At Poetry Rat there was a limited response of sufficient standard, unlike the Poetry 2010 Project when I was almost overwhelmed with many excellent contributions (perhaps I set the Poetry Rat bar too high or maybe there is insufficient interest in the idea of bringing modern poetry to the attention of younger readers).
Poetry Rat will now to be used for another project which is to 'collect' my own poetry in bulk.
The first poem was originally published in Atlanta Review and the second in The Adirodack Review.
The Hummingbird
At once, a rage of wings
and emerald stillness
hanging from the fuchsia,
here to repair the flowers,
tinkering
until each bloom
is a bell again
Red-Winged Blackbird
I hear your Morse this morning -
dash dot dot dash
sung, of course, to make it beautiful.
I know what you're saying
because I'm saying the same thing.
Your species and mine are prone
to calling out to our own -
me here here me
_______
c) 2011 - Peter Newton
Lovely poems for children Gwilym. I do agree that these days people seem unwilling to write poetry for children, which is a shame.
ReplyDeleteI belong to a poetry group and when somebody reads Walter de la Mare we all know it and often say the poem along with the reader.
We learned poems like 'Old Meg she was a Gypsy' and 'Up the Airy Mountain' off by heart and they have stayed with me throughout my life.
My father even more so in his generation. Apart from the creative side, as I taught slow readers for years I know that without a doubt the rhyme, the rhythm, the pleasure of reading poetry out loud are all great assets to the encouragement of such children.
Thanks Pat, much appreciated.
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