Poetry for Children

Thanks for stopping by. Outside of board books, here are my published poems from various periodicals and collections. Enjoy! 

Glacier 

A frozen blue river

stiff with cold,

crunches forward,

tears into mountains,

swallows the earth,

leaves rumbling round rocks

in a wide smooth bed,

to trickle into a green river

and cool my toes. 

Cricket, 1999

Ballroom Dancing 

The great, green pines

slip long white gloves

over their fingertips

up to their shoulders.

They sway to the music

of the twirling snow flurries.

Cricket, 1999

First I Came, Then Came You 

First I came, then came you.

I used this crib first. 

Now you sleep in it. 

I used to wear these clothes.

Now they fit you. 

I played lots with these toys.

Now you play with them.

Here are my favorite books.

Now I read them to you.

I had baths in here, but I don't remember.

Now I help Daddy give you a bath.

Mommy used to feed me like that.

Now she feeds you for a really long time. 

Mommy and Daddy used to hold just me.

Now you squeeze in with us.

First I was alone.

Now you are my sister. 

Ladybug, the magazine for young children, 1999

Holding Hands 

You stretched out your hand

and gave me 

Been to Yesterdays.

"Stowed in cardboard

corners

memories rest

quietly in paper chests"

like my own 

waiting to be dusted, lifted, and remembered.

Your mother,

grandmother,

and middle grade voice facing divorce

found my mother,

grandmother,

and me facing the divorce in my childhood.

Been to Yesterdays

took me to my own.

Thank you for

holding out your hand

so that I might grasp it. 

Dear One: A Tribute to Lee Bennett Hopkins, NCTE, 2009

My English Teacher 

She teaches me

authors have

agendas, philosophies, belief systems

leaking through their words

even if they don't know it.

I will be watching

for the rest of my life

so they don't get in my brain

without me

ever knowing it. 

The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School, Pomelo Books, 2013

Selfie 

Smile

Laugh

Click

Pic

See?

Me!

The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations, Pomelo Books, 2015

Great Morning! Poems for School Leaders to Read Aloud, Pomelo Books, 2018

Toasty, Warm Jammies 

My toes

wiggle

into whispery, tappity footies.

My knees 

hide 

inside stretchy, squeezy legs.

My bum dances

in the wiggly, waggly rump.

My arms

flap

in fleecy, fuzzy sleeves.

My belly

rounds

the long, skickety zipper.

My chin 

taps

the cool, snippety snap.

Toady, warm jammies

snuggle me

to drifty,

dreamy

sleep. 

One Minute till Bedtime, Little Brown, 2016