Poetry Friday: Celebrations and a Giveaway!

I’ve wanted to write this post for weeks, but with the unexpected loss of my mother-in-law, being under the weather for the past two weeks, and a crazy-busy schedule at school… Well, I just never got around to it until now.

I’m so proud to finally share my poems from the newest creation by our poetry superheroes Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations.

 

I love every one of the anthologies in the Poetry Friday Anthology series.  I use all of them with my middle school students.  Janet and Sylvia have made it easy for teachers, parents, and librarians to access high-interest poems and activities that meet CCSS standards.  (I’ll be sharing some of the many ways I use the various editions in a future post.)  

I'm giving away a copy of the teacher/librarian edition of  CELEBRATIONS.  Leave a comment to enter. The winner will be randomly drawn Monday, April 20.

 

I wrote poems for four different holidays. I was thrilled to learn two of my poems were accepted!  The first poem is for National Good Neighbor Day!

 

I also wrote a poem for Veteran’s Day.  I’m a veteran so it meant a lot to me to have my poem included. I joined the Air Force forty-one years ago. Our country was just ending its involvement in Vietnam.  Joining the military was not popular at the time, but it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Here I am in my dress blues and fatigues.

The picture are pretty faded, but they were taken in 1974!

I had it easy. In those days, women weren’t permitted to serve in combat zones. My inspiration for the poem came from the men and women who risked their lives for our freedom. Every year, as a community service project, my students write thank you notes to our veterans. I wanted to do the same in the form of a poem. Veterans (and soldiers) are our true heroes!

DEAR VETERAN

You fought
for our freedom.                                                                                                                                   You kept our country safe.
Today we proudly honor you,
Hero.

-Linda Kulp Trout, all rights reserved
 

                                                                         

Be sure to stop by Robyn's place at Life on the Deckle Edge to read more about The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations, an interview with Janet and Sylvia, and many other poetry offerings!