Happy May Day! My daughter sent this message in our text group: “Friday the first of May is the most powerful day of 2026 so far…strongest full moon and it’s when the Fire horse begins galloping so it will force you to get rid of what you no longer need in your life bc Fire horse can’t gallop with baggage.”
I worked with first graders this week in a workshop called “Chalkabration.” I think I love first graders. We wrote poems with the line “Summer is…” using all of the senses, “I hear…I see…”
Today is also the first Friday of the month which means Inklings Challenge. Heidi challenged us to “Celebrate May by writing a poem that Maykes use of the verbs may, might, could, can, ought.”
First Graders Cheat at Mother, May I
When lines are drawn
rules are made,
Or where there’s an “ought to”
seven year olds will push,
split, cross, test.
Mother nature made us to question
boundaries, “Who am I?”
A galloping competitor or a friendly companion?
Choices might change everything.
Margaret Simon, draft
To see how other Inklings met this challenge:
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Catherine @Reading to the Core
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Mary Lee @Another Year of Reading
The Progressive Poem is new hit wonder of The Land of Poetry. See the final poem here.
If you are interested in purchasing a copy of What’s That Sound? Birds of the Bayou, please send me a comment or email. Amazon has messed up the photo for the book, so I’d rather you not purchase from them. We’ve tried avenues to fix this with no help from the Amazonians.
Reflections on the Teche 