Poetry Friday round-up is with Laura at Writing the World for Kids.
I love writing from photographs. There are many different perspectives to take, as an observer, as someone in the photo, or as description. I shared the National Geographic photo archives with my students. I asked them to select a photo to write about. We gathered information first in a T-chart. “What I see, What I think, What I wonder, What I know, What I feel.” I found this idea in Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s book, Poems are Teachers.
I was attracted to a photo of a lioness in water carrying a cub in her mouth. Your Shot photographer Connie Bowen said, “We were in awe of her mothering and tolerance.” I used this as a repeated line in my poem.
Chloe also chose this photo to write about, without knowing I had selected it, too. Madison is a budding young artist. She is taking art classes. She wanted to raise some money to get a laptop so she can do more with her art. I commissioned her to draw the photograph.
Maternal Instincts
We were in awe of her mothering,
how she gently yet firmly
held the cub in her jaws
hanging loosely, trusting.
We were in awe of her grace,
as she swept through the water
knowing her cubs would follow
in her wake, head up, alert to mother’s gait.
We were in awe of her tolerance,
lioness in African grass, patience
in her eyes, confidence in stride.
Mother nature teaches us tolerant, mothering grace.
–Margaret Simon, (c) 2018
A Likely Loving Lioness
by Chloe
A likely loving lioness
loves her cubs with a smile.
And when they’re sad
she makes them glad
by playing with them all day.
Here is a link to Chloe’s poem on Kidblog if you’d like to comment to her directly.
Reflections on the Teche 
What a determined young girl. I hope she gets her laptop. Wonderful picture and poems.
Margaret, I am wondering if you trip to Africa provided you with additional background information. Your last stanza is powerful and allows me to reflect on my own mothering style. I left a comment for Chloe.
The backstory of today’s post is wonderful. I want to be a student in your classroom perusing wonderful photographs to choose for a writing prompt. And, how wonderful that Madison has experience with a commission. I loved Calef Brown’s comment in Michelle’s TLD spotlight interview about how in HS his teachers treated student artists as future colleagues. That’s so great for a young person to get.
Your poem has such a sense of quiet to it…even though we are looking at a lioness that we know could be dangerous in a different circumstance we are awed and I feel the hush. I think Madison’s artwork is beautiful with your stanzas.
Chloe likes the letter “L” so I like her! What a great poem she wrote with all that alliteration.
Your poem is striking, Margaret. I absolutely love how you took the photographer’s words and so eloquently weaved them into your poem. Especially loved your addition of the word grace. Tolerate, mothering grace; may all mothers give this to their babies.
What a beautiful story and poems, Margaret and Chloe. Margaret, we Poetry 7 are doing anaphora poems this month, so I paid particular attention to your loving repetition of We were in awe…. That is such an open-hearted phrase to repeat. I love it!
Thanks, Laura. I taught my students how to use anaphoric with this poem. They love learning “fancy” poetic devices.
I love that you and Chloe independently chose the same photo. Your poems are so different, but both filled with love.
You use repetition to such effect here, Margaret. Once again, I’m inspired by what you share about life in your classroom!
Beautifully rich post Margaret in poetry and image–with such sensitivity in all, thanks!