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Archive for the ‘This Photo Wants to be a Poem’ Category

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Milkweed Seed Pod

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , on October 12, 2022| 9 Comments »

I love how both students and poet participants are on the look out for photos that want to be poems. Last week I featured a sunset photo taken by a third grader. This week Karen Eastlund sent me an interesting photo from her garden. She said they planted milkweed hoping for monarchs. I have recently found 3 monarch caterpillars on my own milkweed. Two of them were on volunteer milkweed that had planted itself in a crack of concrete near my air-conditioner units. I’m so glad I left it there growing wild and free like the weed it is meant to be. Thanks Karen for this amazing photo of a milkweed seed pod, open, soft, and free.

Milkweed seed pods, Karen Eastlund

Seed pod opens
to the morning sun
waiting for a wisp of wind
to carry feather-soft seedlings
to the sky.
Plant me upon your pinwheel
and carry me along.

Margaret Simon, draft

Please leave a small poem draft in the comments. Come back, if you can, to write encouraging comments for other writers. Happy Hump Day!

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Student Version

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged , , , on October 5, 2022| 35 Comments »

This week’s photo is from my student Brayden. Over the weekend I got a text from his mom. First came the photo. Then she wrote, “Brayden took this picture and wants to write a poem about it.”

I think my eyes welled up. I won’t go into the whole history of Brayden for privacy’s sake, but this felt like a turning point to me, not only in his writing life, but also in his relationship with me (and all things School). What teacher wouldn’t want a student to look at a beautiful sunset and think about poetry? It’s a first for me.

Sunset glow
Traffic flow
I hope you know
I’m coming home.

Margaret Simon, draft

Please leave a small poem in the comments. Try to respond with encouragement to other writers.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Lake Bubbles

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , on September 28, 2022| 16 Comments »

Our friend Molly loves to rise early and with camera in hand, head to the nearest water source. Morning light illuminated some mysterious bubbles on her recent excursion. I marvel at her photography skills and her ability to see beauty. Let’s take a moment to stand in awe, to see beauty, to feel alive.

Write a small poem in the comments and respond with encouragement to other writers.

Bubbles by Molly Hogan

Just below surface
mysterious, magical
breath of life bubbles

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Fresh Fruit

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , on September 20, 2022| 26 Comments »

I try to get outside early in the morning for a walk, often before the sun rises. On my path is a grove of fruit trees. I watch these trees as the season slowly changes to fall. Trees seem to know even before we can feel the air temperature change that fall is on its way. I know the slant of light changes and all that, but I just wish for a little cooler breeze. My husband always says that satsumas (oranges) ripen around the time of the first report card. I wrote a modern haiku in honor of the wet green fruit. Please take a moment to write a small poem in the comments and support other writers.

green fruit by Margaret Simon

Sweet fruit of the earth
Taste of rain, taste of sun
Abundantly enough

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Rocky Bear

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , , on September 14, 2022| 16 Comments »

This week’s photo comes from California photographer/ teacher Kim Douillard. I couldn’t resist this not-so-cuddly bear-of-stones. She took the photo on the campus of UC San Diego, marked with the hashtag Stuart Collection (click here to see a size reference).

Stone Bear, Stuart Collection, UC San Diego by Kim Douillard, artist Tim Hawkinson

I hope you enjoy musing on this photo. I’ll be back later with a poem. Post a small poem in the comments and encourage other writers with responses. Thanks for stopping by.

A Fib Poem (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8)

Bear
your
boulder.
Be bolder
in your stone-cold suit.
Hold a steady shoulder for me. 

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Web

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , , on September 7, 2022| 22 Comments »

Welcome to This Photo Wants to be a Poem. Respond to the photo collage with a small poem in the comments. Encourage other writers with comments.

I don’t know much about spiders, but orb spiders are out and about doing their thing and making amazing intricate webs. I took the first picture from my front courtyard. The web was huge and glimmering in the sunlight. I couldn’t really capture it with a phone camera. If you look closely, you can see the big black spider in the center.

On my Instagram feed I saw Paul Hankin’s photo of a similar style web. His caption read, “What might you create in your own little corner?”

In my classroom, we are answering “This or That” questions for attendance these days. So I put these images side by side and ask you this or that? Are you the type to hide your masterpiece in a corner, under and away from others who may harm it or misunderstand? Or do you place your art where everyone can see it, if only they stop long enough to notice?

Create a small poem around your thoughts today. Share it in the comments. Return, if you can, to leave encouraging comments to other writers.

By Margaret Simon
by Paul Hankins

Weaving in my own corner
Ever-winding path
Behold a work in progress

Margaret Simon, draft

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Poetry Friday: Finding Deeper Wisdom

Posted in Poetry Friday, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , on September 2, 2022| 13 Comments »

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Linda at Teacher Dance.

This month’s Inkling challenge was mine to create. I invited my writing group to share any poem that they may have written to This Photo Wants to be a Poem prompt. I post a photo prompt once a week on Wednesdays. My photos come from my own iPhone photos or from Instagram friend’s photos, by permission.

I enjoy the craft of writing a small poem. Many of the ones I write bring about some deeper wisdom. Often I surprise myself with these, wondering where they come from. Today I am featuring bird wisdom poems. Nature offers itself to us with its revelation of truth.

Peek in on my Inkling buddies and see what they are doing with this challenge:

Linda Mitchell
Molly Hogan
Catherine Flynn
Heidi Mordhorst
MaryLee Hahn

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Dramatic Sky

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , on August 31, 2022| 43 Comments »

The skies have been dramatic lately with storms rolling in and out. On a morning walk earlier this week, I looked up and saw a carpet of pink. A few steps later, a rainbow. Then the sky became yellow and the clouds broke apart. All in a matter of minutes.

Let this image inspire your muse this morning. Where will you walk? Who is with you? What can you imagine? Write a small poem in the comments and come back to leave encouraging responses to others.

Pink sky, Margaret Simon

Avalyn (3rd grade) wrote this haiku with me:

Cotton candy sky
If you look closer, you see
aesthetic heaven. 

Mrs. Simon and Avalyn

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Baby Tern

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on August 24, 2022| 19 Comments »

Leave a small poem response to the photo in the comments. Be sure to support other writers with encouraging words.

If you’ve been here before, you know that one of my favorite photographers is a critique partner, Inkling Molly Hogan. Molly lives in Maine and is an amazing photographer. Please take a moment to read her Tuesday post about “gathering calm” through nature.

When I go out to take pictures, I usually have at least the location in mind, which dictates some of what I’ll see. Ocean versus marsh versus river. Forests or fields. Still, there are surprises here, too. I never know what will capture my attention at that particular time. Will the fog call to me, or shadows or spider webs? Will interesting patterns emerge in sand, water or sky? 

Molly Hogan

What does the poet see? What will draw your attention? The ocean waves? The striking bird? The patterns in the sand?

Fledgling tern cries to be fed, photo by Molly Hogan

Hunger…

makes the baby cry
the great owl hunt
the fledgling squeal
Hunger opens our souls
for feeding

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Baby Calf

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , on August 17, 2022| 3 Comments »

Welcome to This Photo: I hope you are inspired by this photo to write a small poem. Leave it in the comments. Read other small poems and write an encouraging message.

School has started and thus, my itinerant trek from school to school. Last year I found an alternate route that took me through the country. I have come to love this scenic route. In the spring I stopped to take a photo of a barn among wildflowers. One day last week I saw a new calf in the field with the white cows. I passed a few times before I decided to stop. On this particular day no one was anywhere around, so I pulled into the driveway. Momma cow saw me coming and kept a close eye on me, but I spoke to her kindly and was able to get this photo of her new baby.

White cow, white cow
what do you hear?

Little calf, little one
love is always near.

Margaret Simon, draft

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