Reflections on the Teche

Slice of Life Tuesday

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I am teaching my students a different poetry form each day. Because of all the interruptions, (testing week, field trips, etc.) we are only on the letter I. Today we wrote I am From poems. The I am From form originated with a poem by George Ella Lyon entitled, “Where I’m From.” Alan Wolf writes about the form in his book, Immersed in Verse. We begin by analyzing Lyon’s poem which uses some wonderful literary elements, specificity, imagery, alliteration, metaphor. Then the students make their own lists of sites, sounds, and tastes from their own lives. The challenge comes when you want to make the poem go beyond the personal to the universal. I have tried this form several times, and I’m never totally happy with the results. For last year’s attempt and some student samples, click here.

My students are continuing to post on their Slice of Life kidblog, so click the link to read some of their poems. Be sure to leave a comment.

I am from Sunday drives to Morton,
kisses from Grandmother, Aunt Laurie, and Sister,
picking pecans, and the musty smell
of homemade quilts and old tobacco.

I am from Beechcrest Drive,
running behind the sno-cone truck,
catching fireflies, and roller-skating
on the driveway, cartwheels in the grass.

I’m from climbing Paw Paw’s pink mimosa tree,
listening to loud opera,
From jumping on the trampoline
singing “Shimmy, Shimmy, my playmate,
Come out and play with me!”

I’m from loyal companions Loopy then Lucky,
from Bless-this-food-to-our-use
at every supper, surrounded by yellow-flowered
curtains in a bay window.

I am from the solid soil of Mississippi,
deep roots of oak and pine,
legacy of patience and drawl.

c) Margaret Simon

Easter photo with me, the oldest sitting, my brother and my younger sister.

There are so many great poetry month happenings in the blogoshere. Today, I am the guest blogger at Caroline Starr Rose’s blog site, Caroline by Line. Please stop in and leave a comment. Check out the progress of the progressive poem by clicking on the date in the right side bar. I am following Greg Pincus at GottaBook. He posts a poem each day. Heidi Mordhorst is building a poem at My Juicy Little Universe, 30 days, 30 words. She chooses a different word from the comments each day to add to the poem. An interesting process. Happy Poetry Month!