Twenty-Three Intentions
© 2023 Linda Rittenhouse
In twenty hundred and twenty-three
I'm going to write some poetry.
Think about who I want to be.
Look inside to discover what I might see.
Put thoughts on a page that lie hidden in me.
In twenty hundred and twenty-three
I'm going to learn to climb some trees.
Might bump my head and bang my knees,
but I'll go so high I can feel the breeze,
see mountains, rivers, and wild prairies.
Respect Mother Earth who looks out for me.
In twenty hundred and twenty-three
I'm gonna make friends with a honeybee.
Plant lavender, sage, and rosemary
so he and his friends can make honey
that I'll stir into my chamomile tea.
In twenty hundred and twenty-three
I'll work to boost my vocabulary.
Learn French words like "bonjour" and "merci."
Italian for "see 'ya!" (Arrivederci!)
and the word I need in Swahili
so in Zanzibar surrounded by sea
I'll say "mambo" (what's up?) to kids like me.
In twenty hundred and twenty-three
I'm going on a kindness spree.
I'll spread smiles and positivity
to people who need it as badly as me.
In twenty hundred and twenty-three,
I'm taking classes from a fine Yogi.
Learning to stand like a branching tree,
How to slow my mind and breathe deeply.
How to find my calm and protect my peace.
In twenty hundred and twenty-three
things will happen I don't foresee,
challenges that might seem bigger than me,
sad situations that steal my glee.
The only thing I can guarantee
is to be the very best version of me.
In twenty hundred and twenty-three.
Here is the poem I wrote using the 2022 Challenge from the “Write Poetry” tab.
New Year's Resolutions
Linda Rittenhouse (aka Nana Posy)
In twenty hundred and twenty-two
I'm going to learn to tie my shoe.
I'm going to tie my brother's, too.
The little guy is only two
and basically, hasn't got a clue.
In twenty hundred and twenty-two
I'm going to paint my room sky blue.
Stick stars on the ceiling with super glue.
Draw on the walls, an oak, a yew
where doves can sit and gently coo.
In twenty hundred and twenty-two
I'm going to have a party or two.
Invite my friends, Cade Kangaroo,
Sandy Shrew and Nikki Gnu
for some fun away from the boring zoo.
In twenty hundred and twenty-two
I'm going to learn to make fondue,
invent a dish called strawberry stew,
eat it with a healthy brew
made from the leaves of sweet bamboo.
In twenty hundred and twenty-two
I'm going to take a train to Peru,
glide the Amazon in a sleek canoe,
hike all the way up to Machu Picchu,
hug a fluffy llama with eyes of blue.
In twenty hundred and twenty-two
I'll try to be kind to you and you
and you and you and your family, too.
Allow my heart to be full and true,
love the Earth, feel my hope renew.
But something tells me you already knew
that magic awaits us in twenty-two.
© 2022 Linda Rittenhouse
Did you know that there are wild donkeys in Arizona? It’s hard to imagine how they survive the long, hot summers.
Hee-Hee-Haw
There was a little donkey.
His name was Hee-Hee-Haw.
He loved to bray about
everything he saw.
Sun rising over desert hills
would make him bray, bray, bray.
He’d kick his heels, shake off the dust,
so pleased to start the day!
He had a little burro friend.
Her name was Haw-Hee-Hee,
the cutest grey-brown donkey girl
who roamed the wild prairie.
She had lovely long dark lashes
above her big brown eyes,
and a fluffy tuft on her donkey tail
to swish away the flies.
They roamed among the cactus
and palo verde trees.
They waded into cooling creeks
up to their donkey knees.
And when they heard coyotes
howling at the moon,
Their instinct knew the time to sleep
was coming very soon.
So leaving wispy grasses
and feeling evening breeze,
they went where all the donkeys wild
slept under mesquite trees.
And after braying dawn to dusk
Hee-Hee-Haw quietly prayed,
“Thank you for family, home, and friends,
and for this donkey day.”
© 2019 Linda Rittenhouse
Friends
For Kelly Taft, a person we would all be lucky and blessed to call “friend.”
Let’s have a conversation.
Let’s have a chitty chat.
I’ll wear my tiara.
You’ll wear your cowboy hat.
Let’s have a little pow-wow.
Let’s have a lovely talk.
Let’s make time for each other,
maybe go for a walk.
Let’s sit out under stars
and share our secrets with the moon.
He’ll tell us we are lucky,
and the night will end too soon.
Let’s have a gab session
and talk about our friends.
Let’s decide we don’t like gossip,
never do that again.
Let’s have a heartfelt dialogue.
First you, then me, then you.
I’ll listen very carefully,
'cause that’s what friends should do.
Let’s have a happy chinwag,
a joy-filled tête-à-tête.
Let’s tell each other stories
about adventures we have met.
Let’s have some funny banter,
a good old repartee.
We’ll invent odd, silly faces
and roll around with glee.
Let’s organize a meeting,
a special rendez-vous.
Pronounce our hopes and dreams
and vow to see them through.
Let’s engage in a discussion.
Let’s have a grand debate
about something that I like
which is something that you hate.
We’ll listen with respect;
it won’t be like we’re warring.
‘Cause if we both thought the same
it would be boring, boring, boring!
We’ll come to love the good.
We’ll overlook the rest.
We’ll call each other “friend”,
Maybe someday even “best”.
Then as our lives unfold
and we find ourselves apart
it won’t matter where we are.
We’ll have each other in our hearts.
© 2020 Linda Rittenhouse
One of the beautiful things that happens when you talk with people or read is you learn new words.
I will always try in my poems to help you add words to your vocabulary. The more words you know, the more you can express your thoughts, understand others, and communicate at a high level.
How many different words did you read in “Friends” that have a similar meaning to “conversation?”
How many of those words did you already know?
Is there a synonym for “conversation” that you liked enough to try out?
Synonyms for the word, conversation:
chitty chat gab session
pow-wow dialogue
talk chinwag
Also, if we “share our secrets” or “gossip” we are having a type of conversation, but those terms are verbs (actions) and we were trying to list nouns (in this case, things).
tête-à-tête rendez-vous
banter discussion
repartee debate
Here are two of those “spelling word” poems from when my daughter was in third grade.
I’ll put the spelling words in bold so that you can tell what I started with.
Time for Kindness
He was farming in the dark;
trying to harvest all his garden,
marching through the muddy clay,
trying to finish ’fore the frost.
When a stray without a spark,
all cold and wet and starving
whimpered softly from a spray,
needing food and surely lost.
“May I love you, Mr. Human?
May I guard you, may we play?”
with his soft brown eyes so earnest
the shaggy puppy seemed to say.
“May I hold you, little stranger?
May I help you on your way?”
said the kind and caring farmer
to the gray and lonely stray.
He scooped him up and took him home,
fed his belly and dried his bones,
and trusted that his harvest
would be safe another day.
© Linda Rittenhouse
P.S. We think of “spray” as tiny drops of water flying through the air or as a verb that means making those drops fly through the air. Did you know that the word, “spray” can also mean a small branch of a tree or plant? (Don’t you just love words?)
Here is another “spelling word” poem.
What a Week!
On Monday I made mud pies;
I sold cookies, cakes and buns.
On Tuesday I sold twofers.
(You got two for the price of one.)
On Wednesday when I went to work
from ten o’clock ‘til four
I lifted bricks and picked up sticks
for six hours––was I sore!
On Thursday I was thirsty
for some peppermint sun tea.
I drank two cups and then one more…
Ahhh! Two plus one makes three.
On Friday I fried five large eggs
and served them with French toast.
I ate two; friend Fred ate three.
(He always eats the most!)
On Saturday, sat by the bay
and counted nine sailboats.
(Not to mention seven gulls
and eight mermaids in coats!)
On Sunday morn I went to church
and on two knees did pray
to thank the Lord for granting me
another seven days.
© Linda Rittenhouse
This poem was written by six-year-old, Milena.
We were talking about haiku poetry one day, and she decided to write one.
She also drew the illustration to go with her haiku.
I have Milena’s permission to share her poem and picture with you.
lonely green cactus
prickly without any friends
owls live inside
© 2020 Milena
The next poem was inspired by challenge #2 from the “Write Poetry” tab.
Thinking about the snowy image mixed with some imagination created “SantaBella.”
SantaBella
She galloped from high on the forested ridge.
Her steed leaped through the belly-deep snow.
Saddlebags packed with trinkets and toys
for the ice-crusted hamlet below.
The bed-cozied tots dreamed a fat man in red
in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, sky course.
They never imagined their gifts would arrive
from a pixie astride a white horse.
Her mare was a magical steed, eons old,
dappled coat, silver hooves, mane, and tail
that sparked from the glow of night’s pale winter moon
as she heaved through snow drifts on the trail.
Like spun sugar candy cane ribbons of old,
the pixie’s long locks trailed behind,
caressed by the breeze from her galloping mount,
she sang songs only known by her kind.
Parixamadee, coovoona labow,
Faneena, arathma, mezite.
Jesus, Sweet Lord, please fill our hearts
as we sing of your birth tonight.
Maluna, makina, farithamezee,
as we sing of your birth tonight.
© 2020 Linda Rittenhouse
