Today my Sunday Poetry Swagger writing group is celebrating a new form invented by our colleague Heidi Mordhorst, who is hosting the PF link up.
Heidi’s definition of a definito is “a free verse poem of 8-12 lines (aimed at readers 8-12 years old) that highlights wordplay as it demonstrates the meaning of a less common word, which always ends the poem.” A few weeks ago during one of our Sunday night critique meetings, she asked us each to try writing our own definito.
I’ve been following Teach Write on Facebook and each day they post a word to jump start writing. In the month of July, they posted “voracious vocabulary”. One day the word was “zephyr.” This was a new to me word that I thoroughly enjoyed learning about. A definito is a great way to explore a word’s meaning through writing. I will be using this activity with my students this year.
Zephyr
Zero in.
Feel the wind
blow oh, so, slow,
lightly feathering
the sleepy moss,
slightly rippling the shore.
Not a gale or hefty gust,
blustery bora or frigid buster.
This Greek god is a gentle one
waving from the western sky…
easy-breezy zephyr.
(draft) Margaret Simon
Read more definitos at these Poetry Swaggers’ sites:
Catherine Flynn: Reading to the Core
Molly Hogan: Nix the Comfort Zone
Heidi Mordhorst: My Juicy Little Universe
Linda Mitchell: A Word Edgewise
And playing along:
Mary Lee Hahn: A Year of Reading
Laura Purdie Salas: Writing the World for Children
Reflections on the Teche 
Ah…I feel like I was just blessed by the caress of a zephyr. I’ll try to hold onto that in this intense summer heat. You’ve created such a lovely mood in this definito. Well done!
You know I love this….what’s so neat is that the reader simply cannot read it fast and still understand. This is a poem to slow down and savor…very much like a zephyr.
Beautiful. I love that you included this word’s roots in Greek myth. Have you ever read Natalie Babbitt’s The Search for Delicious? She uses zephyr and the book is filled with wordplay. Your students would love it!
Just beautiful! I love the idea of a definito as a student activity!
What fun to read your definito for zephyr! And you managed to sneak in a new-to-me word, bora. Your poem makes me want to slow down to savor the zephyr and watch it “lightly feathering the sleepy moss.”
I love the gentle breeze that blows through your zephyr definito. I am intrigued by this form, and want to try it out. You make it look easy, but I suspect it might present quite a challenge! I hope your students enjoy it.
“Zero in” changes everything about this gorgeous definito. Thanks so much for encouraging me–I’m so appreciative of our brave, swaggery group!
Ah- ‘lightly featuring the sleepy moss’ – just right, Margaret. I bet your students will love doing these.
The poem and the picture work perfectly together! I can’t wait to invite my students to try these!
I have seen ‘zephyr’ before but had no idea that’s what it meant!
Fabulous. I love the mythology allusion and how you make me feel there, IN this moment!
[…] Poetry Friday: Definito Challenge […]
Oh yes, zephyr is a gorgeous word isn’t it? Your definito defines it beautifully, Margaret!
I enjoyed your light breeze that “Zephyr” brought us here Margaret, and your image goes so well with the poem, thanks!
Margaret, the zephyr is such a beautiful word with great imagery. Your definito put me in a slow-down mood. The picture is just the right one for this word.