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Archive for the ‘Poetry’ Category

Sunday Stillness: #HaikuforHope

Posted in Photography, Poetry, tagged , on December 17, 2018| 1 Comment »

Photo by Molly Hogan.

Can I move beyond
my blindness, blink of darkness
and see His light?
(c) Margaret Simon

 

 

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#HaikuforHope: Approach of Winter

Posted in Poetry, tagged on December 15, 2018| 1 Comment »

On Friday, my students and I read a poem by William Carlos Williams, “Approach of Winter.”  I subscribe to a lesson email from Poets.org that is designed for middle and high school, but occasionally the lesson works for my kids, too. You can sign up for the weekly emails here. 

To get in the right mindset to write about the coming of winter, we walked outside.  The plan was to go to the garden, but heavy rain the night before left multiple puddles to navigate, and then it started to misty rain, so we ran back inside.  This didn’t lead into much amazing writing, but I later wrote a small poem about that misty rain.

Approach of Winter
after William Carlos Williams

The mist
like wet dust
tickles my nose
while clouds
hover
in grey sadness
dewdrops
of icy speckles
tasting
of coming cold.

(c) Margaret Simon

In keeping with the December haiku-a-day challenge, I turned thoughts to creating a shorter poem about coming winter.

Stratus clouds hover
yellow billows bending
Sweet sugar promise

(c) Margaret Simon

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#HaikuforHope: Bay St. Louis Sunrise

Posted in Photography, Poetry, tagged , on December 12, 2018| 1 Comment »

My friend, Chere’ Coen is a travel writer.  She posted some pictures this morning of a sunrise in Bay St. Louis, MS.  My dear friend Nettie loved Bay St. Louis.  She visited often and took me there once when we made a wrong turn on I10 and ended up going east instead of west.  I remember the sense of peace we both felt as we walked the beach looking for driftwood.  I still have that piece I picked up that day.  Nettie died in October after a battle with colon cancer.  Chere’s photograph made me miss her more and yet, feel at peace.

photo by Chere’ Coen

 

 

 

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#haikuforhope: Dancing

Posted in Poetry, tagged , , on December 11, 2018| 3 Comments »

Stop the Clock

When it’s time to dance,
you offer your hand, lead
me to step back spin.

(c) Margaret Simon

 

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Sunday Stillness: #haikuforhope

Posted in Poetry, tagged , , , on December 9, 2018| Leave a Comment »

You shine in glory
lighten my discontent
with the balm of love

(c) Margaret Simon
Christmas hymn found haiku

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#haikuforhope: Stardust

Posted in Poetry, tagged on December 9, 2018| 5 Comments »

One of the poets I am following for this month of daily haiku is Mary Lee Hahn.  She posted this poem today with a link to an article Are we really all made of stardust?  Fascinated both by this physics and my new grandson, I offer this #haikuforhope.

 

Nothing but hope
heart of a heavenly star
born as a child
(c) Margaret Simon

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Poetry Friday: Lion of the Sky

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, tagged , on December 6, 2018| 14 Comments »

Poetry Friday roundup is with Elizabeth Steinglass

Laura Purdie Salas is one the most clever poets I know.  In 2014, she invented a new form of haiku, the riddle-ku, when she decided to write riddle+mask poems for National Poetry Month. In Spring of 2019, a new book of riddle-ku poems will be available, Lion of the Sky. 

I received an advanced copy at NCTE.  For reading with small children, the illustrations give pretty strong hints to the answer to the riddle, so I didn’t show my middle grade students the illustrations until they “gave up.”  I was surprised both by the ones they guessed and the ones they missed.  Nevertheless, they had a good time playing along.

Then, of course, we wrote our own riddle-kus. I copied lines from Laura’s book onto popsicle sticks and let the students select a stick and decide how to use the line in their own riddle-ku.

Laura shared her webpage for this book which includes a padlet for students to post their poems.

Sprite+Mentos=Explosion

(This title is a shout-out to another of Laura’s new books, Snowman-Cold=Puddle)

Exploding red hot
lava oozing out on top
Dangerous! Don’t touch!

by Chloe, 3rd grade

Endless Parched Sea

Wide, curvy, golden
I am a sea needing rain
Memories within

by Madison, 5th grade

I wrote a few, too.  The one above with the picture of burning sugarcane fields, but my favorite is this one.  Can you guess what it’s about?

On the waiting page,
I flow from your colored pen
Word patterns counted

–Margaret Simon, (c) 2018

In the comments, take a guess for each poem.  Thanks!

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#HaikuforHope: Slice of Life: No explanation given

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged , on December 4, 2018| 13 Comments »

See more posts at Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life .

I am participating in writing a haiku-a-day in the month of December.  Follow the hashtag #haikuforhope on Twitter to read and join in.

I had news of a tragic death by suicide this weekend.  A former student. A creative soul. An enthusiastic friend who loved without condition. Why? No one knows.  Not even the ones who were closest to him.

I wish there were some way I could remain a person in my students’ lives, someone they could call whenever they needed someone to talk to without judgement.  They enter my heart when they are so young, 8, 9, 10 year-olds who know so very little about what lies ahead, but they are full of curiosity and longing. I love them when I have them, then I have to let them go.  They continue to grow and change and become grown-ups.  I may find them again on social media, but there are no guarantees.  I have to trust that the world will be kind.

I don’t think the world was kind to Walt.  He never fit in, conforming was not a part of who he was or who he could be.  He wanted so much more than the world could give him.  I really don’t know what could have gone through his head to make him choose death instead of life.  I need to let go again.  I have to trust that he is where he needs to be now, in the arms of an angel in heaven who can love him forever.

 

 

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#HaikuforHope: Keep Paddling

Posted in Poetry, Writing, tagged , on December 3, 2018| 3 Comments »

Sunday afternoon was so gorgeous we had to stop and take a canoe trip down the bayou.  The temperatures were in the 70’s which we won’t likely see again for a while as December begins to roll in on cooler waves.  I really believe that the cypress trees are more beautiful this year with their bronze needles that still cling to the branches.  We stopped by a neighbor’s house and chatted with her while a fat water snake slithered from a nearby bush.  Yes, it freaked me out, and I became jumpy.  Everything became a snake: branches, leaves, jumping fish, scurrying squirrels. But soon my heebie-jeebies subsided, and I enjoyed the scenery.  With the still water, the reflections were picture perfect.

December on Bayou Teche by Margaret Simon

Dusk, hawks are hunting,
Scouting a slithering snake.
Keep paddle moving.

(c) Margaret Simon

 

 

 

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Sunday Stillness: #HaikuforHope

Posted in Poetry, tagged on December 2, 2018| 5 Comments »

December morning by Margaret Simon

I am writing a haiku each day in December along with others in the kidlitosphere.  This morning I woke up to this beautiful view with the morning light creating perfect reflections in the bayou water.  It was calling for a poem.  The words became something between a haiku (5,7,5 syllable count) and a tanka (5,7,5,7,7 syllables)

Sometimes light rises
so illuminating, bright,
all life pauses
to look at its reflection.

(c) Margaret Simon

Yesterday on my morning walk I gathered fall leaves.  I don’t remember having such colorful leaves before, but maybe I just didn’t notice.  Linda Baie wrote about pressing leaves between waxed paper with her grandchildren recently.  She reminded me of this activity, so I pressed my leaf collection and taped it into my art journal.  This is the completed page.

A leaf turns yellow
falls without making a sound–
Earth’s hush releases.

(c) Margaret Simon

If you would like to join in the challenge, use the hashtag #haikuforhope and follow @MaryLeeHahn and @flynn_catherine and @LBaie on Twitter.

 

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