Posted in Photography, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Travel, Writing, tagged New Orleans City Park, Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden on November 23, 2018| 13 Comments »
Poetry Friday round-up is with Irene at Live Your Poem.
Spending some time in New Orleans filled me with inspiration, especially in the Syndey and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art. I took pictures and found a poem. My friend, Dani Burtsfield from Montana, walked with me and found her own poem. The two compliment each other like we do as friends.
Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged Kwame Alexander, The Crossover on November 9, 2018| 16 Comments »
Poetry Friday round-up is with Michelle at Today’s Little Ditty..
I’ve been reading aloud Kwame Alexander’s Newbery Award winning book in verse, The Crossover. This is a great book to read aloud, but it’s also visually appealing. I don’t think there is a name for this form of writing when the written words express the feeling of the word. But my kids got it! Such a fun way to write about sports. Of course, I wrote about dancing. Have some fun with the way the words look on the page, Kwame style!
Karate by Breighlynn, 3rd grade
I kick the ball
and watch it
f
a
l
l
GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we yell
cause that’s where it
f
e
l
l
I take a glance at my team
And realize we look like we’re from a meme
It’s up to me to save the Day
Cause if we don’t win
This is where our
G
r
a
v
e
s
will lay
I Kick
b u c s
It o n e
And I scream, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Will my team really loose?
Will they think we’re fools?
NO, NOT IN THIS LIFE NOR THE NEXT!!!!!!!
Jayden, 5th grade
by Margaret Simon, 2018
Posted in Photography, Poetry, Poetry Friday, tagged Abundant Autumn, Bayou Teche, blue heron, nature poem on November 2, 2018| 14 Comments »
Poetry Friday round-up is with Jama at Jama’s Alphabet Soup.
Autumn takes its time coming to South Louisiana. It comes in small, unnoticeable ways like the browning of cypress trees, or in larger, violent ways as in a storm leading a cold front. So here we are on the second day of November and temperatures have dropped to the 50’s, a pleasant change from the 80’s to 90’s of the previous six months. I so envy the images of orange and red fall leaves filling the trees.
Since we have not changed our clocks quite yet, the sun is coming up later each morning, and I’ve noticed a heron on the bayou sitting right in the direct ray of the rising sun. I tried to capture him with my telephoto lens, but he heard me and flew off. No matter. I can still write him into a poem.
Carol Varsalona curates a gallery at her blog site for every season. Currently she is collecting images and poems for Abundant Autumn. I borrowed a photograph of a heron at the beach from fellow poet (and better photographer than me) Wendi Romero to use as a backdrop to my poem. I love how the challenges of Poetry Friday peeps push me to spread my writing wings.
Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged anthropomorphism, Calef Brown, Today's Little Ditty on October 26, 2018| 16 Comments »
Poetry Friday round-up is with Kay at A Journey through the Pages.At Today’s Little Ditty, this month’s ditty challenge has sent me for a loop. Michelle interviewed Calef Brown here, and he challenged us “Write a poem or a story about two anthropomorphized objects.”
At first I tried to write about two birds on a wire, but they weren’t speaking to me. Then I grabbed a bag of story starting cubes and rolled a mountain and a star. As I revised this poem, I decided to try a reverso. (See Marilyn Singer’s explanation and model poems here.) I have not been terribly successful with this form. I can’t seem to make the two verses from different perspectives, but I want to be a player in the ditty game, so here it is…
Mountain Sparklers
To mountain high
old star appears
spiraling out of the sky,“Shine like a sparkler.
Be who you are.”In a spray
of light flakes,
Mountain glows
old with wisdom
from Star, his friend.From Star, his friend,
old with wisdom,
Mountain glows
of light flakes
like a spray.“Be who you are.
Shine like a sparkler
spiraling out of the sky.”Old star appears
to mountain high.Margaret Simon, 2018
Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged student poems, triptych, zeno poems on October 19, 2018| 8 Comments »
Brenda Davis Harsham is hosting Poetry Friday today.
We talked about descriptive poetry, writing so that your reader can visualize your topic. I have the privilege of working with small groups of students, so I am able to collaborate with an individual student on a poem. Chloe wanted to write about a swan. I shared a poem from my book Bayou Song that was about the white ibis. The poem was in a triptych form. Chloe and I wrote a poem using the same form writing description from a photograph of a swan. In the process, she learned the word cygnet, and we both learned that a swan tucks her cygnets under her wings.
Swan Triptych
1.
It’s the way
white wings swim
in the crawfish pond.2.
It’s the way
mother swan protects
her cygnets
tucked into her wings
softly.3.
It’s the way
the beautiful swan
is reflected on the water.by Mrs. Simon and Chloe
With Landon, we used metaphor dice. The dice turned up “My soul is a silent trophy.” I suggested changing trophy to garden. He loved the idea and guess what? The line was eight syllables long, perfect for the first line of a zeno. (See more about zenos here.) I asked him, “What did you see in the garden?” He remembered a praying mantis hiding in a bush. As we continued to discuss the word choices for this poem, we decided to break the rule about the one syllable words rhyming. Sometimes when you try to rhyme, you lose meaning.
Garden Zeno
My soul is a silent garden
Praying Mantis
Stealthy
Stands
camouflaging
into
leaves
The small garden
is their
home.
by Landon and Mrs. Simon
Collaborating with students on poems or even having students work together can result in rich conversations around word choice and produce a poem that all are pleased with.
Posted in Bayou Song, Books, Photography, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, J. Patrick Lewis, the Poetry of US on October 5, 2018| 11 Comments »
Poetry Friday round-up is with Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
What a thrill to be a part of this amazing collection of poems from all over our great country! This honor was made possible by the connections I’ve made in Poetry Friday. Because Amy Ludwig VanDerwater knows me, when J. Patrick Lewis was looking for a Louisiana children’s poet, she connected us. The poem I wrote, “Louisiana Bayou Song” became the title poem of my first poetry book published by UL Press this summer.
I also know many of the poets included in the collection, and if you read more Poetry Friday posts, you will find them, too. Today, Buffy Silverman’s post includes 4 poems from the book. Last week, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater posted her poem “A Note from the Trail.”
Here’s Linda Kulp Trout’s poem about Helen Keller. And Mary Lee has two poems included. Robyn Hood Black shared her poem, “Mural Compass.” If I find more, I will add the links into this post.
My poem sits on a two page spread that includes an amazing heron photograph and a heart-wrenching Katrina poem by the anthologist J. Patrick Lewis. I feel I am sitting among my poet-heroes.
Louisiana Bayou Song
Sometimes on the bayou in Louisiana
a storm rolls in quickly–
Cypress trees
sway to the sound.Sometimes on a quiet day
when the sun is high and hot
a heron happens by–
The bayou slows to the beat of his wading.The song of the bayou
can be as fast and frenetic as a Zydeco two-step
or as soft and slow as a Cajun waltz–
The bayou sings a song to me.Margaret Simon (c)
Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged #octonation, Irene Latham, Octopus poems on September 28, 2018| 15 Comments »
Poetry Friday round-up is with Jone at Deo Writer.
Click to Pre-order
Octopus Zeno
Octopuses are amazing
cephalopods
mollusks
beak8 tentacles
wave on
fleeklooking anywhere
for food
sneakBreighlynn, 3rd grade
Irene Latham is an accomplished author/poet, and she is a generous friend. She sent me an advanced copy of Love, Agnes which will be released on October 1st. Agnes has declared October as Octopus Month. See Irene’s post here.
With my students, I read Love, Agnes. We enjoyed logging into this video.
We gathered some amazing octopus facts and words. And, of course, we wrote octopus poems.
Over the weeks we’ve been together, we’ve explored some different poetry forms. For this activity, my students chose their own forms to use and two of them even invented new forms. Madison created the octaiku.
“An Octopus form, or, as I like to call it, a Octaiku ( A combination of Octopus and Haiku. ) The form is 2, 4, 8, 2 ,4 because 2 and 4 can go evenly into 8.”
Eight Arms
Suction Cupped
Cephalopod, Mollusk, Family
Giant
And Beautiful.
Madison, 5th grade
Madison met Irene Latham at the 2016 Louisiana Book Festival.
Things to do as an Octopus
Wear a color changing coat,
call it camouflage.
when you get hurt,
heal up soon.
Something’s going to scare you,
blast streams of black goo.
Time to lay eggs,
protect them till you’re dead.
Landon, 5th grade
My life as Agnes
My friend who lives on shore.
I think he thinks I’m a bore.
He sends me a postcard everyday.
He makes me wanna shout “HOORAY!!!”
I protect my babies ’til they go away
And then I pass away.
Kaia, 3rd grade
Posted in Bayou Song, Creativity, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged Acadiana Center for the Arts, art collage, I am poem on September 21, 2018| 12 Comments »
Poetry Friday round-up is with Erin at The Water’s Edge.
From the collages, we then wrote an I am poem. For this, I offered sentence stems to get the ideas flowing. Today, I am posting one of my collages and poem along with Madison’s. Madison wanted to use a unique word, so we looked through what I call “the big whopping dictionary,” a two book set my daughter bought me at an antique store. Madison found the word reliquary, and we had a discussion about the metaphorical use of a river as a reliquary. I love what she did with her poem.
I am a silver-tongued storyteller.
I wonder where my path leads.
I echo laughter, tears, and songs.
I watch the sun, moon, and stars.
I call your name.I am a silver-tongued storyteller.
I remember tales of old.
I nurture time and treasures.
I say the heart is true.
I hope you’ll hear my call.Margaret Simon, (c) 2018
I am a Rambling River Reliquary
I wonder if I can ever turn back.
I echo the past.
I watch the present.
I call for the future.
I wind a wide bend.
I touch every memory.
I nurture your thoughts.
I want to never stop.
I remember the crashing thunder.
I say ” Swshhh, rrww! ”
I tell the wind my tales.
I hope I can find more.Madison, 5th grade
Posted in Bayou Song, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, tagged fibonacci poem, tercet on September 7, 2018| 14 Comments »
Poetry Friday round-up is with Carol at Beyond Literacy Link.
I’ve challenged my students to write a list poem this week. Before Friday was even here, Madison had taken the bait and wrote a list about the famous Fibonacci series. Madison has an unique style of writing poetry. She capitalizes all the words. I once asked her why she did that, and she told me because they are all important. Who can argue with that!?
Fib-List Poetry
Never-ending
Always TwirlingSince the Very Beginning
It has been SwirlingGreen Points
A Real Place to PinpointIt will Not Disappoint
At the Right ViewpointA Fibonacci
Unlike the NaziMadison, 5th grade
Phyllotaxis plant spiral, goodfreephotos.com
My friend Kay continues to use Bayou Song to inspire poetry with her gifted 4th and 5th graders. Last week they wrote I am poems. This week they wrote tercets. I love Karter’s use of B words to express the beauty of birdsong.
Birdsongs
by KarterBirds are like singing angels
Busting through sadness
Belting out melodies.
Pop on over to Linda Mitchell’s post full of poetry love from the National Book Festival last weekend. Her post helps me remember with joy and celebration!
Posted in Photography, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged bird poem, Library of Congress photography, Melinda Palacio on August 17, 2018| 18 Comments »
Poetry Friday round-up is with Christie at Wondering and Wandering
Last week I discovered a challenge from today’s hostess, Christie Wyman, to write a bird themed poem. Just so happened I had attended a poetry reading of Bird Forgiveness by Melinda Palacio of New Orleans. Then I was reading Diane Mayr’s blogpost about a Library of Congress photography show in Los Angeles. She wrote a note to me to check out the featured photograph for “Not an Ostrich.” Diane had seen a Facebook video I had posted of my friend’s goose, who absolutely must be a floradora goose like the one pictured. Diane also challenged us poets to write about a chosen LOC photo. So I am combining all of these things, Bird Forgiveness, bird themed poetry, and poetry about Library of Congress photos, to bring you this poem.
Not an Ostrich: ‘Floradora goose.’ Actress Isla Bevan holds a goose at the 41st annual Poultry Show, Madison Square Garden, 1930. Unknown photographer.
Precious Things
All things precious, except for this bird, end up buried in a box.
Melinda Palacio from Bird ForgivenessWhat things are precious?
When a photograph is precious, it is saved
under glass, preserved in a museum,
admired for ages.When an egg is precious, it is removed
by expert hands, gently taken to a lab,
buried with sacred ceremony.Except for this bird.
This bird is named, released
to roam the farm, adorned in fancy feathers,
posed as if fine lacefrom a precious box.
–Margaret Simon, (c) 2018
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
