Poetry | Reflections on the Teche

Archive for the ‘Poetry’ Category

NPM16: #2 Celebrate Poetry

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Poetry, Writing, tagged columbarium, NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Month, Spanish moss, spiritual journey on April 2, 2016| 12 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

In the month of April, the whole Kidlitosphere lights up for National Poetry Month. There are so many exciting projects going on.

The gatherer of all Kidlit poetry postings is Jama at Jama’s Alphabet Soup.

Today the Progressive poem is here with Joy.

Click the NaPoWriMo button for more about daily writing prompts and poem sharing.

I am writing a poem-a-day to images. You can join me by leaving a poem in the comments or a link to your blog. Use #imagepoems on Twitter. Today’s image is Spanish moss. It hangs all over the trees in my neighborhood.

Spanish Moss

Columbarium

Moss crawls like skeletons in the trees,
a lacy tent for playful squirrels.
Even my cat, usually lolling and lazy,
joins in the chase, paws at the waving ghosts.

The moss speaks to the heavens,
the heavens that opened up with wind
and a storm yesterday when we placed
your ashes in the dovecote

outside the church
where you can live forever
in the eyes of God, or, at least, I’ll
say hello when I pass by on Sunday.

We do not know what time
has prepared for us
to walk in or to walk out
with ashes on our foreheads,
and now you are ashes in the tomb.

What does this say about the squirrels?
Do they know something?
Who are they chasing?

–Margaret Simon

Process: When I wrote the poem to this image of moss, I had returned from a funeral for a church member. I did not know him well, but every funeral is a deeply spiritual experience. And I was moved by the sudden wind and heavy rain that fell immediately following the placement of his urn into the columbarium. I looked up columbarium on Wikipedia and found the word origin of “columba” refers to the compartments used for doves, dovecote. I somehow think Charles will like playing in the trees with cats and squirrels. And now that I have written it, I will say hello to him when I pass each Sunday.

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National Poetry Month Day 1

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged #imagepoems, NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Month, Poem a Day on April 1, 2016| 17 Comments »

#imagepoems Day 1 image

Today is April 1st and April Fool’s Day. I have fooled myself into thinking I can write a poem every day in April to an image. This first image was a joke played on me when I entered the bathroom at Ann Taylor Loft. “Watch out for the mannequins.” I was warned. I imagined they had wisdom to share. I also tried to play with the “in” sound. (Note: If you are playing along with me, put your poem or a link to it in the comments.)

Wisdom of the Mannequins

Appreciate the bare skin of things.

Sometimes it pays to be a skinflint.

Stand up straight and let your hips glide.

Don’t underestimate the power of a soft brush of blush.

Listen with a tinted ear.

You want to fit in the skin you’re in.

Bend, blend, and be happy.

–Margaret Simon

Poetry Friday round-up with Amy at The Poem Farm.

The Progressive poem begins at Laura’s site: Writing the World for Kids.

Jessica Bigi is joining in the poem-a-day image poems with this taste of spring today:

Moonbeam crowns
Embroidered bumblebee gowns
Brassy trumpet jazz
Teacup gardens steeping
Sweet is spring’s song
Spades Queens Kings

–Jessica Bigi

Art by Jessica Bigi

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SOL16: #31 Bold

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged April, image poems, NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Month on March 31, 2016| 14 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

Join the Spiritual Thursday round up at Reading, Teaching, Learning.

Today is the last day of March. I find it hard to believe that I have actually written a blog post every day in March. The Slice of Life Challenge is just that, a challenge. Thank you for reading and responding.

Appropriately for this day, Spiritual Thursday’s one little word is Donna Smith’s word BOLD. Being bold is what it takes to put yourself and your life out there for the world to see.

So here I am thinking about continuing a bold move toward the month of April. April is National Poetry Month. What should I do but write a poem a day? I’ve posted my blog here at NaPoWriMo and committed to the challenge. I will be writing poems to images. #imagepoems

Would you consider joining me? No pressure. No rules. Just drafting and playing with words inspired by images. You can use your own images or write about mine. If I get my act together, I may post the next day’s image in the post.

I draw inspiration from other brave writers like Elisabeth Ellington. She wrote a two word poem about her son yesterday. Read the post here.

This is my bold statement about the Slice of Life Challenge in a two word list poem.

I’m here
this page
torn out
left open
for you
a slice
of life
nothing special
ordinary days
my story
your story
we connect
ideas flow
ideas stop
one moment
in time
leads to
friends talking
laughing with
crying with
loving with
each other
Slices done
bold words
left here
for you
and me.

Image for April Fool’s Day:

I was shopping in Ann Taylor Loft. This is what I found in the bathroom.

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SOL16: #21 Spring Sunrise

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged bayou, nature, poetry, red buckeye on March 21, 2016| 11 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

Spring sunrise by Margaret Simon

First morning of spring, my husband said, “You’re missing a show outside.” He was right. I grabbed my camera and went out on the deck in my PJs. The air was cool, but the sun was coming up sending a beam of light down the bayou. There was a slight fog flying over the bayou. My mind wandered to poetry.

When the fog floats above the water
like it is today, I believe
I could walk on water,
strap on my angel wings
and move toward the light.

Could heaven be as beautiful as this?

–Margaret Simon

My friend Susan brought me a seedling of a Red Buckeye tree. Her note said, “I sprouted this seedling from a buckeye in our yard, so it should do well in yours also. I would recommend leaving it in its pot until next January keeping it watered and in partial shade. Hope that it thrives for you. Happy Spring!”

I have high hopes for this little tree. The problem is I usually kill plants. But this one came to me in the spirit of spring, new life. It must live, right? It has angel wings.

My red buckeye seedling

Blooming red buckeye

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SOL16: #18 Writing is like Praying

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Slice of Life, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged broken, nature, Sister Helen Prejean on March 18, 2016| 22 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

Poetry Friday round-up with Robyn Hood Black.

Writing is like praying, because you stop all other activities, descend into silence, and listen patiently to the depths of your soul, waiting for true words to come. When they do, you thank God because you know the words are a gift, and you write them down as honestly and cleanly as you can.

– Helen Prejean C.S.J.

Broken Pottery by Sweet Tea

Broken
shards of unwanted
clay, rock, soil
litter the ground.

There, unharmed, her hidden heart–
once protected by
earth mother, soft and dark,
now bravely

open like the flowers
in an abandoned field,
reaching for light.

–Margaret Simon

When you open yourself to the world, it will reveal itself to you. I opened two different emails. The first from Laura Shovan. She sent me the Sister Helen Prejean quote. A gift of a gift.

The second was Tabatha Yeatts’ blog post here. This image of the broken pottery grabbed me, and I opened the note on my computer and composed this poem. I know it comes from my heart that aches for a child whose home is not as it should be. Yet she is exactly who she should be, open and kind and full of joy. This broken pot. Her full heart. My attention.

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SOL16 #16 Don’t be too Serious

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged student poetry on March 16, 2016| 10 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

I am an adult, and sometimes I just plain take myself too seriously. The last few days have brought some heavy news: The loss of someone who was once an important mentor to me, the observation from my administrator in order to give me a score for my teaching expertise, and the necessary surgery for my dog on an infected mole. The list adds up and weighs on my shoulders. I start to feel stressed and worried and somewhat out of control.

Then a child, one who faces what comes each day with absolutely no control, comes to me for a hug. Another child realizes a gift that she has for music is being recognized. And this child, a first grader, writes a ditty on her blog. I discovered it when I came home and started checking my Kidblog site. It brought a smile to my face and lightened my load. I hope it does the same for you.

I look outside, It is flooded. It is not that bad, but it is still flooded. When my mother told me to go get the mail, I could not even get by the mailbox. That is bad! There was water all around the mailbox. It was terribly crazy. When I saw it from window view, I thought this song up.

It is raining,

It is pouring,

I wish I was snoring,

I wish I were in bed,

So I would not bump my head,

And I would be able to get up in the morning.

Macaroni and Cheeze,

Yes, please!

Goodbye, Popeye!

–Lynzee, 1st grade

Reading time

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SOL16 #15 She Gave me a Rock

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, Today's Little Ditty on March 15, 2016| 12 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

Over at Today’s Little Ditty, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes interviewed Amy Ludwig VanDerwater who set out a challenge this month to write about small things. We wrote our poems on Friday and I posted some student poems here.

When my kids write, I write. I looked at my desk for inspiration and found the rock. We had decided to do something nice for teachers, so Emily brought in rocks. My students wrote inspirational words on the rocks and gave them out to teachers. This was a Halloween treat, so this rock has been sitting on my desk for a while. I think it was supposed to go to the art teacher, but whatever, there it sat…and inspired this prose poem in me.

She gave me a rock,
a smooth small stone
on which she wrote a quote
from a book about a boy who was bullied.

If you have a choice
of being right or being kind,
be kind.

Thirteen words to turn
my attention everyday
to the world
of choices, that choice
within myself to be kind.

I take her small kindness
into my hand and wonder
about the river bank
the stone lived in before,
a place where violent waves
smoothed rock.

I wonder
about the larger truth:
Can violence smooth out
the edges and leave behind
kind?

–Margaret Simon

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SOL16 #14: Green is Here!

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged cypress tree, green, nature poem on March 14, 2016| 11 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

New growth on cypress.

After all the grey clouds and rain, rain, rain,
green appeared today,
waking up from a long sleep,
twinkling in the sunlight.

The cypress trees are happy now,
their toes dipped in the water,
their needles as bright
as a neon sign.

“We’re waking up!” they say.
“Come see our new growth
soft as a baby’s forehead,
sweet as honeysuckle.”

Even the weeds are perky today,
pushing out tall stalks
beyond the brown grass,
topped with yellow buttercups.

Turn off your worrying mind.
It’s a day to open
windows and sneeze
Hello to Spring!

Resurrection fern on the old cypress.

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SOL16: #12 Celebrating Chalkabration

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Chalk-a-bration, Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, chalk poetry, marbleized paper, Today's Little Ditty on March 12, 2016| 13 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

Chalkabration is a favorite in my class, but we haven’t done it in a while. This great way to write and share poetry was created by Betsy Hubbard, one of the Two Writing Teachers’ Team. It usually falls on the last day of the month. I like to have something special happen on Fridays as a reward for a week of hard work. My students have been writing every day. They are reading and working hard, so yesterday I brought in chalk and art paper.

First we had to write poems. On Michelle Barnes’ site Today’s Little Ditty, she interviewed one of our favorite poets, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, about her new book Every Day Birds. Last year we Skyped with Amy on the day she had received the proofs for this book. We had an exclusive sneak peek at the book. Amy’s Ditty of the Month Challenge is to write about something small. (And I just happen to have a treasure box full.)

After we wrote and shared our poems, my students used Sharpie markers to write out their poems on art paper. Here comes the fun part. Into a bucket of water, we scraped chalk, placed the paper in and Viola! marbleized paper! We used Prang Freart Large Drawing Chalk.

Here is a collection of chalked poems.