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Today, Poetry Friday bloggers celebrate Lee Bennett Hopkins, children's poet, poetry-champion and hero, who passed away earlier this month. To say his presence will be missed is a vast understatement.
Amy Ludwig Vanderwater is hosting a #DearOneLBH round-up at The Poem Farm.
I went to two of my favorite places to spend time with Lee. First, Renee LaTulippe's No Water River interview. Then, Michelle Heidenrich Barns' Today's Little Ditty Spotlight on Lee Bennett Hopkins.
Renee requested that Lee use the word poem in a couplet...but he wrote a haiku.
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| https://www.nowaterriver.com/spotlight-on-ncte-poets-lee-bennett-hopkins/ |
I took the line, write true poetry.
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| (c) Linda Mitchell August 2019 |
At the end of Michelle's interview, Lee challenged readers to write a 'Me' poem.
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| https://michellehbarnes.blogspot.com/2015/09/spotlight-on-lee-bennett-hopkins-dmc.html |
Red Winged Blackbird’s Me Poem
Conk-la-ree!
Look at me
wetlands are
my territory
Oak-la-ree!
Look at me
a cattail throne
is what I need
Conk-la-ree!
Look at me
red wing, black coat
and feathery
Oak-la-ree!
Look at me
I sing loud and often
so you’ll notice me
Conk-la-ree!
Look at me
insects bother you?
my tasty treat
Oak-la-ree!
Look at me
so long as you peek
we ‘re friends
you see
Conk-la-ree!
Oak-la-ree!
Look at me
wetlands are
my territory
Oak-la-ree!
Look at me
a cattail throne
is what I need
Conk-la-ree!
Look at me
red wing, black coat
and feathery
Oak-la-ree!
Look at me
I sing loud and often
so you’ll notice me
Conk-la-ree!
Look at me
insects bother you?
my tasty treat
Oak-la-ree!
Look at me
so long as you peek
we ‘re friends
you see
Conk-la-ree!
Oak-la-ree!
© Linda Mitchell
Godspeed dear Lee. You are missed...we find you in your words. Thank you for all of them.
Your use of repetition in these poems is so effective. I love the red-winged blackbird poem. It's so true about their loud personality.
ReplyDeleteYour poem, "Dear One", is so beautifully crafted. The repeated lines create a lovely flow through the piece. (PS--That blackbird photo is one of my favorites! )
ReplyDeleteAppreciations for adding your great talents to these #DearOneLBH tributes!
ReplyDeleteXoX
Jan
I am pondering Lee's lines, "Yet so few/write true poetry" and what your response was. Stanza 2 stands out to me. When we write with passion in response to life, those words get embedded in our heart. True poetry is the ebb and flow of emotions spilled out onto the page. I also like how you crafted your poem to Lee, Linda. Your red-winged blackbird poem is full of outdoor chatter.
ReplyDeleteI saw that bird photo a few days ago in my feed too, and was blown away by it. It reminded me of the Browning poem where he talks about the thrush:
ReplyDelete"That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!"
Doesn't that blackbird look like he is enjoying some fine careless rapture? I love what you've done with him!
Your tribute to Lee is also beautiful.
My school was next to a wetlands and the herald call of "conk-la-ree" became our welcome to spring, Linda. Your poem brings me to those lovely days, and your creating from Lee's call for true poetry is wonderful, a loving tumbling of words for Lee. Thanks for a beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteOh, Linda. "Sweet and bitter lives" - and that ending. Yes. He did show us. I love red-winged blackbirds and adore how you so absolutely bring this widemouthed one to life on the page! Happy Poetry Friday. xx
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Lee was all about "Poetry with a capital P" aka "true poetry." And also "oooooh"s too good not to share! <-- I love that line in your poem. :) Can I also say how soothing it was to me, personally, to read your ME poem? It felt like a warm hug. Thank you. xo
ReplyDelete"Magic in verse" and "true poetry"--you've summed it up! (And I fell in love with that red-wing blackbird photo when I first saw it too. So glad it inspired a look-at-me poem!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links to those interviews with Lee. Dear One is especially poignant. I love the repetition of the lines.
ReplyDeleteI admire how much factual information you shared in your Red Winged Blackbird’s Me Poem. He has a lot to Conk-la-ree! about.
I love your line "sweet and bitter lives." That really is where true poetry comes from. Thank you for this beautiful tribute to Lee. Your "Me" poem is amazing!
ReplyDeleteWow, Linda - where to even start? A thoughtful, inspiring post of tribute and creativity. Love your ME red-winged blackbird poem! You've captured a lot of spirit in that little creature and his orations...:0) Thanks for sharing all!
ReplyDeleteI saw that photo when National Geographic (or was it Audubon?) announced the photography awards. Stunning. And then you went and wrote the perfect poem to go with it! Lee will live on. In his words, and in ours.
ReplyDeleteI like the chant that your repeating line creates in your poem "Dear One," and what a fun and true to character poem you created in your Me poem. Thanks for this lovely tribute post Linda!
ReplyDeleteLee did indeed show us "magic in verse." I adore your red-winged blackbird poem! Lovely post, Linda.
ReplyDeleteYour tribute poem to Lee is simply beautiful. And then you blew me away with that blackbird poem! Wow!
ReplyDeleteLee definitely became a part of our collective joy - very nice tribute, Linda. And I love the repetition in your 'Me' poem!
ReplyDeleteOooh, I love "write true poetry," and the way you echoed each stanza's end line as the beginning of the next (have you invented a FORM, Linda?). Your ending is just right--Oooh again, too good not to share!
ReplyDeleteI love that cattail throne, Linda. Lee was an inspiration and will continue to be one.
ReplyDelete