Poetry Friday round-up is with Liz Steinglass.
We made it to May 1st, and I’m pleased to announce the Progressive Poem has reached a celebratory ending. Thanks to all the poets who participated and took their turns without any prodding or reminding from me. My job as coordinator this year was made easy because we are a community that works ( and plays) well together. See the completed poem here.
This month my Poetry Swaggers group is sharing epistolary poems. I have to admit that when Molly Hogan suggested this form, I didn’t know what it was. Basically this is a letter poem with a fancy name. My poem is written to my notebook, a constant companion these days.
Dear Notebook,
From the time I was a teenager
with a diary that locked,
I’ve written word by word.
Some days the pen scribbles nonsense
or a secret I will not share.
Other days, the blank page
inspires–my words play on your stage.Whether you are lined or graphed or solid white,
I love the magic of empty pages
filling you with scrolled loops
and curved letters.
When I hold you near, I smell
the scent of flair pens,
washi tape, glue stick– a writer’s incense.I can be whoever I want to be
Margaret Simon, draft
in my own little corner
in my own little notebook.
To see more epistolary poems, visit these Swaggers’ sites:
Heidi Mordhorst–My Juicy Little Universe
Catherine Flynn–Reading to the Core
Molly Hogan–Nix the Comfort Zone
Linda Mitchell–A Word Edgewise
In other news, I am the Reader’s Spotlight over at Michelle Barnes’ site Today’s Little Ditty. Thanks, Michelle, for all you do to promote poets and encourage writers.
Reflections on the Teche 
What a wonderful letter to write. I like the line, “Whether you are lined or graphed or solid white,” It’s true…I just like the fact that there’s a notebook at the ready for when I am ready to write. Beautiful poem.
Oh it is such a gift to get kids to learn to love their notebooks. Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s Sharing Our Notebooks chats are fabulous for young and “seasoned” writers. I loved watching her in Betsy the Writing Camper during NaPoMo…..but it is so important to have a notebook you love. It is a delight to be part of this community. You do so much to make it an interesting, vibrant place.
Lovely! My favorite part are the lines about the smells. I love the smell of a stationery store and a new notebook.
Beautiful, Margaret! I especially like the words and repetition in the last stanza. I relate so well to your poem because I started my notebooks at twelve. Thank you for sharing your inner thoughts. I agree with Janet F. that teaching “kids to learn to love their notebooks” is a gift.
I adore this poem, Margaret–and I bet Amy Ludwig VanDerwater would, too!
A worthy poem for a welcoming notebook/secret-keeper/friend! My problem is that I have never gotten over my own perfectionism when it comes to keeping a special notebook or journal. It’s blank pads of paper for me—and preferably spiral bound so I can rip pages out when necessary! Thanks again for visiting TLD, Margaret. I’m looking forward to a very special month of mindful poetry.
This is wonderful, Margaret. I especially love that final stanza. I also thoroughly enjoyed your interview over at TLD. Well done! I look forward to trying your mindful poem challenge in my own beloved notebook.
I love my notebooks! My current one, and the entire shelf full of them going all the way back to high school! Alan’s poem at the start of the roundup made me want to revisit old photos…now you make me want to dive back into old notebooks!
It’s sweet to write a note to a constant companion–we should probably all be appreciating the things and the people with whom we’re sharing close quarters! My favorite part is
“the scent of flair pens,
washi tape, glue stick– a writer’s incense.”
(And also a crafter’s.) It *kind* of makes me want to you light the notebook on fire in the poem–at least metaphorically! Congrats on being in the spotlight this month!
I am…finally…becoming a notebooker. It has taken years of getting over the perfectionism, but I am conquering it. My next goal is to get my students to this point. I reshared my “Cherishment” poem that I wrote about you over on Michelle’s Little Ditty today. I hope you don’t mind. 😉 Lovely feature over there!
a writer’s incense – the perfect words!
I love your letter, kind of an ode, too, to your notebook, Margaret, that ‘writer’s incense”. I have so many, perhaps time to re-read some to see what’s there? Thanks again for managing the Progressive Poem, a gift unwrapped in part every day in April which I was grateful for. Now, Happy May!
I had to laugh about glue stick being a writer’s incense. I thought it was tea and animal fur. 🙂 I like the decorations on your notebook. So personalized! I don’t normally keep a journal, but I have been keeping a gratitude journal this year. It feels kind of like a funny time to have started that, but probably there’s no better time for it.
I love how you have used the senses to describe your notebook, the curved letters and smell of the pens. I am always amazed when I look at past writing and don’t recall having thought what it was I had written which is one reason why notebooks are important.
Yes, Margaret, my notebook (digital or nondigital) allows me to be whomever I want to be in my own little corner of life. Your poem to your notebook is lovingly written with thoughts like: “my words play on your stage”. I also want to thank you for taking the lead with the Progressive Poem. It is a wonderful showcasing of what a collaborative community of writers can do to bring a poem to story.