In honor of my new venture into the world of making art, I have an original poem which is a take off of This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams.

I HAVE TO TELL YOU

I have taken
the blank paper
you kept in your desk

and which
you were probably
saving
for masterpieces
of your own

Forgive me
there were colors
beautiful colors
waiting to escape.

Susan Taylor Brown, all rights reserved

The Poetry Friday round-up is here this week so please leave a link to your post in the comments and I’ll round them all up through-out the day. (If you read this blog on Facebook, please come over here and leave your link so I don’t miss it.)

(NOTE: When you leave your link, please help me out by putting your name/blog name, name of the poem, and a permalink to the entry, not just a generic blog entry. It saves me the time of having to click through to every single blogger that left a comment. Thanks! I should have put this in the original message.)

The Round-up!

Barbara Turner warms us up with The Cremation of Sam McGee.

Julie at The Drift Record has two political clerihews.
In the innovative poem category, Greg Pincus shares an “original” – a poem made up of search terms people used to end up at my blog, with the twist being all the terms had the word “poem” in them. I Enjoy Popping Bubble Wrap with My Pinky Toe.

For a discussion of theme and poetry, read Mary Lee’s fourth installment in her series on they study of theme in her 4th grade classroom.Laura Salas shares a poem called Old Tongueby Scottish poet Jackie Kay.Irene Latham presents a video of Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays.“Susan Thomsen of Chicken Spaghetti is in with an original found poem, Altered Talk #1 and a link to a cool site of an artist/writer who has a book of blacked out newspaper poetry.

The Place Where Poetry Beginsis a very special anthology of 250 poems from kids in an urban school district brought to us by Carol at Carol’s Corner.

Diane Mayr shares two seasonal pieces by Christina Rossetti at Random Noodling and at Kurious Kitty’s Kurio Kabinet she posts a a poem that originally appeared in St. Nicholas Magazine.

At Wild Rose Reader, Elaine Magliaro has two original poems for a special holiday post: “Things to Do If You Are a Bell” and “Season’s Greetings from Jack & Rudy.” (Jack and Rudy are my daughter’s yellow lab and her cat, respectively.) I have also included links to earlier reviews of books of Christmas poetry and Christmas picture books in verse and at Political Verses, she has Stand for Christmas: A Song Parody & a Poem.
The yummy Jama Rattigan says she is rhapsodizing on plum pudding and mince pies with traditional reveling.

Douglas Florian shares Cats Sleep Anywhere at the Florian Cafe
You can find Snowby Emily Dickinson thanks to Deborah Freedman.Blue Rose Girls shares “Before Christmas,” a poem by Landis Everson.Jules at 7-Imp has one set of song lyrics ,Bildungsroman has the lyrics to the song Annie by Vanessa Carlton and Knocking from Inside follows it all up with an original song Blues for Absent Friends

Poetry Friday on The Stenhouse Blog is Snow-Flakes by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Another original poem at Free2rhyme (or not)Fridays. Here is the link to today’s post: http://bit.ly/ChristmaspoemLiz Scanlon is in with a poem for peace.Tabatha has When You Go Anywhere by William Stafford.

A theme close to my heart, paper, is happening over at The Incredible Thinking Woman where Jet shares a poem by poet Marjorie Evasco, with a brief bit on why she writes (it started in her childhood in the Phillipines).

Kelly Fineman gifts us with an original poem Holiday Dinner To-Do List.

Jeni shares an original poem, Bless This House.

Jennie has I Heard a Bird Sing

Sheri Doyle says, “I’m in with a post on another poetry book from our holiday box. I take a look at the various soundscapes found in Winter Poems.

You can find a little e.e. cummings with Karen Edmisten where she shares little tree.

Ruth offers us On Closing Anna Karenina by Billy Collins.

Jone MacCulloch shares an original clerihew.

Father Goosesposts The Perfect Love Poem.

Tricia at Miss Rumphius Effect shares Longfellow and the poem Woods in Winter. 

Kelly Polark has holiday poems and recipes