Allan Wolf

"Imitation is not just the sincerest form of flattery - it's the sincerest 

form of learning."— George Bernard Shaw

Welcome to Day 25 of FEET IN THE CREEK.

Week 4 poets:

April 22: Lee Bennett Hopkins

April 23: Langston Hughes

April  24: Margaret Wise Brown

For each day I have chosen a favorite poem, a favorite poet, or a favorite friend. I will look at the work, decide what draws me to it, what makes it resonate for me, and then write my own poem about the creek with those techniques in mind. These are first drafts, so nothing will be especially polished, but they will be starting points for revision after the month is done. Feel free to follow along or join in.

Today I feature poet, performer, and educator, Allan Wolf.  His book, The Watch the Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic is one of my favorites. Click here to see Allan's other published books. Watch for new books coming soon from Candlewick Press.

"The Dactyl Poem" by Allan Wolf. This one requires listening!

My Intention: Write a poem about the creek in dactylic meter.

As Allan and I communicated about his poem, he said "the Dactyl is ofter treated as a romping polka. But it CAN have a whole softer feel. As if the swirling wind. Or twirling with the girls, a slow emotive waltz." I'm not sure which of the above rhythms will become dominant. I think I just have to start somewhere with this one. And remind myself this is just a first draft!!!


My Intention: Write a poem with dactylic meter about the trash in the creek. 

Rubbish!

I am the champion

trash-picker-upper

after the storm waters

finally slow. It's

crazy ridiculous

how many people don't

care about littering,

trashing the creek.

Habitats suffer when

people don't think. 

Grocery sacks

styrofoam 

coolers and cups,

paint cans and

lawn chairs and

bicycle parts,

mattress springs,

shopping carts,

old tennis shoes.

Someone has

thrown their piano away. 

Certainly somebody

needed those eighty-eight 

keys and it wasn't 

the fish or the birds or the 

bees, so obliterate littering.

Please!

© Doraine Bennett, 2016. All rights reserved.

Week 1 poets:
April 1: Ralph Fletcher
April 2: Douglas Florian
April 3: Progressive poem. Catch up here.
April 4: Michelle Heidenrich Barnes
April 5: Walt Whitman
April 6: Irene Latham
April 7: Carmen Bernos de Gasztold

Week 2 Poets:
April 8: Janet Wong
April 9: George Ella Lyon
April 10: Bobbi Katz
April 11: Nikki Giovanni
April 12: Margarita Engle
April 13: Mother Goose
April 14: William Carlos Williams

Week 3 Poets:
April 15: Myra Cohn Livingston
April 16: Mary Ann Doberman
April 17: Christina Rosetti
April 18: Rebecca Kai Doltish
April 19: Wallace Stevens
April 20: April Halprin Wayland
April 21: Robyn Hood Black