Reflections on the Teche

Slice of Life: Pacific Northwest

June 9, 2026 by margaretsmn

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

“I mean hate and love and fear and wanting to live and wanting to see your children live,” she said. “Those are the things that shape our consciousness, not the material goods, not whether the tables are made of oak or synthetic plastic … The thing isn’t important. It’s the human emotion — and that, I believe, doesn’t change.” Geraldine Brooks

For a week, I had the privilege of watching my children and their children live and love and play. My son-in-law loves the Pacific Northwest. He and my daughter have been vacationing there each year for 5 years. This year, we were invited to tag along. Then my middle daughter Katherine decided to come along with her son, Thomas. We were missing my youngest daughter’s family so much that we are talking about making next year’s trip a full family one.

Highlights include short hikes to waterfalls…

Tidal pools…

Watching eagles, fire pit, views of Olympic mountains…

Watercolor painting with Stella…

In the airport waiting for our flight home

Throwing rocks…

And playgrounds…

New squid-themed playground at the Waterfront, Seattle.

At the end of our trip, we stayed a few nights in Seattle and met up with my husband’s brother and his family which includes a new great niece.

I’m happy to be home to my dog, my bird feeders, flowers, walks with friends, but I will carry the love and life and memories with me.

Posted in being mamére, Slice of Life, Travel, Writing | Tagged family vacation, Pacific Northwest | 2 Comments »

Poetry Friday: Pantoum with Pádreg

May 29, 2026 by margaretsmn

Mary Lee has the roundup today as well as a sign up for Poetry Friday hosts at A(nother) Year of Reading.

Pádreg Ó Tuama is a master at the Pantoum poetry form. In his newsletter last week, he offered sentence stems and a 1-8 line prompt. He suggested “Don’t stress over it: bring yourself generously to yourself.” The whole prompt can be found here. If you haven’t tried a Pantoum before, you should give it a try. This time I was pleased enough with the results to share my poem with you.

Time

Today, my mind wants peace
and I watch the white cat;
although yesterday I sang of grace.
As I write, I cling to memory

and watch the white cat.
When I was younger, I thought tears were weak.
As I write and cling to memory,
I couldn’t have known, terrible things would happen.

When I was younger and thought tears were weak,
I wish I’d known grief is a bitch.
I couldn’t have known how terrible things happen.
I had a dream I was a cloud.

Grief is a bitch anyway;
although yesterday I sang of grace.
I dream of clouds.
Today my mind offers peace.

Margaret Simon, draft

Releasing a Gulf Fritillary butterfly
May, 2026

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing | Tagged pantoum, Pádraig ÓTuama | 19 Comments »

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Resurrection Fern

May 27, 2026 by margaretsmn

After months of drought, we’ve recently had an onslaught of rain. One of the most miraculous plants in the South is resurrection fern. It has a symbiotic relationship with live oaks. When the air is dry and no rain falls, it’s hardly noticeable, brown and dead looking. However, when we have days and days of humidity and rain, rain, rain, the fern pops up with its bright green fronds covering the branches and living in beauty. It seems to say, “Ah, yes!”

I took this photo of our grandmother oak near the bayou. She is 250+ years old. Her arms drape wide and hold a rope swing that many a child (and adult) have ridden on. She is featured on a live oak tree bike tour that our friend Jim leads every spring.

She’s also made mention of in many of my poems. I never tire of taking her photo or writing about her.

Turning to a random page in “Dictionary for a Better World” by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, I chose a cinquain form. (2, 4, 6, 8, 2)

Sometimes
bravery looks
like fern on an old oak
coming to life only after
hard rain.
Margaret Simon, draft

Please write a small poem today and leave it in the comments. Respond to others with kind encouragement.

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing | Tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, cinquain, resurrection fern | 16 Comments »

Slice of Life: Listening

May 26, 2026 by margaretsmn

Liz invited me to lunch. She is a poet. My husband and I have met her and her husband on the dance floor. I was “tickled pink”, as my southern mother would say, that she asked me to lunch. We talked for hours. While the restaurant got quieter and quieter, we got louder. When she told me she was an Enneagram four, I jumped up and squealed! No wonder we have a connection.

Liz asked me a question, author to author, “What do you most identify yourself as?”

For a long time, I was a teacher. In retirement, I’ve become a teaching artist. In March, I released my first baby board book. But my answer to her question was “Poet!”

And it felt good to say it out loud.

Identity is a tricky thing. Of course, our vocation dictates our identity. I will never not be a teacher. Now that I have 5 grandchildren, I will forever be Mamére.

Claiming the title poet feels vulnerable. Am I worthy of this title?

What do you claim as your identity?

In church on Sunday, listening from the choir loft, I found a poem in the Psalm. May we all find the bravery to be who we are called to be.

A Poet Listens to the Psalm and Hears

You marched—
skies poured
gracious rain,
refreshed goodness.

Sing, mighty voice,
to holy places!

Blessed be!

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing | Tagged found poem, identity | 12 Comments »

Poetry Friday: Magnolia Mindfulness

May 22, 2026 by margaretsmn

Poetry Friday is hosted today
by Carol at The Apples in my Orchard.

Last weekend I participated in the Open Write with Ethical ELA. Erica Johnson’s prompt “Talk about Trees” inspired me to praise the state tree of both of my home states, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Posted in Gratitude, nature, Poetry Friday, Writing | Tagged #poemsofpresence, Ethical ELA, Louisiana, ode, poetry | 15 Comments »

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Red-eared Slider

May 20, 2026 by margaretsmn

My morning walk these days takes me through our local City Park that skirts the bayou and also nestles a pond where there are rumors of a lurking gator. This little guy, about 12 inches or so, had his nose in the air and was totally still, allowing me to come close for a photo.

I like turtles. I love to see them lined up on a log sunning themselves. I was researching a poetry book a few years ago and discovered that turtles often ramble up on the top of a gator without a care. Turtles can live a long time in the wild, unless the gator is hungry for turtle soup.

Today, be inspired by this little turtle to write a small poem in the comments. Support other writers with encouragement. Thanks for stopping by.

Bayou-side slider
still as a stone statue
red-ear beams on point
Margaret Simon, draft

Posted in nature, Photography, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing | Tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, Bayou Teche, haiku, This Photo Wants to be a Poem | 3 Comments »

Slice of Life: Moncus Park Prairie

May 19, 2026 by margaretsmn

On Saturday, I went to Moncus Park for the Lafayette Farmer’s Market to sell books. I definitely spent more money on food than I made in book sales, but the spring day was breezy and the park was full of people. A former neighbor stopped by, all grown up and married, hoping for a baby someday, so he bought a book.

A nearby booth had these exotic birds that were pets. They were bright and beautiful, but I don’t remember their breed. I was struck by how they perched and begged for petting.

On the way to my car which was parked a long way from the market, I noticed the new walking path my friend had told me about.

The developers of Moncus Park have been intentional about planting only native Louisiana plants. The reclaimed prairie was full of life.

Moncus Park Prairie, Lafayette, LA

On my walk I found a sign dedicated to a family that included a beautiful painting and poem by my friend, artist Melissa Bonin. I took a picture of it, then used the image and words in a found poem, prompted by Jessica Wiley and Erica Johnson on Ethical ELA.

Moncus Park Prairie
after Melissa Bonin

sugar harvest sky
lights speckles of goldenrod, cotton weed
tucked inside a worn pocket.
A dragonfly wraps its wispy-thin legs
atop black-eyed Susan’s eye.

Your place is on the gravel path
listening to red-winged blackbirds,
catching buttercup pollen
on the tip of your nose.

Stories smudged on rock
gather for the retelling,
soft laughter of prairie grass
speaking to the wind.

Margaret Simon, draft

Here are more Moncus Park photos:

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Travel, Writing | Tagged Ethical ELA, farmers' market, found poem, Lafayette Louisiana, Melissa Bonin, Moncus Park | 8 Comments »

Poetry Friday: Sail Away

May 15, 2026 by margaretsmn

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Patricia Franz.

I’ve been taking a class in watercolor painting, and I find it challenging. This morning I went to yoga at my friend’s house. She does a private session with a sound bath meditation at the end. During the meditation shavasana, I had a vision of billowing waves of an ocean. I wanted to capture the vision in a watercolor, but I’m not brave enough yet to paint without help. I used a YouTube video to produce the image for my poem today.

The ocean is interesting, but the sailboats…well…ew. I accidentally dribbled some blue, and one thing my instructor said about accidental spots really helped me. He said, “Make them into birds.”

My poem wanted to be a shadorma form. (3, 5, 3, 3, 7, 5)

Waves of sound
surround in seaflow
billow sails
simply free
Meditation comes to me—
whispers of owl wings.

Margaret Simon, draft

For Mother’s Day, my daughter gave me a beautiful oracle deck. The card I picked today was the owl “Wisdom”.

Roots and Wings Oracle Deck by Katharine Ryalls

What is inspiring you these days?

Posted in Poetry Friday, Spiritual Growth, Writing | Tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, oracle deck, spiritual journey, watercolor painting, yoga | 11 Comments »

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Power of the Oracle

May 13, 2026 by margaretsmn

Roots and Wings Oracle Deck created by Katharine Ryalls.

The power at my house is off. We are getting some repairs done, and the guys showed up at 7 and shut off the power at 7:45 AM. I’ve escaped to my daughter’s house.

She left a Mother’s Day gift on her dining table. It’s an oracle deck. Ironically, the first card I pulled was the snake. I am afraid of snakes, and my grandchildren know it, so they love to scare me with any snake-like toy. It is a visceral fear, completely out of my control. My son-in-law has gotten into the joy of scaring Mamére on our family trips. How did I pull this card? The Universe is speaking to me in snakes!

The label reads “Healer” and the message is “Begin the process of repairing something that has been hurt, sick, or not functioning at its best. Healing can leave us changed, but the scars remind us of our strength, courage, and resilience.”

Asclepius,
help me shed the skin of grief
and put on the armor of hope.

What are you most afraid of? What in you needs healing? Join me today with a small poem in the comments and encourage other writers with your responses.

Posted in being mamére, Spiritual Growth, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing | Tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, Katharine Ryalls, oracle deck, poems of address | 7 Comments »

Slice of Life: Should you touch student work?

May 12, 2026 by margaretsmn

Should an instructor touch a student’s work? As a teacher, this can be an “it depends on the situation” question.

Last week I was with my grandson who is nearing the end of kindergarten. For homework, he had to write a sentence about the story he was reading. He knew what he wanted to write, but the line given was short, and he didn’t think it would fit. I debated. Could I write the sentence he dictated to me?

I decided not to. Obviously, he was not only supposed to practice comprehension, he also needed practice in writing. The option I came up with was to write the sentence he dictated on a notepad and let him copy it on the back of the paper since the line wasn’t long enough. This is what he did, but he completely filled the back of the paper (with no lines) and creatively elongated the tail of the letter p and the top of the letter h.

I have never been a kindergarten teacher, so I was keeping my fingers crossed that I did the right thing.

Recently I have been taking a watercolor class. The instructor is an artist. His teaching method is demonstration. So on both the first and second lessons, he came to my side and painted on my painting to demonstrate a technique. I felt defeated. I had a taste of what Thomas might be feeling when his teacher writes on his paper. The art piece I left with was not mine to claim. Was the art teacher wrong?

I talked with my daughter about this, and she suggested that I ask him to demonstrate on a scratch paper. But still, yesterday he did it again. This time, he asked permission. What was I going to do? I did want to see how he would darken the tree and how he would draw a piece of grass, but again, I have a work of art that is not truly mine. I refuse to sign these pieces.

One of them I cut up into a collage. Another I’ve tucked away. It’s hard for me to totally throw them in the trash. Do I just need to relax and be a good student?

What do you think?

Here is the only painting from the class that I did all on my own. I decided to sign it.