Imaginary gardens with real toads in them: Zoe's April poems
drip drop.
plunk, plank, plop.
It is raining,
the moon is waning,
it is night,
there is no light,
it is slippery,
the fish are flippery.
--Zoe K-B, April 16, 2010
National Poetry Month is over -- and with it, the challenge undertaken by poets across the country to write a poem per day for the month of April. Many poets I know fell short of the goal, ending up with a mere 27 poems, or 10, or three.
However, one up-and-coming poet who came through with 30 poems in 30 days is my 9-year-old daughter, Zoe. In honor of her accomplishment, below are a few poetic highlights from Zoe's prolific April. I enjoy the quirky rhyming humor she brought to most days' entries, and the little moments of surprise or truth or wonder that pop out of them. Marianne Moore famously described poetry's task as providing "imaginary gardens with real toads in them," and I like to think of these poems as Zoe's imaginary gardens.
It is a cow. Wow. It is a plum. Yum. It is a leaf. Stop thief!
***
cupcakes. cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes. clementines & cupcakes. cupcakes & peaches. yum. yum. yum. doughnuts & grapes. grapes & bagels. yum. yum. yum. plain frosting & too much ice cream. broccoli & chicken noodle soup. yum. yum. yum. onions & worms. fish heads & cat food. yum. yum. yum.
***
There is a ladybird bug. It is in a tree. Ollie is climbing the tree. Ollie is a cat. Emma is very fluffy. Emma is also a cat. Climbing is faster than crawling. Crawling is what a baby does. Bay is something everybody is or was. Everybody is in the universe. Jupiter is a planet in the universe. Earth is the planet we live on.
***
In the garden.
Fairies Fly From Flower to Flower. Bees Buzz By Buttercups. Chipmunks Chatter with Cherries. Ants And Abominable snowmen Amble Along. Dark Dogs say Dagnabbit. Elven Eskimos name Elephants Erin. Green Grass Grows Great. Ignorant Igloo Iguanas argue Inside. Helping Hands Hiccup to Humans.
Zoe K-B is a Brownie scout, a member of the Genies soccer team, and a third-grader at Ann Arbor Open School. Scott Beal is a stay-at-home dad, a coach of the Genies soccer team and writer-in-residence at Ann Arbor Open School.
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