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Archive for the ‘Poetry’ Category

Altered Books

Posted in Poetry, Teaching, Writing on May 25, 2012| 2 Comments »

Seriously,
What do you want to do?
Today.
Be ridiculous.
Just try.
Write my own story.

I took a workshop this year on creating altered books. The process is fairly simple but a little time consuming. You take a discarded, old book. Tear out pages, glue together some of the pages to add thickness, and prepare the surface with gesso. I started mine at the workshop and then left it on the shelf to come back to later. I found some old discarded books for my students and introduced the idea. I offered them this option when they were doing poetry projects near the end of the year. A few of my students took this option and spent the time to create their poetry books. I decided to save them for next year, so they can add to them.

As I was cleaning my classroom this week with no more gifted services for my students, I pulled out my altered book. I decided to use it to gather the poems I had written alongside my students during the year. I would gesso a page, then work on something else, come back and paint the page, then glue on the printed poem. What fun to add a little interest to these last boring, chore-filled days. Students came in and out to talk, play on the computer, or join me in painting. A satisfying, creative end to the school year.

Cloud Watching Haiku
Cloud mountains float by
Making storybook pictures
Sun a background glow.
Glowing moon crescent
Above the grandmother oak
Through the branches winks.
Wink at the window,
Flicker of lightning startles.
Spring storm showers come.

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Skinny Odes

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged , , , on May 15, 2012| 2 Comments »

Join the Tuesday Slice of Life

In my classroom, things are winding down to the last day, and we are only on P in our journey through the ABCs of poetry.   Yesterday, we wrote skinny odes for the letter O.  The skinny ode lesson I used was from a master poetry teacher, the late Sandford Lyne.  Sandy was so good at front loading, getting us ready to write.  I often rush through this step.  But on Monday, I decided to take the full ride, no short cuts.  So I read a few Pablo Neruda odes along with some other models Sandy had given us.  Then I led a full brainstorm exercise.  The questions asked about everything from shape to taste with many other questions in between, 16 in all.  The kids grumbled about all the questions, but they worked.  We writers had plenty of ideas for writing our skinny odes. The trick when writing skinny odes is to fold the paper hotdog style down the center and not to write over the line.  This keeps your lines short or skinny.   I will feature my ode and one of my students, a third grade gifted writer.

Ode to a Student

O, how you look
with curiosity
at the pages
of your book,
studying, learning,
making crevices in your brain.
How can I reach in?
Will you listen to me?
Enter my room in
wonder, ready
to create, think,
question, answer,
be yourself.

Can we walk together?
Forge ahead,
make new inventions,
new ideas,
write new stories?
Together, not as parent
and child, but coach
and team.
Shout the cheer!
The world is ready
to hear you.
Be kind.
Discover horizons.
Make known
your potential.
Be the best
you can be!

Ode to a Canvas
by Kylon

White rectangle,
my hands stretch over it.
I stroke it with a dry brush,
light strokes
testing myself,
testing my painting skills.
Paint finally collides
creating sprouts of orange and red.
The rectangle’s blanketed now.
Paint everywhere,
a season on material.
Coats and layers,
swirls of yellow
leaves fly back and forth,
a fall masterpiece.

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A Gray and Green Day

Posted in Poetry, tagged , , on May 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »

A friend, mentor, fellow blogger, Diane Moore resides half the year in Sewanee, Tennessee.  I don’t think she has quite embraced the gray landscape of Gothic architecture and mountain mists.  Today, her blog came to me while I was looking out on our warm green landscape and feeling tired.  I loved her words and composed a found grossblank.  Found because these are her words.  Grossblank because there are 12 lines of 12 syllables.  Here’s to the contrasts of colors in our lives:

A Gray and Green Day

For Diane Moore

This neutral color of gray pervades The Mountain
This morning.  Gentle rain, iron-colored sky mists.
Pearl, charcoal, silver, gunmetal replace old gray–
Pessimistic hue no more uplifting than fog.
Color dignified by Gothic architecture.

To be creative, stare at green life, lighten up.
Walk in the woods; Alleviate anxiety.
Sacred shades of green and blue signify a new
Paradise of painted oceans, spirits lifted.

Poetry in emerald peace, trees leafing out.
Grass drinking dew, mint fragrant in spring memory.
Even the sky is the color of my opera.

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Writing with Jack

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged , , , on May 8, 2012| 2 Comments »

This weekend our family gathered for the graduation of my youngest daughter from college.  What a whirlwind of events and emotions!  One of the treats for me was spending time with my nephew, Jack, who, at the end of his first grade year, is beginning to learn about the power of his words.  To my delight, his teacher uses writers’ workshop.  Prominently posted on the family refrigerator is Jack’s latest composition, a three-paged story about his two dogs.  He used words like “mischievous” and distinguished the two dogs as one is a “licker” and the other a “sniffer.”

Jack has his mother’s old iPhone.  Even with a cracked face, he enjoys using it to email.  So we started an email exchange.  He started with a typo that led to a little poem.  Being a poetry fan as well as a teacher, I prompted him on to create another poem.  I have transposed our exchange here.  Jack’s words are italicized.

I’m so gladys…

I’m so gladys, too, but mostly I love my Jacky.

I’m so gladys, too, but mostly I love you.

When we’re together,

We like to

Read, talk, and tell stories.

We tell our stories at night

When all is calm and quiet.

What is your favorite story?

Magic treehouse deep sea ocean.

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Grossblank Challenge

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged , , , on May 1, 2012| 8 Comments »

I kind of gave up on the 30 Day Poetry Challenge, not intentionally, but life got in the way.  I got stuck on one challenge, then just plain refused to write a poem about a car, so I quit.  I did not, however, give up on challenging my students to write a different poetic form each day.  And I write with them, so technically I am still taking the poetry challenge.

In our classroom ABC daily poem challenge, we were on G on Thursday.  The only poetic form I could find for G was a Grossblank.  Grossblank is a poem with 12 lines of 12 syllables (a gross) written in blank verse, no rhyme.  Because I thought this form was particularly challenging, I allowed them to write a quarter Grossblank, 6×6.  Also to help bait the poetry fishing hook, I gave them lists of wordgroups, a technique introduced to me by my poet-friend-mentor Sandford Lyne.  So with groups of words in hand and fingers for counting, we got to work on our poems.

Once again, my students amazed me.  My fifth grader and sixth grader took the full challenge.  Kaylie is obsessed (and that’s putting it mildly) with Hunger Games.  Her poem, while it draws on the theme of the series, can stand alone.  Colby is new to my class, but he is slowly discovering his inner poet.  His poem draws a deeper meaning while he contemplates mirage and reality, a quite sophisticated theme, I think, for a sixth grader.  If you enjoy their poetry, please leave a comment that I can share with them.  They would love to hear from you.

But What’s to Come
by Kaylie
(inspired by and dedicated to the Hunger Games)

At sunrise, she runs, barefoot, in leaves of green, words
do not come to mind. She dunks under the fence, into
the woods, where stores are not seen, and hunger isn’t
abroad. Where no trespassing takes place. Into dreams,
she runs past men and voices, beyond the breaking
dawn, into a swirl of familiar places.
She lifts her bow at a rustle, her arrow finds
a home in a rabbit’s eye. She gathers berries
of the sweetest aroma, breath in the air, hush.
Out of the woods, names are called, unpromising to
the tributes, for they must survive to be victors.
Through the darkest times, many deaths will come alive.

The Magic Touch
by Colby
Along the road in the hot summer sun, a dog,
a mirage in the dust wandering in his wake.
The heat is unbearable with the sun floating,
unforgiving in the open. No shade in the still.
Starting to feel abandoned. Far, far, away. Fear
in his soul like a pup separated, detached
from its kin. The miraged dog leading the lonely.
Walking barefoot in along the trails through thick dust.
He walks and roams in spite of hunger and fatigue.
Still he follows the dog, his wake, his destiny.
The dog is getting closer. It’s close enough to
touch.The man speeds up inching ever closer. Touch. Oasis.

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Sunset in River

Posted in Poetry, tagged , , , on April 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Ekphrasis: Poetry confronting a work of art.

I was first introduced to this poetry form by my mentor and Louisiana’s 2011 poet laureate Darrell Bourque.  In our workshops, Darrell would pass around a postcard collection of works of art and inspire us to write.  This was usually successful for me, so I have passed this process on to my students.  The book I use most is Heart to Heart, edited by Jan Greenberg. In her book, the poems are placed beside the work of art.  I use this book to model the different forms ekphrasis can take.  The ekphrastic poem can be a description loaded with imagery or a story poem in which the poet becomes a part of the painting.  Here is a link to my students’ poems on our classroom wikispace: http://gtallstars.wikispaces.com/Ekphrastic+Poetry

Today I wrote with my students as I usually do.  I have this beautiful book of the River of Words award winners. The painting I chose was titled Sunset in River.

by Khumar Gumbatova, age 13

The sunset becomes a rainbow
in fields where
silhouettes of trees
stand like soldiers
guarding this sacred land.

Sun reddens water
now a glowing sea where
hidden flowers grow.

Sometimes
at sunset I imagine
all life praises
God.

The 30 Day Poetry Challenge Day 23: Write a seven line poem that begins with “it’s true that fresh air is good for the body” (from Frank O’Hara’s poem “Ave Maria”) and ends with “this is our body” (from Gary Snyder’s “The Bath”).

It’s true that fresh air is good for the body.
Breathe with your eyes closed like the sleeping Tom;
Taste the sweet honeysuckle nectar
while the wind tickles your cheek,
and you listen for the distant call of the cardinal
red in his cocky plumage.
This is our body.

Buzz naps while I write. He inspires a line.

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More Poetry Challenges

Posted in Poetry, tagged , , on April 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Catching up on the 30 Day Poetry Challenge:

Day 19: Imagine yourself performing any household task/chore, then write a poem using what you’ve imagined as an extended metaphor for writing: an Ars Poetica.

Ars Poetica on a Stained Shirt

Coffee spilled on my shirt,
early morning stain
I’d wear all day.
Cover it with a cardigan,
hidden and unnoticed.
Spray-n-Wash
launder clean
fresh and new.

Poem spills out on my notebook page,
early morning musings
I’d think about all day.
Scratch out words,
Incubate-launder
with revision.
Type onto a clean page
here for you.

Day 20: Write a narrative poem detailing a specific childhood memory.

Growing up Beside Purple Creek

A concrete slab becomes a waterfall.

A tree is a cabin in the woods.

Dirt-filled lots are caves for dolls.

A trampoline tarp makes an acrobat’s stage.

We put on another play for the neighbors in the garage.

Listen for the whippoorwill to call us home for supper.

Come home, come home, come home!

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A Cardboard Box

Posted in Poetry, tagged , , , on April 18, 2012| 1 Comment »

30 Day poetry challenge: Day 17 Write a poem that employs a rhyme scheme.

Race me to the door in a speedy machine!

My sister has been posting for days about cardboard boxes that my niece and nephew have made into a variety of imaginary things.  Oh, the joys of childhood!  And hats off to my sister for allowing these huge things to remain in her living room for days.  I think we should collaborate on a children’s book or maybe I’ll just write a poem for the poetry challenge.  Wherever your imagination takes you.

What can we create with a cardboard box? I know.
A slippery sled to ride in the imaginary snow.
Maybe a spaceship the flies to the moon!
Or the basket part of a hot-air balloon.
I can imagine the most perfect thing.
Race me to the door in a speedy machine.
Before our momma throws it out
Let’s make a clubhouse and lounge about.
Be sure to bring your favorite book
To curl up with in my
cardboard box-spaceship-speedboat-reading nook.

Cardboard box-spaceship-speedboat-reading nook

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The Knockout Punch

Posted in Poetry, tagged , , on April 13, 2012| 2 Comments »

30 Day Poetry Challenge: Day 13 Write a poem a child would like.

When I teach writing to students, we workshop our writing pieces.  I write when they write.  I pass out sticky notes. (Kids love colorful sticky notes.)  They label their notes with a plus, a question mark, and a triangle.  We call these notes “Criticycles.”  They are our way of critiquing.  The plus is something you like, the question mark a question, and the triangle a suggestion for a change.  When I saw the challenge for today, I thought, “That will be easy.”  All I needed to do was look through my school journal and find a page full of sticky notes that told me I had caught a good poem.  This poem I wrote in writing camp last summer.  (I am doing two this summer, so leave me a comment or send an email if you are interested.)

We take a writing marathon on one day of the writing camp.  On the marathon, we tour around town with writers’ eyes.  Most shop owners are happy to have us come in when we say we are writers.  On this day, we went into the downtown bookstore.  I had a discussion with one of my students and her mother about the book, “Heaven is for Real.”  Then I opened it up and stole a line.  This jump-started my poem.  The illustration shows the criticycles from my students, so I knew I had a winner.  Sometimes when fishing for poems, we catch one.  Sometimes, we catch a boot.  My students usually let me know loud and clear what I have caught.

The knockout punch is the one they didn’t see coming.
Like the wave that flips your peaceful float
Twirling you under the salty water
whipping you upside down
You can see the air, the reflection of sunlight calls you up
Can you find it?
Will you swim long enough to catch a breath?
Will you find the shore?

Relax.
Release tension.
Don’t fight the wave.

God will take you in His arms
and carry you home.

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Lists of Spring

Posted in Poetry, tagged , , on April 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

30 Day Poetry Challenge: Write a list poem.

A Perfect Spring Day

Mating call of a mockingbird
Rhythmic chimes faintly heard

A gentle breeze rustles the trees
Open blossoms fragrant sweet

Rippled stream, greenest green
Field of grass, fertile and clean

Far away song of a fisherman
Cumulus cloud hiding the sun

Days like these are far and few
Writing poems here with you

Darby’s Poem:

If I were a bird, I’d belong to the sky.
If I were a bird, I’d be fearless and brave.
If I were a bird, I’d do my own thing.
If I were a bird, I’d make my own song.
But most of all, if I were a bird,
I’d soar long, high,
and free.

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