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Spiritual Journey: Blossoming

Posted in Gratitude, nature, Photography, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, #spiritualjourney, Georgia Heard, May flowers on May 1, 2025| 16 Comments »

Carol Varsalona is rounding up this month at Beyond Literacy Links.

“A world of grief and pain, flowers bloom—even then.” -Kobayashi Issa

Carol’s husband died recently and as she navigates her grief, I am pleased that she still wants to be involved in the wider world of blogging. I love the quote she offered by Issa. I received Georgia Heard’s newsletter in which she invites us to write small. Writing that is small can carry a large load or it can capture a small moment. Here’s Georgia’s May calendar of invitations.

Gardenia power
scents the whole kitchen with breaths
of grandma’s perfume

Flowers have brightened my daily walks this spring. With the sun rising by the time I head out with Albert, I’ve had more light to walk in. Sunrises, too, delight me. A spiritual journey is a daily practice of presence.

I invite you to write #poemsofpresence this month. I will post daily on Instagram. I will also give myself grace if I miss a day or two. May is about keeping myself grounded as the whirling ending of school presses upon me.

This desert rose thrives at my front door. Another blossoming welcoming spring.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Buttercups or Primrose?

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, buttercup, primrose, word poem on April 30, 2025| 5 Comments »

Growing up in Mississippi and now living in Louisiana, I always thought this flower was called a buttercup and grew wild on roadsides. This photo was taken in my neighborhood near the curb of an empty lot. These wild things love a bit of concrete to bloom from.

Yesterday when I googled them, I saw that I could actually buy seeds and that they were also known as a primrose. I love both of these names and wanted to play with them in a poem.

There is a poem form in which the first line is _______ is a ________ word. I came across this form when I was cleaning my classroom. Irene Latham had sent me two along with a collage in a summer poem swap who knows how long ago.

Buttercup is a bouncy word
open to the spring
of teacups with a dollop of honey
and lacy pink napkins.

Primrose is a proper word
holding out its pinky
ready to sip sweetness
among the wild grass.

Margaret Simon, draft

Please write a small poem in the comments and support each other with positive feedback.

The final line of the Kidlit Progressive Poem is with April Wayland at Teaching Authors. Hope over and give her some comment love, too. The line is a celebration. She’s asking for a title.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Fawn

Posted in nature, Photography, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #smallpoems, kouta poem, Lory Landry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on April 23, 2025| 11 Comments »

My friend Lory is a retired first grade teacher who now works at the Avery Island Country Store. She posted a picture of a small sleeping fawn. A sure sign of spring on “the island.” Today in my class, we are on the letter K for poetry month, so I am writing a kouta, aJapanese form that contains a quatrain with the syllable count of 7, 7, 7, 5 or 7, 5, 7, 5.

Early morn, she saw a fawn
a nestled speckled pillow
Where’s your mama, little one?
Can I be your friend?

Margaret Simon, draft

Please leave a small poem in the comments and support other writers with your comments.

The 2025 Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Ruth today: There is no such thing as a Godforsaken Town.

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National Poetry Month Day 15: Sunrise

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Progressive poem, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged #EthicalELA, #griefpoem, #nature, #poemsofpresence, #sunrise, #verselove on April 15, 2025| 8 Comments »

I am writing daily poems with Ethical ELA’s #verselove. Today’s prompt is with Brittany Saulnier.

Visiting my mother is filled with emotions for me. Bittersweet is a good word because she’s still here with us, but in many ways she is far from us. Her Alzheimer’s is advancing slowly at this point. Each visit she’s thinner and less able. Yet, she knows me and loves me and tries so hard to talk to me. This morning I will visit her before I drive back to Louisiana. Will this be the last time? Who knows?

At the hotel, I looked out at a beautiful sunrise. It reminded me of days sitting on the back porch with Mom and Dad looking at the lake behind their house. How I long for those easy days. There was always a heron that came to perch. All of these thoughts came when I read Brittany’s prompt to write about nature using 3 different colors.

Outside the hotel window in Ridgeland, MS.

Sunrise

I wake to sky color–
golden-white-lined gap
in purple-blue clouds

where sun rays sparkle
through
like angel wings.

Bittersweet grey clouds
hover high
like heaven’s shroud

reflected in heron’s stealth.

I imagine you next to me
with the news (all ghastly)
and your coffee mug steaming.

We sit in silence,
the silence of years between us
looking for the heron.

Margaret Simon, draft

The Kidlit Progressive Poem continues its ride through spring with Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link.

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

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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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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Mural Art

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Progressive poem, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged Ethical ELA, National Poetry Month, New Iberia, tricube on April 2, 2025| 18 Comments »

Mural in process at The Southern Linen Company, New Iberia, Louisiana

I was running late for a lunch date with friends, but I had to stop. The artists, Hannah Gumbo and Terez Molitor, were hard at work painting this bright and cheerful mural. A little while later, they stopped for lunch at the same cafe. I was able to get their names and thank them for their tireless work on the mural. They both lit up. Creating this art brought them joy. And now it will bring joy to passers-by. Public art is for everyone!

Can you write a small poem inspired by this photo? Join us in the comments. After you write, be sure to stop back by to leave some comment love on other writers’ poems. Together we are creating art with words.

At Ethical ELA Verselove, Leilya inspires us to write a tricube poem. This form is 3 stanzas of 3 lines with 3 syllables each.

Mural Art

In spring, red
dances with
yellow light.

Buds become
butterfly,
bee feeders.

Painted walls
fill my heart
with delight.
Margaret Simon, draft

The Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Tricia today.

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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 »

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 26: This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Cat in the Window

Posted in Blogging, Photography, Slice of Life, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Travel, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, Irish proverb, Jone MacCulloch, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on March 26, 2025| 28 Comments »

Cat in the Window, Kilcullen, Ireland by Jone MacCulloch

When I choose a photo to feature as a poem prompt, I choose what pleases me. Sometimes it’s a picture I’ve taken during the week, but this week it’s a photo that caught my eye on an Instagram post from Jone MacCulloch. I asked her if I could use it this week, and she sent me the photo and the collage she had made with it.

Jone wrote, “The piece you like is a mixed media piece. I have been playing with landscape scene. This was a cat in Kilcullin, Ireland, 2022. This has some pieces of my grandmother’s journal(copied). It’s part of a new exhibit in April.” Congratulations to Jone on her upcoming exhibit.

I love how blogging has opened windows and doors for me to creative people. Jone and I have not met in person, but we’ve been on multiple Zoom meetings together. We’ve had conversations through blogging and email. She featured this same photo on her blog for “Wordless Wednesday.” But I think the photo invites words.

Please join me in the comments by writing a small poem today inspired by Jone’s photo or art collage. Encourage other writers with comments.

“A cat’s eyes are windows enabling us to see into another world.” Irish proverb

Behind a lace curtain
on a warm windowsill,
a nonchalant cat
holds a light
until her people
come home.

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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 12: This Photo is a Metal Heart

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, 15 Words or Less, Bayou Teche, small poems, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on March 12, 2025| 21 Comments »

Is it trash or is it art? When my grandkids, my husband, and I were canoeing on Sunday, we passed this piece of metal.

“Look at that! It looks like a heart.”

“I want a photo of it.” Jeff knows what that means. He has often rerouted our canoe trips because of my directions to get a picture. I was extra pleased when, by the time we made it back to the “art”, there was a beautiful reflection of it in the bayou water.

I hope this photo inspires you to stop and see. Maybe write a small poem. If you write a poem, share it in the comments and encourage other writers with responses. Today, I wrote a 15 word poem.

If you find
still water,
place a piece
of your heart near;
reflect imperfect love.
Margaret Simon, draft

If you would like to participate in the Kidlit Progressive Poem for National Poetry Month, sign up in the comments on this post.

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