Riddle-Ku of the Day
Alone, I drift downWith friends, I lift, high and swift
I make robins fly
–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved
?HINT 1:
HINT 2:
Photos by Laura Purdie Salas
TITLE (AND ANSWER):
FEATHER
[Educators, please click here to see a roundup of the entire month’s riddle-ku and also to get suggestions for using these riddle-ku with your students.]
UPDATE: My riddle-ku are now available in Kindle and paperback as Riddle-ku: Haiku for Very Close Reading (along with tons of great auxiliary materials for teachers), part of the 30 PAINLESS CLASSROOM POEMS series.
Hi, 15 Words or Less community! I’m home from my travels and looking forward to reading your poem drafts! I’ll post a draft in the Comments–I didn’t want to post one here and confuse educators who might be visiting for the first time:>)
56 Responses
15 words or less–Laura’s first draft:
Backyard Mystery
Feather on deck:
crumb from cat snack?
note from sky-flyer?
Cat looks hungry
Whew!
–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved
15 words or less–Laura’s first draft:
Backyard Mystery
Feather on deck:
crumb from cat snack?
note from sky-flyer?
Cat looks hungry
Whew!
–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved
Nice riddle series, Laura.
The Shiki Kukai free format topic is “allusion.” Your picture provides this allusion poem:
a white feather
on the bus stop bench
…I taste chocolate
Diane Mayr, all rights reserved
What a mysterious image and unexpected leap. Thanks for the link…but then doesn’t your poem have to include the word “allusion”? Or maybe I misunderstood something in my reading.
No, for the purposes of this challenge I think you have to provide a literary or cultural allusion. If I were home, I could find the example shown, but, I’m at work now, and probably won’t get home ’til very late. (I’m judging the NH PBS Kids’ writing contest later today! And that’s an excuse to have dinner with a writer friend!) Of course, I could be totally mis-remembering and you could be right. Keep watching this space…
Have fun with the judging–it’s always amazing to see what kids write! And hard to pick winners. No worries on the rules. I was just curious, but didn’t mean to throw a wrench in the literary works:)
Here’s the directions from the kukai notice: The free format theme for April is ‘ALLUSION’ (either literary allusion or allusive variation). These are described on pages 122 and 123 of The Haiku Handbook by Bill Higginson. The literary allusion technique references and attempts to expand the meaning of another literary source. Allusive variation in Japanese haiku attempts to parody other well-known haiku, but submissions may parody other literary sources.
Now I have to write one for the contest!
Ah, that makes total sense. I must have misread the part I was reading:>) Good luck–I’m sure you’ll come up with a stunner. You’re always excellent at historical allusions, so I’m sure literary allusion will be a piece of cake for you!
Nice riddle series, Laura.
The Shiki Kukai free format topic is “allusion.” Your picture provides this allusion poem:
a white feather
on the bus stop bench
…I taste chocolate
Diane Mayr, all rights reserved
What a mysterious image and unexpected leap. Thanks for the link…but then doesn’t your poem have to include the word “allusion”? Or maybe I misunderstood something in my reading.
No, for the purposes of this challenge I think you have to provide a literary or cultural allusion. If I were home, I could find the example shown, but, I’m at work now, and probably won’t get home ’til very late. (I’m judging the NH PBS Kids’ writing contest later today! And that’s an excuse to have dinner with a writer friend!) Of course, I could be totally mis-remembering and you could be right. Keep watching this space…
Have fun with the judging–it’s always amazing to see what kids write! And hard to pick winners. No worries on the rules. I was just curious, but didn’t mean to throw a wrench in the literary works:)
Here’s the directions from the kukai notice: The free format theme for April is ‘ALLUSION’ (either literary allusion or allusive variation). These are described on pages 122 and 123 of The Haiku Handbook by Bill Higginson. The literary allusion technique references and attempts to expand the meaning of another literary source. Allusive variation in Japanese haiku attempts to parody other well-known haiku, but submissions may parody other literary sources.
Now I have to write one for the contest!
Ah, that makes total sense. I must have misread the part I was reading:>) Good luck–I’m sure you’ll come up with a stunner. You’re always excellent at historical allusions, so I’m sure literary allusion will be a piece of cake for you!
I realize that the Shiki Kukai may be an unknown to you, if so, here’s a link to how it works: http://www.haikuworld.org/kukai/howitworks.html
I realize that the Shiki Kukai may be an unknown to you, if so, here’s a link to how it works: http://www.haikuworld.org/kukai/howitworks.html
Lost piece of cloud drifts
sideways in flight. It?s different
without its white wing.
?Kate Coombs
I love the melancholy tone of this, Kate.
And I loved your homophoem over at Tricia’s blog, too!
Thanks on both counts, Laura!
Lost piece of cloud drifts
sideways in flight. It?s different
without its white wing.
?Kate Coombs
I love the melancholy tone of this, Kate.
And I loved your homophoem over at Tricia’s blog, too!
Thanks on both counts, Laura!
Sweet!
Thanks, Nancy!
Sweet!
Thanks, Nancy!
The Feather
Feather tickles, I giggle,
together we make
silly Spring sneezes.
Remembering fun times with my grandmother; tickling her leg with a feather above the line of her garter-rolled stockings which were below the knees. She would grab her knee and scratch and pretend she didn’t know what it was; then tickling her under her nose and collapsing in giggles when she faked her loud sneezes.
What a great story–love those details! Grandmoms who play along–they’re the best. I especially like “together,” which sums up the best part of this moment.
The Feather
Feather tickles, I giggle,
together we make
silly Spring sneezes.
Remembering fun times with my grandmother; tickling her leg with a feather above the line of her garter-rolled stockings which were below the knees. She would grab her knee and scratch and pretend she didn’t know what it was; then tickling her under her nose and collapsing in giggles when she faked her loud sneezes.
What a great story–love those details! Grandmoms who play along–they’re the best. I especially like “together,” which sums up the best part of this moment.
Drifting through heaven
On daydream words
Golden silver
Letter wings
Dance across
Blue paper sky
I have always loved the idea of words in the sky–words as birds, as feathers, as flying objects themselves. This is lovely.
Drifting through heaven
On daydream words
Golden silver
Letter wings
Dance across
Blue paper sky
I have always loved the idea of words in the sky–words as birds, as feathers, as flying objects themselves. This is lovely.
When I saw that flower, I thought of Easter hats and how women used to wear big hats adorned with flowers, feathers, etc.
A Windy Day
Gorgeous hat
with one large feather
should not be worn
in windy weather.
Oops!
Thanks for your posts, Laura. I enjoy reading them.
I realy love thi
Hahaha–I LOVE the image this one gives me, Pat. And that final line. So glad you’re enjoying the poems.
When I saw that flower, I thought of Easter hats and how women used to wear big hats adorned with flowers, feathers, etc.
A Windy Day
Gorgeous hat
with one large feather
should not be worn
in windy weather.
Oops!
Thanks for your posts, Laura. I enjoy reading them.
I realy love thi
Hahaha–I LOVE the image this one gives me, Pat. And that final line. So glad you’re enjoying the poems.
Cloud leaf
Wind whispers spring
Silver nickel dreams
sailing through sky dreams
On cloud leafs
By Jessica Bigi
Cloud leaf
Wind whispers spring
Silver nickel dreams
sailing through sky dreams
On cloud leafs
By Jessica Bigi
Fingers tap on a keyboard,
hunting and pecking
for the poetry
of feathers
and ink.
Love how you connected pecking and chicken feathers and came up with those gorgeous last 5 words!
Fingers tap on a keyboard,
hunting and pecking
for the poetry
of feathers
and ink.
Love how you connected pecking and chicken feathers and came up with those gorgeous last 5 words!
I love the opposites you did in this riddle, Laura, alone or with friends. Didn’t get to a poem today, next week!
Thanks, Linda. I did have fun thinking that a single feather is pretty powerless, but a group of them achieves miracles:>)
I love the opposites you did in this riddle, Laura, alone or with friends. Didn’t get to a poem today, next week!
Thanks, Linda. I did have fun thinking that a single feather is pretty powerless, but a group of them achieves miracles:>)
RIDDLE-KU
A bushel of quills
Unfold at daybreak, ready
For their morning flight.
15 WORDS OR LESS
AERIAL BEAUTY
Powder white plumes
Flapping in rhythm
Over water, buildings, trees,
Dancing in the breeze.
© Charles Waters 2014 all rights reserved.
I love that unfolding at daybreak–gorgeous!
RIDDLE-KU
A bushel of quills
Unfold at daybreak, ready
For their morning flight.
15 WORDS OR LESS
AERIAL BEAUTY
Powder white plumes
Flapping in rhythm
Over water, buildings, trees,
Dancing in the breeze.
© Charles Waters 2014 all rights reserved.
I love that unfolding at daybreak–gorgeous!