This month, National Poetry Month, I am writing poems prompted by #Verselove at Ethical ELA. Today’s prompt was written by Dave Wooly. He asked us to write a short poem about being a traveller. He has a wonderful mentor poem about Scotland (my dream vacation) and his son. Read it and other responses here.
My sleep has been fitful this week as my body recovers from Covid. I’ve been trying hard during the waking times to think of pleasant, happy times to lull myself back to sleep. Dave’s prompt and the pen I was writing with helped me create this small poem this morning.
Make it Happy
In the early morning
when the sun has yet to rise,
my mind wanders to where
my body wishes to be–I kick off the blankets
pinning me in, kick out
to break freeto jump onto a zip line
over the rainforest of Costa Rica,
to sip the cool mountain air
of the North Pacific,
to rock on a boat, untethered,
drinking in the spray of Niagara Falls.Where ever you go,
Make it happy.*Margaret Simon, draft
The Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Donna Smith today.
This week my collaborative book with historian Phebe Hayes was released, Were you There? A Biography of Emma Wakefield Paillet. We tell the story of the first African American woman to get a medical degree in the state of Louisiana. She was from my home town, New Iberia, LA. I wrote poems in Emma’s voice. This book has been in the works since 2018, a long labor of love. My friend and fellow Inkling, Linda Mitchell, wrote the educational guide. Were You There? is available through UL Press.
Reflections on the Teche 