Poetry Friday is hosted by Carol at Carol's Corner
June 1st.! We have exactly twenty days until the last day of school, but my kids are already dreaming of long summer days by the beach. Yesterday, after hearing yet another story about beach-longings, I pulled out Ralph Fletcher's wonderful collection of beach poems, Have You Been to the Beach Lately? and shared them.
The top two:
The First Time
On my first trip to the beach
the sea refused to cooperate.
It kept curling and whirling
bobbing and weaving
clearing its throat
whenever a wave drew back.
It kept moving and grooving
shucking and jiving
dishing and dancing
razzling and dazzling
wouldn't keep still even
long enough to shake hands.
Wallowing
We walk on our hands
and laze in shallow surf
like a bunch of sea sloths
or slow motion manatees
no place to go
no hurry to get there
wubbling
with the bubbles
foaming with the froth
in the noisy crumble tumble
of the ragamuffin waves
...I do believe even I am ready for that beach scene now!
How did I miss this book? I will certainly be looking this one up this summer. Stay strong for the next 20 days you have support in OH.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful, evocative poems, Tara. Love "wubbling." Happy last weeks of school!
ReplyDeleteYIKES!! TWENTY more days of school?!?! Do you start in October, I hope? Or maybe you have year-round school? Whatever the case, stay strong through these last weeks!! We'll try not to gloat too much...
ReplyDeleteI love Ralph's beach poems (and his Spring poems and his moving poems and his teenager love poems)! Maybe you should just take your kids to a beach and teach there someday!
ReplyDeleteI don't know this book either by Fletcher. What a gem. Don't you just love "foaming with the froth, wobbling with the bubbles"? Sorry you have such a long while to go. We have next week, then out. Like Carol, maybe a trip to the beach is important now! Thanks Tara.
ReplyDeleteYour poems make me want to go to the beach now! I like the first two lines of the the first poem. I also like the idea of wallowing in the poem. "Ragamuffin waves" sounds so playful. Thank you for sharing! =)
ReplyDeleteGood luck as you get through those 20 days!! I like the thought of ocean clearing its throat. I'd like to hear the speech that follows! thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! I am putting this book on my wish list.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you took your students' interests and daydreams and made a lesson out of it! Also, wow! 20 more days of school! Poor things. Nearly everyone is out around me, or will be out in the next few days.
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