Friday, September 8, 2017

Poetry Friday - Irma Checklist


It’s Friday! And you know what that means: Poetry! Want to know more about Poetry Friday? Click this link right here. And be sure to check out Matt's blog, Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme to see this week’s round up of wonderful poetry related posts, blogs and goodness. 
________________________________________

(If you're curious how my art for Art Drop Day turned out, you can see it here)

Hello Everyone! Quick post today as I still have a little bit of prep to get ready for Hurricane Irma. I am about an hour and a half South of Tampa, along the coast, so unless the storm veers way West, we should be okay (I hope).

This will be my children's first hurricane and my daughter is a bit freaked out. We're trying to calm her nerves by having her help plan a hurricane party for once the power goes out. We'll have candy, melting ice cream (because it'll just go bad), games, and a whole pile of books from the library. That's where I got the idea for my poem this week. Books, books and more books!

Just a quick aside so people don't think I'm making light of a serious situation. Well, I guess I am--a little. It's how I deal with the stresses. But rest assured, we are trying to prepare the best we can and our thoughts will be with all those who will be impacted by the storm.


Irma Checklist

Holly Black and R.L. Stine,
Yolen, Seuss, and Esenwine
The latter brought us bright flashlights
To read the books through stormy nights.

Sendak, Dahl and Judy Blume
Get us through impending doom.
E.B. White and Mrs. Cleary
Rid the air of all that’s dreary.

While Irma shouts in all her rage
We’ll visit new lands on each page.


*A funny aside: I included Matt in the poem because I know his book, Flashlight Night, is coming out very soon. What I did not know, until after the poem was written and I was writing the blog post, is that he is hosting this week's Poetry Friday! So it's a double whammy. Congrats on the book, Matt!

25 comments:

  1. Stay safe during the storm & Happy Reading!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for the shout out, Rebecca - that's some pretty serious company I'm keeping! And be safe!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stay safe through the storm. I like your approach to plan but also defuse the stress through humor. I hope those books stay high and dry along with the rest of your family.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fortunately the water stayed out, so the books stayed nice and dry!

      Delete
  4. I hope your party turns out to be just that, a party! Matt's book is just right for it if you lose the electricity! Love the idea of reading, reading!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We got a good bit of wind, but it ended up letting us just have our fun party. We escaped the brunt of it.

      Delete
  5. What a fun mom you are, planning a hurricane party! Love your poem, especially that "Cleary / dreary" rhyme. I send thoughts and prayers your way from way across the continent, where we are watching Irma's progress via our weather-peoples' satellite images and projections. Stay safe!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have a similar approach to stressful situations - prepare for the worst, but try to find moments of lightness and humour wherever you can to get you through!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Humor can get you through a lot! Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  7. I love how you are getting ready! Can't wait to see you check in with an "all is well" message. Great poem! Batten down those hatches and hang tough!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Take care of yourself and be safe. It sounds like you've done what you can to prepare and now are working to make the best of a stressful situation. Love your poem!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by. Fortunately, we escaped the worst of it.

      Delete
  9. Happy reading! Love the idea of a party once the lights go out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i talked up losing power so much to my 7yo, that she was bummed when it didn't happen!

      Delete
  10. Oh, the power of the written word to guide us through the most difficult of times. Be safe and well! -- Christie @ https://wonderingandwondering.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love the poem, and using humor to deal with stress works for me. If I'm not cracking jokes, I'm half-dead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! Jokes can be so helpful in stressful situations.

      Delete
  12. Fabulous fun poem, Rebecca. I sure hope your encounter with Irma is not fearsome. Certainly your reading material sounds fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We got a bunch of wind, but it wasn't too terrifying. Glad we didn't get the worst of it.

      Delete
  13. Fun poem for such a timely time, Rebecca. How did the party go?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It went well, although my daughter was bummed that we didn't lose power. I told her to thank her lucky stars, but she insists that she'd love it if the power went out.

      Delete