I am judging the first round of Cybils Poetry this fall. If you have a favorite poetry book or verse novel that was published between October 16, 2020 and October 15, 2021, consider nominating it here.
In her poem “Taking Out the Trash,” the late poet Kamilah Aisha Moon, who died at the age of forty-eight last week, takes a seemingly mundane task and makes the activity profound. Write a poem about a daily chore or everyday task that brings attention to your body. Try, as Moon does in her poem, to take time describing the movements of your body.
Poets and Writers, The Time is Now
I often write poems on my daily walks. Maybe I’m building a collection of these? Today’s poem is in conversation with Kamilah Aisha’s poem Taking out the Trash. It is definitely in drafty draft stage.
Viking Funeral
after Kamilah Aisha MoonOn trash Monday
Margaret Simon, draft
when the men of the house rush out
to fill the can with white bags bulging
with detritus of our lives,
I turn my pace against the wind,
watch toilet paper streamers (is it homecoming?)
grow into ghostlings dancing beneath old oaks.
They mound like fairy mushrooms in a circle around bulging roots.
I gather my dog’s waste into a green bag,
flip it around my hand like a glove. The neighbor
stops her barely awake car, rolls down the window to say thank you
for being a responsible pet owner.
I guess not everyone does this. Some leave their trash
where it lands to rot and rest until the soaking rain washes
it out to sea. Place me
in a canoe for a Viking’s burial, my husband says.
There will come a time to say goodbye, to lay our bodies
down to fire, but let me be
breathing today, again and again,
not ready to release air into fire.
Ever since I read Naomi Shihab Nye’s collection Cast Away with poems about trash, I pay more careful attention on my walks. I pick up things I can carry and create my own poems about trash.
Irene has the round-up today. She has an amazing collection of poems about art called Artspeak. I asked my second grader to choose a poem to read today and copy. She chose Why Roses. We copied the form on the board like this:
Why ____________
because…
because…
because…
because…
I am __________________
Here is Avalyn’s debut poem on my blog about the Van Gogh painting Starry Starry Night.
Why Starry Night!
after Irene Lathambecause our solar system has stars
by Avalyn, second grade
because the stars are in the Milky Way
because the moon looks like a face
because stars make constellations
I am the galaxy.
Reflections on the Teche 
I was going to tell you about Cast Away, but see you have it & are following her example of writing, Margaret. It’s a lovely poem of life’s images & a good wish at the end. There is a law here that people must pick up for their pets & the city provides bags at various places if needed. I have started carrying a bag & picking up the masks which is mostly the only trash I see. And, Avalyn’s poem, wow! She gives us the broader & wonderful world. Thanks for all!
So much to love in this post. Thank you for introducing me to the poet Kamilah Aisha Moon. Both her poem and yours after hers are beautiful and thought provoking. And oh my goodness, how wonderful is Avalyn’s poem? Thanks for sharing all of these with us today.
Avalyn’s connection to herself and the artwork focuses on her observation of the sky and then to the universe. It is an impressive detail-oriented poem for such a young writer. How you explained the poem may be simplistic to adults but to Avayn, it is a strong guide. Upon reading Kamilah Aisha Moon’s poem, I was struck by her ending and how it talks of the generations of family members who take ona mundane task. I wonder if she ever thought deeply about her own passing on. It is an enormous thought to ponder.
Walking poems! That sounds like a lovely collection, Margaret. And please tell Avalyn “Starry Night” is probably my most favorite painting ever, and I adore what she did here! A galaxy indeed!! Beautiful. xo
This post is full of little nuggets, Margaret. Thank you! I just saw the Van Gogh Immersive Experience in Philadelphia, so Avalyn’s poem was such a wonderful tie-in and so well done.
Rose, we watched a video of the exhibit after she wrote her poem.
I was deeply moved when I read that Kamilah Aisha Moon poem earlier this week and you definitely have some great stuff going on in that Viking poem of yours. I’d love to see how you revise it. I also love the idea of a collection of “walking poems.”
Love, love, love the starry night poem. It’s certainly an interesting concept to write a poem about trash. In addition, since I am trying to walk on more days during the week, paying attention to the trash I find on the way is an intriguing idea. Currently, I seem to be paying attention to the fungus I find – my husband might welcome the change! Thanks for sharing the “Cast Away” source.
I love the ending to your poem the “Vikings burial” and comment, “not ready to release air into fire.” Beautiful poem by your student, Avalyn too, thanks!
Margaret, what a joy your drafty draft of the Vikings Burial poem is. I’m always curious about the drafts people write and how long you might work on this one before you will call it finished. Anyway, I think it is beautiful and rich, with so many truths as you write about trash. Great poem by Avalyn using Irene’s form. I bet she loved writing that!
Here’s another vote of confidence for a collection of walking poems!
Huzzah for Avalyn’s poem! Well done!
So much to love here! I can’t bear seeing those masks everywhere on the ground here too, even in a place where it never seemed like very many people were even wearing them! I really like your trash poem. And your student’s poem is lovely too. Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Avalyn, what a beautiful poem! I love that painting and your response to it. Bravo!
Love the poems from your daily walks…what a collection! Those lines, “there comes a time when we lay our bodies down to the fire.” My goodness, beautiful in the space of that poem.
Margaret, I strongly identify with your idea of walking connecting to poetry. Your Viking Funeral poem contains many thoughts, actions and observations that may be construed as being everyday, are elevated by their inclusion here. Bravo on this important reminder..
Mentor texts take us to places and ponderings that we might not otherwise go. Your viking poem is like a stream of conscience. A reflective journey. Do you jot your poems into a notebook as you walk? Or on your phone? Or hold them in your memory?
Love Avalyn’s response to Starry Starry Night, just because. (It has such a lovely build to a sweet reveal.)