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Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

SOLC26 Day 4: This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Blue Ribbon

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , on March 4, 2026| 10 Comments »

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

Weekly (almost every) on Wednesday I post a photo as a prompt for poems. I invite you to craft a small poem response and type it into the comments. Please encourage other writers with your comments. This space is meant to be a low stakes drafting space.

Somewhere on Instagram I saw a poetry prompt to begin each line with because. I decided to give it a try today.

Friendship Park, Ridgeland, MS

Tie a Blue Ribbon Round the Branch

Because she was running and lost it in the wind.

Because his eyes are still blue

Because we are walking together in silence

Because rain is falling softly

Because the moon is full tonight

Because there is a war and someone is waiting at home

By Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Oil Spill Quilt

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Travel, Writing, tagged , , , on February 18, 2026| 2 Comments »

This weekend we visited the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, Mississippi. There was a special show entitled “Art Evolved: Intertwined.” The exhibit featured the “convergence of quilting and basketry—two ancient, tactile traditions reimagined through contemporary fiber arts.”

This quilt was titled “Oil Spill”. My friend commented, “How can something so cheerful and vibrant be about an oil spill.”

“Oil Spill” by Michelle Lipson, quilt included in “Art Evolved: Intertwined” exhibit at Lauren Rogers Gallery of Art.

My eyes focused on the center panel with the yellow and purple “road”.

A Drop of Oil

forms a perfect circle
on the sidewalk of her yellow-brick road—
jazz spills out on the streets of New Orleans.
Don’t forget your dancing shoes.
Step lightly over the mess
in the streets.
Margaret Simon, draft

While I didn’t attend Mardi Gras this year, my social media is full of the images of others reveling. It is a fun time, but not without its share of mess.

Please join me in writing a draft of a small poem and share it in the comments. Support other writers with your comments. Thanks for being here.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Owl Stump

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , on January 28, 2026| 11 Comments »

Tree stump owl

I’ve been walking a different route recently and have seen this weird owl in the neighborhood. Let it be your muse today. In the comments, write your own small poem and encourage other writers with your comments.

Today I’ve chosen a tricube form. Three syllables each line, three lines per stanza, and three stanzas.

Tree stump owl
wise without
words spoken

Sees everyone
walking by
winks through shells

Remember
where you go
who you are

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Enchanted

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged on January 21, 2026| 13 Comments »

Glasses in a tree root, photo by Margaret Simon

We haven’t had snow here in south Louisiana, but today on my walk I found a wooly glove missing its owner and these glasses that look like they were intentionally set into the oak tree root. Should I start collecting these items for the possibility of a snowman? Does the tree root have eyes to see? Some deep wisdom?

Having spent my weekend at a picture book writing retreat, everything becomes a possible idea for writing. Today, join me with your imagination and write a small poem in the comments.

I’m sharing a Zeno (8, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1 syllable count and the one syllable words rhyme) I wrote a few years ago that I’ve revised to go with this photo.

Enchanted

I follow the enchanted path
leading me to
unknown
trails.
I trust, listen
as wisdom
hails
mirrors and sounds
of charmed
tales.

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Camellia

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , on January 14, 2026| 13 Comments »

It is a new year, and I’ve been contemplating whether or not to keep posting photos on Wednesday. I’ve skipped a few weeks and the world keeps going. In 2026, I’ve chosen sacred simplicity as my one little word(s). What can be more simple and sacred than this pure white camellia blossom.

One of the gifts of living in the Deep South is camellias. They are in full bloom this month. People are talking about it. Was it the big freeze last year that brought on the full blooms this year? Nature knows.

If you are feeling a little lacking in the inspiration department, stop by and write a small poem.

My poem draft comes from a word card I chose from Georgia Heard’s newsletter for January, “Quiet” and uses an anaphoric word “Today.” The last line turned melancholic as I have experienced some losses this week.

Today
the downy white camellia blooms
quietly in the winter yard.

Today
the cold spills inside
touching my toes.

Today
seeds are waiting.
My heart is still.
Every note from songbirds
scratch the surface
of morning dew.

And I miss you.

Margaret Simon, draft

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Poetry Friday: This is January

Posted in Photography, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , on January 2, 2026| 17 Comments »

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core

This is January. Here we all are on the cusp of a new year. Catherine Flynn, fellow Inkling, challenged our group to write a poem with “This is January” as a title. I guess you could say the prompt has been in my mind since she posed it, but the words of a poem only appeared on my notebook page today. I took it on as a kind of list poem.

This is January

I open the door
to let the dog out
shiver from the cold.

A quiet hope whispers
in a voice
I recognize.

I keep dreaming
about children playing.
Awake now, I’m still humming.

Amaryllis grows
an inch each day
expectant red blossom.

Carolina wren fusses
calling to me
to be my first new year bird.

Cypress trees are bare, brown.
Their shade is not needed
resting, waiting.

My husband remarks,
”If there was a need
for cypress needles, we’d
be rich.”

We are rich, I think,
to be here
loving and living
each day.

Even in January…

Margaret Simon, draft

Winter cypress, photo by Margaret Simon

Here is how other Inklings answered the prompt:

Heidi @my juicy little universe
Mary Lee @A(nother) Year of Reading
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Catherine @Reading to the Core

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This Photo wants to be a Poem: The Earth Snake

Posted in being mamére, Photography, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , , on December 24, 2025| 5 Comments »

The Earth Snake by Leo LeBlanc

Yesterday was a full day of being Mamére with Leo, 7, and Stella, 5. We went on a walk in our neighborhood. There is a vacant lot where a new house will be built soon. They had done some dirt work, so there was a mountain of dirt. In the mud, Albert, my dog, had sniffed out a small snake, thankfully dead.

Being Mamére, I allowed Leo to carry the snake home. He gave it a bath and wanted to show everyone. When I brought them home, he opened his gift from my sister-in-law who came with me specifically to see the kids open their gifts from her.

He opened a huge set of paint markers and a new art tablet and immediately drew this illustration. He also wrote this story.

Leo’s writing, age 7 (1st grade)

Of course, he made this writer grandmother proud. Today, I am pulling from his writing a small poem. The elfchen form includes 1 word topic, 2 words, what topic does, 3 words, where or how, 4 words, what do you mean, and 1 word, outcome.

Snake
Lay dead
dug from earth
a young boy’s buried
treasure

Margaret Simon, draft

Please join me today in writing a small ekphrastic poem. Have a wonderful holiday! Thanks for being a dedicated reader and writer.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Native American Mural

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , on December 18, 2025| 6 Comments »

Denver Mural, photo by Mary Lee Hahn

Finding writing inspiration in the murals of Denver, this one took me two days to write, so I am posting on Thursday (rather than Wednesday) with a note about my process. I am experiencing some frustration with writing these days.

Yesterday when I looked at this image, I wrote “Her braid/ like a river/ binding her/ to the land.” I waited to see if something more would come to me.

Today I decided to play more with syllables and consider different articles (a river or a desert?) (binds her to her land or this land?)

I typed up the post and came back to it later. Sometimes the smallest of poems pose the hardest challenge.

Her braid, blue like sky,
like river in a desert
binds her to this land.

Margaret Simon, draft

If you find inspiration in this image, please write a small poem in the comments. Support other writers with your responses.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Nature Calls

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Travel, Writing, tagged , , , , on December 10, 2025| 7 Comments »

Photo by Mary Lee Hahn

After NCTE, my Inkling friend Mary Lee also stayed in Denver as a tourist. She sent me some of her photos of murals. I chose this one today to pair with Georgia Heard’s prompt “Write about a sound in nature that calms you.”

In my Wordle attempts this morning, I used the word “flame.” The line of hot pink at the bottom of this mural reminds me of the burning of cane fields that happens this time of year.

When you write today, can you find a word to use in a new way, playing with metaphor?

Morning wakes
with the call of barred owls
hooting up
a flame of grass fire
filling this day
with sweet light.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Denver Mural

Posted in Gratitude, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Travel, Writing, tagged , , , on December 3, 2025| 5 Comments »

Last week in Denver I took pictures of murals. They were everywhere. Today for this photo I chose this beauty.

Georgia Heard offers a monthly prompt calendar. Today’s prompt is to write 5 small things you are grateful for. After a very full Thanksgiving weekend, I am enjoying the silence of this cold morning.

  1. Morning quiet
  2. Warm poodle on my lap
  3. Fog on the bayou
  4. Sleep
  5. Writing

In gratitude, I offer this small poem. Please consider writing your own small poem in the comments. Encourage other writers with your responses.

In her silent reverie,
she doesn’t notice
the squirrel on the ground
lifting a tiny petal
she dropped,
joining her in gratitude.

Margaret Simon, draft

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