I’ve been exploring the blues poem form these last few weeks. My students and I read Finding Langston, so I pulled out some Langston Hughes poems. I grew up in Mississippi and something about the form feels like home to me. You can read more about blues poems here.
We’ve had a few hurricanes this year. Of course, the year 2020 is cursed as you know, but even for a curse, five hurricanes have threatened our state of Louisiana. Five! One of them, Delta, came pretty close to us here in bayou country. So with blues and hurricanes on my mind, I looked at this picture on my phone of a great white egret in the bayou a few days after Hurricane Delta. What do egrets do during a hurricane?
Bayou Teche, Great White Egret October 14, 2020
Egret Blues
It’s a tryin’ time to be a symbol of peace. Tryin’ during this time to be peace, full of a sad song in the air. There’s a sad song swirling in the air. Tropical winds just don’t care.
That hurricane down south in the gulf, A storm makes peaceful turn to rough. I’m walkin’ this line waitin’ for a sign, a sign of weather’s high-pitched whine I can’t keep from cryin’.
Egret blues echo in my Lord’s sunrise Lord’s sunrise blurs my sideways eyes I’m catchin’ the tailwind, ready to fly Ready to fly through the bright new sky A horizon of Peace by and by.
Months and months virus spreading mouth to mouth. We wear our love on a mask. Ads on Facebook led me to a Vera Bradley style, flowers of peach on a teal green background. Flowers light up my face like rouge on my cheeks or lipstick on my lips.
I smile beneath this garden. Can you see it in my eyes? My love My faith My hope
My flowers are a bouquet for you on a Hallmark greeting card. I breathe in their sweet perfume.
Let’s take a walk outside and smile with our eyes.
And now for something completely different… I’ve been raising monarchs. I’m still a novice, and so I joined a Facebook group, The Beautiful Monarch, to learn more. This video was posted by Claire Holzner. It was created by her brother who videoed the first flight of many monarchs. Meditate on the video and scratch a small poem into your notebook.
Share your experience with the meditation and your resulting draft. Comment on other writers with encouraging words.
There is drama in the first moments of flight, like the sudden cry of an infant born.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Teaching through a screen is hard. I can’t tell what my students are doing. Their mikes are muted; their personal icon doesn’t move. Trying to have a book discussion was like talking to a mirror. The only good thing about that was I could see my face getting more and more exasperated. Why weren’t they answering me? The questions weren’t that hard.
To relate to the main character’s discovery of Langston Hughes’ poetry, we watched a video of Langston Hughes reading Weary Blues.
I read aloud Hughes’ “Homesick Blues.” And tried to talk about what makes someone feel homesick. I was talking to myself, or so it seemed. After I gave up, I set the timer for a 5 minute writing time. In the chat, I wrote 5 different lines from Langston Hughes’ blues poems. I admit I didn’t have high expectations.
As always I asked for volunteers to read. Lashawn’s mike turned green and his soft voice said, “I’ll read.”
The silver lining, the golden thread, my poet heart pattered with emotion and joy. Lashawn gave me permission to share his poem.
My Body’s Feeling Wrong
I feel as I need to do better do better just do better. that’s all I need to do. But why can’t I do it? is something distracting me? Am I filled with bad luck? I get blamed but it’s not me. no explaining can help me. I tell the truth not a fib at all. but a liar is what I get called.
I feel like they are talking about me. It’s just no use for me. Change my look to let everyone know. Just a smile is what everyone else needs. not me though. I get asked if I’m fine and alright. No I’m not fine. Because if I was, my body would have looked right.
I feel a bit empty just a friend all I need. I lay down at nighttime. I was bullied by online Meanies. I watch some anime but nothing can heal me. At least I didn’t lose my life to sadness. I’ll still be here even If i’m sad. But hey as I shed a tear. I just made some people laugh. As more tears come down I smile it out.
My body may look wrong but I make other people feel bright. Thanks to my friends for being by my side. I’m happy I made all of you smile.
I enjoy playing with a new form, and this week I had a few to try out. One was invented by my very own student Chloe. This has happened only a few times in my teaching career when students become so comfortable with poetry that they venture into creating a new form. Chloe was writing to a prompt from Write Out, a collaboration between the National Writing Project and the National Park Service. The prompt asked students to draw a bird and write a journal entry for a day in the city. Chloe decided to draw a peacock. Then she wrote a very P heavy peacock poem. The aha came when she realized there was a distinct rhythm to her words. Voila! A new form!
Her form uses the syllable count of 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. We talked about the number five and decided that Penta-poem (more P words) had a nice ring to it. There is an optional rhyme scheme.
Peacock by Chloe, 5th gradePeacock Penta poem by Chloe, 5th grade
I used another Write Out prompt to play with Chloe’s form. This prompt asked us to write from the perspective of an underground creature.
I was introduced to a few other new-to-me forms on Ethical ELA Open Write this week. Anna J. Small Roseboro presented “Take a Word for a Walk” like the 5-finger exercises that pianists use. Writing to a daily prompt is exercise for the poet. Read Anna’s prompt here.
Why Worry?
I worry that I’m not good enough to worry about myself when I give in, worry for the sake of all my silly worry lists waiting for nothing but for worry.
Do you love to travel? I do, but my travel this year has been vicariously through a Facebook group called “Women Who Keep Traveling.” This week, Jan posted a call for photos in different color schemes. “Show us something green from the travel pics on your phone. The more random the better.”
I enjoyed scrolling through the random photos. This one appealed to me for our week’s prompt. The photo comes from Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, AR taken by Aimée Dominique.
Would you like to try a new form? My student Chloe invented a form she calls a Penta-poem with the syllable count of 5,4,3,2,1,2,3,4,5. She also thought about calling it an hourglass poem because the resulting poem looks like an hour glass.
Please share your poem drafts in the comments and write encouraging replies on other poems.
A maze of red hills dancing landscape ribbon stream Seuss-like dream wonder fantasy hallway jungle unique artistry
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
My One Little Word for 2020 is Embrace. Little did I know in January how much I would need this word, especially when one of the no-nos in this Covid world is hugging. One thing I did know at the beginning of the year was that we would be having a wedding in our backyard in October.
That wedding plan went on a roller-coaster ride and landed with 14 seats at the table (+3 toddler nephews). My wise daughter decided in July, when cases spiked again in our state, to cut her guest list to only immediate family. That included her parents, his parents, her sisters and their husbands, and his brother and wife. The officiant was her grandmother, a retired district court judge.
There is still a great deal of planning and stress that come along with a small wedding. There was food to be ordered, rentals to be delivered, a bar to stock, etc. Not to mention we invested in rebuilding the deck. The good news is we get to keep the deck.
Martha and Paul with three nephews Leo, 22 months, Thomas, 13 months, and Charlie, 2 years 4 months.
The weather could not have been more perfect. After enduring a hurricane the weekend before, the sky was blue and clear. The temperature was in the 70’s. The bayou glistened with fall colors.
As perfect as the weather was, so were the bride and groom, holding hands, exchanging heartfelt original vows, and creating a new family.
They asked me to read an original poem. It appeared here on my blog. I choked my way through it. We all cried, laughed, danced, and sang the night away…into the wee hours…because we didn’t want it to end.
Year 2020 has taught me to embrace my family. This weekend extended my family to a wider embrace. I am filled with gratitude and grace.
Poetry Friday round-up is with Janice Scully at Salt City Verse.
Today I am thrilled to be a stop on the blog tour for Hop To It: Poems to Get You Moving, the latest anthology from the dynamic duo, Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong of Pomelo Books. The call went out earlier this year for poems that children can experience with their bodies. When the pandemic hit, Sylvia and Janet, who are known for responding to world events with poems, gathered pandemic poetry as well. This book is an inspiration for poets, teachers, and children.
I have written a collection of mindfulness poems that have yet to find a home, so I submitted a few to Sylvia and Janet, who selected Zen Tree. I absolutely love how the side bar bubbles give more information as well as a paired poem. This added touch is what makes Pomelo Books unique and teacher-friendly.
Heidi Mordhorst and Catherine Flynn, two friends from my Sunday Night Swaggers writing group, also have poems included. Catherine’s birthday is today, so hop over to her post to wish her Happy Birthday and to read her Mental Floss poem. Heidi gave me permission to share hers here. We are bouncing, flossing, tickling, and breathing along with 90 poets. What an amazing party!
Next stop Poetry for Children, blogspot for Sylvia Vardell, for more fun news about this book.
This is the first week of the National Writing Project’s Write Out, running from Oct. 11th through 25th. Teaching virtual gifted enrichment, this “writing marathon” gave me days of writing prompts. Yesterday we watched a video prompt from Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks.
Ranger Makenzie asked us to write about what trees may say to each other. Rylee, 3rd grade, wrote this adorable little story.
I played around with a Zeno poem and posted this on Twitter:
Please join me in offering a #smallpoem in response to this amazing tree. Post in the comments. On Twitter or Instagram, use the hashtags #ThisPhotoWantstobeaPoem, #poeticdiversion, and #writeout. Tag me, @MargaretGSimon and Christina, @ChristinaNosek.
Marvelous giant Canopy of protection Messenger of peace
Since I joined the local SCBWI, I’ve had the privilege of watching a few books go from idea to draft to published. I met Gayle Webre a few years ago as we were both attending our region’s critique meeting. We had the teaching of gifted students in common. But Gayle was hiding another talent, picture book writer. I remember the first time she read this manuscript aloud I loved it. Now when I have it in my hands, the charm of her imaginative story has grown with the addition of illustrations by Drew Beech.
Drew has taken Gayle’s idea and created an adorable Cajun girl who wears glasses and wonders what life would be like as different animals in the swamp. The wide round glasses appear on each animal to help our young readers understand that this Cajun girl was once an alligator, a heron, an opossum, and more.
I invited Gayle to answer some questions about herself and her writing process.
What was your path to becoming a writer?
As a student I was pretty good at writing. My teachers and professors encouraged me, yet I didn’t consider writing as a career. I stumbled into a career as a teacher and loved it. I wrote lesson plans, letters of recommendation, and grant proposals. I read lots of children’s literature. Still I did not consider writing for children. When I retired, I thought I might give it a try, and I had no idea where to begin. By “chance” I found our local SCBWI group who offered support, encouragement, and friendship.
What do you do with your time?
I read, host gatherings for family and friends (pre COVID), travel, visit my kids and grandkids in the New Orleans area, and ride my trike. And I try to write!
What inspires you?
People inspire me. Their stories, their struggles, their personalities, their histories, their approaches to life….
What book would you recommend?
For adults? I just read The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abe Dare. Set in Nigeria in 2014, it’s a beautifully told story of a young girl’s struggle to survive incredible hardships and get an education.
Tell us about your journey from idea to published book.
When my 5th grade students and I met with scientists at the National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, I was impressed with the importance and fragility of our coastal wetlands. We learned about the severity of coastal land loss and the work being done to mitigate it. (Nutria tracking was a favorite!) A few years later, four-year old Sawyer walked into my house and spouted, “Aunt Gayle, when I was an alligator…” A few years after that, the idea to write When I Was an Alligator surfaced.
SCBWI helped me with the polishing and submitting process. I sent the manuscript to publishers and got lots of rejections. Finally Devon Lord and the team at UL Press saw the potential, let me choose an artist, and now we have a book!
Why do you write?
I enjoy the creative process; writing is fun and challenging. And I think I have some stories that need to be told.
Describe your writing habits.
I don’t think it could be called a habit. When I get an idea, I jot it down and write a pretty bad first draft. (Ask the SCBWI critique group!) My research for When I Was an Alligator took lots of time. I can spend half an hour choosing one word. I enjoy the whole process.
What is your favorite spread of your book and why?
Drew did a great job on all the art, so it’s hard to pick one spread. I especially like this one. After all the curious Cajun kid has been through, she’s more than a little flustered, and she finds that she likes being herself!
How much, if any, communication did you have with the illustrator?
I met Drew at an SCBWI regional conference in New Orleans. Drew now lives in Chattanooga, so we’ve not met in person to work on the book, but we had lots of interaction through the whole process. In fact, we are still working together.
What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
The answer to that changes often. Today it’s: “O, small beloved person, it is not all up to you.”
What advice do you have for writers?
Make time to write, find some folks who support you, and join SCBWI if you are writing for children.
Finally, I have a teaching idea for you. With books like Gayle’s, students can find a pattern working throughout. A student can use this book as a mentor text to write their own imaginative book. What animals do you wish you could be? Using onomatopoeia to describe what it would be like to turn into that animal.
Page from When I was an Alligator by Gayle Webre
Leo, 22 months, is also a curious Cajun kid who loves crawfish and peanut butter. He says, “crawfish, yum!” and “Ba-butter” for peanut butter.
I live on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana. I love teaching, poetry, my dog Charlie, my three daughters, and dancing with my husband. This space is where I capture my thoughts, share my insights, and make connections with the world. Welcome! Walk in kindness.
Reflections on the Teche 