2013 Poetry Month
Hi there! Welcome to RuffDrafts.com–I’m glad you’re here!
My original poems, posted each day of National Poetry Month 2013, are imperfect. Messy. This is your chance to sneak a peek behind the scenes—before a poem is polished and published! (For my poems in 2010, 2011 & 2012, click on the Poetry link in the menu above.)
My friend Bruce Balan and I critique each other’s poems every day…so you’ll see Bruce’s comments on some of the poems.
Thanks for following so well. I’m tempted to take you to the dog park and let you romp off-leash… Ready? Let’s begin!
Bedtime
Cat sleeping with one eye open
in case Dog flies down the stairs.
Morning Dog
This one’s a Mask poem, which means that it’s from the point of view of an animal or inanimate object.
Hello, Tree, Says the Dog
An apostrophe poem, also called a poem of address.
Which Version Do You Like Best?
I wrote the longest one first, then tried to condense it. Which do you prefer?
Message From Beyond: A Found Poem
A Found Poem is one you’ve put together with the words from another source.
Instructions Before Leaving
Don’t taste them.
Don’t tear them.
Just try on and wear them.
Dog Unto Others
This idea made me smile when I was driving … the idea of a dog trying to practice the Golden Rule.
Dog Thoughts on a Saturday Night
A mask poem–in which the poet becomes an animal or object and speaks from that perspective.
Try a Trimeric Poem!
Walk the perimeter, the trainer says.
You’re the leader, the one to watch.
Eli will look up every now and then
to find you.
Lovebirds Kissing in the Dog Park
I don’t even know which is their dog …
If Our House Were on Fire, What Would I Take?
I would take you
just you …
Disciples at the Dog Park — what to cut?
In the dust of the park,
five dogs sit tightly around Tom,
who is standing,
holding a dried chicken chip,
as if it were a gold medallion.
Dog Explorer Uses His Nose
Sniff, o, sniff—what glorious fumes
coats the world beyond these rooms?
God, Dog and Teddy
God came by early this morning on his rounds,
carrying his latte.
He saw you sleeping on your blanket.
O the Wind Blows
A mask poem from the point of view of something that cannot speak.
Black / White
After talking with my friend who was snowed-in back east, I met a brilliantly white Akita at the dog park.
Says the Tree in the Dog Park
I’m just a small tree
trying to be
healthy and green and alive.
There Once Was a Dog in an Encounter Group
Sometimes you just have to take what spills on the page. I call these PHPs or Place Holder Poems.
Hello, I’m Buster and I’m a Chase-a-holic. Poetry Friday!
No matter how busy the street is,
how fast the squirrel is,
or how loudly my person screams,
once I started, I couldn’t stop.
What I Hope Will Never Happen
If you’re my agent,
you tell me my writing stinks
and not to call you
or email
or send you a box of chocolates
or take you to see another Broadway show
ever again.
What Not to Name Your Dog
A PHP (place holder poem) that is so true!
These Dog Poems
It’s always fun to throw an unanswered question or two into a poem.
The 2013 Progressive Poem by 30 Poets of the Kidlitosphere
This Progressive Poem has been moving from blog to blog, growing poet by poet, for 29 days until it’s come here for one final line.
2013 Poems
In honor of Poetry Month, Easter, Passover, and all things rabbity, my free-verse picture book, To Rabbittown, originally published by Scholastic, is 99 cents on iTunes, Kindle, Nook–yippee!
Download the free Kindle for PC if you don’t have an eReader.
.…for more children’s poetry links go to
this delicious blog:
Jama’s Alphabet Soup
