Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged Acadiana Wordlab, dreams, Poetry prompts on March 5, 2013| 9 Comments »
Slice of Life Challenge Day 5
The Dream I Never Had
I have never flown in my dreams.
I want to feel this free–
Oh, in the arms of Superman,
or on the magic carpet with Alladin,
on the wings of an eagle,
better yet–be the eagle–
soar, swoop,
slide across the clouds,
circle the moon.
Fly? Me? No!I dream of children’s voices,
lost keys,
closed locks,
smothering.My daughter once wrote a dream blog.
Her dreams were like wild fairy tales.
I want to dream like she dreams.
Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged Bayou Teche, Clare Martin, collaborative poem, nature poem on March 4, 2013| 5 Comments »
Every week I get an email from Poets & Writers called “The Time is Now.” You can sign up, too. They send out prompts for writing. A few weeks ago, the poetry prompt suggested collaborating by email or text on a poem with each person adding a line until the poem felt complete. I invited my new poet friend, Clare Martin, to participate with me. We composed it using Facebook messenger. We each revised to create our own poem. I am posting my version.
Stained Glass
Reflection of bare trees
stripe the still bayou.
See into the reflection.
Clouds become water.Water holds a dark harm–
dangerous depth,
deceiving beauty.
The surface holds the whole sky.A single tear
breaks the glass.
Slip within the sky.
See your self in the depths.Slice of Life Challenge Day 4
Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged fibonacci poem on March 2, 2013| 10 Comments »
Teacher 1, Teacher 2
On Friday, many of the teachers arrived at school wearing their “Teacher 1” or “Teacher 2” shirt in honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2nd. We soon figured out that we would not be having school that day. The plumbing was out. Who wants to have school with no plumbing? So after about 20 minutes, the buses returned, parents were called. My students were full of excitement. Before they could leave, though, I asked them to post their Slices for March 1. Together we wrote a Fibonacci poem about the day. Joy at Poetry for Kids Joy posted a Fib poem on her blog on Poetry Friday, so I borrowed the idea. The syllable pattern is 1/1/2/3/5/8/and back again 8/5/3/2/1/1. Read about Fibonacci series here
Fibonacci Spiral
School’s
out
today–
no water–
Dr. Suess would play.
Thing 1 and Thing 2 come out and
help fix this messy problem-o,
clean up and repair
broken pipes,
but we
don’t
want!
Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, tagged Poetry prompts, teaching gifted, triolet, water quotes on February 21, 2013| 12 Comments »
Sheri is hosting the round up today at her site, Sheri Doyle
In our district (in Louisiana, we call them parishes), our gifted students are spread across the parish in a dozen schools. In order to bring together our 6th grade students the year before they go to middle school together, we designed an enrichment program. The 6 elementary gifted teachers meet with all the 6th graders for one day a month to work on a specific real world project. This year our theme has been water, and I lead them in a poetry exercise each month.
This month I got the idea of using the triolet form from fellow Poetry Friday blogger, Joy at Poetry for Kids Joy. Last week, she posted a few triolet poems she wrote using quotes about writing. So I searched for quotes about water. The students’ handout included the directions for writing a triolet and a list of quotes about water. I asked them to choose a quote and use it as the first line of the poem. The best part about this exercise was I wrote with the students, and we did 5 small group rotations, so I wrote 5 triolet poems. I will only post my two favorites here.
Snow Day from Linda at Teacher Dance.
Snow Day
Someday we’ll evaporate together,
But today we’ll play in the snow.
Someday we’ll ignore the weather,
But today we’ll slip and flow.
Like two birds of the same feather,
we’ll talk and laugh and glow.
Someday we’ll evaporate together,
But today we’ll play in the snow.–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved
Clean
Be like water, float.
Let bubbles wash you like soap.
Dance on waves, forget the boat.
Be like water, float.
Find a bottle, read the note,
Wonder, dream, imagine, hope.
Be like water, float.
Let bubbles wash you like soap.–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved
Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Spiritual Growth, tagged art, Cathy Mills, ekphrasis, poetry on February 19, 2013| 6 Comments »
Join the Tuesday Slice of Life
On Sunday, I went to an art opening at A&E Gallery. In this show, I knew some of the artists, and I took the time to talk to them about their work and their process. My simple question, “Tell me about your art,” usually leads to a long, fascinating story. I learn a great deal about the artist and what drives their work.
This piece drew my attention. I’ve known the artist, Cathy Mills, for many years. We were Writing Project teachers together, but we had fallen out of touch. When she told me about this piece, she talked about how it had started out as a tree and then became these heavenly women. After others stepped away, she said, “Can I tell you what is really going on in this piece? I lost my son a year ago.” She proceeded to tell me how the painting was healing to her. She feels at peace now. She knows her son is at peace. Teary-eyed, I asked if I could photograph the picture and write a poem about it. I sent her the poem by email, and she approved its publication here hoping it may help someone else who is struggling with grief.
Art by Cathy Mills
The Story
The flames ignite in her spine
growing to yellow gold. She can feel
her bones, every sinew, every nerve hot,
like her pulse, raging and fierce.She remembers the call at 2 AM.
She hears the nurse’s voice,
“We have your son here.”
She knew he was gone.With all the time she had, every arrest,
every hospital stay, every cry,
nothing could have saved him
from the fire. Now, peace risesin blue angels from the roots
of her mothering. These women announce
Joy, pronounce Glory.
Tell her that he is well.
All will be well.
Posted in Poetry, Teaching, tagged dogs, idioms, poetry on February 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »
When my students write, I write. When we were playing with idioms the other day, I wrote this poem about my dog Charlie, who in all other respects is the perfect dog. For an interview with me and Charlie, go to Coffee with a Canine.
Charlie when he’s calm.
Calm Before the Storm
In the middle of the night
when all the doors are locked,
the lights are off, the scent
of dinner lingers in the air,
we sleep soundly, softly snoring.
Before the first lightning flashes,
before the sound of rolling thunder,
and well before the alarm clock rings,
Charlie whimpers, then cries,
and suddenly, an all out frightening bark
wakens the whole house.
Sure as the groundhog predicts
the coming of spring, lightning strikes,
the rain falls, thunder booms.
The storm is here.
Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged Christmas cards, John Gibson, poetry, Salzburg Austria on January 29, 2013| 6 Comments »
John Gibson, artist
My parents went on a trip to Austria in March of 2004. On the train from Salzburg to Innsbruck, they took a photograph of this scene. My father did this pointillist drawing for his first in a series of Christmas cards. It proved to be one of the hardest to write about. The experience for them was magical, but when I think of this area of the world “Sound of Music” comes to mind. “The hills are alive…” and escaping Nazis. This scene is unblemished, yet the history scarred. Here is my attempt to capture this dichotomy.
Outside Salzburg
May we all find peace, joy, and hope in Christ’s love.From the train, snow-covered hills beckon
outside Salzburg. The whistle echoes.
Trees stand tall and barren.
Weary travelers stare in wonder.Somewhere in the distance,
a child is torn from his mother’s arms,
a beggar reaches out with empty hands,
Somewhere, a woman grieves for her lost lover.But here– on the road to Innsbruck–
a church glistens on the smooth,
unblemished snow, calling out
Let
there
be
peace.
Join the Tuesday Slice of Life
Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, tagged ekphrasis, Epiphany, John Gibson on January 18, 2013| 12 Comments »
Artwork by John Gibson
I attend the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, so Sunday, Jan. 6th was our feast day. For the occassion, Bishop Jake Owensby visited and preached at the service. He talked about how the wise men were not searching for a certain geographical location, but for a person. His whole sermon can be found on his blog, Pelican Anglican.
I was inspired by Bishop Jake’s words when I picked up this card from my collection. I tried to capture the idea of our continual search in this poem.
The Star Still Leads
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Wise men traveled a great distance
with a will
strong enough to carry them
over hills and dunes,
through nights of wind,
storms, and cold.
All in search of a person.Life is a destination
recorded in scrapbooks
dated photographs,
no east, south,
west, or north,
but names, people we love,
people who sustain us in hope.We are revealed to God,
our calloused hands curled
in prayer,
we reach up,
fervently asking
for relationship, for health, for understanding.
Asking for a star.
all rights reserved, Margaret Simon
Violet is hosting the round-up today. Check it out!
Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged bayou, flood, possum, prose poetry on January 15, 2013| 8 Comments »
Join the Tuesday Slice of Life
The bayou creeps closer and closer. A view from our back deck.
It’s been raining a lot. Last week, we only school for two days before we had two days off due to constant rain and flooding. The water has stayed a safe distance from my house, but the bayou banks are overflowing. I think this puts my pets into hibernation mode, but the outside animals, what do they do? Where do they go to find a warm, dry place?
I am not a fan of possums usually. They upset my dog and eat the cat food. They are downright ugly. But on Saturday morning, I watched one swim across the bayou and eventually climb up on our deck. I wrote a prose poem about his visit.
I watch a possum glide in this morning on the overflowing bayou.
Days and days of rain have flooded the banks and perhaps his nest.
Foraging, this common marsupial wanders–a scavenger exposed on an overcast winter morn. Minutes later, he appears on the deck. The dog goes nuts, barking in the screeching voice of a teenager attacked by a wasp. But the possum—unfazed—doesn’t notice the commotion.
He is on a mission, his long snout waving back and forth,
back and forth. I laugh at his comic book white face and pink nose as he swaggers away, probably laughing, too.
Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged New Year, One Little Word on January 1, 2013| 8 Comments »
Sunset at Lake Martin, photographed by Leon Henry.
My pipe is out, my glass is dry;
My fire is almost ashes too;
But once again, before you go,
And I prepare to meet the New:
Old Year! a parting word that’s true,
For we’ve been comrades, you and I —
I thank God for each day of you;
There! bless you now! Old Year, good-bye!
–Robert William Service, The Passing of the Year
I thank God for each day of 2012. But today, I say hello to 2013.
Last night as I was drifting off to sleep with the pop, bang, boom of our neighbor’s fireworks, I was thinking about the night creatures. What do they think about this silly human tradition of setting fire to the sky at night?
Where do the owls go
when you set the sky on fire
with your loud, booming works?
Drowning out the who of my nighttime friend,
you celebrate intolerably, sending flares,
screaming as if chased by a bee.
This noise just can’t be right.
Where did the owls go tonight?
Read other Slice of Life writers at The Two Writing Teachers
In William Zinsser’s book On Writing Well, he speaks of the audience for your writing: “It is a fundamental question with a fundamental answer; you are writing for yourself. Entertain yourself. You are who you are, so relax and say what you want to say.” So, to whoever is reading today, I am here on Jan. 1, 2013 to declare a new attitude. Acceptance!
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
Order on Amazon.
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 