Thursday, June 30, 2016

Mistakes? I've made a few

...To know someone who thinks & feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Welcome to the Poetry Friday round-up!


This week, I ran across a poem I shared in March 2015, and I wanted to bring it back for a reprise. I hope that's not a mistake!

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photo by Paula Bailey

I can't remember the context, but I heard a while ago that everybody makes a mistake every hour. This idea intrigued me, so I think about it sometimes. They can't all be significant mistakes, you know? There must be a big variety. Pondering that inspired today's poem:

What Goes Wrong?
by Tabatha Yeatts

Mistakes flower
Every hour.

Ice cream, dropped.
Joke, flopped.

Tire, flatted.
Jump, splatted.

Directions, lost.
Guidance, tossed.

Trousers, muddied.
Quiz, unstudied.

Pencil, broken.
Care, unspoken.

Team, beaten.
Homework, eaten.

Laundry, pink.
Armor, chink.

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33 comments:

Steven Withrow said...

I like your poem, Tabatha, especially the opening. Thanks for hosting.

At Crackles of Speech, I'm sharing text and audio of an original poem called "Trespasser at Qwik-Mart"

http://cracklesofspeech.blogspot.com/2016/06/poetry-friday-trespasser-at-qwik-mart_28.html

Steven Withrow

Doraine said...

I remember this poem. I liked it before and I still like it. Thanks for hosting. And for all your work with the poetry swap. I hope you're feeling better!

laurasalas said...

Love this poem, Tabatha. I've been making lots of mistakes lately, so it felt right at home for me:>) Thanks for hosting!

Keri said...

I like the juxtaposition of "big" and "small" mistakes. One of the benefits of getting older, I think, is realizing which is which. xoxo Thanks for hosting, dear one!

Bridget Magee said...

A mistake an hour - oh, yeah, I'm an expert! Thanks for hosting Tabatha and for sharing your poem (which is NOT a mistake!) =)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hosting! Love your couplets!!

Robyn Hood Black said...

Glad you re-shared, Tabatha - I think I missed the first time, unless I'm mistaken.... ;0) ["Armor, chink" - LOVE that.] I'm all about All-American dogs for this Fourth weekend: http://www.robynhoodblack.com/blog.htm?post=1033976

Diane Mayr said...

Just today I made one of those small verbal missteps. Fortunately, the person I directed it to had already left the area. Just because it sounds clever in your head, that doesn't mean it's going to come out of your mouth in the same way! Many mistakes, as you have outlined for us, can be highly educational! I lucked out today! And you know what I just realized? To luck out means to be lucky as well as to be unlucky! Have a great 4th!

author amok said...

Hi, Tabatha. I love this poem -- the rhythm goes so well with the topic, as if the speaker is sharing his/her litany of errors. I noticed that "Pencil, broken" quickly follows "Quiz, unstudied," a clever pairing.

I'm sharing a cat poem. Specifically, a concrete cat poem written by a young friend. http://laurashovan.com/2016/06/poetry-friday-concrete-cat/

Hope you are well! Thinking of you. Thanks so much for hosting.

Violet N. said...

What a relatable list of mistakes--small and big. I'll think about the ubiquity of mistakes in the next hours, and maybe not feel so stoopid! Thanks for your sympathetic poem, and for hosting this week.

Linda B said...

And it happens, and happens, just as you wrote, Tabatha. I just saw a quote today by Albert Einstein that was something like if you never make mistakes, you must not be doing anything. I love the poem, briefly told lesson for us. Thank you for hosting, and giving us something to think about.

Sally Murphy said...

Thanks for hosting and thanks for the poem. I love it! I'm the typo queen and small text online makes me even more likely to make mistakes. I'm in today with a poem about a special tree: http://sallymurphy.com.au/?p=1888

Tara said...

Love everything about this poem, Tabatha - from its structure to its meaning. Spare, true.

Irene Latham said...

Tabatha, thank you for hosting and for celebrating mistakes today! I'm glad you reposted this poem -- it helps us to remember making mistakes is just part of being human. I love those art teachers who say instead of erasing or restarting to just make the the mistake part of the art, let it guide you... a great philosophy for many things in life! xo

Anonymous said...

I love your short-bite lines to create the mistaken poem, Tabatha, especially the last three. Homework, eaten. Love! And of course that red sock in the wash - and that fabulous last line. Well done - and thank-you for hosting. :)

For some reason, the InLinks widget doesn't like us in Australia, so I can't post a link OR see the existing links. I will have to link up here - and hope I can find my way around the posts over the weekend.

This week I'm sharing a poetry treasure I found in my Grandma's shed; https://katswhiskers.wordpress.com/2016/07/01/a-poetry-treasure

Linda Mitchell said...

oooooh, care unspoken.....that's pointy.

Thanks so much for for hosting this week. I really appreciate the person that signs up for hosting on a holiday weekend!

I'm looking for the schedule for the next few months. When I got to the Kidlitosphere site the calendar is only updated to last Friday.

Off to read all the wonderful words.

Heidi Mordhorst said...

Hallooooo Tabatha and thanks for hosting! Your mistaken post and poem are perfect for me and my blogpost today--I find myself to be mistaken very much more often than once an hour lately, and our infestation-related decluttering has turned up evidence of a rather colossal mistake regarding a poem.

In the spirit of quoting Freddie Mercury in abbreviated fashion (I notice you left out the word "bad"), I'm forgiving myself my chinks, dammit. Thanks for supporting this policy, Tabatha.

Brenda at FriendlyFairyTales said...

Love the poem, and it sure feels like a mistake an hour is a low count today. :-) Thanks for hosting and Happy Fourth!

Sara said...

Mistakes are what art is made of. :) I especially love your ending, the way it cracks open the entire poem and lets light in. Brava.

Thanks for hosting! I'm posting with my Poetry Sisters today, "echoing" Poet Laureate Kay Ryan, which was mighty intimidating----and mistake-filled!

Molly Hogan said...

Thanks for hosting, Tabatha, and for letting me know that I'm in good company with my mistake-making. On a side note, my students and I love the book Beautiful Oops which delightfully demonstrates that mistakes can lead to beautiful things.

Cathy said...

Tabatha,
Love, love, love this poem. Its meaning is one to which we are all quite familiar. Mistakes - we've all made a few. ;o) Enjoyed the lilt in your matched line ending sounds. I think this poem would make a great mentor text for adults and children.

Thank you so much for hosting today.

Cathy

tanita✿davis said...

Ooh, love that final couplet. Since this week started with a flat tire and a dropped container of PEPPER all over the kitchen floor, I'm... feeling this a bit!

Thanks for hosting, Tabatha! Happy weekend.

Tricia said...

Nice poem, Tabatha. I always tell my students how important mistakes are to learning.

I'm in today with a poetry sisters monthly challenge and a poem about a naked mole rat.

Thanks for hosting!
Tricia

Amy LV said...

You really time your posts perfectly. I like how you intersperse the small with big mistakes in the poem - that idea of making big ones and small ones has me thinking. Too, considering that average mistakes per hour makes me feel relieved and not so alone! And your quote today is just how I feel about poetry. Much gratitude! xx

jan godown annino said...

Appreciations for collecting us Tabatha - that was no mistake that you signed up!

Your fun reprise is a reminder to let go & let live.

The photo by Paula Bailey is too wonderful.


My Bookseedstudio site is https://www.bookseedstudio.wordpress.com

For this 4th July weekend, features a poetry collection SAIL AWAY,
with Captain Ashley Bryan & Captain Langston Hughes.


(I'll also try Linky-Dinky, but sometimes I make mistakes with that...:)

Carol Varsalona said...

Tabatha, I enjoyed your poem in the light that there is truth in your opening lines:
Mistakes flower
Every hour.

I also like your quote about the earth as an inhabited garden. I would like to use that in the spring gallery compliments of you.

Sylvia Vardell said...

Hi, Tabatha, and thanks for hosting-- and reposting-- I had missed that poem earlier. Loved it! Too true!
Sylvia

Catherine said...

And I thought I was the only one with a garden full of mistakes! Love your poem, Tabatha, and thanks for hosting!

Linda Mitchell said...

For those that enjoy novels-in-verse and kid lit, there is a post on Kate Mesnner's blog for Teachers Write today by author Caroline Starr Rose: http://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/

Ruth said...

Thank you for hosting, Tabatha! A feast, as always!

Donna Smith said...

I recognized this from some other time - one of my favs of yours! Thanks for hosting the party today!

Mary Lee said...

Love your poem! So much said with so few words!

Thanks for hosting!

JoAnn Early Macken said...

Hahaha--I love this poem! I just stumbled on it & had to tell you. I love the specific examples, the variety of mistakes, & the sounds of the words (dropped/flopped, flatted/splatted, pink/chink). It made me laugh, mostly because I can identify with the unfortunate errors.