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Archive for the ‘Poetry Friday’ Category

Poetry Friday: Inklings Challenge

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , on November 7, 2025| 23 Comments »

Poetry Friday is being gathered today by Laura Purdie Salas.

It’s the first Friday of the month and time for the Inklings Challenge. This month’s prompt is from Linda Mitchell who challenged us to respond to Ethical ELA’s September 2025 Open Write by Kelsey Bigelow: “What is the happiest thing you’ve ever tasted?”

This was a lucky break for me because I already had a draft written, so with my Inklings thoughtful comments, I revised and have a poem to offer today.

My husband was born and raised in Cajun country where they ask, “Who’s your mama? Are you catholic? And can you make a roux?”

I don’t have to learn to make a roux because when it comes time to make a gumbo, Jeff is the best! Just last weekend when the air finally turned cool enough, he made the first gumbo of the season. Around here, when the cold front comes in, the weather man announces, “It’s gumbo weather!”

For our family, Black Friday is the day for making turkey and sausage gumbo. This year we may skip the Thanksgiving and go straight to the gumbo. Making gumbo takes two days. On the first day, you make the stock and the next day combine the stock with the roux. It’s a slow process. It takes patience and dedication.

Black Friday Gumbo

The happiest thing I’ve ever tasted
is your gumbo,
A slow stew on Thanksgiving night
in a stock pot of left-over turkey bones, 
the trinity of bell pepper, onions, and celery.

Scented steam perfumes the kitchen.
Friday morning chill is heated by oil and flour
you stir for what seems like an hour
waiting for the brown of peanut butter.

Hunched and humming, listening to the game,
you stand taller
and hand me a spoon to taste.
Our love is certain in this simple touch

of lips to wooden spoon. 
That first sip tingles on the back of my throat
like our first kiss, longing and true.

Margaret Simon, draft

To see how other Inklings approached this prompt:

Mary Lee
Linda
Heidi
Catherine
Molly

Laurie Patterson, Getty Images

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Poetry Friday: Wordle Poem

Posted in nature, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , , , , on October 24, 2025| 18 Comments »

Patricia Franz has the Poetry Friday Round Up today.

Some of my Inkling writing group friends have been inspired to write poems using Wordle guesses. I’ve tried a few times, but as a person who plays Wordle infrequently and always starts with the same word, the practice didn’t appeal to me.

Mary Lee’s rule is when she guesses in three words, she writes a haiku. Yesterday I got it in three tries. I wrote the words down, pearl, rival, and drill, and went about my day.

Newly retired, I’ve found the mornings to be a sanctuary. I take a walk with my dog, fix a pot of oatmeal, and eat on my back deck watching birds. Oh, the retirement life!

At the feeder, I get a variety of birds. (Tufted titmouse, chickadee, cardinal) The thing about using Wordle words forces a metaphor that may or may not work. I was finally pleased with this one, so I am sharing today. Have you tried writing Wordle poems?

A pearl of titmouse
rivals chipper chickadee
early morning drill
Margaret Simon, draft

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Poetry Friday: For the Trees

Posted in nature, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , , , on October 17, 2025| 17 Comments »

Today’s Poetry Friday Roundup is with Sarah Grace Tuttle.

I have lived in the same neighborhood for 21 years, and for all of that time, there was an empty lot in the cul-de-sac at the end of the street. This empty lot was my crossover space for walking from my street to a neighboring one that also follows the bayou. The crossover lot was also a picnic area with my grandkids. Together we named where the live oak drapes nearly to the ground “the forest”.

Earlier this week I walked to the forest with my grandkids. Many of the oak limbs were gone! And the rest of the trees had big white X’s on them.

“Mamére, what will happen to the trees?”

“Someone bought this lot, so they are taking down the trees to build a house.”

“So where will we play?”

Sadly, I had to explain that when someone buys their own property, they can do what they want with the trees.

I wish it weren’t true. My heart is sick over this loss.

Leo and Stella pause to pose in the old branches of the live oak in our “forest.”
What is left of the tall sweet gum where we collected leaves and gum balls.
This old cedar is the next to go.

The National Writing Project annual Write Out with the National Parks Service is happening now. Consider taking time outside to write and post with #writeout.

Prompted by Pádraig Ó Tuama’s invitation to write about a place you know go to, I wrote a poem for the trees.

Paradise Woods on Duperier Oaks

This one is for the trees
on the empty lot,
the tall sweet gum
forever littering the street
with spiked balls
and feathery leaves,
felled
for a concrete driveway.

I weep as I pass the old oak 
whose branches, trimmed
exposing bare skin and bones,
once held children
the “forest” where they played
hide-n-seek, Catch-me-if-you-can.
If I could, I’d save you now.

Old growth cedar, I apologize
that the invasive sound of chain saws
disrupts your silent steeple.

I praise trees,
your seeds send roots, 
and secrets.

Trees, you are our saviors.
Forgive us.

Margaret Simon, draft

Please head over to Laura Purdie Salas’s site where she features my little Wood Duck Diary and a tanka poem. Thanks, Laura!

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Poetry Friday: Egret Watching

Posted in being mamére, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , , , on October 10, 2025| 13 Comments »

Linda Baie has the Poetry Friday Roundup at Teacher Dance.
Boy in a canoe watching a great white egret

Last weekend we kept two of my grandchildren overnight. It was an opportunity to get them out in the canoe on the bayou. Leo is almost 7, so Jeff decided it was time to put him in the front to paddle. He doesn’t have a powerful stroke, but he knows how to put the paddle in and push. He was also very curious and aware of the nature around us. We watched an egret fly from place to place as we got closer to it.

I’ve been listening to Maggie Smith’s Dear Writer. I need to just buy a copy because I want to reread her wisdom and model poems, but the audio has her voice which I also love on The Slowdown. She has wonderful insight into metaphor, especially extended metaphor.

I offered this poem for critique with the Inklings last weekend. I used the metaphor cypress lighthouse and one of them asked, “What is a cypress lighthouse?” I guess I wasn’t clearly using the word lighthouse as a metaphor. Maggie Smith suggests letting the title hold more weight for a poem. I’ve attempted this because I wanted to keep the lighthouse metaphor.

To the Great White Egret in a Tall Cypress Tree

The new slant of autumn sun
blooms in a cypress lighthouse.

You light up like a swamp lily, 
shining above our bayou.

How could I describe the richness 
of my life?
Watching your white wings
hold a stillness—
a moment
of daylight,
perched and ready
for what change 
may come. 

Margaret Simon, draft

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Poetry Friday: A Recipe for Friendship

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , , , , on October 3, 2025| 12 Comments »

Poetry Friday is gathered today by Matt Forrest Esenwine at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme.

Today is the first Friday of a new month, October, and time for an Inklings challenge. I asked my writing group friends to exchange photos for an image poem. I invite you to participate in image poetry every Wednesday right here with This Photo Wants to be a Poem.

My exchange partner was Heidi. She had the opportunity to visit fellow Inkling, Molly, in Maine this summer. I am quite jealous that they all made blueberry jam together. I could not resist the delicious collection of jars in Heidi’s photo.

Georgia Heard inspired my poem by sending her own recipe poem through her newsletter.

Click on each link below to see other image poem posts from Inklings.

Linda @A Word Edgewise
Catherine @Reading to the Core
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Mary Lee @A(nother) Year of Reading
Heidi @my juicy little universe

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Poetry Friday: Wood Duck Diary

Posted in Books, nature, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , , , on September 26, 2025| 26 Comments »

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm. Click here to find links to more poetry goodness.

Poetry Friends! I have a new book coming out next month: Wood Duck Diary: Tanka poems in English and French.


Cover design by Michelle Kogan.

I wrote the book of tanka and haibun poems to capture the miracle that my husband and I have witnessed each year by watching a Ring camera in our wood duck house.

Irene Latham wrote: “Readers of all ages will JUMP at the chance to celebrate the life of wood ducks in this inviting volume. Delightful verse, scientific facts, and striking photographs combine in this heartwarming tale of real-life animal adventure (and the humans that make it happen).”

The humans that made this book happen are my dear friends David Dahlquist and Mary Ubinas, through a donation to the TECHE Project. All proceeds will benefit the TECHE Project. One of the goals of the TECHE Project is to promote the well being of wood ducks along the 135 miles of the Bayou Teche through educational workshops and placement of wood duck houses.

My hope is this small book will inspire others to take the time to notice and wonder about nature and our environment. Wood ducks are beautiful birds that were once considered endangered. When we watch the dozen or more ducklings jump from the house a mere 24 hours after hatching, we do not know their fate. I don’t like to think about all the dangers lurking in the bayou waters, so I write poems about them. I’m sharing a few here. The book is available now on Amazon. I will receive my first shipment in a few weeks, so you can also order from me.

February 24

House Hunting (Haibun)

The hens are showing up! Now that the drake scouts have identified a safe nesting box and area, it is time for the hen’s approval as they begin to inspect the boxes for themselves.  

Dawn, when sunbeams stream,
an expectant glow invites
a wood duck couple—

Female shimmies through the hole,
Chatter-chipper to her mate.

la maison de chasse
L’aube, quand les rayons du soleil coulent,
une lueur d’attente invite

un couple de branchus—
La femelle se trémousse dans le trou,
Chatter-chipper à son compagnon.

Margaret Simon, from Wood Duck Diary

New Chicks

Gentle peeps echo.
Jumping onto mother hen,
New chicks jitterbug.


Like petals on a pinwheel
fluffy down spins together. 

Nouveaux poussins

Doux piaulements résonnent.
Sautant sur maman canne,
Nouveaux poussins font le jitterbug.


Comme des pétales sur un moulinet
duvet moelleux tourne en rond.

Margaret Simon, from Wood Duck Diary

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Poetry Friday: Summer Poem Swap

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , , , , , on September 19, 2025| 13 Comments »

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Jama at Jama’s Alphabet Soup.

I have been comforted by all of the sympathy notes and messages from this Poetry Friday community over the death of my mother this summer. I appreciate more than ever how this community supports and cares for each other.

In the summer poem swap, organized by Tabatha Yeatts, Denise Krebs sent me two poems, a raccontino and an acrostic of my one little word, Still. She also sent a beautiful crocheted twirly that I’ve hung in my kitchen window.

Still acrostic by Denise Krebs
By Denise Krebs
Crochet Twirly from Denise Krebs

My response to Denise:

When a poem comes
wrapped in swirls of gold
and tied with a ribbon,
I open,
find,
feel myself
touching soft grass
with my toes
finding cool comfort
there.

Thanks, Denise, for your comforting words and gift of swirly gold.

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Poetry Friday: Flurry, Float, and Fly

Posted in Books, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , , on September 12, 2025| 10 Comments »

Today’s Poetry Friday is being gathered by Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities.
A new release from Laura Purdue Salas, Flurry, Float, and Fly!

On this hot, humid southern day when the temperature rises above 90 degrees, I received this cool to the touch advanced copy of Laura Purdie Salas’s next picture book all about the poetry and science of a snowstorm.

Without January, 2025, I’d have believed I would never see a snowstorm; however, we had one here along the gulf with enough snow to do all the fun things a good snow brings.

New Iberia, LA covered in snow, January 2025.

I look forward to sharing this book with my grandchildren who are just beginning to read. The text delights with rhyme: “From the north, a polar freeze…from the south, a humid breeze. All winds advance. They mix and dance.”

In addition to lively text, this book includes science that can be easily understood by our youngest readers. Did you know “each cloud’s type—how cold?—how wet? shapes each crystal’s silhouette.”?

Chiara Fedele’s illustrations show how white can be colorful and peaceful.

Illustrations by Chiara Fedele

Laura always has on her teacher hat when she creates a book. There is back matter including intricate photographs by Dr. Kenneth G. Libbrecht of the variations of a snowflake. Teachers can also find resources on Laura’s website here. If you click fast, you can enter a giveaway for a 30 minute classroom visit with Laura.

I highly recommend her for class visits. A few years ago, my students loved learning the back story of how Laura researches and plans her picture books. Author visits help students to see all the work that goes into creating a book as well as experience the passion the author feels about her topic.

Laura lives in Minnesota, so she probably sees snow every year, but her special book “Flurry, Float, and Fly!” took this southern girl back to a cool experience with a rare snowstorm. Relive your own snowstorm stories and share them with young readers. Publication date is November 11, 2025.

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Poetry Friday: Love Note to Silence

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged on September 4, 2025| 24 Comments »

I have the Poetry Friday Roundup Today!

Today is the first Poetry Friday of September and time for an Inklings challenge from Molly Hogan: Write a love note to something or someone or some place. Go big or go small! You might be inspired by José A. Alcántara’s Love Note to Silence. You can read it here.

Dear Silence,

We’ve had a budding relationship, the kind
that begins with a small bouquet of roses
at just the right time.

You come to me
in sacred spaces
of air and breath and love.

Today, your hand feels heavy. 
What do you want to say to me?

Let’s just stay this way, cheek to cheek
feeling the softness of the moment.

Some might call you expectant 
as the end of a grand symphony 
seconds before the applause.

I welcome you with disquietude,
asking you to teach me
to accept this breath of calm.

Will you stay a little longer? 

Margaret Simon, draft

St. Margaret’s chapel at Edinburgh Castle

I’ve just spent a glorious week in Scotland. I found sacred silence in the countryside, the wild winds, and in the castles and cathedrals. I’m too tired now after 24 hours of travel to write, but I will after I’ve had time to process it all. For now, leave your link below.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!Click here to enter

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Poetry Friday: Ignore Your Feelings

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , , on August 22, 2025| 8 Comments »

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Carol at Beyond Literacy Link.

Are you enjoying retirement?
Isn’t retirement fun?

Questions I’ve heard nearly every day since retiring, but I haven’t settled into it quite like I thought I would. This morning my enneathought of the day said “Ignore your feelings.” Yeah, sure, you try!

In my notebook I wrote about this nagging anxiety, how every day I feel like there’s something I’ve forgotten to do. I had to buy a day planner. I’m making more lists than I ever did before. But I can’t shake the feeling.

A Box for my Anxiety

I’m putting anxiety away
in a wooden box that latches
with a key like the one
for my childhood diary.
Two matching tiny silver keys
on a chain buried beneath bracelets
where I can’t find them readily.

This feeling that belongs to me
is useless, a hidden weed
choking vibrant growth.

Be still, my sweet heart,
you got this. You know what to do.
Get busy.

Margaret Simon, draft

What feelings are you grappling with and need to put away?

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