I’m inviting you to find inspiration today at Ethical ELA. I wrote the guest prompt of the day for National Poetry Month. My inspiration came from a National Geographic email that I subscribe to. In the newsletter, there were selected photographs chronicling the pandemic across the world. I chose to write about a photograph of undocumented workers making masks.
Writing to photographs is inspirational as there are so many ways to approach the task. With students you can ask questions that lead them to wonder and response. Who do you see? What do you think you know? What can you discover?
Building a sense of empathy is vital in our world today. Finding a world view can open up empathy. Consider joining the community at Ethical ELA and writing a poem in response to a photograph.
Undocumented
“How can you say we don’t belong here
when we are working so hard
to heal this country’s communities right now?” Veronica VelasquezI think of the mask makers,
side-by-side on an assembly line
cutting, threading, sewing
white cloth
To keep us safe
while they live
in the shadow
in plain sight,
essential now.Belong
Margaret Simon
or don’t belong?
Our survival
depends on
their survival.
Undocumented
saviors.
The Progressive Poem is moving along. Check on it today with Jan at Book Seed Studio.
Reflections on the Teche 
It comes down to the simple fact that we humans need each other. Each of us. All of us. Essential, undocumented saviors. So powerful. Margaret. I will have to check out the other poems also!
“Undocumented saviors.” Many layers in those words. We are interwoven.
Beautiful words I especially enjoyed: “Belong or don’t belong our survival depends on their survival”
We’re all connected aren’t we? Documented or undocumented we are humans on this race called life. If only we saw each person as a precious gift.
We have a lot of migrant families that work in our fields, so I understand the relationship in which you write. Beautiful poem, but a sad connection.
So good. I read about areas where they weren’t giving vaccines to undocumented people. That makes NO sense. Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Margaret, I read your powerful poem on Ethical ELA. Your words and the images you created moved me. Your poem reminded me of all the atrocities undocumented workers suffered while Trump was in office. The links to the photos you provided and the poems that people wrote in response to your prompt were also powerful and moving. I brainstormed a lot, which brought memories, feelings I didn’t realize I was hiding, and tears, which were all therapeutic for me and exactly what I needed to do. Hopefully, I’ll be able to write a personal poem from my ideas. Thank you so much for your inspiration.