here with these gorgeous poems.
ReplyDeleteI do love kites! Your haiku are a wonderful addition to celebrate Kite Day!
ReplyDeleteI love kites! I have a frog kite in my classroom. I think kites from around the world make a delightful display. And then these rich poems. I am getting a lesson plan (project) idea from this post. Interest + Wonderopolis = Poetry
ReplyDeleteLinda, you should share what you wrote about Wonderopolis & your haikus that followed at Twitter with the hashtag @Wonderopolis on #WonderWednesday. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteAh... kites, too! I ran across a fun site that lists every kind of "Day" you can imagine. Love your wonderful display of kites in your library. And I love the old photo you found. It makes me remember some childhood days.
ReplyDeleteThis post soars like the kites it celebrates! Each time I think I found the high spot, I read on to another one. That final photo is so evocative. Thanks for sharing and for reminding me that I have some kite photos in my archives that might be in search of a poetry companion.
ReplyDeleteOh I love the kite-flying memories this post and it's enclosed poems stirred up. Thrilled you used Wonderopolis as a resource. I've linked the two in Tweet for you. Cheers! -- Christie @ https://wonderingandwondering.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteThese are great! And how fun to pick a topic and see what you can find.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout out, Linda! I love your kites from around the world and the poems you shared, esp the found poems frim Wondering is text. I have done that with 4th graders and we found some very cool poems:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful collection of kite poems and images! Thanks for sharing, Linda! Kites always make me think of childhood and spring. Hooray for kites!
ReplyDeleteKites as decorations are a terrific idea! Found haikus also.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Beveridge poem, I especially like this detail: "make it veer with the precision of/an insect targeting a sting"
Thanks for sharing all these kite poems and images. There is something magical about kites. And I have to admit, I still think of Mary Poppins when I think of kites. I love the Beveridge poem you shared--especially the surprise ending!
ReplyDeleteI like the refrain in the Stevenson poem. And what a mysterious ending the Beveridge poem has. I love your kites from around the world-how inspiring, thanks Linda!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading the haiku especially the first one.
ReplyDelete"The Kite" You are right about the ending - thinking UK/EU located with (spoiler alert) alms & a monk? Appreciations for this intro to a new poet/poem.
ReplyDeleteI am in bliss with this post because this was recited to me by my Mom in child days but not remembered until your post -
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
And - such a jubilant photo from the LOC!
Best of ALL, once again, a peek into the lucky room that the readers & dreams walk into
at your school. Great collection you high-fliers launched!
I missed this one first time around so thanks for sharing it on TLD.
ReplyDelete