Poetry | Reflections on the Teche

Archive for the ‘Poetry’ Category

Reach

Posted in Poetry, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged Author Amok, Laura Shovan, OLW, Reach on February 5, 2015| 3 Comments »

Click here to read more #spiritualjourney posts. Thanks Holly for hosting this roundup!

Since the new year, Holly has gathered our spiritual journey posts about each person’s one little word. Today my word Reach is the featured theme.

I haven’t really settled in with my OLW yet. Reaching takes active work. It’s not a passive word. I can’t just sit back on it and wait. I have to go out there and do something about it. I want to embrace this word Reach, but on these cold wet winter days, I’d rather be lazy, curl up with my dog and rest. Exercise another day.

I stretch my sore, tired muscles.
I look at the amaryllis, now wilting.
I notice new growth, a new stem creeping up alongside the blossom.
Where did that come from?
Sometimes without us even noticing, God plants new growth.
We can bloom again.

I chose Reach for completely selfish reasons. I have a few writing projects that I am working on and others I am thinking about. I set a goal to move forward with writing, to Reach for publication. Maybe I should have chosen a braver word, like Courage.

This month a Poetry Friday blogging friend, Laura Shovan, has started a poetry project to celebrate her birthday. I have been writing a poem each day to a posted sound. This project is stretching my writing muscles and giving me a creative place to go each day. Am I Reaching? I can think about this writing as stretching, exercising, and moving my writing muscles. All a part of Reaching. Follow this link to read poems about a thunder storm sound.

Perhaps when I read all the Spiritual Journey posts about my OLW I will embrace it, feel it, want to, own it. Today, I will Reach for Reach.

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Sound Poetry Project

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Christine Balfa, Haiku Deck, Laura Shovan, Sound poetry on February 2, 2015| 5 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Laura Shovan creates a writing challenge every year for her birthday month of February. Last year she posted different Pantone colors as prompts. This year she is posting sounds. On Feb. 1st, she featured my poem along with some of my favorite Poetry Friday friends’. Click here. I am enjoying the path of discovery this writing challenge is taking me on.

The sound for today is angel chimes. You can listen to them here.

I went to Haiku Deck to write a haiku about Spanish moss. The tinkling of the chimes made me think of the rhythm of the moss blowing. I recently took pictures of the moss, not knowing that it would lead to this poem.

When I wrote the line, “Spanish moss two-step,” I liked it so much that I wanted to re-write the other lines to make them fit. So I Googled Cajun triangle. What came up was a 2012 NPR story about Christine Balfa. In the feature, she is heard playing solo triangle which sounds a lot like the Swedish angel chimes. So Christine made it into the poem.

Christine has recently been nominated for a grammy with a group of women musicians called Bonsoir, Catin which means “Goodnight, Darling.” . I am excited that my quest for a line of poetry led me to her music and memories of two-stepping to Bonsoir, Catin.

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Cat Talk

Posted in Gifted Education, Poetry, Poetry Friday, tagged Barry Moser, cats, Patricia Maclachlan, Wonderopolis on January 30, 2015| 6 Comments »

Join the roundup over at These 4 Corners with Paul.

Have you ever wondered why a cat lands on all fours or why its tongue is rough or if he really has nine lives? These are some Wonders you can explore on Wonderopolis.
I am a cat owner. I’ve had many cats in my life from my first cat Tommy to the meanest cat ever, Mimi. Years ago I picked up this beautiful poetry collection by Patricia MacLachlan and her daughter, Emily. The illustrations were done by one of my favorite artists, Barry Moser. I could spend time petting his cats. I love the poems because they do not rhyme. I am not a rhyming poet, and more and more, I embrace this fact of my poet-life. These poems captured the personalities of each cat from Tough Tom who climbs through the window to Peony who under all her fur is little.

I asked my students to notice the literary elements. We talked about many: personification, onomatopoeia, metaphor, simile, imagery, and alliteration. When writing our own poems, let’s try to use at least one of these elements.

Reed wrote while I read the poems. He was thinking about what Shakespeare said about the nine lives of a cat, “For three he plays, for three he strays and for the last three he stays.” – See more at: Wonderopolis

Bad Kitty

For three, he plays and plays with me.
Why, is it a sight to see.
The way he’ll twirl and whirl looking like a squirrel,
I start to wonder is he a boy or a girl.

Next three he stays in the allies on the streets.
Many people who look may think he’s sweet.
Trust me he’s not. I’m not sure he loves me.

The last he will stay and curl up with me
as I know I must let him free
onto heaven with a cat trinity.
–Reed

Tyler has experience with cats, too. His poem reflects found lines from Maclachlan’s poems.

A Cat’s Needs

The black shadows of the night,
Stalking their prey so silently,
Quietly licking your ankles,
and lying on your face
not wanting to move.
They have many things that
they like to do.
–Tyler

Emily illustrated her poem and took a picture of me and Jack (the lemur) holding it up.

Mimi has no interest in poetry or Henry.

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Thesaurus Poetry

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Poetry, Teaching, tagged Billy Collins, Canva, thesaurus poem on January 25, 2015| 5 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

When my students were working on their One Little Words, I discovered how much fun thesaurus.com can be. I was curious if there was a form for thesaurus poetry. A Google search turned up a funny metaphorical poem by Billy Collins. You have to love a sarcastic poem that ends with a love story between two words.

I would rather see words out on their own, away
from their families and the warehouse of Roget,
wandering the world where they sometimes fall
in love with a completely different word.
Surely, you have seen pairs of them standing forever
next to each other on the same line inside a poem,
a small chapel where weddings like these,
between perfect strangers, can take place.
See complete poem here.

The assignment: Choose a word. Write it in capital letters. Find 4 synonyms. Write those in a second line. (Pick the easiest word to rhyme for your last word.) Then write a phrase that ends with a rhyming word. As a class, we wrote this poem.

MAGICAL
Imaginary, mythical, enchanting, spellbinding
Potions of my mind unwinding.
–Mrs. Simon’s Caneview class

I let the students go. When one or two were getting frustrated by line placement on Kidblogs, I suggested Canva. We have talked about design before. More than ever, I watched them wrestle over design. One student got frustrated that every background cost a dollar, so she said, “I just made my own background.” She used the plain color background and added free icons. She also changed the coloring on the icons. I marveled at her quick turn around.

Digital Literacy should be more about the literacy than it is about the digital. Technology enhanced my students’ poems with design and allowed them to share their work globally. However, the most value was in the play and problem-solving with words and language.

Erin created her own Extraordinary design for her OLW thesaurus poem.

Kielan’s mother is getting married in June. What a sweet gift.

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Sometimes on the Bayou in January

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teachers Write, Writing, tagged 59 Reasons to Write, Kate Messner, Teachers Write on January 23, 2015| 28 Comments »

My favorite writing teacher, Tara is rounding up today at A Teaching Life.

Last Saturday I celebrated that my Teachers Write reflection was published in Kate Messner’s new book for writers, 59 Reasons to Write. On Tuesday, I showed the book with my name in the index to my students. Matthew exclaimed, “Mrs. Simon, you are in the index of a book that is written about your passion! I can only dream about being in the index of a book about magic.”

After I glowed in their attention and admiration, we thumbed through to find an activity to do. We tried Kate’s Three-Column Brainstorming activity. I was amazed that all of us, myself included, got good ideas for new fiction stories.

So here it is the eve of Poetry Friday, and I need an idea to write about. Kate to the rescue once again. She suggests using a poem she wrote, Sometimes on a Mountain in April, as a mentor text. So here is my attempt.

Sometimes on the bayou in January,
rain falls all day
soaking the dry leaves,
softening the hard earth
while softly whispering promises
of resurrection.

Sometimes on the bayou in January,
temperatures drop twenty degrees
reminding the cats’ coat to thicken,
the cardinals to find nests,
and mothers to pull on fleece.

Sometimes on the bayou in January,
bare cypress trees scarcely sway
reminding me to slow down,
take shelter,
drink warm tea.

Sometimes on the bayou in January
light hides behind grey,
the owl hoots before sunset,
shadows disappear
and I watch
for a poem hiding there.

–Margaret Simon

Through the screen door

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Wisdom of the Sea

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, tagged Deep Wisdom Poems, Joyce Sidman, Today's Little Ditty on January 16, 2015| 12 Comments »

Find more Poetry Friday with Irene at Live your Poem.

The shells went to school this week. Children are fascinated by shells. They loved picking out their own special shell to write about.

In her book Awakening the Heart, Georgia Heard writes about spinning metaphors, “Spinning metaphors and similes has the effect of spinning a kaleidoscope around to see the beautiful and multifaceted color variations.” On a clean notebook page, let’s see how many metaphors we can think of for our shells. Then we started spinning.

Wonderopolis has a number of seashell-oriented Wonders. We explored two of them: How Much is a Sand Dollar Worth? and How are Sea Shells Formed?

After enjoying the Wonders, shells, and discussion, we had a “sacred writing time.” During this time, I gave them the option to write a Deeper Wisdom poem introduced by Joyce Sidman at Today’s Little Ditty, Michelle H. Barnes.

The steps are:
1. Choose a subject. It can be anything: an ant, the Empire State Building, your father. Your poem will be called “What Does [your subject] Know?
2. Think about the greater Truths that this particular object knows, whether it is alive or not.
3. State these truths—six of them—in two stanzas, repeating your question before each stanza.
4. If you want, rhyme each final word—but this is not necessary. (Joyce Sidman)

My student Matthew met this challenge with an amazing result.

What does a seashell know?
It doesn’t know the Pythagorean Theorem
Or how to count by fives,
But it knows the ocean’s feelings.
It’s felt the sea god’s cries.
It knows it has an owner.
It knows that it’s a shield.
It has one life purpose—
to make the sea assassins yield.

By Matthew, 5th grade

I struggled with this form. Rhyme stumps me up every time. After quite a few tries, I tweaked the form a bit to write the poem I wanted to write.

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Listen

Posted in Gratitude, Poetry, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged Carol Varsalona, Holly Mueller, OLW, spiritual reflection on January 15, 2015| 8 Comments »

Click here to read more #spiritualjourney posts. Thanks Holly for hosting this roundup!

Holly invites us to reflect on our spiritual journey. For the next several weeks, we will be writing about different little words. Carol’s word is Listen. I chose to write a poem today.

Turn off the sound machine.
Listen.
Hear the refrain of a hymn in your mind.
Find strength in the silence.

Open the window.
Listen.
Hear the sound of the rain on the roof.
Find solace in the rhythm.

Take a walk with a friend.
Listen.
Hear her story.
Find company in connection.

Enter the world.
Listen.
Hear echoes of chanting.
Find peace in shared sympathy.

–Margaret Simon

“The deepest source of real power lies in consciousness and the ability to be present in all circumstances.” (Understanding the Enneagram, 331)

My Enneagram number is two. I am the giver, the helper, the one who does for others before doing for herself. I can get wrapped up in helping and giving for selfish reasons, to gain approval or love. Julie Johnson introduced me the Ennegram Institute and the “Thought of the Day.” Today I could see the wisdom. Be in the moment.
Listen. Wake up.

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Finding Fall Gallery

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, tagged Carol Varsalona, fall poems, Finding Fall Gallery, Nature poems, poetry on December 26, 2014| 7 Comments »

Find more Poetry Friday at Holly’s blog, Reading, Teaching, Learning.

Carol Varsalona sent out an invitation to all poets to submit to the Finding Fall Gallery. I had the pleasure of meeting Carol in person at NCTE. She has an enthusiasm that is contagious. I know she spent all Christmas Day putting together her FInding Fall Gallery. I know because I was getting emails and Tweets about it. She has graciously featured my students and myself. Please treat yourself to a walk through the gallery of poems. It’s a beautiful space to be in. Thanks, Carol. Link to Finding Fall Gallery.

My fall poem with an image chosen by Carol.

Emily’s fall zeno poem.

Vannisa’s fall poem.

Kielan made an Animoto video with her fall poem.

Don’t forget to link over to Carol’s site for more beauty and words.

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Counting Up

Posted in Poetry, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged Annunciation, Christmas poems, Illuminate, John Gibson on December 11, 2014| 6 Comments »

Click here to read more #spiritualjourney posts. Thanks Holly for hosting this roundup!

There is a construction paper chain outside the principal’s door, visually counting down to Christmas. I prefer to count up. Advent helps us count up as we light one more candle each week. Every time one more candle is lit, we say a blessing. O Come, O Come Emmanuel. O Come, thou Dayspring. Come and enlighten our hearts. Come and save us.

I discovered a hashtag for an advent word of the day, #adventword. Consider following this hashtag on Twitter for inspiration and meditation each day.

Last year I released a poetry book, Illuminate. This little book is special to me. I wrote poems to accompany my father’s Christmas card drawings. His drawings are done in pen and ink pointillism. Today I share a favorite, The Annunciation. This is one of the last ones I wrote. I was struggling with it, so I visited my parents and interviewed my dad about the drawing. “I conceal lost edges” came from this interview. He talked about his efforts in the drawing to keep it fluid, losing the edge of the wings. This discussion made me contemplate the real/ unreal, the sensed/ the imagined. Advent is a time to conceal lost edges, to imagine something new, light coming from the darkness.

Annunciation by John Gibson

Annunciation
An angel appeared out of the night.
I am not real
I am a dust, a shadow,
a sprinkling of dots on a page,

A lonely seraphim
with open arms
at the royal gate.

I am crowned
by the moon’s light,
draped in the darkness of forewings.

I pray
my message is welcomed.
I conceal lost edges.

The sacrament,
this new birth
unveils me, makes me real
as breath.
–Margaret Simon, from Illuminate

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Chalkabration Inside

Posted in Chalk-a-bration, Digital Learning, Poetry, Writing, tagged chalku on November 30, 2014| 5 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

Join the Chalk-a-bration over at Teaching Young Writers.

I can’t spend time with a 9-year old and not get him to write poetry. So while having frozen yogurt with my nephew, I told him about Chalkabration. We wrote the above poem together. I’m not sure what happened to the time, but by the time we made it back to my parents’ house, it was dark. We also discovered that their driveway was rocky, not smooth concrete.

My mother has an Ipad and this cool app called Tayasui Sketches. With her paintbrush stylus I wrote our poem and made a poor illustration of the frozen yogurt cup.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. Are you ready for the whirlwind of December? If you happen to be thinking about digital literacy, please join the round up.