2012 Poetry Month
Howdy, Campers and welcome to my 2012 Poem-A-Day Challenge! Wowee–I can’t believe it’s here again! This means I’ve been writing a poem a day since I took the challenge in April 2010. Two. Whole. Years. Over six hundred poems.
Ask any writer and I’ll bet 98% of us wonder if we deep-down really ARE writers. Writing a poem a day has given me an amazing gift–I no longer doubt that I’m a writer.
This month, all the poems will be DOG POEMS, because the dog park is my new addiction. So, let’s get on with the dog show–arf, arf!
When I Am a Dog
I was looking at Eli’s strong, long tail and suddenly I had a teeny case of tail envy.
Dog Word, Girl Word
What a glorious word “done” can be! It got me to thinking about favorite words.
This Baby Comes to the Dog Park Too Often
Some of what makes a funny poem is the meter. This one is bouncy—it has predictable rhythm and rhyme.
Write an Autopilot Poem
Every Tuesday night I tell myself:
tomorrow is Wednesday.
Dog Birthday
a long time ago
i chewed you out
for chewing my shoe
Dog Tree Apostrophe
An apostrophe poem is one in which the poet talks to an inanimate object.
Passover at the Dog Park
Stand on your head and write a poem for Passover or Easter or Spring. Be unpredictable—come at this topic from a completely different angle.
Grooming
Slow down. Be present. Observe one facet of your life.
Dog Park Spring Quartet
Sometimes I get flashes on a topic. Pieces of a puzzle that don’t fit together with that satisfying click no matter how I look at the pieces.
Six Words About the Dog Park
I’m not known for being concise. But that’s exactly what I admire: a few brush strokes to suggest a cat sleeping, a few ingredients to make a meal, a few words to tell a story.
Dogs Don’t Go to Funerals
Dogs don’t go to funerals.
They follow behind ghosts,
sniff empty slippers,
tilt their head in question,
pause to gnaw fleas
between the toes of a paw.
TV Cooking Show
I’m going to come out of the closet and say I don’t think I’m the only one who stays up late to watch Chopped. Am I right?
In Pollywog Park
One middle school kid,
talking cocky
commandeers the outdoor glider.
A gawky squirt
in a shirt that’s khaki
tries high five but he’s an outsider.
Poop Patrol
Eli is hunching near the fence
on a patch of grass
by the third tree
from the tool shed.
Young Dog Dashing ~ imitating a poem I love
Young Dog Dashing, how do you run
With Greyhound and Husky in the dust and the sun?
In circles and twisting around the trees
Gathering others for the widening game.
When Eli Turned Two
Before, as if he hadn’t heard,
my memo slowly fluttered down. The words
which bid him to obey
would float above his brain all day.
Spring Evening at the Dog Park
Warm yellow light
spills over all of us,
dogs and humans.
Focusing on Rhythm in a Dog Poem
dog lifting ear
wrinkling wet nose
whistle of man
done with day’s work
twitching the tip of a tail
putting big paws on the ledge
From a Cat’s Point of View …
Here in the piano room,
I purr on a lap.
This is my lap,
no one else’s lap,
mine.
Dogsitter
Our dogsitter knows
just enough
to wonder
why
the dog
looks
so
guilty.
Enormously Touching Reunion From a Dog’s Point of View
We just got back from a few days at UC Berkeley. The weather was perfect, we went on a dream hike with our son, I am swooning with happiness. When we picked him up at our dogsitter’s, Eli seemed glad to see us.
I Have No
I have no rain inside my house,
no grass instead of rug,
no tiny living dinosaur,
no belching monster bug.
Adolescent Dog — alliteration, assonance, and consonance
You curl,
a cooked piece of pasta
on the round rug,
squeaky panda under your paw
Evening in Paris … in the Dog Park
We are lucky
to have not one
but eight Eiffel Towers
linked by wires
marching over the dog park.
Veteran Dog to Cocky Puppy
Take the leash, Kid, take the ride.
Yep—it could be to the vet.
Or maybe waiting in the shade.
Or a romp on the beach.
Heck—it could be a ham bone
after heel-sit-stay.
The Handmade Doll From the Museum Shop … Meets our Dog
With birthday money,
I buy the one with pigtails
brown skin
white apron over her gingham dress
holding a pet duck.
Our Dog’s Adoption Story
Freshman Dodger John Ely is pitching his 2nd game ever in the majors
sending those balls skidding past every one of the Brewers,
making them spin like tops,
no one gets on—
what a great dance.
What Happened?
Everything’s changed.
She used to float above me like a soft, white cloud.
Now her voice is sharp with lightning strikes;
she thunders at me for little things.
May Day
James brought
Lacy and Chase.
Grace brought
Sadie and Payne.
Every dog learned to
shake, wait
and stay,
and then they all played games.
2012 Poems
Eli found Squirrel at the dog park.
Eli loves Squirrel.
Squirrel no longer squeaks.
Eli removed Squirrel’s squeaker.
He couldn’t help himself.