Swapping

Thank you for coming to the Poetry Friday round-up! Today Summer Poetry Swap folks are graciously allowing me to share a few of their poems. I think one of the greatest things about this swap is the fact that we all know each other. You're not swapping with a stranger; you're sending a gift to a poetry friend.

Rockhound
by Violet Nesdoly

“I have jars and jars and jars of rocks
and shells in my studio.” ~Katya Czaja

Soapstone and sandstone
porphyry, slag…
I fill all my pockets
and carry a bag.

Scoria, gabbro
schist, mica and flint
in rust, white or yellow
smooth, banded or glint.

Argillite, anthracite
quartz and feldspar—
hurry them home
to my rock collect jar.

Tiger’s eyes, unakites
agates and shales
dream of their middle-earth
riverbed tales.

Travertine, basalt
obsidian, chalk.
Listen. Be still.
You might hear the rocks talk.

Serpentine, marble
jade, pumice and tuff…
I can’t stop collecting
I’ve never enough!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

for Andi Sibley, early July, 2012

An Alphabet for Bilbo Baggins
by Linda Baie

Audacious Bilbo—Clue-finder,
Dragon-slayer, Eagle-friend. Frightened Gollum-
Hobbit Instinct-Jesting, Kindly,
Loving Mystery, Naïve, Outlandish.
Perfect.
Quiet Rivendell Shaped Tolkien
Until Valiant Words Xtreme,
Yielded Zealots.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's one that Diane Mayr sent to Joy Acey:

Dear Friend:

If you're like other children,
you are prone to telling untruths.
Please, consider carefully
the repercussions of a
hastily devised falsehood.
Black or white, big or little,
a lie can cause your nose
to grow--oh Lord, yes it can!
A little sprout becomes
a leafy limb. A leafy limb
becomes a tree with you
at the end of it. It's true!
I swear! Hay fever season is
the worst--that won't be snot
dripping down, it'll be sap.
When you sneeze, oh, oh, oh,
how the splinters will fly!
And I swear--this really,
truly happens--borers
and woodpeckers will come
check you out! Would I lie?

Fondly, Pinocchio

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's one from Joy to me. It was inspired by a photo of Shaolin monks standing on their heads:

FLIP ME
by Joy Acey

Flip me over.
Stand me on my head
so I may see the world
all upside-down.

From this true view
let me notice
all the lowly and the small
and the not so very BIG at all.

I offer praise
for the brown ant,
the pillbug, the centipede,
working for the food they need.

I sing
for the anole, the vole,
the long earth worm
each doing a good turn.

Blood rushes to my head.
I will not fall, so I may
give thanks to be alive
to see it all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am heading to Baltimore for another post-op with my son, but I will round up the comments before and after. (By the way, when I was typing the previous sentence, at first I wrote "poet-op" instead of "post-op." Now what would a "poet-op" be? Hmmm...)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donna at Mainely Write shares an original poem: "Two Rainbows and the Moon".

At The Poem Farm, Amy LV has a poem about people-as-seashells and also the new slideshow to go with "More Than a Number."

Linda at TeacherDance is excited to share something of an old family diary and a poem clipping inside.

Congratulations to Karin on her new blog, Still in Awe :-) For her first Poetry Friday, she's posted an original poem in honor of next Tuesday's All-Star Game and its anniversary of a great baseball moment.

Joy gives us a poem using onomatopoeia today with another picture of her visit to the Peruvian Rainforest.

At A Year of Reading, Mary Lee is thinking about last week's storm and how life turns on a dime.

At Author Amok, Laura shares an interview with author Joseph Smith, whose home town did not have its own public library. So he started one himself. She's also including "Library Poem" by Julia Donaldson, a children's poet laureate in the U.K. (where she's heading on Tuesday! Lucky!)

Laurie Purdie Salas is in with a poem from Doug Cushman's new collection, Pigmares and this week's train-inspired 15 Words or Less poems. (Plenty of time to still join in!)

Renee at No Water River is also sharing the video for Amy Ludwig VanDerwater and Barry Lane's song "More Than a Number."

Liz at Growing Wild brings us an original poem about the sun.

Robyn at Read, Write, Howl offers a summer afternoon poem by Eavan Boland.

Debbie Diller has An "If" for Girls by Elizabeth Lincoln Otis.

Heidi is in today with a poem by Anne Sexton that took her by painful surprise. (She sent me a great poem this morning that I will share with my next Poetry Swap post!)

At Random Noodling, Diane has Ekphrasis Part II, with an original poem.

Kurious Kitty shares "The Unwritten" by W.S. Merwin, and, Kurious K's Kwotes' quote is by Merwin, too!

Over at The Write Sisters, Diane has several small poems from The Sea and the Honeycomb: A Book of Tiny Poems, a book from several decades ago.

Ruth offers The Mower to the Glow-Worms by Andrew Marvell.

At A Teaching Life, Tara has a poem of advice and beginnings.

My sympathies to Carol, who unexpectedly lost her dog, Jack, this week. She shares a poem on the subject.

Linda Kulp visits an old friend, Randall Jarrell's The Bat Poet.

Elaine at Wild Rose Reader brings us an original memoir poem titled "A Home for the Seasons."

Janet Squires's poetry book selection is "What's for dinner?: quirky, squirmy poems from the animal world" written by Katherine B. Hauth and illustrated by David Clark.

Violet's offering today is a cinquain called "Beach Days."

At GottaBook, Greg has a bunch of stuff, including news, a fib, and a link to the very cool 12th issue of the fib review. Good luck with your packing, Greg!

Books4Learning shares poems from Dinothesaurus by Douglas Florian.