December 12, 2025 by margaretsmn
Winter Hope
Winter has come
with rain upon rain.
Mud bank creeps
as bayou sneaks
higher and higher
with each downpour.
Water, water, water
is all we hear until a cloud white
egret steps softly into view.
Look! Look!
We call the toddlers to the window.
They see with new eyes of wonder.
I see with new eyes of wonder.
See! See!
Margaret Simon, draft
Our address on the Bayou Teche
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April 2 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
April 3 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 4 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
April 5 Denise at https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/
April 6 Buffy at http://www.buffysilverman.com/blog
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April 8 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
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April 10 Marcie at Marcie Flinchum Atkins
April 11 Rose at Imagine the Possibilities | Rose's Blog
April 12 Fran Haley at Lit Bits and Pieces
April 13 Cathy Stenquist
April 14 Janet Fagel at Mainly Write
April 15 Carol Varsalona at Beyond LiteracyLink
April 16 Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm
April 17 Kim Johnson at Common Threads
April 18 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
April 19 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
April 20 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 21 Tanita at TanitasDavis.com
April 22 Patricia Franz
April 23 Ruth at There's No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town
April 24 Linda Kulp Trout at http://lindakulptrout.blogspot.com
April 25 Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
April 26 Michelle Kogan at: https://moreart4all.wordpress.com/
April 27 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 28 Pamela Ross at Words in Flight
April 29 Diane Davis at Starting Again in Poetry
April 30 April Halprin Wayland at Teaching Authors
Reflections on the Teche 
Thanks for transporting us to your warmth-filled, wonder-filled bayou, wish I could step right in, a lovely breath of hope for sure!
Love it when kids see nature as a wonder to behold! I love the photo since we are now a land of white and deep cold this weekend. Ten inches of the stuff and more coming down this morning. A bit like your rain but this is white stuff sticks around for a long time. Thanks for the image of green with white.
I love how snow makes you slow down and see. That is what poetry does for me.
Love how your poem invites us, as we invite children, to view the wonder that is always there if we can only take the time to see it. I especially love the alliteration and imagery of “Mud bank creeps/as bayou sneaks” lines. Love your photo, too!!!
Thanks, Mona. I love turning the small moments with my grandchildren into poetry. It helps me to notice instead of the feeling that they are growing up so fast.
Lovely small moment, Margaret. Like Mona, I also love “Mud bank creeps/as bayou sneaks.” Your ending is so childlike with “Look! Look!” and “See! See!”
I love that what you hear transforms from rain to wonder—The “Look!Look!” with toddlers is always our guide ☺️
I love how the egret appears as a cloud, a gift of the rain. *happy sigh*
“rain upon rain” love that…and calling the toddlers to the window for that cloud white egret. Beautiful! Thank you for sharing that moment with us.
What a beautiful moment of hope.
That’s the sweetest scene, with the toddlers at the window looking at the egret.
Oh, you’ve captured such a special time, Margaret. Love that the rain stopped just long enough for those “new eyes of wonder”. Wish you could send some of that rain here! Have a nice weekend!
Your poem brought tears to my eyes. I have so many memories of mom calling me to the window to “Look! Look!”, usually for a sunset, but also the light falling a certain way through the ash’s autumn leaves, or an unusual bird on the porch. Know that you are teaching a way of living with every call to wonder. A very Mary Oliver way of living. Do it often so it lasts through to their adulthood.
You’ve written a wonderful poem of awe, Margaret. Thank you for sharing it with us. It is indeed the little things in life we must notice – those will yield joy! If we can only hold on to viewing life through a child’s eyes.
Margaret, I like the way your repetition (Look! Look!) hearkens back to a child’s early Dick-and-Jane reader and puts us into a child’s mindset, seeing the world with their fresh wonder.
What a treat! Egrets are stunning birds, and I love that you captured this special moment in a poem.
Oh, this is just lovely. A bright spot of wonder amidst the ceaseless rain.
I love that for you, seeing their wonder is your wonder.