This Photo Wants to be a Poem | Reflections on the Teche

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Festival Umbrella

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged Festival International, tricube on June 4, 2025| 30 Comments »

This is my 4 year old granddaughter Stella. This photo of her was taken at a local music festival in April. She certainly captures the festival vibe with her mismatched clothes, bare feet, and easy smile.

Today I chose a tricube form: 3 stanzas, 3 syllables each line. I don’t think the lines have to rhyme, but I wanted to give the poem a song-like feel. Please join me in writing. Leave a small poem in the comments and support other writers with your comments.

Festival Stella
Umbrella
together
with Stella

Little girl
and a twirl
fun unfurls

Hear the beat
of bare feet
toe-tap-greet

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Ode to Gladiolas

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, Georgia Heard, poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on May 28, 2025| 6 Comments »

May is a month for flowers. Last week sunflowers. Today, gladiolas. My friend Mary brought me a full bouquet with a variety of colors.

I am following Georgia Heard’s calendar and on Sunday, the topic was “what quiet sounds like.”

An ode is a poem of praise. I was also inspired by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater’s Ode to Seeds “Seedsong” from Poetry Friday.

Ode to Glads

Oh, the silence
in your lavender
touched by white
laced around a tall stalk.
It’s hard to believe
how you grow
perfectly perched
upon the soil,
now delighting
my kitchen table
with joyful obedience.
I love you.

Margaret Simon, draft

Please join me in writing a small poem of praise about May flowers. Leave your poem in the comments and support other writers with encouraging words.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Sunflower

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, fibonacci poem, flowers, New Iberia, Petite Anse Farm, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on May 21, 2025| 31 Comments »

This weekend was You-Pick Day at the Petite Anse Sunflower Farm. My daughter Martha was visiting with her little family, so we headed out Saturday morning to fill a vase for my book signing. The bright May sun was shining, and, with Martha’s help, we filled a vase of beautiful sunflowers. I love this annual event. Jennifer and Andy welcome visitors with buckets, clippers, bug spray, and conversation.

Sunflowers are living examples of the Fibonacci series, so I feel a fib poem is an appropriate small form. The syllable count is 1, 2, 3, 5, 8. Today on Georgia Heard’s inspiring calendar the prompt is “a letter to a place.”

Let’s celebrate May and warmth and flowers today. Please leave a small poem in the comments and support other writers with encouraging comments. Thanks for being here.

Dear
fire red
sunflower,
Thank you for your face
flaming from a stalk of grace.

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Bleeding Hearts

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, ekphrastic poetry, Georgia Heard, shadorma, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on May 14, 2025| 7 Comments »

This beautiful bleeding heart vine was a small single branch when I took it inside for the winter. Last summer it didn’t bloom, but I saved it anyway. I’m learning this about gardening; As long as you see green, don’t give up on a plant. I didn’t give up, but I also didn’t have much hope. And now look! Not only is it thriving, it’s blooming. The blossoms seem to be hiding shamefully under the big leaves.

Google told me the symbolism of the bleeding heart flower is compassion. I think about the simple compassion I gave to this plant. It wasn’t difficult. Compassion should not be hard to give to others. I think it should come naturally.

Write a small poem inspired by the bleeding heart flower. Where are you needing compassion? How is your heart bleeding today?

You Belong

You belong
among white flowers
where stillness
grows heartwings
holding you in compassion,
acceptance, and love.

Margaret Simon, draft

My poem today is prompted by Georgia Heard’s calendar “Where you belong” and is written in the Shadorma form (3, 5, 3, 3, 7, 5)

Write a small poem in the comments and give encouraging feedback to other writers.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Fairy Door

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #elfchen, #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, fairy door, Kim Johnson, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on May 7, 2025| 16 Comments »

“Walking in the woods today, I came upon a fairy door,” wrote my friend Kim in a text. She suggested I use it here for a poetry prompt.

From Wikipedia: “A fairy door is a miniature door, usually set into the base of a tree, behind which may be small spaces where people can leave notes, wishes, or gifts for the fairies.”

An open invitation for imagination. I’m curious about the R on this door. Is it part of an alphabet trail? Is it the first or last initial for the person who made it? Is there a fairy with that initial?

Today I am choosing to write an elfchen. Somehow a fairy door calls for an elfchen poem.

Fairy
holds wishes
in the forest
Delicate balance of presence
Oracle

I invite you into this magical forest to let go of concerns and be imaginative. Write a small poem in the comments. Join me on Instagram during the month of May writing #smallpoems, #poemsofpresence. Tag me @margaretgsimon.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Buttercups or Primrose?

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, buttercup, primrose, word poem on April 30, 2025| 5 Comments »

Growing up in Mississippi and now living in Louisiana, I always thought this flower was called a buttercup and grew wild on roadsides. This photo was taken in my neighborhood near the curb of an empty lot. These wild things love a bit of concrete to bloom from.

Yesterday when I googled them, I saw that I could actually buy seeds and that they were also known as a primrose. I love both of these names and wanted to play with them in a poem.

There is a poem form in which the first line is _______ is a ________ word. I came across this form when I was cleaning my classroom. Irene Latham had sent me two along with a collage in a summer poem swap who knows how long ago.

Buttercup is a bouncy word
open to the spring
of teacups with a dollop of honey
and lacy pink napkins.

Primrose is a proper word
holding out its pinky
ready to sip sweetness
among the wild grass.

Margaret Simon, draft

Please write a small poem in the comments and support each other with positive feedback.

The final line of the Kidlit Progressive Poem is with April Wayland at Teaching Authors. Hope over and give her some comment love, too. The line is a celebration. She’s asking for a title.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Fawn

Posted in nature, Photography, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #smallpoems, kouta poem, Lory Landry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on April 23, 2025| 11 Comments »

My friend Lory is a retired first grade teacher who now works at the Avery Island Country Store. She posted a picture of a small sleeping fawn. A sure sign of spring on “the island.” Today in my class, we are on the letter K for poetry month, so I am writing a kouta, aJapanese form that contains a quatrain with the syllable count of 7, 7, 7, 5 or 7, 5, 7, 5.

Early morn, she saw a fawn
a nestled speckled pillow
Where’s your mama, little one?
Can I be your friend?

Margaret Simon, draft

Please leave a small poem in the comments and support other writers with your comments.

The 2025 Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Ruth today: There is no such thing as a Godforsaken Town.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Wind in the Willows

Posted in Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged Children's Literature, de Grummond Collection, E. H. Shepard, Etheree, Illustrations on April 16, 2025| 11 Comments »

Original art for the 1969 cover of Wind in the Willows by E. H. Shepard, de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection.

On Saturday, I had the privilege of touring the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi. The de Grummond is one of the largest research centers for children’s literature. Following a workshop centered around children’s book writing, a small group of us gathered around the boxes pulled out by curator, Karlie Herndon. I took a number of pictures of favorite children’s book illustrations. This cover “sketch” by E. H. Shepard was the about 5 by 8 inches, small and delicate.

Today, Katrina Morrison at Ethical ELA invites us to revisit the Etheree form, named for its creator Etheree Taylor Armstrong. The form is ruled by a syllable count from one to ten.

Toad
Rat, Mole
in color
sing from the page
a long ago tune
inviting young readers
to skip stones across stories
adventures in the great wild wood.
Illustrators capture our heroes,
and our imaginations for all time.
Margaret Simon, draft

I hope you will be inspired to write your own poem today about this work of art. Leave your poems in the comments and return to encourage other writers.

The Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Wooded Path

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, Acadiana Park Nature Station, metaphor, Patt Little photography on April 9, 2025| 3 Comments »

I borrowed this photo from Instagram. I’ve been to Acadiana Park Nature Station, but it was years ago on a field trip with students. I was drawn in by the path and thought about that tree, fallen across the path. How could this be a metaphor?

Metaphor can be elusive. Metaphor can be magical. Allan Wolf uses the phrase, “Metaphors be with you!” Think about metaphor today. Can you make it work in a small poem?

A Path Can Be

A path can be a crooked line
scribbled on a page.

A path can be a stopping place
to let the world pass by.

A path can be a rocky road
where every step is tricky.

A path can be a long, long road
that leads you to your home.

Margaret Simon, draft

The Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Tabatha today at The Opposite of Indifference.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Mural Art

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Progressive poem, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged Ethical ELA, National Poetry Month, New Iberia, tricube on April 2, 2025| 18 Comments »

Mural in process at The Southern Linen Company, New Iberia, Louisiana

I was running late for a lunch date with friends, but I had to stop. The artists, Hannah Gumbo and Terez Molitor, were hard at work painting this bright and cheerful mural. A little while later, they stopped for lunch at the same cafe. I was able to get their names and thank them for their tireless work on the mural. They both lit up. Creating this art brought them joy. And now it will bring joy to passers-by. Public art is for everyone!

Can you write a small poem inspired by this photo? Join us in the comments. After you write, be sure to stop back by to leave some comment love on other writers’ poems. Together we are creating art with words.

At Ethical ELA Verselove, Leilya inspires us to write a tricube poem. This form is 3 stanzas of 3 lines with 3 syllables each.

Mural Art

In spring, red
dances with
yellow light.

Buds become
butterfly,
bee feeders.

Painted walls
fill my heart
with delight.
Margaret Simon, draft