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Poetpourri

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged collaborative poem, Donna Smith on January 27, 2017| 20 Comments »

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

Challenges can be fun. Challenges can be…well…challenging. Donna Smith posted a challenge to write a poem using all the lines given out by the visitors to her blog. She collected the following lines:

Buffy Silverman: ferocious women who never bring you coffee
Donna Smith: always leave a wild song
Linda Baie: dreaming women do art in poetry
Buffy Silverman: where wizards and wolves rush by in a blur of green and gold and gray
Kay McGriff: ignore the awful times, and concentrate on the good ones
Linda Mitchell: waking the world to a new day
Margaret Simon: steam that climbs like smoke from a fire
Carol Varsalona: fearless women reach out, connect, and find joy in life’s intertwined moments
Tabatha Yeatts: little chest to put the Alive in
Joy Acey: wear loose clothing and a smile
Jan Godown Annino: I feel like there should be more stories out there for girls, and I try to tell them
Mary Lee Hahn: ferocious women do not exaggerate
Brenda Harsham: make a ferocious dinner that eats masks, drips truth and saves softness for dessert
Keri Lewis: radical at their core
Kiesha Shepard: ferocious women would rather drink the wind
Diane Mayr: out of endurance, exaltation

One of the rules was to break the rules, so I did. I didn’t use all the lines.

Here is my poem:

Dreaming women
wake the world
reach out
to find joy in life’s
intertwined moments.

They write stories
where wizards and wolves
rush by. Their stories
sing like steam
that rises, smoke from a fire–
a wild fire!

Ferocious women
never bring you coffee.
They make a ferocious dinner,
save softness for dessert
and a smile.

Take advice from us:
Ignore the awful times.
Dream on.
Leave a wild song.
Drink the wind.

To see other poetic responses, go to Donna’s site for the link up.

Now for a very important announcement: The winners of Here We Go! If you see your name here and you haven’t gotten an email from me, please send me your address by email.

1. Jane Whittingham

2. Joanne Duncan

3. Leigh Anne Eck

4. Linda Mitchell

5. Kimberley Moran

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A Case for the Acrostic

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged One Little Word, student acrostic poetry on January 13, 2017| 23 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up is with Keri at Keri Recommends

On Tuesday, I posted a Canva image that I had created with an acrostic poem about my One Little Word, Cherish. Michelle Haseltine commented, “Such a simple poem and yet, so beautiful and touching. I am not usually a fan of acrostic poems, but you have me rethinking my position, friend.”

So I decided to make a case for the acrostic poem.

noun

a series of lines or verses in which the first, last, or other particular letters when taken in order spell out a word, phrase, etc.

I understand the argument. This form is simplistic and can confine the writer and stifle creativity. However, if we let it, a form can challenge the writer to search for unique language and a stronger meaning.

This week, we worked on our One Little Word projects. I showed my Canva acrostic as a sample. We talked about words and synonyms, making use of the online thesaurus. Type in your word and click on synonyms to find more words. Some of my students took this task seriously and found new and unusual words, like vivacity and whimsical, as their chosen OLW.

Dictionaries were on hand for finding words that started with a given letter. When Jacob came to the letter R in his word, Inspire, he read rainbow, and created the following line.

jacob-rainbow-quote

Some students stuck to the one word for each letter, but some created phrases. Emily decided to make each line have a simile. This pushed her to think not only about her word choice, but also about what each word meant to her One Little Word.

Acrostics are simple, but it can be a good pattern for word play and a deeper search for meaning.

vavicity-olw

whimsical-1

Kaiden oneword.jpg

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Poetry Friday: Stone Mirrors

Posted in Books, Photography, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged #haikuforhealing, Edmonia Lewis, Hale Boggs Bridge, Jeannine Atkins, novel in verse, Stone Mirrors on December 30, 2016| 18 Comments »

Poetry Friday is at Donna’s site: Mainly Write

In November at NCTE16, I was privileged to finally meet poet Jeannine Atkins. I got a copy of her upcoming book in verse, Stone Mirrors. I didn’t know what this book was about. I just loved the cover.

The beauty of this book is on the inside and the outside. Jeannine tells the story of Edmonia Lewis, a Objibwe-Haitian-American woman, who in 1862, had the rare chance to attend Oberlin. While there, she became mixed up in a controversy over poisoning. She was acquitted, but forced to leave the school. Her future took her to Boston and Italy where she became a successful sculptor.

The facts, however, are not the important aspects of this story. What I found intriguing was Jeannine’s unique way of writing story in verse. As I read, I was drawn in by the melody of the language as well as the fascinating story. I loved following Edmonia through her growing confidence as an artist and as a woman. I wonder how Jeannine got into the mind of Edmonia. How did she know the feel of the stone she carved? “She hammers out stillness, holding a life in mid-speech or stride, like a deer between danger and trust.”

Intertwined into the story of Edmonia Lewis are lines of wisdom, carved into Jeannine’s poems like the images Edmonia carved in stone.

Broken Colors

Edmonia carves the smokey smell of drawing pencils,
like a burned-down fire, and hardening clay,
with its whiff of a pond bottom. She goes to the art room,
where each mark on paper offers a new chance.
She has nothing left but hunger for beauty,
small as the tip of a paintbrush.

She wishes the stove were lit,
though if smoke rose she might not be alone.
She smashes ice that sheathes
a jar of water to rinse a paintbrush.
She no longer draws goddesses, gods,
or anyone in transformation.
White people think metaphor belongs to them.

She opens a cupboard with boxes
printed with names, none hers.
She reads them as if studying a map
of places no one expects her to see.
The shelves and boxes are divided
like classrooms where walls come between
art, poetry, and myth. In history class,
teachers separate the dead from the living.
All through the school, lines are drawn between
right and wrong, white and colored, rich and poor,
truth and lies, facts and dreams, courage and fear,
what belongs to one person and what doesn’t.
They forget that every time the wind blows,
the world asks everyone to bend.

from Stone Mirrors, Jeannine Atkins, January 2017

On a recent trip through New Orleans, we crossed the Hale Boggs Bridge. My daughter was driving, so I could take this amazing picture. As the time changes over to a new year, I contemplate what may lie ahead.

Towers reach for time Carved into parting clouds Tuning my future Margaret Simon #haikuforhealing

Towers reach for time
Carved into parting clouds
Tuning a future
Margaret Simon
#haikuforhealing

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Poetry Friday: More Haiku

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged #haikuforhealing, haiku-a-day on December 23, 2016| 8 Comments »

Poetry Friday is with Buffy at Buffy’s Blog.

I am an early riser. So most of my haiku writing happens early in the morning. Yesterday I wrote on Laura Purdie Salas’s Thursday 15 Words or Less post in response to an image of a gorilla statue.

#22
I could be a bear
dreaming of spring’s abundance
safely hiding now.

Charlie sits in my lap while I write. Do you know that a sleeping dog has a certain scent?

Today I read Jane Yolen’s poem for the day. I stole her line, “I know you by what you hold.” This one is for my husband of 34+ years.

#23

Peanut, the dog’s ball–
I know you by what you hold–
Lightbulb, fruit, my heart.

–Margaret Simon

The haiku-a-day challenge started by Mary Lee Hahn connects a community of writers:

Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
Mary Lee Hahn at Poetrepository
Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
Buffy Silverman at Buffy’s Blog
Jone Rush MacCulloch at DeoWriter
Diane Mayr, posted on Thursdays at Random Noodling
Julie Johnson at Raising Readers and Writers
Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
Carol Varsalona at Beyond LiteracyLink
Carol Wilcox at Carol’s Corner
Julianne Harmatz tweeting @jarhartz
Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
Michelle Heidenrich Barnes at Today’s Little Ditty

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The Season for Giving

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Slice of Life, tagged #haikuforhealing, Matt Forest Esenwine, Today's Little Ditty, winter poem swap on December 20, 2016| 12 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for the Slice of Life Challenge.

Click to purchase on Amazon

If you haven’t already heard about this wonderful little book of poems, I am here to offer another shameless promotion. I was one of the readers who selected poems to be included; I have 2 poems included; and I wrote a blurb for the back cover. Michelle Heidenrich Barnes is a person I know I love even though I’ve never met her face to face. She is incredibly generous. Each month she features a wonderful poet and asks us out in the Poetry Friday cyberspace to write ditties. When we do, we understand that the fame is short lived on a blog post gallery at the end of the month. However, now we have an anthology! So many great challenges from cinquain to zeno, from haiku and beyond. This collection is a must for any classroom poetry library.

Also in this sphere of poets, I’ve virtually met Tabatha Yeatts who mixes us up and organizes a Winter Poem Swap. This week I received my poem gift from Matt Forest Esenwine. Matt managed to find time to read my Christmas blog posts and create a found poem from them. He printed his poem on one of my Christmas tree images. So thoughtful. So meaningful. So special. Thanks, Matt.

We are in our last few days before winter break. I invited our art teacher to lead the students in an activity during their party on Monday. She taught them about shading in a snowman image. It’s funny when we talk about snowmen because few of my students have ever seen snow, much less made a snowman. But all kids love drawing them. We ended up with a rainbow of snowmen, grey, blue, teal, and even purple.

I hope you are finding gifts everywhere, under your tree, in your mailbox, and in the smiles of children. Happy Holidays!

Haiku-a-day #20
#haikuforhealing

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Poetry Friday:Haiku-a-day #16

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged #haikuforhealing, haiku-a-day on December 16, 2016| 13 Comments »

Poetry Friday is with Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference

Early morning dark
I, in silence with a pen,
catch haiku harmony.

–Margaret Simon

#haikuforhealing

Other December daily haiku writers:

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Haiku-a-day #9

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, tagged #haikuforhealing, haiku-a-day on December 9, 2016| 19 Comments »

Poetry Friday is with Jone at Check it Out.

I am small. What difference can I make? Who knows or cares? When I get into this kind of self-talk, I am defeated before I even try. What good is this hate talk? Isn’t there enough of it in the world?

Then I read from other writers:

Trust your power. It’s all there. The moon has lit your path. You have the fire of ambition. You have a vast sea of emotions and ideas. You hold a magic wand and a symbolic sword––the means to write across the sky.

–Jane Kelley, Smack Dab in the Middle.

Recently I jumped into a writing assignment that I began to doubt I was ready for. I had a hard time when the editor kept pushing back. But isn’t that what makes it all worth it? At the same time, I questioned whether or not I was worthy. Each response sent me back to my poem, my idea, my self. Writing from the heart tugs at your perseverance. Do I dare let anyone see this part of me?

Then there is a community of writers, penning a poem a day, tweeting out poetry in response to our world. I am grateful for this push to put my voice out there. I am grateful to listen to their words, too.

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes at Today’s Little Ditty

If I missed someone, please let me know.

Join in with #haikuforhealing

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DigiLitSunday: Gratitude

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Gratitude, Poetry, Poetry Friday, tagged #haikuforhealing, haiku-a-day, Janet Wong, Mary Lee Hahn, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes, Poetry Friday Anthologies, Sylvia Vardell on December 4, 2016| 9 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

Gratitude takes many forms. Gratitude for my online community means writing a haiku-a-day in December. Mary Lee posted the challenge, and Michelle is curating all the bloggers participating. We are all using #haikuforhealing.

I also feel gratitude for poetry and for authors who promote poetry in the classroom.

Poetry has the power to transform a classroom environment. On Friday I went off the lesson plan path and shared a new book that I received at NCTE16 from Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, the partnership behind Poetry Friday anthologies. Just You Wait is their latest anthology. I love the new way this one is designed with a poem from an outside poet, a response poem from Janet, and a poem writing activity from Sylvia. The subtitle reads “A Poetry Friday Power Book”, and it certainly packed a good punch in my classroom.

After showing my students a picture of Margarita Engle (by looking at her picture, we knew she was of a different race, but which one?), I read her poem “Who am I?”. This poem speaks of the half Cuban she is and how there is no bubble on the form for being half. I have bi-racial students, so we talked honestly about what this means.

We also discussed the mentor text poem and how the end is like a punch line that makes you think. So my students and I wrote together using the form “Today I am someone who…” I could not have predicted the impact this exercise would have on my students. They wrote from their hearts. So much so that some do not want to share with the public, but they did feel safe enough to share with me and their classmates. We were all moved. And through connections and writing, we became closer, a stronger community of writers.

Some posted their poems on our kidblog site for the public. You can read them here. I emailed Sylvia and Janet, and they both graciously left comments. I can’t wait to share these on Monday. #Gratitude for digital spaces that allow this immediate and authentic feedback.

Erin handed me her poem and asked that I publish it on my blog. She is bi-racial. Her mother is from the Philippines. She is determined to fight the stereotypes.

Poetry Friday: Stereotypes

by Erin

Today
I am
not just another stereotypical Asian
I’m someone who doesn’t want to be a doctor
I’m someone who isn’t just a goody-two-shoes
I’m not someone who thinks studying is more important than friends
I’m someone who doesn’t always make good grades
I’m someone who will never be just another Asian
I’m someone who will crush these stereotypes and others like it

I write alongside my students. When I wrote this last line, little did I know how true it was. My students find poems and express their hearts.

Today
I am
someone who welcomes toe tickles from my dog, Charlie
someone who froths milk for coffee every day
someone who looks at nature for inspiration
someone who finds poems hiding in her junk drawer
someone who finds poems in the hearts of children

— Margaret Simon

Please join the conversation today with your link.

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Haiku-a-Day 2

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, tagged #haikuforhealing, December, haiku-a-day on December 2, 2016| 9 Comments »

Poetry Friday is with Bridget at Wee Words for Wee Ones

surprised by red
a glow of Christmas paper
wrapped in a flower

–Margaret Simon

Joining Mary Lee Hahn’s #haikuforhealing. Read about the project here.

Images help me process and write. This flower was a complete surprise. I bought this plant months ago for my deck when we were having guests for the wedding. I am not a plant person. And I usually kill them. But this one has thrived despite my brown thumb, and today, has gifted me with this bright red blossom. Nature heals.

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Mowing in November

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged New Orleans, Poets & Writers on November 25, 2016| 20 Comments »

Poetry Friday is with Carol at Carol’s Corner.

In my Inbox, I found this prompt from Poets and Writers:

In his 1821 essay “A Defence of Poetry,” Percy Bysshe Shelley writes, “Poetry is…the perfect and consummate surface and bloom of all things; it is as the odor and the color of the rose to the texture of the elements which compose it….” Make a list of words and phrases that describe the surface textures, odors, and colors that surround you as this year draws to an end, choosing the details that are most evocative of the season. You may find yourself drawing inspiration from the contrasting primary colors of holiday cheer, bright puffy parkas or dark wool coats, the shiny prints and textures of patterned gift wrap, the stark tones of snow, or the scents of fragrant conifers and baked desserts. Write a trio of poems, each focusing on one type of sensory input. Select an element–setting, narrator’s voice, repeated words, or a specific object–that stays constant through all three, tying them together.

I was relaxing at my daughter’s house in New Orleans after a long, amazing, yet tiring weekend at NCTE. The mowers came to mow the median. And this poem emerged.

I.

Even in November
mowers hum,
chopping remains of green,
throwing dust to the wind.

My soul prepares
for the cold,
curled up in a blanket,
wearing wool socks.

This cooling of air
this crisping of leaves, grass, my toes
gives space for new growth
prepares for seeds to flower.

II

When I hear
mower sounds,
wind playing its violin,

I turn my ear–
Listen.

III

I see black faces
of the mowers earnestly
getting the job done.
Do they take pride
in their mowing?

Do they take their families
for a ride later,
drive by the median
on Carrollton Avenue,
point to the grass,
and say, “I did that!” ?

Do any of us
see the lawn of our lives
as beauty
we have created?

–Margaret Simon