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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: All That Remains

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, Molly Hogan, small poems, tree damage on May 22, 2024| 38 Comments »

I recently wrote a poem about the loss of an old oak for the sake of a new road. We discussed my poem in the Inklings writing group on Sunday. Molly texted this photo to the group. “I thought of our conversation when I was walking in a nearby town and discovered they’d cut down tons of trees as they repair the sidewalks. It made me so sad. Someone had placed these small cloth notes on the remains.”

I was considering a butterfly photo for today, but when she sent this, it hit me in my gut. We have to use poetry to resist. This itself is poetry of resistance.

The roots are sewing
messages of sorrow–
saying goodbye to their masters,
the trunk and branches
they served for years.
Underground, the roots
hold hands in solidarity
grieving and wishing
the world would understand.
Margaret Simon, draft

Please leave a small poem in the comments paying homage to the trees. Remember to respond with encouragement to other writers.

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Slice of Life: In the Midst of Butterflies

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged black swallowtail, butterfly garden, free verse poem, nature poem on May 21, 2024| 8 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

When something bad happens,
something that brings you harshly back to reality,
letting you know one day
you will lose the life you have now,
look for butterflies.

Two weeks before,
when all was blooming
and life was full of daily walks
among wildflowers,
we took into our classroom
black swallowtail larvae.

This is a dependable cycle,
metamorphosis, changing,
eating itself into a chrysalis,
camouflaged, unrecognizable.

Then like a miracle,
beauty breaks free
out of nature’s cage
reminding us
we long for flight.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly released into our school garden. photo by Margaret Simon

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Storm

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged climate change, skinny poem, storms on May 15, 2024| 49 Comments »

Storm in Des Moines, Iowa; photographer unknown.

Storms seem to pop up out of nowhere these days. This week we had one blow through that knocked out an outdoor light in a literal flash, Crash! What does this photo conjure for you? Fear? Curiosity? Memory? Please leave a small poem in the comments.

I haven’t written a skinny poem in a while. The rules are 11 lines, the first and last uses the same words and can be any length. The other lines are one word with a repeated word in lines 2, 6, and 10.

Storms come suddenly in the night
bearing
violent
windswept
voice
bearing
climate
change
stress
Suddenly, in the night, storms come.
Margaret Simon, draft

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Slice of Life: Mothers

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Alzheimer's, Letters from Love, Liz Gilbert, Mother's Day, The Longest Day on May 14, 2024| 2 Comments »

Mother’s Day is a hard day for many women. My Mother’s Day was hard this year. That hard was unexpected. I have three daughters who are each mothers now. Isn’t that something to celebrate? Yes, of course. Not to mention my beautiful grandchildren! My husband and I made a small effort to celebrate his mother with lunch and gifts of plants. I am in the middle, not really a mother anymore. Not mothered anymore. The above quote talks about this shift. It’s big and hard.

Elizabeth Gilbert sent a prompt for her followers to write from: “Dear Love: What would you have me know about mothers today?” Here is a portion of my letter from Love.

You want to keep your arms wide for them, but you can close them around yourself. You have to become lovable only to yourself now. There is freedom and grace in this stage. You did your best. You left your loveseed and fertilized it to grow in them as mothers. Turn your loving toward home, dear one. Open arms are there for you.

My own mother, as many of you know, is living with Alzheimer’s. I have opened a fundraiser page for The Longest Day, an event for the Alzheimer’s Association. I think all of us have been touched by Alzheimer’s. You can donate at my personal page here. For a $50 donation, my ADK sisters and I have made purple beaded bracelets.

Here is a photo my brother sent of my mother from Mother’s Day at her memory care home.

My mother, Dot Gibson. She’s still smiling!

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Slice of Life: The Practice of Writing

Posted in Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged gladiolus, Writing creates writing on May 7, 2024| 10 Comments »

We are nearing the end of the school year, so last week I panicked. I have to get the end-of-the-year narrative writing done for my SLT (Student Learning Target). I’m calmer now because yesterday I realized while working with my second grader that there has been growth, even while I wasn’t really paying attention. He completely filled one page and has more to say.

My students write a Slice of Life every week. They post on a blog site formerly known as Kidblog, now Fanschool. This weekly practice is graded, but the rubric is rather basic. More of a get-‘er-done checklist rather than anything meticulous. I forgot that the practice of writing weekly creates improvement.

Yesterday I heard my older students claiming word counts.

“I wrote 500 words!”

“I can top that easily!”

These claims were not so much competitive as they were evidence that I had nothing to worry about. They’ve learned to elaborate, to use transitions, to add dialogue, to end with a satisfying conclusion, not because I have told them to, but because that is what writers do.

Like the gladiolus my friend dropped off at my back door, their long stem of learning has blossomed and continues to grow. I am proud to be the holder of the blooming flowers. I must’ve done something good.

**Glad Elfchen**
Students
bloom when
you let them
be the flowers they
Choose.

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Poetry Friday: Star

Posted in Poetry Friday, Progressive poem, Writing, tagged Festival of Words, Inklings challenge, Linda Mitchell, nestling poems on May 3, 2024| 17 Comments »

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Buffy Silverman.

Happy May! In many ways, I’m sad that it’s May. I looked over the school calendars, and I have fewer than 10 days left with my students. May’s calendars are worse than December. They are full of “Fun Days”, field trips, and “Awards Day”… Where are the time-with-my-students days?

Of course, there are some wonderful days on the same calendar: Teacher Appreciation Week, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Sleep-in-it’s-summer days.

Today is Inklings Challenge of the Month Day. Linda Mitchell hit us with an interesting challenge to exchange poems and “Fiddle with, play with, tinker, tear-apart, be inspired or stumped by” the poem you were given. I chose to find a nestling ( à la Irene Latham). On this Canva design, you can see the poem Linda sent and my nestling.

Full poem “Star Says” by Linda Mitchell
Nestling “Star” by Margaret Simon

Links to other Inklings. Molly had my poem to fiddle with. I can’t wait to see what she did with it.

Molly Hogan
Heidi Mordhorst
Catherine Flynn
Mary Lee Hahn
Linda Mitchell

If you followed the Progressive Poem, you can find the poem as a whole at this link: 2024 Kidlit Progressive Poem: Border Crossing This year felt different, a higher stakes dramatic story evolved. Thanks to everyone who participated.

I will be participating in a poetry reading event on Saturday night. It’s been a while since I have read for an audience. Wish me luck.

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Spiritual Thursday: Growth

Posted in Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged Ellen Bass, growth, raising butterflies on May 2, 2024| 8 Comments »

Spiritual Journey gathering is with Jone today. She offered us the topic of growth.

A friend of mine who knows I love butterflies called to say she had black swallowtail caterpillars all over her dill plant. I said, “I’m coming.” She gave me the whole pot. We have 5 caterpillars on the plant in a butterfly net in my classroom. I pulled out magnifying sheets and invited my students into an inquiry about the caterpillars. We started with what do you already know and then wrote 3-5 questions.

I think the whole process is nature’s magic, but when one student wanted to know what actually happens in the cocoon/chrysalis, we learned that the caterpillar ingests itself. Ew!

Grief can be like this really messy process. Growth only comes from going through the messy muck of grief. I often feel like I’m not doing it right or well. What is really meant when someone says, “She’s handling it well.” I tell you no one handles it well. No one! We handle it how we handle it. Sometimes that means gripping hard to the steering wheel and other times, it’s walking among the wildflowers weeping.

And just when you think you’ve gone the distance, you’ve gotten through, something else comes along to topple you over.

If we stop growing, grieving, changing, we stop living. Growth is happening every day. Spring reveals to us that even the plants that look bare and dormant will leaf out, will bloom, will grow. Don’t ignore the process. Tend it as you would a tiny, fragile caterpillar.

Life
after Ellen Bass, Relax

Bad things are going to happen.
You will leave the milk out;
It will sour.

Bad things that leave you helpless.
A newborn cannot breathe on his own.
You will pray.

Bad things are inevitable.
Some doctor will miss something important.
You will suffer.

Bad things stop us in our tracks.
A squirrel will eat the coolant hose again.
You will be stuck.

But one evening when you’re bone tired,
you will watch a video of your granddaughter.
You will laugh until you cry.

Let it all come. You are living a life.
Margaret Simon

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Flower Girl

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged flower girl, luc bat poetry form, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on May 1, 2024| 25 Comments »

One of my students brought a small photo album to school and shared with me this photo of her as a baby, probably between 18 months and 2 years old. She was a flower girl in a wedding. There are so many things to love about this photo. The facial expression, her rosy baby cheeks, and the celebration of love. So I took a photo of the photo, which doesn’t make for great quality, but you get the idea. May Day is a time for celebrating the warmth of spring and the blooming of flowers. (I do not have permission for the use of the photo.)

To honor the Asian tradition, I wrote a Luc Bat. The syllable count is 6, 8 (luc bat translates to six, eight) and in the 8 syllable line, the 6th syllable rhymes. There is no limit to the number of lines, but it typically ends on the 8 syllable line.

Our song begins with praise
fills temple as we raise our one
voice. Flower-scented hands
held together by bands of love.
Margaret Simon, draft

Please respond to this photo with a small poem in the comments. Encourage other writers with your comments.

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Poetry Friday: Rainbow Haiku

Posted in Gifted Education, Photography, Poetry Friday, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged haiku, rainbow poems, student poems on April 26, 2024| 13 Comments »

The Poetry Friday Roundup is with Ruth at There is no such thing as a Godforsaken town.

This week is state testing week, so I did not pull my gifted students out from their regular classrooms. I’m on stand-by to help if needed. But I do get to see my youngest ones. William, first grade, was only recently placed in gifted services. His gifted brain is so full of ideas that he can barely settle on one thing. I asked him to work with me on a haiku about a rainbow. We talked about how a haiku form captures a single moment in time, usually about nature, and has 3 lines, short, long, short. We played around with word order and placement of his ideas. Then he came out with the word “surprise.” Ah yes, that’s it!

Reflex (relects) in the warter (water).
a rainbow comes out of clouds.
surprise in the sky
William’s first haiku, 1st grade

Carson in 2nd grade has been working with me all year long. He’s more independent in his writing, but still needs reassurance. I showed him a video from Mystery Science about how the rain becomes a prism to refract the white light into a colorful rainbow.

Rainbows are still a mystery to me even though I have this knowledge. When I see an actual rainbow in the sky, I often take a picture. My husband knows to stop for rainbows. If you are drawn to them, to Molly’s amazing photo, and want to add your writing to the collection, go back to this post on Wednesday.

Sunlight prism
in the water makes rainbows
arch of colors
Carson, 2nd grade

While I was checking my Fanschool post, I realized that even though Adelyn was not coming to class, she checked on our weekly “This Photo Wants to be a Poem” post and wrote. She is crazy about all things mythological. Can you tell?

The great color arc,
stretching above us.
As water vapor shimmers bright
in shining light,
Iris glows.
Adelyn, 5th grade

After a skipped day on Thursday (no worries, just busy life), Karin introduces a new character.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Over the Rainbow

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged #haiku, #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, Molly Hogan, rainbow on April 24, 2024| 30 Comments »

Welcome to Wednesday This Photo Wants to Be a Poem Day. While you are here, take a moment to be in/ with the featured photograph. When you feel moved to write, write a small poem inspired by the photo. Leave some or all of your creation in a comment. Respond to other writers with positive feedback.

Today’s photo was taken by Molly Hogan. She is a teacher-poet-photographer friend in Maine. When I first saw and saved this photo, I hadn’t seen the full reflection in the water. I’m not sure where this photo was located, but I want to be there today. Don’t you?