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DigiLit Sunday: Curves

Posted in Digital Learning, Teaching, Writing, tagged #nwpianthology, curves, Kim Douillard, photo essay on May 8, 2016| 6 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

I follow Kim Douillard’s blog, Thinking Through my Lens, and she posts a weekly photo challenge. Yesterday the challenge word was Curves. She wrote, “When your week throws you curves…take photos of them!” And I thought, if your week throws you curves, write about it. So I am going to combine the two, DigiLit and Photo Challenge.

May is a stressful time for me as I’m sure it is for most teachers. As I thought about this month and the many stresses, I realized I needed a new perspective.

There is a large old oak in my front yard. I look at it every day. Yet this image shows a new perspective, looking between the branches.

If I turn my perspective to the curve between the branches, I can see a new design. The branch that was trimmed has new growth. Some curves may be tough to take, but later allow for new growth.

On a walk with my dog, we came upon this snail in the grass. Small and slow, the snail curved his slick body, stretching out as far as he could go, lugging along his shell. When we stopped to look, Charlie didn’t see it, so he stepped on it. The snail retreated back into his shell.

When I complain about May, my wise husband says, “May is followed by June.” So I can make it. I can stretch out and lug along because I am heading toward a safe harbor, a time of renewal, “the big weekend!”

The curves of a single rose fascinate me. These are my Mother’s Day flowers. They remind me that I am in this with others. I am not alone. I can turn to colleagues and friends. They will listen to my rants and my complaints and tell me that all will be well. And it will be.

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Slice of Life: Saturated

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Annie Dillard, Bayou Teche, nature poem on May 3, 2016| 18 Comments »

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

Emerging from 30 days of poetry, words eluded me. I looked outside for inspiration. With my camera in hand, I captured the natural meaning of the word saturated.

Reflections in the flood by Margaret Simon

After three days of incessant rain, I am saturated.
The ground below is just a shadow.
My words are hiding there.

Resurrection Fern by Margaret Simon

Fern glistens in the emerging sun.
Beauty finds me
speechless.

Lizard face-off
by Margaret Simon

Like these lizards,
face to face
puff up and show their true colors,
I dive back in,
searching for the light.

Bayou Sunspot
by Margaret Simon

When I am not even trying, poetry finds me. In reflection of her month-long poem-a-day writing, Violet Nesdoly posted this quote from Annie Dillard.

Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes. – Annie Dillard

I turn to poetry when I feel inadequate. When I’m not sure what to write, creating a verse moves me forward. So here I am again, no challenge, no poem-a-day, just me, opening the page, and giving freely, so my writing will not turn to ashes.

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NPM16 #30 Final Poem of the Month

Posted in Poetry, Writing, tagged #NPM16, altered books, Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, Irene Latham, Laura Purdie Salas, Progressive poem on April 30, 2016| 17 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

This week was state testing week. We made it through. Because I am an extra teacher, I was assigned a small group to test. The routine was changed. I stayed at one school all day.

When on Friday the test was over, I resumed my routine. My students were so excited to see me again. They truly missed me. I think they also missed the flexibility of our days. It was as though they could breathe again.

I celebrate the love I share with my students while I am sad to realize the year is quickly coming to an end. So many activities planned; end-of-the-year picnics, talent shows, and field trips will interrupt my class again and again.

I want to stay calm about it all, so I planned a creative end-of-the-year project. We are making re-purposed books. They will paint the pages of a discarded book and add art and writing to them. They are already excited, and the mess making has begun. I celebrate creativity and mess making.

I am altering a book as well. This inspires the creative side of me. No one sees it, really, so I let go of my inhibitions about my art talent and just do it. Here’s a page I’ve painted waiting for a poem.

Pass the scissors
then the glue;
I am pasting poems
in a book.

Make a mess
filling the pages
with happy words.

Anyone can make a book.
Let’s make a book today!

National Poetry Month is at the end. I thought it would never come. Writing a poem a day has been a challenge. I celebrate all the poets out there writing daily and inspiring me and my students to do the same.

I celebrate Irene Latham who blogs here. She generously Skyped with my students on Poem in your Pocket Day. She listened patiently while they shared their own poems and responded with nothing but kindness. She even answered a question about whether or not she felt haunted. (Kids say the darnedest things.) But Irene handled it like a champ. She told my students that she likes to visit graveyards and feel the presence of people who have gone before.

Irene offered excellent advice about finding new words; brainstorm a list of words about your topic. Then mark them all out and start again. This forces you to find new and unusual words.

I also want to thank Laura Purdie Salas whose putrid poetry gave my students permission to write about poop and other yucky stuff.

And what would NPM be without Amy Ludwig VanDerwater? She wondered with us all month long and inspired my students to write about their world.

Thank you to all my readers who stuck with me each day as I attempted to entertain the poetic muse. Here’s to another wonderful National Poetry Month. Do not be mistaken, though. Poetry is made for every day!

Donna has the final line to the Progressive Poem and it is just right!

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NPM16 #29: Words

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged #imagepoems, Mary Oliver, nature poem, Rumi, steal like an artist, word groups on April 29, 2016| 11 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up at Buffy’s Blog.

Where do you find words? I am always in search of the right words, whether I am writing a poem or a blog post or a Facebook message. The right words in the right order.

As I sat next to Vannisa while she revised a poem to enter into a 4-H poetry contest, she and I stared at the screen. She was looking for the last stanza, the inner thinking, that punch of an ending. Where were the words she need?

I pulled out a precious Mary Oliver book from the shelf, A Thousand Mornings. Vanissa swept her hand over the cover. She knows it feels soft, like silk. I read aloud the last lines of some of Mary Oliver’s poems. I was teaching Vannisa how to “steal like an artist.”

This is the list we made:

earth-praise
temple
my heart
angels singing

I can’t share her final draft because we’ve sent it in. Maybe she will win. But we both won when we sat together with the master Mary Oliver and celebrated the right words.

As I continue to write a poem a day (Just one more day, folks!), I decided to use these stolen words in a poem of my own.

Melody

The male cardinal
wakes us every morning
with his earth-praise–
monotone,
happy tone
morning music making.

I nudge the cat
to move off my foot
stretch out of bed
while you stay, softly snoring.

Coffee brews.
The day wakes.
My body is still tired.

But this cardinal
is determined in his glory-making.
He persists
until I turn and see
angels

singing along
in his tree-temple
making melody
of the morning.

–Margaret Simon

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NPM16 #27: Help Needed

Posted in Poetry, Solomon House, Writing, tagged #imagepoems, #NPM16, Poem a Day on April 27, 2016| 4 Comments »

Most every Tuesday, I wake early to serve at Solomon House, a mission of my church and a food bank. My self-appointed job is to find the clients’ names on a printed spreadsheet, check their IDs, and have them sign. During this process, I say good morning, how are you today, and have a great day. And most times they say these same greetings to me. I feel blessed by their presence, their love, and this small way to be a blessing to someone else.

There are places where
buttercups bloom
unattended
no one cares
or notices.

They bloom anyway.

There are people
nobody sees
walking alone on the street
clothes in need of cleaning
backs aching from failure.

The news speaks for itself
but I can help.

My hands are warm and kind;
they reach for you.

My mind is clear and focused;
I think of you.

My shoulder is light and flexible;
I can carry your burden.

I see buttercups.

I see you.

–Margaret Simon

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NPM16: #26 Oneness

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged #NPM16, Access Oneness video, Poem a Day on April 26, 2016| 13 Comments »

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

Here I am again at this blank page. I click to “add media,” setting the stage for yet another poem.

I find myself looking all day long for inspiration. Will it come in the opening of a flower? The words of a child? Advice from a friend? The pages of a book?

I look and look.

Sometimes I open this page afraid that nothing will happen.

But something always does. Because when you show up to the page, magic happens.

A video posted by “Access Oneness” and shared by two Facebook friends intrigued me. The inscription read, “So, you lose balance and you fall … but, what do you do next? Stop? Or go on? Make art out of falling …”

Go to this link to view the video.

I was caught off-guard, unbalanced, not knowing what to feel except inspired, exhilarated.

The words flowed.

In the purple forest
one can climb
stand
slip
fall
rise again
All in the moment
of stillness
above the water
A choice
to fall
and fail,
or balance
and dance–
A chance
to fly.

–Margaret Simon

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NPM16 #24: DigiLit Sunday: Form

Posted in Writing on April 24, 2016| 5 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

In the past several years for National Poetry Month, I focused my teaching on different forms of poetry. We would learn about a new form every day, usually following the alphabet. This method gave me a structure to teach within. I learned forms, too, that I hadn’t tried. Some students would try to predict which form we would learn each day.

I still remember the day I got out of the way, and my students created an amazing kyrielle about kindness following the Sandy Hook shootings. Form can be a puzzle that leads to deep thinking, problem solving, and creativity.

This year, however, I made a decision to use prompts and free choice for writing poems. Forms were optional.

What emerged was fascinating. Each student found a form on their own. And forms spread from student to student. The use of form was like a magnet drawing them in.

Tobie became interested in writing list poems. He read The Popcorn Astronauts and created three different list poems. He found it fun and easy. This is my favorite:

In my Room

I cleaned my room
and what I soon discovered
was enough to make you sick

1 rat family

2 family portraits

3 plastic limbs

4 bowls of ice cream

5 pairs of dirty socks

6 ounces of dirt

7 tiger cubs

8 bags of sunflower seeds

9 sticky lollipops

10 rotten oranges

11 empty soda cans

12-year-old candy canes

13 baby teeth

14 overdue assignments

And a 15-foot-pile of garbage

–Tobie

I find myself being drawn to form as well. I am writing a verse novel, and while most of the verses are free verse, when I am stuck for how to approach a scene, form is a go-to that helps get me through. I was struggling with how to write about my MC’s aunt in a way that would be endearing but also show her quirkiness. After a few tries, I turned to the Ode. Here is a preview from “Hope is our Song.”

Ode to Aunt Dotty

Dearest Aunt Dotty, Mom’s older sister
smells of Jungle Gardenia perfume.
A zest for life
and Never met a stranger
are mottos of my favorite aunt.

Aunt Dotty hugs you like a downy pillow
holding on far too long.
Mom calls her a motormouth.
She talks nonstop.
How does she know just what to say?

Without skipping a beat, Aunt Dotty will pass
you the ketchup before you ask.
With the best of intentions, she crocheted
A prayer shawl, for your sweet friend Simone
To soften her suffering.

The shawl’s as ugly as an old dog’s fur,
with colors found only in mud,
but Aunt Dotty’s gardenia
lingers on each stitch,
so love is the message she gives.

–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved

Form can be a savior of sorts, a path to finding the words you want to say in the best way you can. Rather than stifling creativity, form can actually free the writer. Finding the right form is like finding the right book; each student will find his/her way with the form that is just right.

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NPM16 #23 Celebrating Celebrations

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Chalk-a-bration, Poetry, Writing, tagged chalk poetry, Earth Day, Poetry Slam, Reading Rocket, Shakespeare on April 23, 2016| 9 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

At the beginning of the week, someone noticed that we had filled the reading rocket chart. I put this on the bulletin board way back in August. The goal seemed so high then, 175 books! Each square on the rocket counted for 5 books. Every time a student had read 5 books, he/she could cut out a square and place it on the chart. And here we are with 20 days left of the school year, and the chart is full! This called for a celebration, so I bought Halos and powdered donuts and we had a feast.

My oldest student, Kielan, decided we should have a poetry slam to end our month of poetry. (Next week is testing week.) We watched two videos with appropriate poetry performances. I told them that usually performance poets tackle a social issue. Then I let them go. They formed groups, collaborated, practiced, and performed their poems on Friday. I even got into the act by collaborating with Emily and performing with her. I videoed their performances and plan to make each a DVD to keep. The only person invited to watch was the janitor, and she was so honored to be there.

This is Tobie and Kaiden’s poem. Everyone was so impressed with these boys that we are encouraging them to enter the talent show.

Eracism

Get up out your chair
you have the power to
do something in this
society

You have the power to
Eracism
Stop the racism start
Eracism
Lower society’s bar try to
Eracism
Laws are changed just because you’re different, try
Eracism
You have the power to
Eracism

Stop
the
Racism
Just because you’re different
Doesn’t mean you should be treated differently
lets try to
ERACISM

Tobie and Kaiden

Friday was also Earth Day, so we grabbed our journals and chalk and wrote Earth Day poems on the sidewalk.

Today is Shakespeare’s 452nd birthday. In celebration, Michelle Barnes is hosting 5 for Friday on her blog here.

Here’s my Little Shakespearean 5 word ditty:

The Course of True Love

begins
when the eyes
see

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NPM16: #19 The Trouble with Poetry

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged teaching poetry on April 19, 2016| 8 Comments »

During this monthlong survey of poetry, there is trouble.

So many decisions to make.

What should I teach today?
Line breaks,
literary elements,
limericks?

I want to say stop to
sing-song rhymes
and simple forms.

Then one turns to another and says,
“Let’s write a rap abecedarian.”

Like the messiness of art class,
the instructor must allow
for paint splatters and stains,
for stalled-out cinquains
and skip-to-my-loos.

Poetry is hard.
Poetry is easy.
There are rules in poetry.
There are no rules:
Let the poem find its way.
This is the trouble with poetry.
This is the joy of poetry.

–Margaret Simon

Follow the Progressive Poem to Charles Waters.

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NPM16: #18 Flowering Fibs

Posted in Poetry, Writing, tagged African iris, fibonacci poem, nature poetry on April 18, 2016| 5 Comments »

One thing that helps me during this month of poetry discipline is forms. When I have something to say, words to use, form can help me with a placement that sometimes leads to wisdom or a nice image. Amy Rudd linked up to DigiLit Sunday yesterday reminding me of the Fib poem. This form is based on the mathematical Fibonacci sequence which begins with 1,1,2,3,5,8.

I came home from a quick weekend trip to find African iris blooming in the courtyard. I did not plant these. The prior owners did, so they delight and surprise me each year. I gathered words from a Google search and wrote two fibs.

African Iris Fibs

Sword
Leaves
Flowers
Delicate
Open only a day
Walk across the garden to you.

New
blooms
daily
butterfly
wings, African grace
welcome me to this rainforest.