Raymond A. Foss
May 19, 2010
Mrs. Proulx’s Second Grade class
Pembroke Hill School
Baby Rose Petals
Cupped in her hand
offered for me
baby rose petals
from the remains of the bouquet
poured out
tumbling onto my desk
----------------------------------
Nouns Verbs and Adjectives
We added words, one by one
onto the blackboard
at the front of the classroom
little arms raised in the air
sometimes too excited to wait
words blurted out,
urgent important words
They were nouns, verbs, and adjectives
words of a walk in the woods
All are worthy, all valid
at least for him, for her
String together, communally
amid laughter, easy, fun
together writing a poem
before they wrote their own
with their own words
nouns, verbs, adjectives
and adverbs, daringly
-------
Sand Castles
Molded and shaped
Specks of the rocks they once were
Packed and organized in the buckets
Like the seconds of our lives
Held together,
The stories of us
On the beach, in the sun
Working with the girls to create
A mighty fortress, regal and expansive
A myth
Thanks to Shanequa’s
Errant bucketful of destruction
Giggle and shriek
Splash, spill, dribble
Squander, linger
In the mote we created
Breached walls
A mirage of strength
Our handiwork flowing
Back to the water
August 17, 2005 9:03
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Watch Out
In the way of her mind
all of eight and a half
warning me of the danger
lurking in front of me
walking as I was
on the granite curb
like a balance beam
to watch out
so the telephone pole
wouldn’t hit me
May 19, 2010
about our walk to the
Pembroke Village School
Pembroke, NH
May 18, 2010
-----------------------
The Muffled Morning
The sounds all around me
muffled this morning
the air gray
no edge to the clouds
Brightening yet awash
with muted colors
the rain wrapped round us
not letting go
May 19, 2010
about our walk to the
Pembroke Village School
Pembroke, NH
May 19, 2010
and the quiet this morning
because of the rain
-----------------------------------
Muffled This Morning
The sounds caught
as if in a spider’s web
the lowered clouds
with them in their grip
Muffled this morning
the world slow awakening
the mist of the morning
silencing the dim
May 19, 2010
-------------------------------
Sticky Air
Not like summer
hot humidity
a coolness of spring
light on the air
Yet the sounds, the motion
the waking of morning
tamped down, slowed
as if by sticky air
The web of the morning clouds
lowered to the ground
the world ensnared, wrapped
in the blanket of the mist
May 19, 2010
-----------------------------
Almost Imperceptible
In arguing my point
that she needed a raincoat
feeling the mist
falling on my face
yet almost imperceptible
not enough to get wet
only half way to the school
was my hair even damp
May 19, 2010
-----------------
Ribbons of Children
Amid the controlled chaos
the schoolyard, playground this morning
ribbons of children, running, skipping,
dancing over the blacktop,
being children, free, out in the open air
snaking their way, through the hopscotch
the jump rope, the tag and the banter
coursing, like ants to the nest
following a scent line in the dirt
no hands were held, but they moved
as if connected, giggling and
laughing all the way
August 29, 2008
Pembroke Village School
------------------------------------
Snail Tracks
Down by the water’s edge
in the space between the tides
tiny little roads for one
the furrowed rows
meandering to the sea
of the snails cast by the surf
up onto the beach
purposely fighting
to push their way
into the water
for dear life
Struggling but persevering
because they must
------------------------
A Walk in the Woods
sitting at the end of the dinner
thinking of a walk in the woods
just before fall
not in the deep unfamiliar thick forest
no something familiar
suburban woods
looking for opportunities for discovery,
for moments of wonder
in simple things
curled leaves, a translucent leaf
from another season,
sprigs of checkerberries
princess pine
moss on the lee of the fallen oak
a chipmunk darting through leaf litter
a dragonfly disturbed
at the edge of the field
nearby
-----------------------
A Day at the Beach
Laughing, we ran on the hot sand
The damp beach under our feet
The glistening ocean before us
The girl did a backflip, landing
on her feet; Ta-Da, like a dolphin
We were playing with the beach balls
Volleying over an invisible net
The dry sand burns. Splash!
Swim in the water, watch
for seaweed, sponges, jellyfish
The wind, the rocks, sand blowing
Walk down looking for shells, for glass
Salty air, wet in my mouth
The buckets and shovels on my towel
Sand everywhere, in everything
Rambunctious gulls, scream not so beautifully
A pause in wonder, the small world
shining in the tide pool
Starfish and seahorses excited in play
sea urchins dancing in suspended animation
Hot lying on the beach
Time to go home
April 29, 2009; May 4, 2009
a poem written from the words listed below,
on the board, shouted out, as Mrs. Forest’s
Third Grade class and I found poetry
in a Day at the Beach
The bolded words are the ones I used
from the list of nouns, verbs and adjectives below
The italicized words are those I added.
Written in about 10 minutes,
as a fun exercise for National Poetry Month
Pembroke Hill School
Pembroke, NH
--------------------------
Red Sox Win
Red Sox win
Yankees lose
A story so big
It led the news
Bumped politics
Down the page
It may even reduce
New England road rage
A-Rod and Jeter
What can be sweeter
Oh look,
We caught a cheater
Taking two from them
In their park
Big Papi
Was our spark
Down and out
A three-oh slide
Not the end for this
Team with Pride
Red Sox Nation
Delirious
This whole World Series
Will be just as serious.
Reverse the Curse
All these ages
So this club’s history
Will fill more pages
----------------------
Sausage
Forget the frank,
Give me the Fenway sausage.
Lansdowne or Yawkey,
Just give me the street, the crowds, the carts.
Sausage you shrug, you the reader
Of this trifle, this whimsy
What do I mean, me the storyteller
Read on.
Peppers and onions
Tease the tongue
Bun and hot mustard
Set the stage
The scorched and blackened piece of meat
Reminds me of every one
Eaten before
So much memory
Of family and fun
Of ballgames, tailgates, and the carnie
A cacophony of moments
Drip with grease
Do you smell it too on the smoky hot grill?
My lips curl with a smirk
Writing these lines
As I laugh to myself
Of the pleasures of excess
The lusty gluttony
Of another one.
----------------------------------
Moist, but not necessarily chewy
Asking for details
the chocolate already consumed
before allowing
more candy to be enjoyed
Two brownies was her answer
asking if they were chewy
Moist was her response
Moist, but not necessarily chewy
to her older sister’s consternation
enjoying a laugh on the way home
after the school’s Valentine’s Day
something for the memory books
February 12, 2010
Shanequa and Shyanne
Pembroke Hill School
Suncook, NH
---------------------
The Hound Who Ate My Sundae
Oh man! Nothing
Mom and Dad were away; I had such big plans
Four kinds of ice cream, scooped, melting
A salad bowl full---cookie dough,
Bubble gum, gummy worms, bananas split
Cherries and chocolate sauce, strawberries, too
My sundae, a masterpiece
Cold, smelling so good
Almost forgot the whipped cream
Perfect!
Disaster, Hey!
My dog, Rufus, Oh No!
Gulp, Steal, Swallow whole
Not even one bite left.
Not a taste, his slobber all that remained.
Just the scent and the memory
Of what might have been....
Oh man! That dog!
April 16, 2010
Written with Mrs. Forest’s Third Grade class,
National Poetry Month
Pembroke Hill School
Pembroke, NH
“Nouns Verbs and Adjectives”
poetry presentation and exercise
All
of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004,
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. All rights reserved.
Contact me at Ray Foss
for usage. See all 23,180+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
