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Poetry Friday: Beauty in the Ugly

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged beauty-in-the-ugly, Sunday Poetry Swaggers on December 6, 2019| 15 Comments »

The poetry Friday Round up is hosted this week by Tanita at fiction, instead of lies.

Our Sunday night Poetry Swaggers group is posting today with a challenge from Molly Hogan. “This month, I invite you to reinvent the world around you (or one aspect of it) by shifting your lens to see the beauty in what at first seems to be ugly or unnoteworthy.”

Nothing was ugly
just because the world said so.
Naomi Shihab Nye, A Valentine for Ernest Mann

Molly quoted Naomi Shihab Nye who says,
“Maybe if we re-invent whatever our lives give us,
we find poems.” All we need to do is shift our focus a bit to find beauty in the everyday, otherwise passed-over things.

I pass this dilapidated house often, yet after Molly’s prompt, I noticed the beauty of the plants justing up through the floor boards.

There are signs
on the door
fingerprints,
peeling paint.
We’ve been here,
so have they-
gone now
the way of time.
Margaret Simon, draft 2019

Steps to a house in New Orleans. I was struck by the pattern of color in the peeling paint.

The Smell of Morning
Sagging fog, thick on the morning,
captures the scent of my walk.
Someone is running the dryer
blowing Downy air.
Every morning, he smokes a cigar
on his front porch, white rocker,
booted feet propped on the railing.
He waves and with it comes
a pungent smell of burning wood–a home scent.
Beneath my feet, pine needles crunch
releasing a breath of Christmas.
My mother would gather them
to mulch the flower beds for winter.
As I walk, I practice my deep
yoga breath, in, hold, out, hold,
pausing to savor the ordinary,
extraordinary scents of the day.
Margaret Simon, draft 2019

Be sure to visit the other Swaggers today to enjoy more beauty in the ugly.

Catherine Flynn: Reading to the Core

Heidi Mordhorst: My Juicy Little Universe

Linda Mitchell: A Word Edgewise

Molly Hogan: Nix the Comfort Zone

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Poetry Friday: Verse Novels

Posted in Books, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged Kip Wilson, Margarita Engle, verse novels on November 29, 2019| 10 Comments »

Poetry Friday posts are all gathered by Bridget at wee words for wee ones.

Last weekend at NCTE I had a conversation with Laura Shovan and Chris Barton about novels-in-verse. We discussed briefly how novels-in-verse should be poetry rather than prose written to look like poetry.

On my long travel day to NCTE, I read Margarita Engle’s novel-in-verse Soaring Earth. Margarita is a poet. Her novel reads like poems with the backdrop of her life experiences from late teen years to adulthood. In each verse, she was processing who she was and who she wanted to be. She rejects then embraces the culture of her life. She has to leave herself to find herself, and it’s all written in beautiful language of poetry.

Currently I am reading White Rose by Kip Wilson. Once again, I put on the lens of a poet finding the elements of poetry as well as compelling story. Kip Wilson has successfully drawn me into the story of Sophie, a young adult resistor to Hitler’s Germany. The story takes me to the horrors of the early 40’s. I place myself into the shoes of a girl who knows it’s wrong to kill for any reason. She is keenly aware of what is happening in her country. She finds small joys, so we are not bombarded with terror. I am more than halfway through. I know what eventually happens, yet I keep reading. The lyrical rhythm of verse makes this incredible story a beautiful one.

February 20, 1943
A Golden Bridge
I have nothing
more to say,
Herr Mohr has nothing
more to ask,
and yet the next
time he summons
me, he throws
me a lifeline.
You can still save
yourself, Fraulein
Scholl.
Boom-boom,
boom-boom.
A sliver of light enters
the room, and I’m certain
the entire world can hear
the pounding in my chest.
Tell me you were only
following your older
brother,
and I’ll recommend
setting you free.
My heart, beating
so confidently moments ago,
whimpers, withers, dies
but my voice gathers
courage:
Nein.
Kip Wilson, White Rose

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Poetry Friday: What Time does the Bluebird Sing?

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged bluebird, nature poem, The Time is Now on November 22, 2019| 10 Comments »

This week’s round up is hosted by Rebecca at Sloth Reads.

Each week I receive an email with writing prompts from Poets & Writers The Time is Now. A few weeks ago this was the prompt for poetry.

Several years ago, New York Public Library staff discovered a box filled with file cards of written questions submitted to librarians from the 1940s to 1980s, many of which have been collected in the book Peculiar Questions and Practical Answers: A Little Book of Whimsy and Wisdom From the Files of the New York Public Library (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2019). Questions include: “What does it mean when you’re being chased by an elephant?” and “Can you give me the name of a book that dramatizes bedbugs?” and “What time does a bluebird sing?” Write a poem inspired by one of these curiously strange questions. Does your poem provide a practical answer, or avoid one altogether leading instead to more imaginative questions?
The Time is Now, Oct. 29, 2019

I used the question “What time does a bluebird sing?” to inspire a poem.

What Time Does a Bluebird Sing?

Morning is filled with birdsong.
If it’s not yet sunrise, I hear the owl whoot.
If the sun’s up and there’s an electric pole nearby,
it’s the woodpecker—drumming, not singing,
but musical all the same.
Echoing through the breeze
sings Papa cardinal
and soon the mockingbird joins in
with a trill up the scales.
Where is the bluebird?
Hiding in a grove of trees near the swamp,
shyly tweeting,
a flash of blue
the color of sky,
song of morning.

Margaret Simon, draft 2019

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Poetry Friday: The Place I Love

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged Bayou Teche, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Today's Little Ditty on November 16, 2019| 9 Comments »

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes hosts today with an announcement of the third collection of Today’s Little Ditty.
I have a little ditty in the book as do many of my PF friends.

A few weeks ago I grabbed a poetry writing idea from Kim Douillard. She had her students make heart maps about a place they love and write a poem after Lee Bennett Hopkins’ City I Love.

I did this with my students. We cut simple heart shapes from plain paper and drew and wrote on them. Then glued them into our notebooks. Here’s a photo of one of mine.

On the Bayou I Live Near
after Lee Bennett Hopkins
On the bayou I live near–
bayou I love–
morning sun streams
in wide golden beams
gleaming a new day.
On the bayou I live near–
bayou I love–
afternoons bloom
while speedboats vroom
through sweet olive perfume.
On the bayou I live near–
bayou I love–
sunsets glisten,
a lone heron listens
as the hoot owl
who, who, whos
me
to
sleep.

Margaret Simon, draft 2019

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Poetry Friday: Molly’s Marsh

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged Maine, Molly Hogan, nature poem on November 8, 2019| 13 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up is with Irene at Live Your Poem.

My poet-friend and writing group partner, Molly Hogan, is a fine art photographer in her spare time. She lives in Maine and posts amazing photos on her blog and Facebook page. Sometimes her photos inspire me to respond in poetry.

Dawn on the Marsh
Dawn on the marsh glows
like embers, like the final flash of a torch
lighting the tiny particles of fog
rising ghost-like and dreamy.
High in the sky
geese line up
to honk their way south
In the distance, deer graze,
tentatively perk their ears
to your sound.
You do not feel the cold
that numbs your fingers and toes
as you click the lens of your camera
whispering a prayer of thanks.
Margaret Simon, draft 2019

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Poetry Friday: National Author’s Day

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged found poem, Nature poems, Sunday Poetry Swaggers, Where the Crawdads Sing on November 1, 2019| 14 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up is with Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference.

Today is National Author’s Day, and my friend and critique partner Linda Mitchell challenged our writing group, The Sunday Night Swaggers, to write a poem inspired by a favorite author.

When she challenged us, I thought of the most recent book I read Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. According to The New York Times Book Review, this book is “Painfully beautiful…At once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative, and a celebration of nature.”

The poet in me was inspired by her beautiful writing about nature. I turned to a page and gathered words and lines to put together a poem “after Delia Owens.”

Sandbar
How quickly the sea and clouds
defeat the spring heat,
how the grand sweep of the sea
and sand catch-net the most precious shells.
How its current
designs a sandbar, and another
but never this one again.
She had long known that people don’t stay.
This fiery current
was her heart-tide
releasing love to drift
among seaweed.
How drifting back to the predictable cycles
of tadpoles and the ballet of fireflies,
Nature is the only stone
that does not slip midstream.
Margaret Simon, found poem from Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Read my writing partners’ offerings for National Author’s Day:

Catherine at Reading to the Core
Linda at A Word Edgewise
Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe

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Poetry Friday: #inktober to #poemtober

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged #inktober, #poemtober, Laura Purdie Salas on October 25, 2019| 12 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up is with Karen Edmisten.

I’ve joined in with a group of poets on social media writing to #inktober word prompts. It’s a great way to jot a little poem that keeps creative juices flowing. On Thursdays, Laura Purdie Salas faithfully posts an image prompt for 15 words or less. This week I used her photo of a red blooming tree and the inktober word, dizzy, to create an autumn haiku. Canva is my go-to site for creating image poems. Follow my posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. And join in the fun!

My new middle grade novel, Sunshine, is available on Amazon. I can’t wait to open the box of books coming soon. See a review here.

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Poetry Friday: I Am

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, I am poem on October 11, 2019| 16 Comments »

Join the Poetry Friday round-up with Catherine at Reading to the Core.

Every week I am delighted to visit The Poem Farm. Amy Ludwig VanDerwater posts a poem and a student writing activity. A few weeks ago, I borrowed this post, The Real Me, and wrote I am poems with my students.

My students loved the activity. Many of them chose to post their poems on our kidblog site. I invited Amy to write comments. You should have heard them reading aloud their personalized comments; the pride in their voices made my heart sing. Amy has a talent for connecting to kids and finding just the right words to say. Thanks, Amy.

I wrote alongside my students. I put together my favorite lines to create this poem:

I am a lionness
set in the stars,
that drumbeat
around a warm campfire.
I am a longing look
from a silent child,
a melody strummed
on his guitar.
I am a secret
scratched on a yellow sticky note.
Don’t tell anyone
who I am.
Margaret Simon, after Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

Photo by **Jeremy Bishop** from **Pexels**

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Poetry Friday: Fall Equinox

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged Mickey Delcambre, Ralph Fletcher, Writing to photographs on September 27, 2019| 11 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up is with Carol at Beyond Literacy Link .

Waiting for the Harvest, by Mickey Delcambre.
First place in the Sugarcane Festival Photography Contest

Ralph Fletcher’s new book, Focus Lessons, is coming out, so I took advantage of Heinemann’s offer to read a sample.

There are strong links between photography and writing. This is true in substance and process, as well as language. The world of photography provides a visual, concrete language (angle, focus, point of view, close-up, panorama) that is enormously helpful in teaching writing.
Ralph Fletcher, Focus Lessons

When I saw Mickey Delcambre’s photo on my Facebook page, I was compelled to write a haiku.

Equinox harvest–
Slow down days, long resting nights
Autumn changes time.
Margaret Simon, draft, 2019

On Monday, I talked with my students about the Fall Equinox. I was surprised how well they know the solstices, but they were less familiar with the meaning of equinox.

In New Iberia this weekend, there is the annual Sugarcane Festival, celebrated on the last weekend of September as harvesting begins. We only have to look out of the window to see the tall cane waving in the fields.

One of the Craft Lessons included in the book sample focuses on Mood. Ralph explains how mood can be expressed in a photograph as well as in writing. I look forward to finding more crossovers between photography and writing Ralph says, “Photography is writing with light.”

I put Mickey’s photograph up and ask my students to do a quick write about it. Our quickwrites are typically 5 minutes. Then we share. Sometimes (it’s always a choice), a quickwrite will become a poem.

Seeing the Days Change

I see the days
changing around me,
going from
day to night
and
night to day
the marks of tires
only
from the day before
seeing the sun go down
getting ready
for the night,
goodnight sun.

Breighlynn, 4th grade

Sugar

Sugar in the fields,
still as a cane.
Growing, oh so tall,
ready for the harvest.
Burning leaves
make the sweet smelling
smoke.

Can you smell
the sugar?
Smelling, oh so
sweet.
Have you ever
eaten the cane?
As pure as sugar
comes.

A.J., 6th grade

This morning on my morning walk I smelled the sweet air that A. J. wrote about. One of the gifts of fall.

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Poetry Friday: A Student is not a Poet, but…

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged student poetry on September 21, 2019| 5 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up is with Linda at Teacher Dance

My students this year look forward to Poetry Friday when we read a poem and talk about what we notice, then try the form on. A few weeks ago we read Jane Yolen’s poem, “A Word is Not a Poem” that I had saved from her daily email poems. Having the form of her poem in hand, my students created interesting poem responses.

A Laugh is Not a Smile

A laugh is not a smile
but it is a feeling inside you.
You can laugh once
but it’s best to laugh twice.
laugh laugh

A smile is not a frown
but it is a feeling inside you.
used in several ways,
to express love, and happiness.
smile smile

Jamison, 4th grade

A Book is not a Word

A book is not a word ,
but a forest in a tree .
Used in many ways ,
it can even be funny .

A book is not a poem
You can only read it once ,
but best to read it twice .
Book , Book .

A book is not a song ,
the words you cannot spin .
Won’t know it going in
you will though coming out .
Tone , Note .

A.J., 6th grade