IN THE WORD WOODS
by April Halprin Wayland
I’m sure there’s a found poem somewhere here.
There usually is this time of year.
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Didn’t a red-haired boy lose words
that were found last May by a flightless bird?
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And then that search and rescue hound
dug up sixteen poems he’d found.
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Listen for falling bulletin boards,
and scowling poem-poaching hordes
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who stomp all over this hallowed ground
until the hidden poems are found.
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I’ll bring a flashlight, you bring a rake
we’ll get down on our knees and make
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a poem from words that have trampolined
off an internet ad or a magazine
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into the woods some starry night
waiting for searching kids who might
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find a poem if they’re brave and follow
the hoot of an owl to the end of the hollow.
published in The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School–Poems for the School Year with Connections to the Common Core, compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong (Pomelo Books 2013)
Copyright © 2017 April Halprin Wayland. Used by permission of the author, who controls all rights.
What’s New with My Poetry (What’s new with My Books is here)
I am honored that one of my poems introduces the second edition of Sylvia Vardell‘s fabulous resource book, Poetry Aloud Here: Sharing Poetry with Children.
I am beyond proud that three of my poems appear on
Children’s Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt’s homepage ~
When Mom Plays Just for Me, Ice Cream Soup, and Winterku!
And I have poems in dozens of anthologies, including several poems in each of the MARVELOUS
Poetry Friday Anthologies, (including The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science: Poems for the School Year Integrating Science, Reading, and Language)
You, too, can make yourself a poet’s hat!
See also Myra’s marvelous book, POEM-MAKING.
This book is written for perhaps a ten-year-old reading level—perfect for me!
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Here’s some background:
* winner of the Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Best Poetry Book
* winner Penn State’s Lee Bennett Hopkins Honor Award for Poetry
* Junior Library Guild selection
* Nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American LibraryÂ
  Association (ALA)
* Nominated for Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers by ALA
* Selected for the California Collections by California Reader
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