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Archive for April, 2023

NPM 23 Day 15: Since You’ve Been Gone

Posted in Writing on April 15, 2023| 1 Comment »

This week was hard but good. I’ve been busy. That helps. One year ago my father died. It’s been a whole year of missing him. I’m getting better at dealing with grief. But somehow it bubbles up when I write. The Ethical ELA #VerseLove prompt today was from Allison Berryhill was to write a poem about what you missed. Check the prompt here. I recall a Ted Kooser poem about what a loved one who passed was missing on a fine spring day. I can’t find it, but if you know it, please let me know.

What you Missed the Year You’ve been Gone

Since you’ve been gone, spring sprang again with bright
cypress green and pops of buttercups along the roadway.

Baby June was born on winter’s solstice. She’s blooming, too.
You’d want to make raspberries on her strawberry cheeks.

Since you’ve been gone, we’ve moved Mom twice
finding better and better care for her. We think you’d approve

because I walked beside a woman with a dog
who told me about her mother. We talked and talked

then she said her name was Beverly like your favorite niece
whose southern drawl comforted like a soft pillow.

I miss you on days like this, when the birds sing opera,
the sun hides behind the clouds. I kiss your great grandson.

He’s forgotten you died and says, “Where’s Pop?”
I haven’t forgotten, but I think I see you in his smile.

Margaret Simon, draft
Dad (John Gibson) with the King Cake baby.

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Poetry Friday: NPM 23 Day 14: Do You Like What I Like?

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , , , on April 14, 2023| 12 Comments »

Today’s Poetry Friday Round up is with Jone, a gentle creative who always holds others up on her strong shoulders. Today she is gathering classic found poems. I forgot to do one. I have a good excuse. I’m presenting today at the Fay B. Kaigler Book Festival in Hattiesburg, MS with my friend and fellow children’s book author Leslie Helakoski. But I don’t like missing out, so I may try to get to it sometime this weekend. At Mary Lee’s post, I found a link to a poem video done by Jone’s student, Kimberly Taylor. It’s an amazingly powerful interpretation of Mary Lee’s poem Dandelions.

Leslie wrote a book entitled “Are Your Stars Like My Stars?” It’s a beautiful book about diversity in perspective using a patterned phrase i.e.”Is your blue like my blue?” I read the book to my students and had them write their own poem based on the pattern. Using blank books, they turned their poems into books. I’ll be sharing these with our session participants today. I wanted to feature Adelyn’s poem today. When she wrote it, it brought tears to my eyes because at such a young age of 10, she sees with more wisdom than many adults. And this gives me hope. Poetry gives me hope. Children’s book authors give me hope. You give me hope.

Do You Like What I Like?

Staring at the stars in cozy blankets, porch bound.
Are your stars like mine?
A fluff in my arms, a fuzz in my head.
Do you sleep like me?

Hugging them tight, don’t want to let go.
Do you love like I do?

When you’re sitting down, about to eat your food, 
whether it’s makizushi, chimichurri or gumbo.
Think, do I do what you do?

I have trouble counting by eights but love doing equations.
Do you do math like I do?

I read some advanced books and read lots of chapter books.
Do you read like I do?

Sometimes when I get yelled at 
or I try to tell someone something and they don’t listen, 
I get overwhelmed and sometimes cry.
Are your feelings like my feelings?

I have dirty blonde hair and blue eyes and freckles.
Are your features like my features?

I like the winter but summer not that much.
Do you like seasons like I do?

When you lay down in bed, 
getting ready to sleep,
do you ever think of these things like I do?

Do you ever think about how different other people could be 
and think about how different you are from others?

We are all different and that’s okay.
As long as you are,
YOURSELF

by Adelyn, 4th grade
Photo by Valeria Boltneva on Pexels.com

The Progressive Poem is with Janice Scully today at Salt City Verse.

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NPM 23 Day 13: Signs

Posted in Poetry, tagged , , on April 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Do you believe in signs? Rainbows, red birds, messages from our loved ones? I’ve been looking for a sign from my father. Some people say I’m trying too hard. On Tuesday, my brother, his wife, and I were touring assisted living facilities for my mother. She has Alzheimer’s and is living in an independent living facility. It’s getting harder to find good caretakers who understand the disease. Kara, my sister-in-law, told me when we pulled into one of the places we were touring, there was a red bird above the parking lot sign that read, “For future residents.” Whether it was a sign or a coincidence, we don’t know. But humans will human, and we believe Dad was letting us know we were doing the right thing.

I wrote a Golden Shovel using the striking line from Rita Dove’s Canary, “If you can’t be free, be a mystery.”

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: B is for Hope

Posted in Writing on April 12, 2023| 25 Comments »

I’ve been following a number of different poetry projects this month. My friend and fellow Inkling Catherine Flynn is using a form she is modeling after a book Q is for Duck to write short poems about Hope. We can all use more hope these days, so today I am borrowing her form.

I’m traveling today in Mississippi from Jackson where I grew up and my mother and brother still live to Hattiesburg for the Fay Kaigler Book Festival where I’ll be presenting on Friday. I won’t have much time to respond to poem posts, but I invite you to drive along the southern highways and see the buttercups in bloom. Write your own poem in whatever form you choose in the comments. Support other writers with encouraging responses.

B is for Hope

because

buttercups bloom
along the roadside,
opening pink palms
to a foggy morning
inviting me to … presence.

Margaret Simon, draft

The Progressive Poem is with Dave Roller, Leap Of Dave.

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NPM 23 Day 11: Something You Should Know

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged , , on April 11, 2023| 13 Comments »

I am following #VerseLove at Ethical ELA. A few days ago the prompt was taken from a poem by Clint Smith (linked here). Spending time back in my home town of Jackson, MS always brings up memories. When I was 15, I spent my summer volunteering at a church sponsored camp for underprivileged children who were referred by their teachers as struggling readers. The experience launched me into a lifetime career of teaching. Do you remember why you became a teacher? or whatever your chosen career? Why do we make these choices in life? How do we know it’s the right choice? I’ve always known teaching was right for me.

Something You Should Know
after Clint Smith

I became a teacher the summer I turned 15,
volunteering for “Operation Life Enrichment”
Ole’!

We gathered the underprivileged children
from the dregs of Jackson Public Schools–
children struggling to read and know things
like zoo animals and swimming pools and reciting
the ABC song.

Their skin was the color of cafe ole,
smooth caffeine
that entered my veins in their hugs,
their fingers in my soft blonde hair.

I learned how to cradle their heads,
singing to them
the lyrical language
of picture books.

I knew then
as I know now
my passion, my calling, my purpose
is teaching.

Margaret Simon, draft
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

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NPM23 Day 10: Easter Morning

Posted in Poetry, tagged , , , on April 10, 2023| 6 Comments »

I traveled north to Mississippi to be with my mother for Easter. Since I don’t see her every day, it’s hard to know what to expect. She was surprised and overjoyed to see me. She knew my name. It was like old times, except when she’d start a sentence, she would pause because something was lost. I got her dressed for Easter services and discovered she had pajama pants on underneath her jeans. She misinterpreted my directions to the caretaker and said, “Now look what you did. I have to take all these pills.”

Church was the balm! We arrived early and were able to hear the brass ensemble and the choir practice. Mom sang along. She used to be an alto in the church choir. She can still read all the words and the notes. Alzheimer’s is a puzzling disease. She could call out names I had forgotten in my years away, and then tell me that Dad would be the usher today. Dad’s been gone almost a year. One lucid moment, she said, “I wish John (my father) was here. I’m doing OK, but I just think he would love this service.” Both of my parents passed down to me a love a good Episcopal ceremony with incense, bells, and trumpets!

In her book, Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer speaks about ceremony and its importance in our traditions, in our souls. I felt this strong connection sitting next to Mom on Easter Sunday. I will hold onto this moment when things get harder.

Ceremony

breathes life into an ordinary day.
My mother next to me laughs and remembers
all the words, even the alto part.
We sing in ceremony together,
closing a circle of love around us–
the two of us mother daughter
incense,
gerber daisies,
brass bugling,
a woman preaching,
“It is not raining!
New life is the path beyond the empty tomb.”
We look at each other
with glowing tears.
I see her love.
We celebrate life on an extraordinary day.

Margaret Simon, draft

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NPM 23 Day 9: Roseate Spoonbills Revision

Posted in Photography, Poetry, tagged , , , on April 9, 2023| 2 Comments »

Happy Easter! I gave myself permission to not post today, to take a day off after writing 31 Slices of Life in March and 7 poems-a-day, but inspiration comes as inspiration will. On Facebook, I was tagged by a friend who knows I love birds, Louisiana wildlife, and photography. This photo by Gary Meyers is an amazing photo of roseate spoonbills in flight. I remembered that I wrote a poem once about the bird. One of the ideas Molly and I had for our poetry project was to revise an old poem, so what better exercise to do when I don’t want to write. I borrowed the photo and created a Canva to include the poem.

The Progressive Poem is with my friend, Inkling, best librarian poet I know, Linda Mitchell. Hope to this link to see her Easter bunny gift of a line.

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#ClimatePoemProject #AuthorsTakeAction2023: Things to Do Poem

Posted in Poetry, Writing, tagged , , , , on April 8, 2023| 5 Comments »

To celebrate National Poetry Month, #AuthorsTakeAction2023 is organizing a community poetry project for kids.

Children’s poets and authors from all over the country are offering poetry prompts and inviting teachers and children to write poems on the topic of climate change.

You can find all the prompts at the Authors Take Action website.

My poem prompt is a Things to Do Poem. This is a form I used in my book Bayou Song: Exploration of the South Louisiana Landscape. The alligator snapping turtle is not endangered as far as I know, but it is a celebrated Louisiana critter.

To begin, select a bird or animal that is endangered in your area. I did a Google search for my state “Endangered animals in Louisiana.” I was amazed to find out that Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles had hatched near New Orleans. And I also thought they were very cute to draw.

My friend Julie Burchstead sent me instructions for a crayon resist art project.

  1. With a pencil, draw your chosen bird or animal on watercolor paper. Create a contour drawing with no shading. It will look like a coloring book page.

2. After drawing, outline the pencil lines in Sharpie marker. (The marker must be permanent or the ink will smear.)

3. Color with crayon or Cray-pas. Julie says, “Note: The crayon must be applied darkly (thick). If it is too light, there will not be enough wax to resist the wash, and the crayon work will be lost. Any areas that must remain white, must be colored white with crayon. ”

4. Using watercolor paint, select a single color of paint. Pool a few drops of clean water into the chosen color with a wide brush. (Do not use the skinny one that comes with the kit.) Wash (spread) the paint over the whole image. Where there is crayon, the wax will resist the paint.

5. Create a list poem using action words to begin each phrase. You may personify your chosen animal.

Things to Do if You’re a Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle

Hatch for the first time in 75 years.
Crawl toward the ocean.
Leave tracks in sand for researchers to find.
Return to your nest on the Chandeleur Islands.
Find a protected sanctuary.
Restore hope in Louisiana’s wetlands.
by Margaret Simon

Here are a few student examples:

Things to do if you’re an Eagle

Fly in the air.
Attack little fish.
Snag on meat. 
Glide over the ocean.
Soar over 10,000 feet!
Symbolize our nation.

by Brayden, 3rd grade

Things to Do if You’re a Grasshopper Sparrow

Land on a fingertip.
Eat earthworms, snails, and spiders.
Let your wings soar on the ground.
Carry on with the wind.
Find a sanctuary of protection.

by Avalyn, 3rd grade

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Poetry Friday and Progressive Poem are Here!

Posted in Poetry Friday, Progressive poem, Writing, tagged , , on April 6, 2023| 41 Comments »

Today I am juggling many hats. First, I am hosting the blog roundup for Poetry Friday. If you participate, the link up will be at the end of this post. 2. I have the next line for the annual Kidlit Progressive Poem (gentle hand-off from Donna who is wearing many hats of her own lately). 3. It’s the first Friday of the month which means a challenge from an Inkling (our writing group’s cute nickname).

The Kidlit Progressive Poem is the dream-child of Irene Latham. I am carrying the torch these days which means I round up all the volunteer writers and send them a reminder if they forget. Not a terrible job, really. So far, it all seems to come together in an amazing poem by the end of the month. You can follow the progression by clicking on the links on the side bar. Six days of April means six lines. I feel like I’m cheating because the line came to me immediately. Repetition is good in a poem and so are similes. Here is the poem with my line added in italics.

Suddenly everything fell into place
like raindrops hitting soil and sinking in.

When morning first poked me, I’d wished it away
my mind in the mist, muddled, confused.

Was this a dream, or reality, rousing my response?
The sun surged, urging me to join in its rising, 

Rising like a crystal ball reflecting on morning dew.

The Inkling challenge this month comes from Mary Lee Hahn. She decided to choose random words as a prompt for a poem. The words were knuckle, denial, turn, cautious.

Molly Hogan, fellow Inkling, and I are using a calendar grid for National Poetry Month. Here’s a copy of our calendar which you are welcome to use if you need ideas. I chose to write a Fib poem, a form that uses the Fibonacci Series for syllable counts: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8. (I just realized I didn’t repeat the one syllable line. Fudge it. Too late to revise now.)

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!Click here to enter

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Spiritual Journey: Maundy Thursday

Posted in Poetry, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged , , , on April 6, 2023| 11 Comments »

This month’s Spiritual Journey gathering is with Ruth at There is no Such Thing as Godforsaken Town

On Palm Sunday we sang an anthem in the choir “Lamb of God” by Twila Paris, choral setting by Lloyd Larson. In practice before church, I made the same mistake twice. (For this recording I think I finally said it correctly: I’m the alto voice you hear.)

My choir known as the Heavenly Choir at the Church of the Epiphany, April 2, 2023. “Lamb of God”

The lyrics include “I was so lost, I should have died, but you have brought me to your side to be led by your staff and rod and to become a lamb of God.” I kept mindlessly saying held by your staff and rod. After making this same mistake a third time, I wondered why my mind replaced led with held.

My spiritual journey has been long now. I tuned into my Episcopal upbringing while I was in high school. I attended youth retreats and memorized the words to “Let There be Peace on Earth and Let it Begin with Me.” Even at age 15 I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders.

Over the last decade or so, our larger national church has been controversial. Things have settled a bit, but I am hurt by the numbers of people who have left our church over issues of equality. Where was their faith? In the Baptismal Covenant we agree to “respect the dignity of every human being.”

In my spiritual journey, I am Held by God in dignity with grace that is freely given, given because I was simply born. Amazing, really. Traditionally on Maundy Thursday, we have a foot washing ceremony at the evening service. I imagine what it would have felt like to have Jesus wash my feet.

Footwashing


He held my foot
as cradling an infant
with tender touch
caressed a cloth
over and under soiled skin
I should have been embarrassed
but I felt no shame. only love.

Margaret Simon, draft

The Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Donna Smith today. It will be here tomorrow for Good Friday/ Poetry Friday.

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