Did you know today is National Popcorn Day? It is also one of those days when I was at a bit of a loss about what to share for Poetry Friday. So I casually Googled “popcorn poems.” Maya Angelou’s “I Love the Look of Words” was one of the results. The title sounded vaguely familiar, and as I started reading it, I realized this poem is one I shared with my third graders for many years.
Angelou’s poem is a celebration of words and ideas, bouncing around in our brains like popcorn. I’m sorry this poem lay tucked away in my memory for so long. I’m happy National Popcorn Day brought it back up to the surface.
“I Love the Look of Words”
Popcorn leaps, popping from the floor
of a hot black skillet
and into my mouth.
Black words leap,
snapping from the white
page. Rushing into my eyes. Sliding
into my brain which gobbles them
the way my tongue and teeth
chomp the buttered popcorn.
When I have stopped reading,
ideas from the words stay stuck
in my mind, like the sweet
smell of butter perfuming my
fingers long after the popcorn
is finished.
I love the book and the look of words
the weight of ideas that popped into my mind
I love the tracks
of new thinking in my mind.
by Maya Angelou
Grab a bowl of popcorn and visit Kay McGriff at A Journey Through The Pages for the feast of poetry served in the PF Roundup.
Reading to the Core 
What a fun post! I like doing popcorn poetry with my students. We haven’t done this in a while. May be a great midwinter pick-me-up.
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Durn, there you go making me hungry for popcorn. We have a new induction stove top and it is hard to make good popcorn on it, and microwaved popcorn just doesn’t cut it for me.
Thanks for sharing this poem.
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This is one of my favorite poems and I always share it with my classes. Such fun to see it here tonight!
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Ohhh, I hear that amazing voice in my head while reading these lines. Thanks for sharing.
I’m SO glad you mentioned Nat’l Popcorn Day; when I realized it a week or two ago, I thought, “That needs to be a PF post!” (But, then, I moved on to something different which is par for the course. Glad you gave popcorn its due!)
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I love Maya Angelou’s poems. Side note: I went to one of her poetry readings as an undergraduate! What a fun comparison of words and popcorn! I am going to save this one.
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It’s a wonderful poem for this ‘popcorn day’, Catherine. I’ve used it before, too, a great poem for celebrating writing, or starting a new poem.
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Oooh. That last stanza! How clever was that? Glad this poem popped up!
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How have I missed this one? What fun!
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What a great poetry Friday entry. I love the snap of this poem….and your energy too.
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Such a great poem. I haven’t thought of it in a while (who knows how long ago I read it), but it still rings true. I do love the snap of words as the fly from the page into my mind.
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I love your blog and have nominated you for a Versatile Blogger AWARD!
I hope you accept!
https://tammysreadinglife.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/and-the-winner-is/
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