Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.
Rather convenient that the last day of the Slice of Life Challenge month fell on a Monday, so the regular Tuesday Slice of Life followed. No rest for the weary. Let’s just keep up the momentum. Why stop now?
That’s what I said to my students as they wrote their final slices. Let’s keep this going. So my plans for the month of April is to challenge my students to write a poem a day. Now April is a busy month. Next week we have state testing all week. The last week of April is our Easter/Spring break. I hope you will visit occasionally on our kidblog to read their poems and comment.
National Poetry Month 2014 is exciting and busy! I will try to post a poem a day using different forms. I have a few guest posts coming up; one for Caroline Starr Rose about writing poems using anaphora, and another one about source poems for Laura Shovan. I will link up on the days that these are posted. I am also participating in Irene Latham’s Progressive Poem (links on the sidebar.)
Flickr by Maureen
Let’s begin with a poem about poetry. This poem was prompted by a quote from Amy Vanderwater in an interview posted on Jone MacCullough’s site: Check it out.
“usually I just let a poem find the voice it wants to find.”
Let a poem find the voice it wants to find.
Real things can happen there,
even imaginary ones.
Dreams…yes,
dreams, too.Poems hide in unexpected places,
their voices buried in the sand.
Grab your shovel.
Let’s dig them out.Take me with you on the walk with your new poem.
Let’s build a castle together.
Whisper softly the sound of the ocean waves.I’ll know when I hear your special voice.
Words will find me watching.
Words will find the hearts they need to find.–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved.
Reflections on the Teche 
Perfect first poem for Poetry Month!
Margaret, love love your poem about poetry. So true…poems hide in unexpected places–both real and imagined. Thank you for sparking my poetry itch.
good theme for the poetry challenge, minds of the young, and the need to have better experiences, imagine what they might come up with..
Yes, why stop in March, so many opportunities in April. Kudos to your kiddos. What a great poem to start the month. Love this line: “Words will find the hearts they need to find.”
I’m so amazed that you’re going to write a poem every day and that you’re going to challenge your students to do the same – even after all the writing we did for SOLSC. You’ve inspired me. I need to think about whether or not I have the stamina for that. 😉 Love your first poem, especially this stanza:
“Take me with you on the walk with your new poem.
Let’s build a castle together.
Whisper softly the sound of the ocean waves.”
I love that you have to dig the ‘voice’ from the sand, Margaret. Beautiful metaphor. Best to you this month, I’ll be reading & writing along with you!
Bravo – how better to welcome April than with a poem about finding one’s voice. You will have another busy month, Margaret – from slicing right to poem making. Well done.
“Words will find me watching.” Great line! You amaze me with your staying power and creativity with words.