Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged haiku, ice bubble, Molly Hogan, winter poems on February 19, 2025| 19 Comments »
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.
Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged birds, cardinals, Molly Hogan, zeno poem on February 12, 2025| 15 Comments »
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
Posted in Gifted Education, Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged Danusha Lameris, Georgia Heard, heart maps, letter poems on February 11, 2025| 9 Comments »
I subscribe to Georgia Heard’s Heart map newsletter, Heartbeats. Last week she inspired me to use her print outs with my students on Poetry Friday.
We usually analyze a poem and write in the form of the poet or steal a line, etc. But on Friday, after the AR dance, we needed a break. I turned on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. My students spread around the room and played with paper. I was surprised at how focused they became on a Friday!
We’ve returned to our heart maps to write poems from them. Some wrote as Georgia suggested, a letter poem to the thing you love most. Some wrote a poem like Danusha Laméris’s poem The Heart is Not.
Dear pillow,
You comfort
My head
Every night
And
Keep me warm
Until
It is morning
Where the sun
Rises.
When I go to school
I miss you
Because
You’re my
Object with a story.
James, 4th grade
I love how Marifaye took the map idea to a literal design making her heart look like a map. I sent this one to Georgia through Instagram. Marifaye wrote about her cat Carson. I feel partial to this poem because I was involved in matchmaking Marifaye to Carson. Carson was a stray kitten in my mother-in-law’s yard this summer. He was fostered by my friend Corrine. Then Marifaye’s family adopted him. He has found a soft place to land.
My Cat Carson:
How I love you so so much
makes me smile every touch
you make me happy
when I’m sad
hearing you purr
and watching your tail flap
hearing you meow, begging for pets
then you take off,
as fast as a jet.
as soon as someone comes get me
I just can’t wait
to see my baby
my baby cat,
Carson.
Marifaye, 5th grade
Avalyn was drawn to the model poem by Danusha Laméris.
The Heart is Not
a bowl
it’s not something you could just place
your thoughts,
emotions,
memories in
until it overflows.The heart is not a bowl
it’s not something you could just
discardThe heart is not a bowl
it’s not just a
pretty
decoration.
Avalyn, 5th grade
Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, cherita, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on January 29, 2025| 11 Comments »
Happy New Year! Today is the Chinese New Year and this year, 2025, is the year of the snake. I am totally afraid of snakes. I even find it hard to touch a photo of a snake. But this year I’m trying on a new skin, a more brave stance toward the scaly beasts. What are they good for?
At a recent art show, I saw this sculpture from nature. Can you find the snake skin? It is fascinating that snakes get to shed their skin in order to grow and change. Snakes symbolize transformation and creativity. How can we as humans “take off our skin” and begin again?
I was reminded of the cherita form in a post yesterday and wanted to offer it for today’s writing prompt. Simply put, a cherita tells a short story in stanzas of one line, two lines, and three lines.
What are your hopes for 2025? What skin do you need to leave behind? Explore with me in a small poem.
Hidden in a bramble of dried prairie grass
A single snake skin looms
empty, translucent, urging meTo believe* in the possibility
of creative transformation
and strength.
by Margaret Simon, draft*One Little Word 2025
Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Louisiana, snow, Student Slice of Life on January 28, 2025| 13 Comments »
As I was driving to school this morning, I wondered if the snow we had last week was all part of a dream. Every time I saw something white, I turned my head. Is it snow? No, there are still white sheets covering plants (ghosts of snowmen) and litter of white plastic (ghosts of snow drifts). But our temperatures are back to normal southern winter, 40-60 degrees, and there are few signs that last week we were covered in snow.
My students were so eager to write about their experience last week, a historic snowstorm. Most reminisced about the snow-people they built. Some wrote a Slice of Life without my prompting. I spoke with a colleague whose students were similarly inspired to write.
Kailyn described her snow-person: “Let’s talk about what my snow woman was made out of. Her eyes were flowers from my mom’s office, her nose was obviously a carrot, and her lips were a jelly belly sour pucker lip. She wore a Mardi Gras scarf, quickly changed to a light up necklace along with a coffee cup in her hand. We stuck a branch of leaves in her head for hair.”
Carson’s mother sent me a photo of him making a snow angel.
James, 4th grade, wrote an I am From poem about a photo I posted of a Cajun Snowman.
I am from
The winter breeze
I am from
wearing jackets
I am from
The chilly snow
I am from
Drinking hot chocolate
I am from
Making snowmen
I encouraged my grandson, Leo, to create a journal page about the experiences we had together. His writing is coming along, but most of all, I’m excited that this is something we can do together. You have to love his signature.
I hope all of our children remember this experience, but we know it will fade, as the snow has faded. I decided to create a photobook for our family. No one seems to do photo albums anymore, so with a photobook, I can remember alongside my grandchildren, who are probably too young to remember. Maybe they will. The magical wonderland of Narnia. Our own time warp through the wardrobe.
Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, moon poems, photo prompt, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on January 15, 2025| 12 Comments »
The full moon greeted me on a frigid morning this week. I don’t think Iphones are great at taking moon photos. This photo with its automatic longer exposure blurred the cloud cover creating an interesting effect, don’t you think? I know I’ve featured moon photos here often. Like ocean view photos, I never tire of the peaceful feeling of a full moon, especially the bright light on a cold morning.
Dawning Wolf Moon
Moon’s perfect circle
holds me in her gaze.
Her royal crown welcomes dawn.I look up and belong
to her still space.
In her light, I find
my footing.
Today as I write, I am thinking about word choice. The last line has a few scratches in my notebook. The choices were:
I belong to the night
I become myself
I see light that welcomes me
There are many choices when writing a poem, and I am never sure which one is the right choice, and perhaps they are all good. How do you decide what words to choose? What makes a final draft? Is there really such a thing?
Join me today in writing about the moon (again) or anything else that is needing to be written. I offer a safe place where you belong.
Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, nature poem, nonet, sunset, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, winter on January 8, 2025| 19 Comments »
I took this photo from my car window last Saturday as I drove home from Mississippi, from visiting my mom. As I drove farther west, the sun played peek-a-boo in and out of the clouds. I have so many mixed feelings while driving these flat Louisiana country roads. Longing for home while my mother tugs at my heart strings. I have this difficult feeling that I may not see her again mixed with the joy of being with her. She still knows me as someone she loves. Her face brightens when I walk in the room. While I was there, she ate her whole lunch.
Often I find solace in nature, that somehow the natural world knows how I feel and gives me something to hold onto. On this day, it was the setting sun sending rays out from behind the gray clouds.
For our time together writing about a photo, I like to turn to form. Form can give me comfort, too. A safe space to hold my emotions. Today I chose the nonet, nine lines in which each line reduces by one word, beginning with nine. I like how the form looks like a setting sun.
As the sun melts slowly on the horizon, remember
your heart is a safe place for love,
where even on the coldest winter days,
you know you are a child
playing peek-a-boo with the sun.
Memories of happy smiles
fade and lift
an inevitable
horizon.
Margaret Simon, draft
I hope your winter days are giving you some time and space for writing. Please leave a small poem, form or free verse, in the comments. Encourage other writers with your responses.
Posted in being mamére, Gratitude, Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged art, girl wishes, hair, long hair, Merriam Webster Word of the Day, music, technology on December 24, 2024| 6 Comments »
When I was 12 years old, all I wanted in this world was long hair. My hair was shoulder length with an uncontrollable wave right near my earlobe. But I could not grow long, luscious locks like other girls. So I asked my mother (Santa) for a wig. On Christmas Day, my wish came true. I remember wearing that long blond wig and being humiliated by comments from other kids. Shamed, disappointed, dreams dashed, I never wore the wig again.
Yesterday my now 4 year old granddaughter got an Elsa wig for her birthday. Oh, how Stella longs for long hair. My daughter tells me she wears her swimming cap with the fabric along the sides to pretend to have long hair, so the Elsa wig was an immediate hit. Stella didn’t wear it for long, but not because she was bullied about it. It just wasn’t practical for playing on the park’s ultimate tree house; you can’t roll around on a net without your hair falling off. I wish I could have been more like Stella when I was young.
I look at her boldness, her wild clothing choices, and her undying spirit of I’m-always-right, and feel hope for this new generation of girls. I hope we continue to raise girls who, like Stella, do what they want and stand up for what they believe in.
At the birthday party, my daughter was dressed like Stella requested, in two different animal prints. She looked amazing. Life is far from perfect these days, but watching my fierce daughter raise an equally fierce daughter gives me hope and delectation.* (Word of the day meaning a feeling of delight or enjoyment.)
At the party, I held the 4 month old daughter of one of my daughter’s friends. This poem came to me after reading the meaning of the word delectation.
Delectation
Holding the baby
small as a doll
seeing through her eyes
to the Aegean sea
feeling the weight of her
sink into my arms
wondering what kind of world
we are creating for her.
She smiles anyway,
grabs at the print of my shirt
rooting toward my breast
(a let-down tingles)
and I relax, trusting
as this infant trusts
she will be safe.
Margaret Simon, draft
Posted in being mamére, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, advent elfchen, Main Street New Iberia on December 18, 2024| 9 Comments »
Last weekend I took my grandchildren to the Main Street library to do Christmas crafts. They enjoyed playing around the fountain. They were full of questions: Can you swim in there? Can I touch the water? Leo genuflected with the water, a move he apparently saw Spider-Man do.
I took this photo, marveling at how the drops of water seemed to dance in the wind.
I offer this photo as inspiration for your writing today. Do you have memories that may emerge? Can you write a small poem or haiku describing what you see? Anything is possible in poetry.
I’ve been writing Advent elfchen. Today’s poem sticks with this form.
Fountain
Dances along
While children play
Splashes of joyful laughter
Bubblerby Margaret Simon, draft
Posted in Gifted Education, Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged animal poems, How to be poems, student poetry, teaching of writing, Things to Do Poem on December 17, 2024| 8 Comments »
I am a teacher who writes alongside my students. I show them my draft, the messy one in the notebook. We are writers together. This is my teaching philosophy and has been for years. Because it works for us all! I get time to write, and my students see themselves as part of a writing community.
I’ve been working my way through Ethical ELA’s new book 90 Ways of Community. Many of the prompts are tried and true. “How to Be” was posted by Sheri Vasinda. Her directions originated with Barry Lane’s Reviser’s Toolbox. I found the exercise to be similar to the “Things to Do” poem form. The prompt started us off making a list of 6-10 facts.
This way into a poem encourages us to think about and research the ways a chosen animal lives in the world. I asked myself and my students to push beyond just a list of facts, but to see how they could figuratively be applied to humans. How can you be like the animal?
I was reminded of my poem “Things to Do if You’re a Snapping Turtle” from my book Bayou Song. The poem and the prompt can be found here.
Yesterday I was thinking about owls. Owls are common here on the bayou. A friendly neighborhood one starts hooting before the sun goes down.
How to be an Owl
Lift your beak to the world
Whhhooot in the dimming light of winter
This is your time to fly–quiet and with intention
Sharpen your sight
Swallow whole
Spit out what you don’t need
Be a goddess of reason
Make wisdom your homeby Margaret Simon, draft
This was a fun prompt to start off our last week before the holiday break. Kailyn took her poem to a hilarious place. Here’s to a funny poem!
How to be a Capybara
Gain 150 pounds
Be the largest living rodent.
Be present in social gatherings.
Become committed to eating your droppings.
Have a jolly 10 years of living.
When swimming, look very pleasant.
Stick with the diet of plants.
When you see a Guinea Pig,
Give them a hug because you are family.
When you are a Capybara,
Don’t end up in a chimichanga.
by Kailyn, 6th grade (To leave comments for Kailyn, click here.)
April 1 Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference
April 2 Cathy Stenquist at A Little Bit of This and That
April 3 Patricia Franz at Reverie
April 4 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
April 5 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
April 6 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care
April 7 Ruth Hersey at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town
April 8 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
April 9 Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche
April 10 Janet Clare Fagel at Reflections on the Teche
April 11 Diane Davis at Starting Again in Poetry
April 12 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 13 Linda Mitchell at Another Word Edgewise
April 14 Jone MacCulloch at Poetry Rocks
April 15 Joyce Uglow at Storied Ink
April 16 Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
April 17 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 18 Michele Kogan at More Art for All
April 19 Kim Johnson at Common Threads
April 20 Buffy Silverman
April 21 Irene Latham at Live Your Poem
April 22 Karen Edmisten
April 23 Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe
April 24 Mary Lee Hahn at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 25 Tanita Davis at Fiction, instead of Lies
April 26 Sharon Roy at Pedaling Poet
April 27 Tracey Kiff-Judson at Tangles and Tails
April 28
April 29
April 30
Our address on the Bayou Teche
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April 1 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
April 2 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
April 3 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 4 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
April 5 Denise at https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/
April 6 Buffy at http://www.buffysilverman.com/blog
April 7 Jone at https://www.jonerushmacculloch.com/
April 8 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
April 9 Tabatha at https://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/
April 10 Marcie at Marcie Flinchum Atkins
April 11 Rose at Imagine the Possibilities | Rose's Blog
April 12 Fran Haley at Lit Bits and Pieces
April 13 Cathy Stenquist
April 14 Janet Fagel at Mainly Write
April 15 Carol Varsalona at Beyond LiteracyLink
April 16 Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm
April 17 Kim Johnson at Common Threads
April 18 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
April 19 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
April 20 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 21 Tanita at TanitasDavis.com
April 22 Patricia Franz
April 23 Ruth at There's No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town
April 24 Linda Kulp Trout at http://lindakulptrout.blogspot.com
April 25 Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
April 26 Michelle Kogan at: https://moreart4all.wordpress.com/
April 27 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 28 Pamela Ross at Words in Flight
April 29 Diane Davis at Starting Again in Poetry
April 30 April Halprin Wayland at Teaching Authors
Reflections on the Teche 