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National Poetry Month Day 14: Safe Harbor

Posted in nature, Poetry, Progressive poem, Writing, tagged #verselove, childhood, Ethical ELA, Padma Venkatraman, Safe Harbor, tanka on April 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Today’s #verselove prompt is from Padma Venkatraman who wrote Bridge to Home and most recently Safe Harbor. Her books never fail to take me to a new place where I can find a relatable character and beautiful language. What a honor to have her writing a prompt for us based on her latest book. She invited us to write about a safe place.

I am visiting Ridgeland, MS, a few miles from the place I grew up. While my visits here bring forth many emotions, this morning I wanted to find solace in a walk in nature. Even though my hotel is near an outdoor shopping mall, there is a creek nearby with a walking path. The creek is the very same creek that ran behind my childhood home, Purple Creek. I used the poetry form of tanka (haiku with a chorus) which has a syllable count of 5, 7, 5, 7, 7.

The Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Janet today at Donna’s blog, Mainely Write.

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National Poetry Month Day 10: Mary’s Garden

Posted in nature, Poetry, Writing, tagged #verselove, Golden Shovel, Joy Harjo, Kim Johnson on April 10, 2025| 3 Comments »

This morning I am writing in a little house in Hattiesburg, MS with my friend and fellow Ethical ELA writer, Kim Johnson. We are here for the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival. Yesterday we presented together about the power of poetry to heal. We shared writing prompts from 90 Ways of Community and led a group of teacher-librarians to discover themselves as writers. The room was vibrating with their energy. We just don’t often take the time to write just for ourselves. It was a wonderful way to begin the 3 day festival.

Today’s prompt for #Verselove comes from Joanne Emery who shared a model poem from Joy Harjo, “Red Bird Love.” I used a striking line from Joy’s poem to write about my friend Mary’s butterfly garden.

Mary’s Invitation

In her garden, there’s
salvia, swamp milkweed, that
purple one
I forgot the name of: you
watch a swallowtail circle
tall parsley flowers, back
around to
orange pincushion pistils on a coneflower
for a taste of home.

Marcie Atkins has the line today for the Kidlit Progressive Poem.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Wooded Path

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, Acadiana Park Nature Station, metaphor, Patt Little photography on April 9, 2025| 3 Comments »

I borrowed this photo from Instagram. I’ve been to Acadiana Park Nature Station, but it was years ago on a field trip with students. I was drawn in by the path and thought about that tree, fallen across the path. How could this be a metaphor?

Metaphor can be elusive. Metaphor can be magical. Allan Wolf uses the phrase, “Metaphors be with you!” Think about metaphor today. Can you make it work in a small poem?

A Path Can Be

A path can be a crooked line
scribbled on a page.

A path can be a stopping place
to let the world pass by.

A path can be a rocky road
where every step is tricky.

A path can be a long, long road
that leads you to your home.

Margaret Simon, draft

The Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Tabatha today at The Opposite of Indifference.

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Slice of Life Day 30: Birds and Flowers

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged first poem, flowers, spring on March 30, 2025| 7 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

Spring is my favorite time of year
When the sky is blue and clear.
Birds are singing all around.
Flowers growing from the ground.

This verse was the first poem I remember writing. I was waiting for my mother to pick me up from my piano lesson and I was twirling around the tree in Miss Joe’s front yard. Maybe I was 12?

The words echo in my head today as spring is here. A week ago the cypress trees were still brown. Today they are bursting with bright green needles.

My friend Mary, who is a master gardener, sends me a photo every other day of flowers blooming. The fields that haven’t been mown are sparkling with purple and yellow wildflowers.

When I take my morning walk, the birds fill the page on my Merlin app.

Spring is my favorite time of year.

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Slice of Life Day 21: Poetry Friday: The Way to Breathe

Posted in nature, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, Bayou Teche, Ethical ELA, Just YA on March 21, 2025| 19 Comments »

EnneaThought® for the Day

Type Four EnneaThought®

“Are you still yearning for your ideal life? Appreciate the small daily pleasures, kind words, and heartfelt exchanges that are already present. You’re already more appreciated than you may think.”

I am a type four on the Enneagram. I’m the one who cries, who ponders over the past, and who turns to romanticism. Daily the message for me is to be present. Be still and know…

Recently I have felt rushed and busy. I try to take some time or myself in walks and in writing time. What space can I give to just being in the moment? How can I slow down to breathe and be present?

In poetry, I find a place to be present. When I write with specificity and imagery, I feel present. I also like the comfort of anaphora, a phrase that leads to a new thought. This poem I wrote in response to a prompt on Ethical ELA here from Sarah Donovan. She used the mentor poem “A Place to Breathe” by Christine Hartman Derr from a free Ethical ELA anthology Just YA.

There’s a Way to Breathe Today

It’s the way the sun
dapples the oak tree
with a halo of light.

It’s the way the cypress
needles pop out like
green leprechauns.

It’s the way a bayou
runs through and around
a town of ancestry.

It’s the way I sit
at my table with coffee
and a pen.
Margaret Simon, draft

I hope you find a little corner to breathe in today. Find stillness. Find peace. Write about it.

Don’t forget to sign up for a place in the Kidlit Progressive Poem.

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Rose Capelli at Imagine the Possibilities.

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Slice of Life Day 19: This Photo Wants to be a Garden

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged butterfly garden, ekphrasis, If poem on March 19, 2025| 11 Comments »

Each week I find a photo to write about. This form of poetry is called ekphrastic poetry, verse written in response to art. I invite my students to write alongside me on Fanschool. I ask my blog visitors, too. No pressure. If you feel inspired, write a small poem in the comments. Encourage other writers by visiting Fanschool or responding to writers here.

The spring means time to ready the butterfly gardens. This year I have to put my butterfly plants in pots due to a puppy that likes to discover things by nosing, peeing, and chewing. Last night he was chewing and chewing. When I finally scraped his mouth, I found an electric wire. Yikes! That could have caused all kinds of damage.

My poem today is after Amy Ludwig VanDerwater from a new anthology of poems by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, If I Could Choose a Best Day: Poems of Possibility. Each poem in the collection is an “If” poem. You can read Amy’s here on The Poem Farm.

If
after Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

If you could name a just right plant
for feeding pollinators this spring,
If milkweed, fennel, or parsley
are on your garden list,
swallowtails and monarchs, too,
may stop by this place for a day or two,
drop off an egg upon a leaf
to start a new life.

If you could name just one small plant,
and save it for the spring,
you’d plant a lifetime
once again
where butterflies can come
back home.

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Slice of Life Day 9: Morning on the Bayou

Posted in being mamére, Gratitude, nature, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Bayou Teche, being mamére, canoeing on March 9, 2025| 9 Comments »

“Do you know if there are lily pads, it means the water isn’t deep?” Leo, the 6 year old expert asked his sister Stella.

“Well, I can paddle through these lily pads,” Stella replied as she put her short metal paddle into the water.

Thirty minutes earlier, Stella, age 4, was unsure about getting into a canoe, but she quickly became a brave expert.

Stella stops to smile for the camera while Leo looks out for wildlife. The man in the stern is Papère.

“Look, Stella! I’m making a tunnel with my paddle!” Leo discovered how water passing over a paddle makes a wave.

“I see two, no four birds!” exclaimed Stella.

Papère asked, “Do you see those bubbles? That means there’s something under there.”

“Maybe it’s an alligator?” Leo responded with no fear in his voice.

As we paddled, we came across a real alligator. Here’s a video of our encounter.

Alligator encounter in the bayou. Estimated size 6 ft.

Our canoeing morning was just the right end to a weekend with our grandchildren.

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Slice of Life Day 5: This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Sky

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #sky, cherita on March 5, 2025| 41 Comments »

Welcome to my weekly photo prompt. A few years ago, Laura Purdie Salas held a weekly prompt called 15 Words or Less. When she decided to stop posting, I took the idea and made it my own. If this is your first time here, the idea is to write a quick, small poem draft in the comments and leave encouraging comments for other writers. I also post this prompt for my students each week on Fanschool. This week we have a break, so they may or may not join in.

I love to look up at the sky. On any given day, the sky can change my mood. On the day I took this picture, the clouds were wispy cirrus clouds that mean high air pressure and cooler temperatures. They are a happy contrast to storm clouds or the grey stratus of a winter day. Even as an adult I enjoy looking for images in the clouds. I took this photo while out on carline duty, so only now do I have the time to see the shapes. Do you do this? Can you find an image in the clouds? What do you imagine?

Did you know there are many names for colors of the sky?

Try to use one of the color words in your poem. Today I am writing a cherita. It’s a short form of three stanzas. The first line is one line, the second: two, the third: three. Similar to haiku, a cherita captures a small moment or story.

Carline Duty

Look into the Carolina blue sky.

Find the great white heron
with whispering white feathers.

Be curious about the secrets
of sky gods
who oversee the safety of children.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Ice Bubble

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged haiku, ice bubble, Molly Hogan, winter poems on February 19, 2025| 19 Comments »

Here is another amazing photo from my friend Molly Hogan. She had to work hard to capture this scene. She used bubble mixture and a straw. She said it took patience and that her hands were freezing. Sometimes what looks easy is actually hard work. The reward is in this amazing ice kingdom inside a bubble.

Ice Trees

A magical dome
where ice trees rise, multiply–
Still frozen kingdom
Margaret Simon, draft

Please leave a small poem in the comments and offer encouraging responses to other writers.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Cardinal

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged birds, cardinals, Molly Hogan, zeno poem on February 12, 2025| 15 Comments »

Molly Hogan doesn’t mind cold fingers. She takes amazing pictures around her home in Maine. She posted this one of a male cardinal all puffed up for the cold. The contrast of red on white makes the cardinal stand out. Recently I witnessed a cardinal couple in the fruit tree. The male was on the lookout while the female fed on the ground. It’s sweet how they care of one another.

This is the week we celebrate love with Valentine’s Day. I am sharing a zeno (8, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1) for the cardinal which symbolizes many things.

Hope and Renewal: The vibrant red plumage of male cardinals is often associated with vitality, strength, and renewal. Their presence can symbolize hope and the promise of new beginnings, particularly during challenging times. Love and Relationships: Cardinals are known for forming strong and lasting pair bonds. Because of this, they are sometimes seen as symbols of devotion, loyalty, and the deep connections found in romantic relationships and partnerships. (from the birdhouse.ca)

Use any form that works for you and leave a small poem in the comments. Be sure to spread poetry love with comments for others.

Cardinal Zeno

Filling the frozen bird feeder
cardinal spy
waits for
seeds
tweets out his call
while Mom
feeds
affectionate
bird heart
freed.
Margaret Simon, draft

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