Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged butterfly, Cathy Mills, ekphrasis, poetry on March 11, 2013| 11 Comments »
Slice of Life Challenge Day 11
Inner Faces by Cathy Mills
Inner Faces
If only I could see you in double,
inside and out,
transformed
like the wings of a butterfly
opening, welcoming,
letting me in.If only you could know my desire
to be your only mother,
the one who loves you most,
maybe you would honor me
with your presence
and let me in.If only our lives were connected
by a strong abdomen
we could share more than a name,
a recognition of two faces
mirrored and aware,
letting me in.
Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged Acadiana Wordlab, candle, pysanky making on March 10, 2013| 12 Comments »
Slice of Life Challenge Day 10
The candle
At the Acadiana Wordlab yesterday, Kelly Clayton put ordinary objects on the table. Actually, some of the objects were quite weird, like the two orange plastic Neanderthal men. She called this prompt “Object Lesson.” I think she got it from Writing Alone and with Others by Pat Schneider. We had to select an object and write 10 stanzas of three lines each. It reminded me of Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens. My photo above is not the greatest, but you can see some of the other objects in the background.
I. Candle on a string
once you were two
and dipped.II. White wax
nondescript
unscented
waiting to be lit.III. Standing in a circle
side by side
sisters pass you around,
an ancient ritual.IV. Set in a wreath,
counting the days
until a Savior’s birth.V. Darkness is not dark
unless the light
knows it.VI. Melted and scripted
with a kistka* and a steady hand,
dying reveals patterns.VII. I will tuck you away
in my purse
in case the lights go out.VIII. Tasting with a lick,
smooth and waxy,
reminds me of waxed lips.IX. Wedged in a bottle
adorned with drippings,
you light our Italian meal.X. The slight wind
created by your flame
can lift a whole balloon.
Pysanky making
*After the wordlab, I attended Art Walk and met a Slavic woman who had a show of her Pysanky eggs. Her husband was demonstrating the process using a stylus called a kistka. I had to add that to my poem. Pysanky is the ancient Eastern European art of egg decorating. The name comes from the verb to write, as you use a stylus (called a kistka) to write with wax on the egg shell. The process is similar to batik.
Pysanky egg by Nicole Holcombe
Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged rondelet on March 6, 2013| 12 Comments »
Serendipity from the Slice of Life Challenge is learning about new poetry forms. At Birds and Trees of the Mind, Paul is trying different poetry forms. He posted a rondelet recently. Rondelet is a French poetry form derived from a word meaning small circle. The poem circles. The syllable pattern is 4A /8b /repeat line 1/8a/8b/8b/repeat line 1.
From Creative Commons
Into the night
Crescent moon rises up singing
into the night
reflections through the leaves alight
wind swept silences, chimes ringing
Tomcat prowls, his proud catch bringing
into the night.
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.
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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
