Born to rhyme, indeed!

“Born to Rhyme”

You were the perfect rhymer,

we only can deduce–

it had to be your destiny

because your name was Seuss.

A cat in hat and fox in socks,

so simple to produce–

when you have a name that sounds the same

as merry Mother Goose!

This poem was written for Rena Traxel’s A-Z Poetry Challenge. Hop on over to read a little more about Dr. Seuss.

Castle photo by: Rena Traxel

“It’s Hard to be Queen”

A castle is a hassle,

it’s so hard to be a Queen.

Fifteen bathrooms, filthy heirlooms–

take too long to clean!

This poem was written for Rena Traxel’s A-Z Poetry Challenge. Grab a cup a coffee and pull up a chair!

The Sum of Our Parts: A Brainy Refrain, Written by: Bill Kirk, Illustrations by: Eugene Ruble"

“Busy Body Brain”

My super-duper-hyperactive-busy-body brain

flies me anywhere I want to be

much faster than a plane.

Raced an elephant in India,

a puma in Peru,

ran with dingoes way Down Under

in a minute flat-oh-two.

Swam with penguins in Antarctica,

rode tigers in Nepal,

chased a cheetah while in Africa

three blinks—I did it all.

In a mini-micro-mili-second

I’m off to Japan,

it’s super-duper-hyperactive–

Catch me if you can!!

This poem was written for Rena Traxel’s A-Z Poetry Challenge. Love Word-Acrobatics? Come play!

Drawing by: Julie Rowan-Zoch

“I’d Rather Munch A Bunny”

I’d rather munch a bunny

than to slurp a slimy worm.

I’d rather crunch a camel

or a poodle with a perm.

I’d surely gag my guts out

if I felt a wiggler squirm.

I’d rather munch a bunny

than to slurp a slimy worm.

This poem was written for Rena Traxel’s A-Z Poetry Challenge. Love to rhyme?  Come join us!

Buried treasures hide in dark corners of storage closets, beneath ancient piles of tattered books and old financial paperwork.  Buried treasures conceal themselves on folded slips of  notebook paper, stapled neatly together with a signed inscription from your grandmother.

From my Grandmother.....

Buried treasures are priceless.

I found these buried treasures a few days ago while cleaning out a storage closet– a couple of poems that I wrote when I was nine years old.

“Halloween Night”

"Halloween Night"

“It was dark that night on Halloween.

Werewolves were howling, very mean.

Pranks and tricks were being played.

Haunted houses were being made.

But there was something very strange that night.

Just the thought of it, was a fright.

Was it the thought of scary features?

Or were there really Halloween creatures?

Were there ghosts fluttering in mid-air?

Something tells me they were really there.

Everything I said was a fright,

But it’s the untold story of Halloween Night.

"Thanksgiving Day"

“Thanksgiving Day”

Gather round, let’s celebrate

because everything we have is great!

Thanks for the turkey, that is not dry,

and for the home-baked bread, made from rye.

But what really counts on this great day,

is showing thanks in every way.

Buried treasures serve as a reminder—a reminder of who you are and of who you have always been–  And sometimes that is all you need, to be certain you are heading in the right direction….

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Poetry Month

I cannot let National Poetry Month slip by me without participating in some of the amazing festivities going on in the blogosphere.

Renee LaTulippe, my beautiful friend at No Water River will be hosting an incredible list of poets at her blog. A very talented poet in her own right, Renee will step out of the spotlight for the month of April and feature poetry videos from many accomplished children’s poets and authors.  Please join her at No Water River every Monday and Friday in April to view all of the latest video poetry additions.

Rena Traxel at On the Way to Somewhere will be hosting a Poetry Month A-Z challenge where participants will be asked to write a new poem for each day of the month in April. If you’re feeling prolific for National Poetry Month, why not  join in on the challenge!

Irene Latham at Live Your Poem will be hosting a progressive poem for the month of April. 27 poets will take turns adding a line of poetry to the same poem throughout the month of April. Check in at Live Your Poem, to follow the poem’s progress.

Happy Poetry Month, Ya’ll!

There’s a hole in my mouth

and I’m really kind of freaking,

I guzzled down a gallon

now my lemonade is leaking.

I tried to eat my salad

but I’m really sort of stressing,

I crunched a bunch of lettuce

now I’m dripping out my dressing.

I slurped a malted milkshake

which was not at all amusing,

I tried to do a tongue-plug

but the sticky-ick is oozing.

I guess I’ll tell my mother

so that she’s the first who knows,

that I’ll be a skinny-minny

if my hole doesn’t close.

Someone lost his very first tooth this week.....

This must be a  big week of firsts in our family. At seven years old, my son lost his very very first tooth. Considering he was the last in his class to mark this milestone, he was very excited that it finally happened. I wrote this poem for him to celebrate the occasion.

This is also my first time to participate in the Poetry Friday Round-Up at KidLitosphere Central. This week’s Round-Up is hosted by Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading. So hop on over there to read some of Mary Lee’s lovely poetry and to see what else is going on in this week’s Round-Up.

What was I thinking?

I must have had a fleeting moment of madness when I got myself signed up for Ed Decaria’s Think Kid Think March Madness Poetry Tournament. This thing is oozing with talent–and now I find myself neck and neck with my very clever competitor.

If you haven’t read our match-up, get yourself over there and read it!  It is “whine vs. psychoanalysis,” and we could really use your votes!

http://www.thinkkidthink.com/1-whine-vs-16-psychoanalysis

And once you’ve read ours–go read all the others!  You’ll be so full of poem-candy that you just might burst a button!

Phyllis woke up this morning ready for the Big City so we packed up the car and headed out.  Phyllis told us that she would love to see San Antonio’s most famous landmarks, so we knew exactly where to take her. First stop:  The Alamo!

We're going to the Alamo!!

When we arrived at the Alamo, San Antonio’s most famous building, Phyllis couldn’t believe how small it looked in person.

Phyllis at the Alamo!

We heard the U.S. Navy Choir sing the National Anthem and we walked around back to see if we could get some better pictures.

We found the back door!

Of course, there were not nearly as many people at the back door, so Phyllis told us this was probably the perfect time to do her weather report.

Phyllis says, "It's cloudy."

Phyllis scampered around the Alamo courtyard, took one good sniff of the air and reported that it was cloudy, humid and a muggy 73 degrees.  And of course after spending the whole day learning all about Davy Crockett and his coonskin cap, Phyllis wanted one of her very own.

Phyllis in her coonskin hat at the Alamo

Phyllis told us she was sure glad Mr. Crockett didn’t wear groundhogs!

Phyllis's close-up

When it was time to leave the Alamo, we told Phyllis we were going to show her something she could only find in Texas:  the world’s biggest pair of cowboy boots!

For a cowboy the size of Texas

Phyllis could not believe how tiny she looked in comparison. She told us that if we didn’t get a closer shot that Susanna might not ever believe us.

I'm really here, Susanna!

And of course—you guessed it–Phyllis loved the boots so much that she wanted a pair of her very own.

Phyllis looks great in boots!

After a long and fun-filled day in San Antonio, we packed in our car and headed home…..And would you believe what Phyllis spotted on our drive back to the Hill Country???  Bluebonnets– our beautiful state flowers— the surest sign that spring in Texas, is on its way.

Phyllis in the bluebonnets

She’s some groundhog………

She’s here! Punxsutawney Phyllis has landed in the Lone Star State!

Phyllis was so happy to get to Texas that she practically jumped out of her envelope.  She told us that traveling Priority Mail wasn’t bad, but wanted to know if First Class Mail served peanuts.

Phyllis's travel arrangements

We were so excited  to show her around our property and give her a personal tour of the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Phyllis was especially impressed by some of the native Texas plants and said that she had never seen anything like them Punxsutawney.

Phyllis amongst some native Texas Hill Country plants

Phyllis reminded us that she needed to do her weather report. So we let her run around do her thing. Phyllis took one good sniff of the Texas air and reported that it was warm, sunny and a balmy 77 degrees.

Phyllis says, "It's sunny!"

Before we wrapped things up for the afternoon, Phyllis wanted to know why we were all wearing sombreros. We told her it was time to let her in on a little surprise. Tomorrow we are taking her to San Antonio– a vibrant Texas city that was once part of Mexico.  Phyllis was so excited to hear about our destination that she wanted a sombrero of her very own.

Phyllis, hanging out in the cactus patch

Phyllis spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the cactus patch and enjoying the warmth of the Texas sun….

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Rest up, Phyllis–Tomorrow is going to be a very big day!

We are expecting a house guest, Folks–and this is no April Fool’s Day joke. We are so excited to be a part of Susanna Leonard Hill’s, April Fool Phyllis World Tour!  This means Punxsutawney Phyllis, “Weather Prophet Extraordinaire,” will be coming to Texas–and we just can’t wait to show her a good time!

Maybe we’ll feast on Tex-Mex, shimmy with a mariachi band, adorn ourselves with Fiesta flowers and take a relaxing river boat ride? Or maybe we’ll just take it easy, get outside and enjoy a leisurely stroll through the Old Spanish Missions.  The possibilities are wide open and we can’t wait to find out what Phyllis is up for.

So be ready Phyllis–Let’s soak up some beautiful Texas sunshine together! Oh—and pack light–No blizzards here!