Blogger: Rachel Kent
I know many of you are still digging out of the snow, but Spring is just around the corner! 🙂 We have had glorious Spring days here in Northern California, but we do still need rain to combat this drought.
My daughter has been enjoying the daffodils and now our tulips are starting to bloom. She has been caught up in the magic of spring and it’s so fun to watch her. She even gets excited about dandelions and I’m starting to consider them my favorite flower. The delightful dandelion bouquets I have received from her have softened my heart toward the weeds and I think I will always allow them to grow in my yard–in moderation, of course. Her delight in the flowers of spring got me excited to read her some poetry. “Golden Glories” by Christina Rossetti is one that always comes to mind when spring flowers start to bloom:
“The buttercup is like a golden cup,
The marigold is like a golden frill,
The daisy with a golden eye looks up,
And golden spreads the flag beside the rill,
And gay and golden nods the daffodil,
The gorsey common swells a golden sea,
The cowslip hangs a head of golden tips,
And golden drips the honey which the bee
Sucks from sweet hearts of flowers and stores and sips.”
I had this poem memorized at one point, but I’m rusty. When I recited part of it to my daughter, she was thoughtful and quiet. I think even without their understanding all of the words or concepts, poetry is a great way to spark the imagination in children. There’s so much beauty to glean from the poets and I believe poetry opens up the mind to exploring new things. I have found that many children are only exposed to Shel Silverstein poems. Silverstein’s poems are a lot of fun, but I do hope that my daughter will appreciate deep, thought-provoking poetry, too.
Did/do your children like poetry?
What is your favorite springtime poem?
Did you like poetry as a child?
One of our sons came to us at age 5, deficient in vocabulary and the rhythm of speech. His play was all mechanical, with no underlying story line. He knew no nursery rhymes, no poetry, no silly songs. It is easy to assume that there is little value in Jack Be Nimble and The Moon Is the North Wind’s Cooky. I assure you, they are keys to imagination and descriptive speech.
Kudos to you, Rachel, for introducing poetry to your daughter and to this conversation. And thanks to my father, the dairy farmer, for teaching me “I never saw a purple cow.”
Thanks, Shirlee! I’m sure your son was read to a lot once he joined your home!
In the town where I grew up, there was a milk distributor with a large plaster cow mounted on the portico of their headquarters.
Every year, the graduating high school seniors would paint it purple; every year, management would dutifully return it to its pristine white state at the end of summer.
So let it be said that there were thousands who indeed SAW a purple cow, and thousands who would would still (for the tradition continues) like to see one.
Andrew, have you heard of The Purple Cow restaurant? There is one on Fort Worth. They make hamburgers and are famous for their ice cream. 🙂
“in” Fort Worth. 🙂
Oh, yes!
Wow! What a patient milk distributor to allow that to go on for so many years.
Does someone from the school pay to paint it white again?
Nope, the distributor considers it a community service.
I love poetry. I’ll admit that I struggled with poetry in high school … when asked to interpret it, I always derived a different meaning than the teacher. 🙂 That’s one of the few times I had an “F” at the top of my paper. Ugh.
My girls loved poetry when they were little. We haven’t really read it together in a bit … we need to do that.
I love Wendy Macdonald’s poetry.
Shelli, you are the sweetest flower in my garden of writing friends. ❀
🙂 I want to know how to make that little flower symbol you always make! 🙂
My daughter taught me. Teens are so tech savvy. I’ve messaged you the link that I save and paste from. Have fun. 🙂
Yay!!
I don’t think analyzing poetry should be graded in the same way as other things. Poems are meant to be personal and should mean something different to different people!
Oh, I so agree, Rachel!! 🙂
As much as we read to our boys when they were very small (still read to them, actually), I never even thought to read poetry to them. I admit, I have two of Shel Silverstein’s books, from my teaching days. My boys do memorize and recite poetry at school, though. So, I’m glad they get some exposure to it. 🙂
I’m like Shelli. I struggled in poetry in college. It wasn’t my favorite form of the written word. 🙂
Jeanne, we loved Dr. Seuss when the kids were small. That counts, right?! 🙂 We loved Mr. Brown Can Moo. (if I have the title right)
Oh, the wonderful things Mr. Brown can do
He can sound like a cow
He can go “moo moo”
That is one book I’ll always keep for the girls. It’s around here some place. We wore it out, and wore ourselves out laughing.
It has a great cadence, Shelli. 🙂 I’d count it. 😉
I actually like Shel Silverstein’s poetry, but I think that classic and modern (but clean) poetry have a lot to offer children, too.
Unfortunately, a lot of the modern stuff is really foul and sexual.
You’re right, Rachel. Kudos to you for introducing your girl to poetry so young! 🙂 I wish I had done that. 🙂
I recently wrote about this very thing! Encouraging a love of poetry in my children is a passion of mine. It’s not as hard as it seems, either! https://prayingwithoneeyeopen.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/the-power-of-poetry/
That was sweet, Hannah.
🙂 Glad we share a passion! It’s a new one for me, but I am determined to share poetry with my daughter.
Poetry? ‘Tis a mad thing that
from unplumbed depth arises,
but just who IS a Bard of Spring
may be one of life’s surprises.
Dr. Seuss counts! So does Bill Pete. Mostly we read novels to the boys and history books and science books. I’ve read a poem or two or a psalm to them, but children do appreciate the rhythm and flow of words. This was impressed upon me when one of my boys was quite young, first grade I think, and I couldn’t find anything to read to him in the car and so I started Ann of Green Gables. He loved it. The language was so lovely he loved to just listen.
My daughter is just discovering Dr. Seuss now. She loves Green Eggs and Ham and Oh the Thinks you Can Think.
My favourite springtime poem was always Yeats’ “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death”.
I know that I will meet my fate
somewhere among the clouds above.
Those i fight I do not hate,
those i guard i do not love.
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
my countrymen, Kiltartan’s poor;
no likely end would bring them loss
or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight.
nor public men, nor cheering crowds;
a lonely impulse of delight
brought to this tumult in the clouds.
I balanced all, brought all to mind;
the years to come seemed waste of breath,
a waste of breath, the years behind
in balance with this life, this death.
I was reciting that poem on a lovely spring day, when I was much younger, and flew a small aeroplane into a set of 250,000 volt powerlines.
Ah, youth and spring!
And just for you, Andrew, from the pen of my son (then in middle school):
Split, splat, the bug is flat.
Swish, swash, the wipers wash.
Sun, air, the bug’s still there.
Wind, rain, the guts remain.
Well, at least the bug showed courage to the last.
He had guts.
Courage to the end. Like you.
Shirlee, I am honoured.
Thank you.
Laughing out lout, Shirlee. It sounds like something my boys would make up. 🙂
A great poem! And a great story to go with the poem!
Did the plane catch fire?
No, the thing kept flying; the windshield was blown in, and the pieces cut my throat. The cockpit was rather a bloody mess, but the thing was flyable, and I was still conscious.
Good for you, Rachel, reading poetry to your little one! I didn’t really “get” poetry until college, and then I preferred poetry with a story, such as Rime of the Ancient Mariner. (Please forgive if I spelled Rime incorrectly. I seem to remember an odd spelling, but I’m not in a place where I can check it.) Now, as we homeschool, I’m surprised with how much I enjoy reading the poetry included in their literature curriculum. They waffle in their interest, but I’m encouraging them.
Yes, it’s “Rime”.
I like that one, too! I often will refer to the albatross around my neck and my husband thinks I’m crazy.
Rachel, as soon as I saw the word poetry on your post I had to tune in. Great blogpost. I’ve been a dabbler in poetry since a summer afternoon in my childhood when I wrote my very first one (it’s too silly to share).
My children loved poetry when they were younger, because we read so many fun ones together. And then I read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy to them. They sat in rapt attention (beyond my hope and expectations)through all of the books. They’ve even read them again since then–several times (we adore Tolkien).
But they skip every single poem that Tolkien wrote. I insisted on reading each poem aloud when I’d read the series to them, and they haven’t recovered yet.
The moral of the story is that poetry must never be forced. We need to keep it fun. In the meantime my 14 yr old daughter composes her own piano music and has also been writing songs. And you know, songs are poetry with music. 😉 She’s even turned some of my poems (her idea) into songs.
I love too many poems to have a favorite. So here is a haiku in honor of moms:
Dandelion field
blooming near my childhood home
bouquet for mother
Blessings ~ Wendy ❀
Wendy, I love how you combine your beautiful photographs with poems. Your eloquent signature is one I look forward to seeing.
Doesn’t she do an amazing job, Jenni?
Yes, Wendy does an amazing job.
Like you, Jenni, I love all things domicile (your blog & Facebook are eye candy), but my soul sings the loudest when I’m writing. Thank you for your encouragement. ❀
Loved this, Wendy. I think we find poetry in many places. And I love that poetry can be put to song. I’m reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy to my boys now. And they actually enjoy hearing the songs. I sometimes try to put them to song, but I can’t always catch the right rhythm and it sounds funny. So most of the time, I just read his songs as poetry. 🙂
Jeanne, your singing is obviously not like mine. ❀ As soon as I tried to sing any of the poems/songs one of my sons would say,”I hope this isn’t a long one.” 😉 I’ve had worse comments about my singing.
What a beautiful haiku! Thank you for sharing.
And I agree, I don’t want to force anything on my daughter. We’ll see what she picks up on and really enjoys. She might be more like her daddy and enjoy fighting fires over reading poetry.
Rachel, watching children discover their gifts and interests is one of the most rewarding parts of parenting. ❀
Since Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born this day in 1806, recognizing her poetry seems fitting.
“No man can be called friendless who has God and the companionship of good books.”
I love that one, Jenni.
Happy birthday to EBB! 🙂