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Archive for November 23rd, 2024

Poetry Friday: My Place in the World

Posted in being mamére, Gifted Education, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , , , on November 23, 2024| 11 Comments »

Poetry Friday is gathered by Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town.

My students and I are reading Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. In the book, there is a poem “On the Road with Arley” that begins with line “Here’s the way I figure it, my place in the world is at the piano.” It’s been fun to find music of the time period and write alongside it. My students worked hard to create poems using this beginning line. I asked them to use imagery to create a tone. I wrote a model poem about my place in the world.

In a Canoe

Here’s the way I figure it,
my place in the world is 
on the bayou
lazing about in a canoe
with you.

I’m just a mamere
wanting the best time
to be outside
watching for eagles
slipping through slow current
listening for Mr. Owl
to cook-cook-for-you!

My place is in open toes
among cypress knees
sniffing catfish air
hearing cicadas buzz
when the sun goes down.

Here’s the way I figure it,
my place in the world
is in a canoe with you. 

Margaret Simon, draft

Photo by Nitin Arya on Pexels.com

Here’s the way I figure it,
my place in the world is
out of it.

My place is in a different place,
far away from here.
In a mythical world,
or one that is crumbling
even more than mine is.

With my favorite characters
I venture
for escape.
Escape.
My feet will beat the ground,

in my head a pound,
and then I settle down.
In a bed or a chair,
I wind

        wind

   wind

down.

I read, and I am free.

Here’s the way I figure it,
my place in the world is
seeking distraction from it.

Adelyn, 6th grade

Where is your place in the world?

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