First Snow

by Marie Louise Allen

 

Snow makes whiteness where it falls.

The bushes look like popcorn balls.

  

And places where I always play

Look like somewhere else today.

 

Can you tell what is under the snow? 

Luna thinks everyone should know some poetry by heart. 

She is watching me shovel this year's first snow.

 

Rain Haiku (poetry)

A haiku is a 3-line poem that has 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the next, and 5 in the last. It usually does not rhyme. Haiku traditionally tells something about nature, but modern haiku doesn’t have to.
I’ll bet you can tell what the weather has been like where I live!

Rain, rain for two weeks
come again some other day
but not tomorrow
**
Rain dripped all the day
And the day before, before
Please, we ask, no more

**
The beach is lonely
Can we go swimming in rain?
Yes, just don’t get wet
**
Rain takes many forms
Drizzle, pouring, cats-and-dogs
Sometimes just too much
**
Puddles for jumping
Wetness where we try to walk
Wet feet, not so fun

**
Clouds pour down their rain
We begin to feel like ducks
Quacking and splashing

**
I always thought it would be really convenient if it only rained at night.
My grandfather had a favorite joke that we could go swimming as long as we didn’t get wet, although he never was referring to rain!
Cats-and-dogs is an idiom that means heavy rain.

Now, it's your turn! Haiku is easy. Don't worry about being 'right', just have fun!

Spring Cleaning (fiction, family life)

It was Saturday. Not just any Saturday. It was the first Saturday that it hadn't rained in a month. And it was spring. Time for baseball!
“Can I go over Ryan’s house today?” I asked my mom.
She said, “No, Ben.” I had to help with spring cleaning.
“How about if I pitch a clean sweep at Ryan’s house?”
She just scowled. She has no sense of humor.
We started with the yard, since it was so sunny out. Mom trimmed branches and I piled them up by the street curb. Dad raked and my little brother Jack picked up the little rocks off the yard that the snow plow pushed there.
After a couple hours of that, we worked on the garage. While Mom and dad moved stuff out of the way, Jack and I swept the greasy, grimy floor.
When it was almost lunchtime, Mom said that Jack could be done, since he was only eight. I wanted to be done, too. Ryan wanted to practice pitching.
“Mom," I asked, "Can I go to Ryan’s after lunch?”
She looked at me, and my clothes, and sighed. I just knew she was going to give me one more chore.
“Yes, Ben” she said, “But I have one more spring cleaning job for you.”
I knew she was going to say that.
“Please take an April shower!”
Okay, I guess she has a little sense of humor!

copyright 2009 Dawn Bonnevie