From bafflegab to bliss, today’s words led me somewhere unexpected – a childhood memory that now feels like the beginning of everything… like finally becoming me.
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Becoming Bliss
The Bliss of Baltering
Baltered Bliss: Brouhahas Braved
To escape all that bafflegab,
which in my soul was such a bugbear –
“Billions of blistering barnacles!”
my brain blustered –
and I baltered here, I baltered there,
in fact, baltered far and near.
O’er blurry words and boundless balderdash,
braving all brouhahas as I went,
I baltered on, brimful of bliss,
escaping that bugbear bafflegab.
~ Vidya Tiru @ LadyInReadWrites
Today’s words:
- Bafflegab – fancy words that twist your brain in knots.
- Balderdash – silly talk that makes you laugh or roll your eyes.
- Balter – to dance like nobody’s watching… even if you’re all wobbly.
- Bluster – big, noisy words or puffed-up talk that tries to sound scary or more than they are…
- Brouhaha – a loud, silly fuss that everyone’s talking about.
- Bugbear – that annoying little thing (or person!) that won’t let you rest.
And one more, a phrase!
- Billions of blistering barnacles – a humorous, exaggerated exclamation of surprise or frustration, popularized by Captain Haddock in The Adventures of Tintin; a colorful, alliterative comic-book oath.
Becoming Me: Back to the Future
Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt challenges us to write our own poem in which we recount a childhood memory. Try to incorporate a sense of how that experience indicated to us, even then, something about the person we’d grow up to be.
Here is my attempt for NaPoWriMo Day 2: When tutoring a friend late at night revealed the teacher I’d become – decades later.
Becoming
It was the night before an exam,
like many such nights before.
The doorbell rang at ten o’clock—
my mother’s voice called through the hall.
She paused at the sound of my friend’s plea:
“Can I come in for a bit? I need help,
from your daughter, you see.”
My mom hesitated, weighed
the hour, the rules, the stress.
But before she could say no, her daughter slipped past her side,
notebook in hand, quietly proud
of the small power in explaining what she knew.
Two classmates stayed up for an hour or two,
one little child tutoring the other,
discovering joy in patience, in clarity—
the thrill of seeing a spark
in someone else’s eyes.
Even then, she felt it:
the pleasure of guiding, of making ideas stick,
a fragment of a dream tucked away,
waiting for decades to unfold.
Now, years later, I see her again—
that girl in the lamplight, unaware
she was already rehearsing
the life she’d return to one day,
the life of teaching, patient and quiet,
one page, one problem, one spark at a time.
~ Vidya @ LadyInReadWrites
Bbbbbbooooks
The B on Your Thumb: 60 Poems to Boost Reading and Spelling written by Colette Hiller & illustrated by Tor Freeman
Description: This is a book of 60 hilariously illustrated rhymes and delightful ditties to boost early reading—each poem teaches a specific sound, spelling, or rule. Using rhythm and wordplay, they promote phonics awareness, thinking skills, and literacy.
One I know I’ll be using in my classroom
The Blanket Where Violet Sits written by Allan Wolf and illustrated by Lauren Tobia (3 – 7 years, and up)
Description: Equipped with telescope and space book, Violet gazes up into the great beyond, imagining a rocket ride to the stars . . . and a soft, sleepy return to her blanket. Lyrical and meditative, this is the perfect picture book to savor and share during a late-night picnic under the moon—or anytime
This one seemed perfect to share today, a couple hours after I watched Artemis II take off with wide-eyed wonder (on TV from my couch, but….)
Brown Girl, Brown Girl by Leslé Honoré with illustrations by Cozbi A. Cabrera (4 – 8 years, and up)
Description: Based on a viral poem by Blaxican poet and activist Leslé Honoré, and illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Cozbi A. Cabrera, this moving journey through the past, present, and future of brown and Black girls is a celebration of community, creativity, and joy—and offers a reminder of the history that inspires hope, and the hope that inspires activism.
This one hit me because of the line from the book, “A world that sees my skin before it sees me.” It reminded me of someone I know who has faced this, and how important it is to celebrate identity, joy, and hope.
And Now, the End of This Post
Dear reader,
Did you balter through your day—or battle a bit of bafflegab? Share a word, a moment, or a memory that feels like you.
Or tell me: what’s a small moment from your childhood that, looking back, feels like a hint of who you’ve become?
I am linking up to A-Z, Blogchatter, UBC, NaPoWriMo.
And you can find all my A-Z posts (this year and previous years’ as well) here:
