Blog Archives

The Sea

9/27/2013

I guess I'm on a roll with poems about the sea!

Living in Florida, we see bottlenose dolphins on a regular basis in the Intracoastal Waterway, and almost always when we go to the beach (Gulf of Mexico). It's always a thrill to see them, especially if there is more than one and they are up to some kind of shenanigans. One time I saw, perhaps, five or six dolphins swimming and leaping in a circle. It almost seemed choreographed and, certainly, dreamlike. Dolphins seem joyful to me in their expression and the sounds that they make. We sleep with the windows open and I can hear them in the darkness, blowing out through their blowhole as they surface and go back under. It is magical to hear them in the darkness and knowing they are out there while we sleep!

The Sea

Gazing out to sea,
I used to think the horizon
was just a line,
but now I understand
that somewhere beyond it
is where the farthest wave
begins its journey
to break at my feet.
I realize the salt air, here,
makes me breathe more deeply
than anywhere else,
and that the hot sand
fills my whole soul with warmth.

Now I can hear the music in the waves,
and pause to reflect that the sunlight far out
on the wild sea might be shining
on the backs of whales or joyful dolphins.

© 2010 B.J. Lee All Rights Reserved
first published in Long Story Short, November, 2010
slightly altered

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The Sense-sational Sea

9/20/2013

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Happy Poetry Friday, everyone! Tabatha has the roundup at The Opposite of Indifference.

Yesterday a friend told me one of my poems published by Highlights was viewable on the Highlights website. The poem is titled, "The Sense-sational Sea" and you can view it HERE. I love that Highlights not only presents the poem visually, but has an audio of two young girls reading it, since it is a poem for two voices.

I grew up going to the Jersey Shore: Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, Point Pleasant, Seaside Heights, and Beach Haven to name a few. Me and my brothers always tried to climb as far out on the jetties as possible and still maintain a foothold, while looking in the nooks and crannies for starfish and other sea creatures. It was a balancing act because you never knew when a giant wave was going to crash over the jetty and the jetties were usually slick with sea slime. Ah, those wonderful childhood days of living dangerously!

I also wanted to mention the illustrator for this piece. Highlights did a wonderful job of pairing my poem with a fabulous illustrator, Len Ebert. I wrote to Mr. Ebert, when my poem first appeared in the July issue, because I was overwhelmed at the beautiful art he had been inspired to create for my poem. He said that very rarely do the writers get in touch with him and it made him so happy that I had taken the time to search him out on the internet. I found this very sad, actually. I am always so excited to see my work brought to life by an inspired illustrator. HERE is a link to Len Ebert's website should you choose to view more of his work.

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Parody

9/12/2013

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Today I'm sharing a parody entitled "The Passionate Stallion to His Mare." This is a parody of Christopher Marlowe's 16th Century poem, "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love." Parodies can be a lot of fun to write!

A parody is defined as:

a piece of writing, music, etc., that imitates the style of someone or something else in an amusing way.

~ Merriam-Webster online dictionary.

Here is the parody:

The Passionate Stallion to his Mare

Come live with me and be my mare
And we will every pleasure share.
I’ll save my treats and give you all
The apples when they start to fall.

And we will graze in glorious grass
And I’ll not let a moment pass
When I am not as close to you
As I can be through chomp and chew.

We’ll share the stable past Duck’s pond
And there we’ll strengthen our deep bond.
I’ll give you first dibs on the hay
And I will never say thee neigh.

So if this life seems good to you,
Then bid your former life adieu.
And if you smell love in the air,
Come live with me and be my mare.

(c) B.J. Lee 2012 All Rights Reserved
first published on David L. Harrison's blog on August 24, 2012 (link below)

And here is the poem I'm parodying:

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
By Christopher Marlowe

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove,
That Valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the Rocks,
Seeing the Shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow Rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing Madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of Roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of Myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty Lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and Ivy buds,
With Coral clasps and Amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.

The Shepherds’ Swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May-morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me, and be my love.

If you want to see a parade of parodies by current poets, you'll find them at David L. Harrison's blog, where J. Patrick Lewis suggested an exercise of writing "parroties" and many poets complied. It's great fun reading through the many "parroties" by poets such as David L. Harrison, Jane Yolen, J. Patrick Lewis, and Joyce Sidman, to name but a few.

Jen has the Poetry Friday round-up today. I'll see you back at the corral!

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Author

B. J. Lee is a children’s author and poet. Her picture book, There Was an Old Gator Who Swallowed a Moth, is launching with Pelican Publishing on February 15, 2019. She has poems in 25 poetry anthologies published by Little, Brown, Wordsong, BloomsburyUK, National Geographic, Otter-Barry Books, Pomelo Books, and Chicken Soup for the Soul. She has worked with anthologists Lee Bennett Hopkins, J. Patrick Lewis and Kenn Nesbitt. She has written poems for such children’s magazines as Spider, Highlights and The School Magazine. Follow her on Twitter @bjlee_writer.

Poets' Garage website

Includes my poem "Skateboard Girl"

Includes my poem "The Red Crabs of Christmas Island"

Coming in 2018 National Geographic's book of US: 200 Poems of People, Places, and Passions (edited by J. Patrick Lewis.)
Will include my poem, "Groundhognostication"