During this monthlong survey of poetry, there is trouble.
So many decisions to make.
What should I teach today?
Line breaks,
literary elements,
limericks?
I want to say stop to
sing-song rhymes
and simple forms.
Then one turns to another and says,
“Let’s write a rap abecedarian.”
Like the messiness of art class,
the instructor must allow
for paint splatters and stains,
for stalled-out cinquains
and skip-to-my-loos.
Poetry is hard.
Poetry is easy.
There are rules in poetry.
There are no rules:
Let the poem find its way.
This is the trouble with poetry.
This is the joy of poetry.
–Margaret Simon
Follow the Progressive Poem to Charles Waters.
Reflections on the Teche 
This was my life last week! It’s so comforting to know I wasn’t alone. I’m holding on to these wise words: “Let the poem find its way.”
You are teaching so much through your own passion and sharing that you can let it flow from the students, and how wonderful that they (& you) are willing to have the paint spatter!
This has been an amazing journey for you and your students. Thank you for sharing all the learning and beautiful art.
Poetry is a lens through which we see life. Life is messy, so why shouldn’t poetry be so as well? Poetry is also an art form…and that takes time and patience to develop. I know because I write poetry sometimes, and other times it just doesn’t work until I let go for a while. The best remedy? Just continue to read poems…eventually something sticks. Thank you for this lovely reflection/poem.
Love this, especially the last stanza. Thanks for allowing the paint splatters and stains – all part of the glorious process of poem making.
That’s right! Gloriously messy, but so worth the effort!
Thanks for reminding me of the joyful messiness of poetry!
Growing up, I hated it because it was the genre we analyzed in HS and I struggled to break the code. Teaching poetry in ES has helped me love poetry, for all the reasons you mention.
Oh the joyful mess of poetry and life! You have captured all of it here in this poem. Thank you so much.