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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Sunset Photo

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged Ada Limón, Ethical ELA, Golden Shovel, Kim Johnson, small poems, sunset, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on November 22, 2023| 20 Comments »

While I was in Ohio for NCTE, my husband sent me this photo of a harvested sugarcane field under an awe-inspiring sunset. He described it to me this morning, “It covered the whole world!” Ethical ELA held its Open Write this week. Kim Johnson prompted us to write a poem using Ada Limón’s poem Give Me This. I wrote a golden shovel about this photo using a striking line: “Why am I not allowed delight?”

So many sunset photos, I wonder why

attraction to orange, pink, purple sky is what I am

with you. Loving this mirror–I

with you, noticing. We are not

the same, yet we’re always allowed

a sunset delight.
Margaret Simon, after Ada Limón

I invite you to write an ekphrastic poem about this photo. Imagine the bigness of the sky, the awe-inspiring sunset, a field of brown…wherever the muse takes you. I hope you take a moment away from your Thanksgiving preparations to write. Come back if you can to comment on others’ poems with encouraging words. Most of all, “Happy Thanksgiving!”

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Just a Rock?

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged On Being, ordinary object, Padreg O Tuama, pantoum, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on November 15, 2023| 8 Comments »

Rock through a jewel loupe, by Margaret Simon

I discovered The Private Eye Project years ago and have a set of jewel loupes in my classrooms. For our nature field trip last week, I brought them with us. One of our goals was to look at nature from different perspectives, as art and as explorers.

I took this picture of a rock one of my students shared with me. There is a whole kingdom inside one sedimentary rock. Use your imagination to write about this ordinary object in an extraordinary way. Make a list of what the rock looks like. You can create an extended metaphor poem. Leave a small poem in the comments and encourage other writers.

I used a formula for writing a pantoum about an ordinary object by PÁDRAIG Ó TUAMA from On Being.

A rock can be a kingdom
if you look through a jewel loupe.
Pick a small rock on a walk
before you embark on a new journey.

If you look through a jewel loupe,
this rock seems insignificant,
but you can embark on a journey.
If you look closely, you may find yourself.

This rock may seem insignificant
but a student thought it a gift.
If you look closely, you may find yourself.
When I hold it tight, I feel warmth.

A student gave me a gift–
a small rock.
When I hold it tight, I feel warmth.
A rock can be a kingdom.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Ancient Door

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Spiritual Growth, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, Jefferson Island, luc bat poetry form, Rip Van WInkle Gardens on November 8, 2023| 16 Comments »

Garden Door, by Margaret Simon (located on Jefferson Island, Rip Van Winkle Gardens)

Last Saturday I attended a silent retreat at Jefferson Island. I wrote about the retreat here. This photo is an ancient doorway to nowhere. It is set in the gardens near an old wishing well. There is not much need for context today. Meander in your mind and find this doorway. Where does it lead you? Is it a place of rest? Is it a challenge to pass through? Is it guarded, or left open?

I recently came upon a new to me form called a luc bat.

The luc bat is a Vietnamese poetic form that means “six-eight.” In fact, the poem consists of alternating lines of six and eight syllables. This poem is interesting in its rhyme scheme that renews at the end of every eight-syllable line and rhymes on the sixth syllable of both lines. You can find a graphic on the Writer’s Digest. My own model draft took longer than usual to write. Rhymezone is my friend.

Retreat Door

Today I release need–
Unmet purpose to feed my worth.
This ancient door will birth
new sight into our earth’s strong care.
Inner eyes long to share
wisdom carried from there to here.
Look in my new seer,
a vision that is clear and pure.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Golden Rod

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged #haiku, #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, #Thisphotowantstobeapoem on November 1, 2023| 21 Comments »

I wrote about finding beauty yesterday for Slice of Life and Spiritual Journey. Along with the post, I wrote a haiku based on the scientific name for Goldenrod. I enjoy writing with word play. For the haiku, I embedded the name into the words of the poem. The form is similar to taking a word for a walk posted on Ethical ELA here by Anna J. Small Roseboro. She suggested taking an abstract word and writing it as the first word in the first line, second word in the next line, and so on until the word becomes the last word in the line. Six lines of six words each.

Of course, as always, you are welcome to enter this prompt in any way that works for you. Please leave a small poem in the comments and encourage other writers with your responses.

Solidago*

Meadow soul soother
I turn toward your day light
Don’t go. Don’t go.
Margaret Simon

*scientific name for goldenrod, solidus meaning “to make whole”

This is the poem I wrote for the word walk prompt:

Sympathy begins with sad eye contact.
Then sympathy reads your sad thoughts.
I express sympathy for your loss.
You may scorn sympathy as insincere.
But I see you, sympathy, walking
along the worn road of sympathy.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Sky Octopus

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, clouds, small poems, sunset on October 25, 2023| 32 Comments »

In her weekly newsletter, Maggie Smith asked the question, “What can a poem do?” Her conclusion is a poem can remind us of us, of who we are as humanity. We need poems now as much as ever. When times are hard, look to the sky and see poetry.

Last weekend while my husband was driving us home one evening, we saw the sky light up at sunset with this amazing cloud formation that disappeared into the night within minutes. I rolled down the window to take the picture. I saw an octopus. What do you see?

Oh, octopus, octopus of the sky,
what do you see as you pass by?
A world of creatures down below
Chasing time and on the go.

Oh octopus, octopus of the sky,
what wisdom lies in your eyes?
I stop to watch your tendril glow,
breathe in deep, heart beats slow.
Margaret Simon, draft

Take a minute to breathe and see what you may see. Use your imagination to tell a story with a poem. Respond to others who are writing vulnerably today. Encourage with your comments.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Niagara Falls

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged #poemsofpresence, #writeout, Emily Lee Luan, Nature poems, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on October 18, 2023| 15 Comments »

For Fall break, my husband and I visited Niagara Falls. This trip was a bucket list item for me. The Falls did not disappoint. They are an amazing feat of nature, the kind that cannot be captured in a photo or video. You have to be there to hear the sounds of hundreds of thousands of gallons of water falling each second. I took a lot of pictures, but when I look at them now, they pale in comparison to the real live event. I’m so happy we did this trip. I highly recommend it. If you are planning to go, let me know. I have suggestions.

This morning’s Poem-a-Day from the Academy of American Poets was by Emily Lee Luan The warble of melting snow is the river. I borrowed her form for my own poem. I find that using a form helps me get out of my head and allowing creativity to do its magic.

The chant of rocks is the falls (after Emily Lee Luan)

is the rush of gravity
is the impulse of water*
is the pull of a mother… child
is the everlasting light of the sun
is the building of power
is the electricity of ages
is the reflection of rainbows
is the promise of peace
is the waking of a dream
is the shift of river
to fall.
Margaret Simon, draft

When you are inspired to write, please leave your poem in the comments so we can share. Write encouraging comments for other writers.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Mossy Sunrise

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged #poemsofpresence, #writeout, haiku, small poems, Spanish moss on October 11, 2023| 25 Comments »

Most mornings I take a walk in my neighborhood. As the days get shorter, I am usually headed home by the time the sun begins to rise. The neighbor’s oak tree drapes over the street and I was drawn to the mossy tendrils hanging. It’s getting close to Halloween, so spooky is on the brain. But maybe this image isn’t spooky at all. Maybe it’s comforting, a sign of almost home, a signature of southern oaks.

My students and I have been writing short poems, haiku and six-word stories, the first two days of Write Out. What I’ve realized and shared with them is that short forms mean every word has to count. On the Write Out poetry page, I found a video by Rich Novack about found poetry. He suggests using nonfiction text from National Park trails to collect words for poetry. For my poem, I googled Spanish Moss and collected a list of words to use in a haiku.

Mother nature braids
her harmless silver ghost–
Sunrise silken shade
Margaret Simon, draft

Consider joining me and my students in writing outside today, observing nature. Perhaps you will find a text to build a poem from. Have fun! Leave your poems in the comments. Encourage other writers with your comments.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Ghosts

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged cinquain, Halloween poems, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on October 4, 2023| 28 Comments »

My neighbor’s ghosts are hanging around, over the sidewalk. On my early morning walk, I pass through them like passing through a curtain. The wind pulls them toward me, and I admit a little uneasiness. I saw Melissa in the store yesterday, and she grinned when she talked about them. She said, “I love my ghosts!”

Halloween is around the corner, literally. Follow the ghostly muse to write a small poem today. Post in the comments. Encourage other writers with your response. I wanted to try a cinquain (pronounced “sink-cane”). Syllable count of 2,4,6,8,2. There are other variations you can try. Here is a guide to the form.

Morning Walk in October

Ghostly
shapes in the wind.
Shivers ripple my skin.
I step lightly through the curtain
of gauze.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Fall

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #small poems, fall poems, zeno poems on September 27, 2023| 18 Comments »

Fall here in South Louisiana doesn’t offer much color change of the trees. The oaks stay green. The cypress turn brown. Crepe myrtles are still blooming. I found this yellow beauty near a sweet-gum tree. I picked it up and pressed it into my notebook.

I invite you to think about fall with all your senses.

One of my favorite forms is the zeno created by J. Patrick Lewis. Based on a mathematical sequence, the syllable count is 8,4,2,1,4,2,1,4,2,1 with all the single syllable lines rhyming. I usually decide on the one syllable rhyming words and write the poem around them.

As sun’s glow fades through purple clouds,
I walk alone
seeking
fall.
A yellow leaf
beneath
sprawls,
beckons to hear
barred owl’s
call.
Margaret Simon

Write your own musings in the comments and leave encouraging comments to others. With my students, today I plan to make Zeno Zines. Here’s a video of me sharing a Zine.

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Poetry Friday: Back in the Classroom

Posted in Gifted Education, Poetry Friday, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged Ethical ELA, moonflower, student poems, volleyball on September 22, 2023| 17 Comments »

Poetry Friday is hosted by Carol at Beyond Literacy Link

I’ve had a wonderful week getting back into the classroom. I have some new students as well as the ones I taught last year. I teach gifted ELA pull out for two elementary schools. The hardest part of the job is packing up the cart and moving to the next school. Once I am there, though, all is right with the world. I am meant to be a teacher!

On Wednesday I led my kids through “This Photo Wants to be a Poem.” We use Fanschool and I place the same photo from my blog post to Fanschool. The kids write their own poems in the comment section. Two of my students who signed into gifted this week had never written a poem before. I find joy in the process. I think I spread that passion to them. Their responses were amazing.

This week was Ethical ELA’s Open Write. I wrote about one of my students in response to Barb’s prompt here. A comment from Kim Johnson gave me an idea for the ending metaphor. This is a wonderful community of teacher-writers. Join us in October, 21st-25th.

Volleyball Team

Last year in fourth grade
she would skip recess
awkwardly reading in a corner
of my classroom.

Fifth grade offered a volleyball team.
She arrived with a brightly colored volleyball,
tossed it with confidence,
leaning on it while writing.

“I’m on the volleyball team this year.”
We talked about the serve I could never master.
She showed me how it’s done now–
from the palm-up wrist rather than the thumb.

A flower blooming
through a crack in the concrete,
hoping to find its way
to shine on the court.
Margaret Simon, draft