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.
Blooming orchid
When I take my morning walk, the birds fill the page on my Merlin app.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
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.
Collage by Jone MacCulloch
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.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
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.
Butterfly Garden: Swamp Milkweed
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.
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.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Scrap metal on the bank of Bayou Teche
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.
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?
Sky blue colors from Pinterest
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
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Metal Sculpture by Ida Kohlmeyer at New Orleans Aquarium
Last week I met our friend from Maine, Molly Hogan, and her husband in the Quarter in New Orleans. She was visiting, and it was Jeff’s birthday, so we took the day off to visit with them during their vacation. One of the things we came upon (in addition to a fabulous walking parade) was a unique sculpture garden outside of the Aquarium of the Americas.
Further research identified these sculptures as being restored sculptures by artist Ida Kohlmeyer (1912-1997). The installation was supported by a grant to the Ogden Museum of Art. The sculptures are titled Aquatic Collonade Maquettes. AI defines this as “a small scale model, or “maquette”, that depicts a colonnade, which is a row of columns typically joined by an entablature, often used in classical architecture to create a covered walkway or part of a larger building.” For more information, click here.
I invite you to write a small poem about this sculpture. In the spirit of shared art, please encourage others with your comments.
I chose to write a cherita poem. A story poem told in three stanzas (1 line, 2 lines, 3 lines).
The collonade invites her in
with a curtsy and a bow, curly flowers in her hair.
She dances in her ocean dream obliviously happy among her aquatic guests. Margaret Simon, draft
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.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Every year at about this same time I look ahead to March and realize it’s coming. During the month of March for at least 10 years, I’ve written a daily post alongside many others for the Two Writing Teachers daily Slice of Life Challenge. I approach March with a sense of dread and excitement. Writing a daily post, looking at a blank page and filling it with something worthwhile, is daunting; however, after so many years of experience, I know that writing in a community of other writers drives me.
This month I’ve been writing with a Facebook community for Laura Shovan’s 13th annual February Challenge. I feel it’s an impossible task until I get it done and look at my collection of poems. Most of them are drifty drafts, but it pleases me to have written them.
The most common denominator I have seen among writers who commit to daily writing is the fear of writing for an audience, and the best feeling is having written for an audience. My students experience the same fear. They don’t know it yet, but I’ve signed them up for the classroom Slice of Life Challenge. Writing out loud for an audience makes us vulnerable, yes, but it also makes us strong and brave.
If you are planning to do the SOL Challenge, let me know in the comments. We can support each other.
Here’s a small brave poem I put on my Instagram yesterday. I was visiting Mississippi where my brother and my mother live. We met yesterday with a very sweet Hospice nurse, and for the first time, I left my mother feeling hopeful. There is a gift in small moments of hope. I’ll take it.
Morning walk encounter with hope rising from the lake like our heroic Hospice nurse who speaks in loving lift, healing hearts.
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
With Toto in her arms, Dorothy clicked her heals and repeated “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”
Brainstorm your thoughts around the word home. You may use Dorothy’s iconic words as a title. Or describe a place in your life that feels like home.
I used a form created by J. Patrick Lewis called the zeno based on a numerical sequence for syllable count: 8, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1 in which each one syllable line rhymes. For more examples, I found this 2014 post from Today’s Little Ditty.
Snow transformed home to wonderland, silent ocean of white flakes reminding us climate wakes imagine us safe from snakes.
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 