Why We Need To Sleep

This morning I listened to Garrison Keiler on the Poetry Almanac Podcast, and was moved by this poem by William Blake.
Then I read Heidi Mordhorst’s blog and was reminded of our need to detoxify each night.
http://myjuicylittleuniverse.blogspot.com/
Emily-OliverFall
On Another’s Sorrow

Can I see another’s woe,
And not be in sorrow too?
Can I see another’s grief,
And not seek for kind relief?

Can I see a falling tear,
And not feel my sorrow’s share?
Can a father see his child
Weep, nor be with sorrow filled?

Can a mother sit and hear
An infant groan, an infant fear?
No, no! never can it be!
Never, never can it be!

And can He who smiles on all
Hear the wren with sorrows small,
Hear the small bird’s grief and care,
Hear the woes that infants bear —

And not sit beside the next,
Pouring pity in their breast,
And not sit the cradle near,
Weeping tear on infant’s tear?

And not sit both night and day,
Wiping all our tears away?
Oh no! never can it be!
Never, never can it be!

He doth give his joy to all:
He becomes an infant small,
He becomes a man of woe,
He doth feel the sorrow too.

Think not thou canst sigh a sigh,
And thy Maker is not by:
Think not thou canst weep a tear,
And thy Maker is not year.

Oh He gives to us his joy,
That our grief He may destroy:
Till our grief is fled an gone
He doth sit by us and moan.

William Blake

Pattern#50 Red Velvet

Red Velvet photo from Laurie Purdie Salas

Red Velvet
photo from Laurie Purdie Salas

Red velvet glows
from darkest space;
royalty emerges from dark hole:
divine portal.

Happy Birthday Don

Birthday Man in Pre-2000AD

Birthday Man in Pre-2000AD

I’m your Granny-Smith
Your green-mean circuitry;
Beholden to my master-tech:
Digital Bumble Bee!

Alive at night
Your hive kept bright;
Blink-a-ping-a-blink
Honey-coated flight!

I sweep your floor
Arrange each cell-
Flutter here and there
Ready on each day to tell:

“Happy Birthday’s here!”

October 17, 1954
Glad to be an intimate part!

Pattern #49 Shadow

Shadow of a camel

Shadow of a camel

I am a shadow
under the sky

swinging singing
by and by.

Shadows catch the light-
point deep

divine direction
of God’s leap!

Comfort Food

Feed Your family

Feed Your family

Comfort Food
by Jeanne Poland

My daughter arrived with husband behind,
Post surgery, weary, washed out;
I’d made them a soup with chicken and vegs:
Some broth that gave bones back their clout.

Some wine spiced it sweet, with onions, anise,
Carrots, rosemary, and chicken breasts sliced;
Potatoes, fresh parsley, lemon, zucchini,
Comfort delivered all spiced, sliced and diced!

Gummy Bugs

Gummy Bugs

glow in the dark tattoos

glow in the dark tattoos

Gummy bugs stick to wall:
lodge in teeth
fly in eye
silky spiders
autumn beetles
green slugs
glow in dark
for fall!

Tattoos:
red eyes glow
goggle eyes show
cat’s eyes know
cross eyes slow
to focus.
ho·cus po·cus!

My 38 year old daughter turned into a child yesterday when offered super ball, yo-yo and cat cookie cutter mold.
All of these were part of the Halloween Packet from Oriental Trading. So we see the fountain of youth: toys!

A Mortimer Minute (A Poetry Bunny Hop)

Watch those bunny teeth!

Watch those bunny teeth!

Bunny Question #1:
What does it take to be a children’s poet?
Answer:
chutzpah

Bunny Question #2
Do poets use slang?
Answer:
Often. They call it “colloquialism”. And it works well when it rings with meter, rhyme and local flavor.

Bunny Question #3
Can a poem have no words?
Answer:
Some poems are sounds like this one from Germany.

Music For Cats

I am touched by Joy Acey’s invite to spend a Mortimer Minute with these lively poets who preceeded me.
Feel free to visit their blogs:

Poetry Friday: The Mortimer Minute Children’s Poetry Blog Hop


http://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/2013/09/mortimer-minute.html
http://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2013/09/mortimer-is-in-house.html
http://myjuicylittleuniverse.blogspot.com/2013/09/childrens-poetry-blog-hop.htm
http://www.poetryforkidsjoy.blogspot.com

Here is a video of me reading one of my favorite poems.
https://thevibrantchanneledcreator.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/bit-by-a-bug/

Finally,
I would like to invite all those poets who take time to visit this blog to take a Mortimer Moment.
Just reply in the comments section if you are interested.

Pattern #48 Autumnal Russet

Gourds

Gourds

Gourds hold seeds;
birth them when they need
to burst for winter’s
long siesta under snow.

Seeds grow seedlings;
tender shoots in baby green
spring up to sun
look for their mom.

Unfurl fresh leaves
reach out from stem
when summer’s dew
wakes sap in them.

“Til Fall again
grows gourds in russet reds
with seeds that burst
for winter under snow.

Pattern #47 Blogging

Oliver Tries Push-Ups

Oliver Tries Push-Ups

Blogging’s like push-ups
Every day counts.

Small push grows big push
Larger amounts.

Sprinkle some sunshine
Add singing birds.

Follow each link
Neither lost nor swerved.

Say it succinctly
Write it: be brave

Blog it; don’t hog it
Just polish each rave.

(I have been invited to play with a Mortimer Minute starting tomorrow. Bring it on!)

Pattern #46 Go home Have Babies (Every Mustang’s Dream)

Spirit

Spirit was a mustang
Wild and fast his flight;
Galloped ’til a stallion
Led the herd each night.

Wild and fast his flight;
“Til Calvary made him fight
For freedom and his rights.

Galloped ’til a stallion
Rode his muscles raw;
Heaved his breath: neighed his jaw.

Led the herd each night;
Guarded them from foes
As every mustang knows.

I showed my 4 year old grand daughter the DVD of “Spirit”.
At the finish, she asked:”Can they go home now and have babies?”
She discerned what mattered, even for a horse.

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