Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
For years now, we have watched nesting in the wood duck house my husband built for the bayou bank. This time of year beginning in late February a female hen comes to the box to lay a clutch of eggs.
We invested in a Ring doorbell camera, not to watch for criminal activity, but to see the comings and goings of a resident wood duck hen.
View from the camera when another hen came in to gossip.
These days my phone alerts me constantly. “There is motion at the wood duck house.”
The eggs are due at the end of the month. She usually sits for 28-31 days. We had a cool snap, so I’m worried that all the eggs won’t hatch. But that is the nature of nature, right?
Once the eggs hatch, all on the same day, the little ones will jump from the house 24 hours later. It is a wonder to watch. A few years ago we caught it on video.
Last year I released a small chapbook of poems about the wood duck nesting season, Wood Duck Diary. The funds from the sales benefit the Teche Project. This is a book of tanka poems in English and in French.
March 11
Feathering the Clutch
Hen stitches feathers one by one. Woven blanket
clutch-cover of down. Her beak a knitting needle. Eggs safe and snug below.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Three years ago when my grandson Thomas (Tuffy) was 3 years old, he liked to play a game with me, What’s That Sound? He would make an animal sound, “meow”, and say “What’s that sound? Is it a cow? No! It’s a cat.”
Thomas at age 3
In the middle of the night, I woke up saying to myself “What’s that sound? I ask Mamére. What’s that sound, up in the air?”
I responded to the voice in my head and wrote a short verse that became the draft for a baby board book. I pitched it to UL Press, and they decided to take it on as their very first board book.
My friend and fellow picture book writer Gayle Webre had found illustrator Drew Beech through SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). I contacted Drew, and she took on the project. I couldn’t be happier with her illustrations. I sent her photos of the characters, me, my grandson, my husband, a neighbor who was nanny to my other grandchildren, and my own mother.
My mother with Maggie, 1986
I’m sad that my mother is not here to see the book. The photo I had of her was with my oldest daughter sitting in a chair hammock.
On the last spread, Drew created a family crawfish boil. That was a complete surprise to me, a happy surprise.
In the fall, I had the chance to hold the dummy copy in my hands. It was like someone handing me a new baby. I cried.
I realize through this process, often long and frustrating, that every picture book you hold in your hands is a labor of love. All of my love is poured into What’s That Sound?
(Book Release Event: Friday, March 27th at The Roy House on UL’s campus from 4:30-6:00 PM.)
I received an advance copy of a new poetry book from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. Have you ever read a book that just feels good in your hands?
Poems for Every Season: A Year of Haiku, Sonnets, and More by Bette Westera offers a number of different poetry forms translated by David Colmer. Each page is a comforting woodcut design by Henriette Boerendans.
Poems For Every Season, publishing date Feb. 17, 2026Woodcut art by Henriette Boerendans
Each poem is a delight of language, form, imagery, and the miracles of nature.
The final poem is a sonnet for February. Just when you think it’s warm enough to go outside and sow some seeds, winter makes another appearance.
Prompted by Susan Brisson in Laura Shovan’s February Challenge to write a Cento poem, I turned each page of this book to find a poem.
Roaming the Seasons
Pale petals drift down Green buds will soon be showing on trees. Velvety bees Carving a nest Buzz by Among the yellow buttercups Clear I need sun Under a blanket of leaves Gathering growing sheltering All curled up in my cozy bed. We like it here and we stay.
Cento by Margaret Simon from Poems For Every Season by Bette Westera, translated by David Colmer.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
When I heard from Allan Wolf by email that he had been invited to the Louisiana Book Festival, I grabbed at the chance to have him come to our Bayou Teche home.
Allan started coming to South Louisiana in 2007, performing at schools and libraries and leading teacher workshops at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. I became a fan. The first time he visited Jefferson Island and saw a chimney in the lake, he became intrigued by the disaster in Lake Peigneur of 1980.
A brief summary of that disaster: An exploratory drilling rig from Texaco accidentally punctured a salt mine and set off a harrowing series of events. The miraculous thing is all the miners, fishermen, and tug boats escaped and there was no loss of human life. The lake turned into a whirlpool and the Delcambre Canal flowed backward.
This historical disaster happened 45 years ago in my home town of New Iberia, Louisiana. Allan wrote two books based on the event, and no one in my town knew about these books. I set out to change that.
It became my mission to get him here and to organize a book talk at our local Bayou Teche Museum. With the way news media works these days, I advertised mostly by word of mouth (The “Teche Telegraph”) and by email and social media. Allan and I were hopeful that 20 people would show up, even though I ordered 50 chairs.
Allan was hoping people who had been there that fateful day (Nov. 20, 1980) would come and share their stories.
We had an overflowing crowd of 65 people. Allan paid tribute to the tug boat captain, Ores Menard (age 95), who sat on the front row with his wife and daughter. Allan had interviewed Mr. Menard for hours.
A woman walked in early and shared that she was one of two women in the mine. Allan brightened up. “I knew there had to be women in the mine. I knew about one, but I didn’t know about you!”
Allan Wolf and Myrna Romero, survivor of the 1980 Lake Peigneur disaster.
Myrna brought him her typed story and showed him the jumpsuit that she wore. Allan told her on one of his last interviews, he discovered there was a woman, so he had the artist place her into the graphic novel.
The thing about research that Allan has learned (and I have as well with my biography of Emma Wakefield Paillet) is it’s never finished. Once a story is told, it becomes a living document.
In his presentation, Allan explained that some of the characters in his book are composite characters, more than one person rolled into one. Three dogs became one. Two boats became one. However, the gist of truth is there.
I wrote the book of tanka and haibun poems to capture the miracle that my husband and I have witnessed each year by watching a Ring camera in our wood duck house.
Irene Latham wrote: “Readers of all ages will JUMP at the chance to celebrate the life of wood ducks in this inviting volume. Delightful verse, scientific facts, and striking photographs combine in this heartwarming tale of real-life animal adventure (and the humans that make it happen).”
The humans that made this book happen are my dear friends David Dahlquist and Mary Ubinas, through a donation to the TECHE Project. All proceeds will benefit the TECHE Project. One of the goals of the TECHE Project is to promote the well being of wood ducks along the 135 miles of the Bayou Teche through educational workshops and placement of wood duck houses.
My hope is this small book will inspire others to take the time to notice and wonder about nature and our environment. Wood ducks are beautiful birds that were once considered endangered. When we watch the dozen or more ducklings jump from the house a mere 24 hours after hatching, we do not know their fate. I don’t like to think about all the dangers lurking in the bayou waters, so I write poems about them. I’m sharing a few here. The book is available now on Amazon. I will receive my first shipment in a few weeks, so you can also order from me.
February 24
House Hunting (Haibun)
The hens are showing up! Now that the drake scouts have identified a safe nesting box and area, it is time for the hen’s approval as they begin to inspect the boxes for themselves.
Dawn, when sunbeams stream, an expectant glow invites a wood duck couple—
Female shimmies through the hole, Chatter-chipper to her mate.
la maison de chasse L’aube, quand les rayons du soleil coulent, une lueur d’attente invite
un couple de branchus— La femelle se trémousse dans le trou, Chatter-chipper à son compagnon.
Margaret Simon, from Wood Duck Diary
New Chicks
Gentle peeps echo. Jumping onto mother hen, New chicks jitterbug.
Like petals on a pinwheel fluffy down spins together.
Nouveaux poussins
Doux piaulements résonnent. Sautant sur maman canne, Nouveaux poussins font le jitterbug.
Comme des pétales sur un moulinet duvet moelleux tourne en rond.
A new release from Laura Purdue Salas, Flurry, Float, and Fly!
On this hot, humid southern day when the temperature rises above 90 degrees, I received this cool to the touch advanced copy of Laura Purdie Salas’s next picture book all about the poetry and science of a snowstorm.
Without January, 2025, I’d have believed I would never see a snowstorm; however, we had one here along the gulf with enough snow to do all the fun things a good snow brings.
New Iberia, LA covered in snow, January 2025.
I look forward to sharing this book with my grandchildren who are just beginning to read. The text delights with rhyme: “From the north, a polar freeze…from the south, a humid breeze. All winds advance. They mix and dance.”
In addition to lively text, this book includes science that can be easily understood by our youngest readers. Did you know “each cloud’s type—how cold?—how wet? shapes each crystal’s silhouette.”?
Chiara Fedele’s illustrations show how white can be colorful and peaceful.
Illustrations by Chiara Fedele
Laura always has on her teacher hat when she creates a book. There is back matter including intricate photographs by Dr. Kenneth G. Libbrecht of the variations of a snowflake. Teachers can also find resources on Laura’s website here. If you click fast, you can enter a giveaway for a 30 minute classroom visit with Laura.
I highly recommend her for class visits. A few years ago, my students loved learning the back story of how Laura researches and plans her picture books. Author visits help students to see all the work that goes into creating a book as well as experience the passion the author feels about her topic.
Laura lives in Minnesota, so she probably sees snow every year, but her special book “Flurry, Float, and Fly!” took this southern girl back to a cool experience with a rare snowstorm. Relive your own snowstorm stories and share them with young readers. Publication date is November 11, 2025.
Last night I had the privilege of presenting poetry alongside my co-author, Dr. Phebe Hayes. Phebe talked about the life of Emma Wakefield Paillet who was not only the first Black woman, but the first woman to get a medical degree in the state of Louisiana. Emma was an unsung hero until Phebe uncovered her story. Years of research have led to release of our book, Were You There? A Biography of Emma Wakefield Paillet.
Historical marker commemorating Dr. Emma Wakefield Paillet in downtown New Iberia, Louisiana.
What struck me and my husband as we discussed the presentation was how Emma’s life personalized the history of the time period. Her tragedies were the tragedies of Reconstruction and Jim Crow laws, oppression of women and especially women of color, lynching, disease, etc.
I read a few poems interspersed with Phebe’s talk. One of the poems I wrote for the book is a Praise poem after Angelo Geter, a modern spoken word poet. It’s a hard one to get through without my voice cracking because at this time my mother is at the end of her life. I’m emotional when it comes to mothering. Today, I dedicate this poem to her.
If you are interested in a signed copy, please send me an email. Our fellow Poetry Friday writer Linda Mitchell wrote the educational guide.
Last month I was writing a poem each day prompted by Ethical ELA. One of the prompts offered by Alexis Ennis invited us to write an ode to peace. This prompt landed on a Sunday when I had time to sit and sip on my back deck overlooking the bayou. In winter when I had to haul pots inside, I cursed my love of tropical flowers, but on this day, I was celebrating their quiet and bright emergence.
As I revised this poem, I asked AI to give it a title. I like the response, go figure, of “Waking in Red.”
Waking in Red
the corner of my heart slowing for breaths deep and long
on the cypress the cardinal busy on branches by and by
here is the ruby-throated hummer humming a second longer
there the glowing sun rising to light this day
space opens for red bat plant, desert rose, and buckeye
skin warms as I wake with the power of red. Margaret Simon, draft
I am writing a poem a day in May using #poemsofpresence and #smallpoems. Many of them are inspired by flowers. I invite you to join me on Instagram.
If you live nearby, come by Books Along the Teche (our local indie bookstore) for our book signing. Books Along the Teche will take orders for signed books.
but as light is to a star you can have this dandelion–
Every flower is a good flower to see.
These domes of ghost stars Astonish the grass–so much deliciousness.
Dazzle me, little sun-of-the-grass. You can still summon the summer day when you blew your wishes to the wind.
(line sources: Barbara Ras, Robert MacFarlane, Amy Tan, Jean Nordhaus, Emily Dickinson, Aimee Nezhukumatathal)
Jennifer Jowett encouraged us to gather a list of lines from other poets, authors, to create a cento poem. My process began with the books I had on my coffee table. Lost Words by Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris was there because I used a model poem from the book for my students today. This is a gorgeously illustrated book of acrostic poems. There is one using the word Dandelion.
I was reminded of a prompt from Georgia Heard using Barbara Ras’s poem You Can’t Have it All.
I enjoyed this creative exercise of gathering beautiful lines and adding form and my own words to create something entirely new. That’s what the creative process is.
Today is the release of my new book that doesn’t feel new to me. I’ve been writing and editing this book since 2018. Finally, you can read it, too. My co-author Phebe Hayes did all of the historical research on Emma Wakefield Paillet, the first African American woman to get a medical degree in the state of Louisiana. I wrote poems in Emma’s voice. Linda Mitchell, fellow Inkling and librarian from Virginia, wrote the educational guide. I am proud of this important work to connect to our past and forge a new future for women, for people of color, and for poetry that speaks the truth.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Today is the last day of March which means I have finished my 12th year of writing a slice of life for 31 days. It’s easy to think this is some great accomplishment. But who matters more to me are the bloggers I do this with. Through the Two Writing Teachers blog, we have connected over time and space and supported each other. I always end with the wish that I had read more and commented more. What a wonderful community of teacher-writers! Thank you!
I also want to express my pride over my students who stuck with the daily slicing challenge. Julian wrote “This is the final day for writing and I cannot believe I actually did it. Before I ever did this challenge I was having trouble with writing 1 SOL a week. I never would have thought I would be able to write one continuously for a month straight. But I did and I’m very proud of myself.” You can view their posts at Fanschool/ GT Allstars
Tomorrow begins another writing adventure: National Poetry Month. Many of my poet blogger friends are doing projects. I will be writing with Ethical ELA VerseLove as I have done since 2020. At Ethical ELA, there is another great community of teacher writers who support each other.
I coordinate a gathering of children’s poets to write the 2025 Kidlit Progressive Poem. Linda Mitchell has bravely agreed to start us off. You will find her post at A Word Edgewise. We have three slots left at the end of the month if you want to play along. Kidlit Progressive Poem 2025 Sign Up.
Tomorrow is a big day for me. Release day for Were You There? A Biography of Emma Wakefield Paillet that I co-authored with Phebe Hayes. I will be presenting this weekend at the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival at the Shadows on the Teche Visitors Center at 11:15 AM on Saturday. My co-author Phebe Hayes and I are excited to launch this important book about the history of New Iberia, LA. If you are local, please join us for this long awaited release.
Margaret Simon lives on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana. She is a retired elementary gifted teacher who writes poetry and children's books. Welcome to a space of peace, poetry, and personal reflection. Walk in kindness.
Reflections on the Teche 