Poetry Friday- Do the Ku!

    Sunday, March 14th, was Pi Day.  But who's in school on Sunday?  Our seventh grade celebrated this auspicious, math-lovin' day on Friday, the 12th.  Not 3.14, but who's counting?

    It was a great day of fun. pi-related activities that happened to fall on the last day before spring break.  The kids were ready for a break, and so were the teachers!  The core class teachers planned an internet scavenger hunt all about pi, pi games, and my activity, a Piku poetry slam.  As I told the kids, it was time to "Do the Ku!"

    So, what is Piku? Well, it's a poem of sorts, like a haiku.  But instead of the 5-7-5 format of haiku, Piku uses pi as its base.  The number of syllables in each line of the poem corresponds to the numbers in pi.  In other words, as pi is 3.141592653..., the first line of the Piku contains three syllables, the second line contains one syllable, the third line contains four syllables, and so on. 

    Now, I'm the first one to admit that the Piku poems are not my students' most heady and intellectual pieces.  I gave them free reign as far as their poems' topics.  So, there were a lot of poems about spring break, breakfast cereals, dogs, and how hot it was in my room that morning.  But, it was a blast!  What a riot it is to look around the room at a bunch of 7th grade faces pinched in concentration, fingers thumping out syllables on their desks or hands clapping out syllables like they learned in the Lower School.  The biggest debate of the day: Does "favorite" contain two syllables or three? (They used it both ways, depending on how many syllables they needed at the moment!)  

    I had to okay their rough drafts before they could go onto the final draft.  My fingers were thumping away, too!  Here are two of my fav-o-rites:

Spring Piku by Claire G.

3            Leaves flutter

1            wind

4            whispers softly

1            sky

5            clear blue happiness

9            the sun is bright and cheerful, balmy

2            flowers

6            blue, pink, purple, green, white

5            the grass is so soft

3            I love spring!

 

Untitled by Mario B.

3            Michigan

1            skis

4            on the crisp snow

1            fast

5            as I fly on snow

9            Hit the jump, spring forward into flight

2            I’m free

6            More free than a birdie

5            Oh yes, a birdie

 

I am the Poetry Friday host this week.  Please leave your links as comments to this post, and I'll add them as the day unfolds.  Thanks, everyone!  Enjoy spring!

Poetry Friday posts:

Danika from TeachingBooks.net shares original audio featuring 2009 Pura Belpre winner and Newbery Honor recipient Margarita Engle reading a poem aloud from her award-winning book The Surrender Tree:     http://forum.teachingbooks.net/?p=3559

Laura Salas has "Fortune" by Dobby Gibson up at http://laurasalas.livejournal.com/206023.html.as well as15 Words or Less poems by anyone who wants to participate at http://laurasalas.livejournal.com/205724.html. Come join in!

"Tell Me" is posted on the Father Goose blog at
http://www.charlesghigna.blogspot.com

Today Laura at TeachPoetryk12 offers an essay about how to identify stressed and unstressed syllables along with a poem by Seamus Heaney at http://tinyurl.com/ybuqy6w

Gregory K.at GottaBook has a re-issue of his own poem Air Guitar:
http://gottabook.blogspot.com/2010/03/poetry-re-issue-air-guitar.html

Over at The Drift Record today, Julie is thinking about ferry boats and has a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay titled RECUERDO. 

Today Mary Lee at A Year of Reading is going public with her Personal Poetry Month Challenge:
http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2010/03/im-gonna-verse-you.html

Jama is lounging on her fainting couch with a song by Noel Coward, "Something on a Tray": http://jamarattigan.livejournal.com/392737.html.

Sara Lewis Holmes is in with Rilke's life-changing poem, Archaic Torso of Apollo.

Alison Stevens offers a haiku celebrating spring and a short book review at http://alisonstevens.blogspot.com/2010/03/on-day-you-were-born.html.

Andromeda Jazmon from A Wrung Sponge is joining FP today with "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" lyrics & video here: http://awrungsponge.blogspot.com/2010/03/buddy-my-7-year-old-has-begun-to-play.html

Christine M. is in with part 3 of an original poem by her 13 year old at http://simpleordinary.blogspot.com/2010/03/poetry-friday-tessa-in-wonderland-part.html

At Homeschooling on the Run, Megan gives us a poem by Ezra Pound! http://ettinsmuir.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/poetry-friday-ezra-pound/

Jeannine wrote about Margarita Engle's new verse novel, The Firefly Letters at http://jeannineatkins.livejournal.com

At Random Noodling www.randomnoodling.com Diane has a colorful poem from Amy Lowell called "Thompson's Lunch Room--Grand Central Station."

Kurious Kitty looks at Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds www.kuriouskitty.blogspot.com, and at KKsKwotes there is a quote by Billy Collins taken from the introduction to Bright Wings www.kkskwotes.blogspot.com .

The Write Sisters look at Knock on Wood: Poems About Superstitions by Janet S. Wong www.thewritesisters.blogspot.com .

Heidi's in today with a classic from Countee Cullen.
http://myjuicylittleuniverse.blogspot.com/2010/03/all-that-we-remember.html

Read Ruth's post, a spring poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, at: http://thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com/2010/03/poetry-friday-spring_19.html

Jone at Check It Out has an interview with Oregon author, Susan Blackaby and her new poetry book, Nest, Nook and Cranny.

http://maclibrary.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/poetry-friday-susan-blackaby-interview/

At Wild Rose Reader, Elaine has reviews and excerpts from three fine picture books in verse that are wonderful for reading aloud at this time of year: Bear Wants More; Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud; and Waddle, Waddle, Quack, Quack, Quack. http://wildrosereader.blogspot.com/2010/03/spring-pictures-books-in-verse.html  At Blue Rose Girls, she also has two original spring acrostics that she previously posted at Wild Rose Reader:
http://bluerosegirls.blogspot.com/2010/03/poetry-friday-spring-acrostics.html

Laura from Author Amok left a message: Hi, everyone. I'm not posting this week, but the Dodge Foundation is!!! Check out their clip of Gerald Stern from the 2008 Dodge Poetry Festival. http://blog.grdodge.org/2010/03/19/poetry-fridays-gerald-stern/

Tabatha posted a link to a Pi version of the Raven today, http://www.tabathayeatts.com/poetryfriday.htm, along with "The End of the Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe's cat.

Karen Edmisten says: I'm in this week, and it's here:http://karenedmisten.blogspot.com/2010/03/poetry-friday-trust.html

Charlotte's in with The Horses, by Edward Muir -- a poem that fans of post-apocalyptic fiction, in particular, should like lots.http://charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com/2010/03/horses-by-edward-muir-poem-that-fans-of.html

Kelly Fineman has given us an exceedingly short poem about a woodpecker. Here's the link: http://kellyrfineman.livejournal.com/540546.html

Here's Doraine Bennett's post from Dori Reads: http://dorireads.blogspot.com/

Kristen offers an original poem that hearkens back to childhood, called "Lessons on Swimming": http://womanwithmonsters.blogspot.com/2010/03/dont-drink-water_16.html

From Becky at Becky's Book Reviews, a review of Too Much Kissing by Alan Katz: http://zero-to-eight.blogspot.com/2010/03/poetry-friday-too-much-kissing.html

Librarian ninja Jennie has some lyrics from The Secret Garden musical, to celebrate the start of spring. http://www.jenrothschild.com/2010/03/poetry-friday_19.html

Over at The Cazzy Files, you'll find a video trailer for Sara Teasdale's "There Will Come Soft Rains." http://thecazzyfiles.typepad.com/the-cazzy-files/2010/03/poetry-friday-soft-rains.html

Jules (Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast) says: I'm late, but here's my contribution: http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=1908, a poem by Deborah Garrison.

A few late entries:

Brianne at Language, Literacy, Love offers: http://languageliteracylove.blogspot.com/2010/03/poetry-friday-discussing-poetry-whip.html 

Erin is in with an original poem called 'everything has meaning'--
http://misserinmarie.blogspot.com/2010/03/everything-has-meaning-she-yelled-it.html

Doret tells us: This is my first time taking part in Poetry Friday. Fortune's Bones by Marilyn Nelson http://thehappynappybookseller.blogspot.com/2010/03/fortunes-bones-marilyn-nelson.html

Welcome, Doret!

And one more...

Priya is in with an original haiku: http://priyaganesan.blogspot.com/2010/03/fairies.html