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Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: See the Lights

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , , , on December 20, 2023| 21 Comments »

Today’s photo is a sign of the season, a lit up Christmas tree yard decoration in my neighborhood. I’m an early morning walker and the combination of the darkness and the cold drew my eye to this yard filled with lights. I know the couple who live there, so I was also comforted by their presence, too, inwardly thanking them for this photo opp.

Moss tree with twinkle lights by Margaret Simon

Recently I learned about a new-to-me poetry form, elfchen, from Mary Lee. It’s a fun form to play with, similar to a cinquain, yet each line answers a question. Another word for this form is the elevenie. Being a fan of the number 11 (my birthday and my father’s fall on the 11th), I wanted to give the form a test run.

RowWordsContent
11A thought, an object, a colour, a smell or the like
22What does the word from the first row do?
33Where or how is the word of row 1?
44What do you mean?
51Conclusion: What results from all this? What is the outcome?
From Wikipedia

Moss Ghost Tree

lights
colorfully twinkle
brighten winter’s darkness
with a firefly-tree
delight

Margaret Simon, draft

How are you handling this winter’s solstice? Do you put up lights in your yard? Take this invitation to write about your own traditions for this time of year. Leave a small poem in the comments and encourage other writers with your responses. Thanks for your dedication to this weekly practice.

I will not be posting next Wednesday. I’m taking a family trip to North Georgia. This Photo will be back in the New Year. Have a Happy Holiday!

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Poetry Friday: Winter Poem Swap Continent to Continent

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , on December 15, 2023| 16 Comments »

The yearly holiday poem swap is organized by Tabatha Yeatts. She graciously matches poet to poet. This year my exchange was with Sally Murphy , children’s book author living in Australia.

Imagine my surprise when shortly after Thanksgiving break, full of family and food with little time to think about poetry, I received Sally’s adorable verse novel Queen Narelle. Narelle is a queenly cat. I have one of those. Her name is Fancy which fits her well. I immediately connected with Narelle and Maddie, her girl.

Then there were cute koala sticky notes. And her card to me was a poem “My Country” by Dorothea MacKellar (1885-1968) that begins “The love of field and coppice” and ends with “My homing thoughts will fly.” Such a beautiful ode to Australia. You can read about Dorothea and see the handwritten poem here.

Sally’s poem for me:

Margaret

She notices beauty
even in the dark.
Shares it
to spread joy
or moments of peace
or a reminder
to breathe
be still
reflect.
Purposefully
nurturing herself
nurturing me
nurturing the world.

Sally Murphy

I hold this sweet poem in my hands and feel grateful for being seen in such a loving way. I wanted to respond to Sally by seeing her. I had not put together anything for her yet, so I took a look at her Instagram and found a post about how she could not close the cupboard for all the to-be-read books inside. She called it an “inevitable bookavalanche.”


For Sally

I found you
under a book avalanche
where you were happily
absorbing
word upon words
story upon stories
filling your cupboard
with timeless treasures.

Margaret Simon
Poetry Friday is hosted this week by Janice Scully at Salt City Verse.

Visit this link to WhisperShout magazine to read two of my students’ poems. Thanks, Heidi for selecting them for Issue #12.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Found Art

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , on December 13, 2023| 6 Comments »

Found art by Kim Douillard

Kim Douillard lives near San Diego, California. She teaches first graders using art and writing. I’m sure she is a kid at heart after I saw this image on Instagram. A beach snowman? Muddy monster? With a stick as a nose and seashell eyes, I found it/him/her engaging. Today I will introduce Cousin It to my students and hope their imaginations will ignite and find a poem. Where does your imagination go? Write a small poem and share it in the comments. We are a caring community of writers. Respond to others with encouraging words.

I gave myself the challenge of writing a triolet this morning. I find that working in form can draw out something new, maybe even weird, that’s been buried under the surface of my judgement.

Champion

In the shape of soil and mud
lives a creature of the night
who transforms as we should
from a shape of soil and mud
to survivors of the flood
holding roots in hope of flight
we bear the shape of soil and mud
living creatures day and night.

Margaret Simon, draft

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Slice of Life: A Visit with my Mother

Posted in Gratitude, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged , , on December 12, 2023| 11 Comments »

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

Maybe there comes a point in the Alzheimer’s journey as in any journey of life, a time when we have accepted the new normal. I thought I had accepted it, come to an unemotional understanding of who my mother is now. We made the 4+ hour trip on Saturday. My brother, a saint in my book, brought Mom to lunch with all of us, my husband and me, my daughter and her 3 year-old daughter, and my sister. The table was alive with conversation, all except Mom who sat patiently as Hunter ordered for her, cut her food, and asked her if she liked it. She was content. But she never spoke.

There was a time not too long ago when she would try to be a part of the conversation. Her words would come in and leave off. Like the thought that created them had shorted out, the energy waned. This time, only a month or so later, she doesn’t even try anymore. Her silence was loud to me.

On Sunday morning, my husband helped me get her to church. It wasn’t easy, but we did it. I sat holding Mom for the service. She fell asleep a few times, but when the organ played, she jerked awake and listened, sometimes singing along. She can still read the hymns and her voice is as beautiful as ever. I told her so in her ear, and she turned and smiled, “Thank you.”

Another time during the service, she turned to me and said, “I miss…” I’m not sure who she was missing, my father, my brother, or one of her favorite priests. For a moment, she was present and missing someone.

We brought her back to her memory care home. She was whisked away by the kind receptionist. I turned away in tears. Every time I visit, it gets harder to leave.

Here is a photo of her holding up a tacky Christmas sweater that my daughter gave to her. She follows directions well, “Hold it up and smile.”

I am grateful for so many things: My brother who deals with all of my mother’s needs, my mother’s contentedness, her amazing care, and the sparkle in her blue eyes. Grief is with me always. I will learn to hold its hand and feel its softness. Someone once said that deep grief comes from deep love.

My mother, Dot Gibson, with her tacky Christmas sweater. “It’s pretty.”

It is time to sign up for hosting Spiritual Journey in 2024. We post on the first Thursday of the month. If you would like to host our round-up one month, please fill in this Google Sheet. Email me if you would like more information before signing up. (margaretsmn at gmail.com)

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Spiritual Thursday: Dark and Light–Chiaroscuro

Posted in Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged , on December 7, 2023| 7 Comments »

Spiritual Journey gathering is hosted by Jone MacCulloch today.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:5 New International Version
Three Trees by John Gibson

My father, John Gibson, often talked about the chiaroscuro (play of light and dark) in his art as it symbolized a belief he held dear, that Jesus came to be the light of the world. He would have been 90 on Nov. 11th. I miss him everyday.

Jone asked us these questions to ponder for our December spiritual journey posts:

How do you honor/embrace this time of darkness?
Where do you find the points of light in your life?
In a few weeks, winter solstice will be here, how do you honor this and Christmas?
How do you use this time of year for self-reflection?

My father-in-law was born on the Winter Solstice, so for the years he was alive, we celebrated this day. Since his death in 2004, we have not gathered as a family for Winter Solstice…until this year. Baby June Margaret was born last year on Dec. 21st. The labor was long for my youngest daughter after she was induced on Dec. 20th. Of course, we wanted her to progress quickly and have the baby before midnight; however, June had other plans. She pushed her way into our world in the earliest hours of Dec. 21st, Papa’s birthday and Winter Solstice Day. This year our family will gather on the 16th to celebrate her first birthday.

In Anderson Cooper’s interview of President Biden for his podcast “All There Is” (which I highly recommend), they speak about the strength of family and how the light of children in your life keep you going when there is loss.

June is our light. She reminds me of my Purpose (My 2023 One Little Word). Being a grandmother has given me new life, new light, new purpose. I’m no longer looking to move upward in my career or to go to school for further degrees. I’ve put in many hours of professional development. I am the teacher I am, but the greatest joy in my life is being grandmother to Leo, Stella, Thomas, and June. I wish my father-in-law was here to meet them. I wish my father could admire them. I wish my mother could remember their names. But despite this grief for what isn’t, I rejoice in what is. The light meets the darkness and overcomes it.

June at 11 months can stand with one hand and wave with the other.

It is time to sign up for hosting Spiritual Journey in 2024. We post on the first Thursday of the month. If you would like to host our round-up one month, please fill in this Google Sheet. Email me if you would like more information before signing up. (margaretsmn at gmail.com)

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: The Rear View

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , on December 6, 2023| 19 Comments »

December is a time of diminishing light. Days are getting shorter. Sunrise is later in the morning. Sunset is earlier in the afternoon. The change of light leads us to winter solstice with more darkness, cooler temperatures. Do you feel the change? Does your mood change? What does diminishing light in the rear view mirror symbolize to you?

Rear view window on a country road (Coteau Road)

Driving on the Coteau Road
rushing toward my day,

I looked in the rear view mirror,
noticing the rising light.

Beacon to feel the past
push me toward future
with healing hope.

Margaret Simon, draft

My poetry writing happens early in the morning when the hum of the heater makes me want to pull the covers up and sleep. For This Photo, I draft directly into the post. I accept whatever comes. I hope you will give yourself a moment of meditation and write a small poem draft in the comments. Meet yourself where you are, without judgement. Leave your draft in the comments and encourage each other as writers who give a piece of themselves to the page.

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Slice of Life: The Story of the Story

Posted in Books, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on December 5, 2023| 11 Comments »

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

On Sunday afternoon, the rain had stopped, the air was a perfect 70 degrees, and my house was full. Full of people with great admiration for my mother-in-law, Anne Simon, who once served as a district judge in a three parish area of Louisiana. She was not holding court, but the respect and honor was present. Minga (her grandmother name given by my oldest daughter) was signing her 5th book. Her first book Blood in the Cane Field came out in 2014. She has only been a writer for 10 years. She is 92 years old.

Actually, Anne has been working on being an author for a long time. She graduated from Wellesley and was the token woman chosen from her class to attend Yale Law School. Mona Lisa Smile was a movie based on her Wellesley class. At Yale, “They didn’t even have female bathrooms,” she told me. At Yale, she met Jerry Simon, a young man from an exotic place, New Iberia, Louisiana. In 1956, she was the only woman law school graduate in her class at LSU Law School. Jerry had swept her away from Yale to plant her firmly in Louisiana soil. From 1956-1984, Anne and Jerry practiced together as partners in a law firm. My husband Jeff joined the practice in 1981. In 1985, Anne ran for District Judge and became the first woman to hold that office. In her retirement, she served as an ad hoc judge for the Louisiana Supreme Court. All that time, she collected stories.

On Sunday, Anne told the group gathered in our home about how she came to write this latest novel, Blue, Gray, and Black Blood: The Civil War in the Bayou Country. She was interested in Civil War history. In her studies, she found that farm boys from western Massachusetts volunteered for the Union Army. She knew this area of the country well (Wellesley is located in Massachusetts) and imagined that they might have crossed paths with French speaking African Americans in Acadiana.

This photo shows Anne talking with Phebe Hayes, a historian and founder of the Iberia African American Society. Phebe was studying her family’s genealogy when she had lunch with me and Anne on the back porch of Anne’s house. I was there when the two discussed Phebe’s discoveries about her ancestry. Her ancestors were French speaking Creoles who joined the 52nd Massachusetts volunteers heading west. Through Anne’s thorough research, she wrote a historical fiction book “so you could imagine what it would have been like to live during that time.”

Phebe Hayes, left, and Anne Simon, right, celebrate the publication of a book that shares their history.

“We need to know every group’s history, not just our own. They intersect and we understand more when we know more,” said Anne to the crowd gathered. I was honored to be able to provide my home for the book signing. And many thanks to the people who helped with the event.

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Poetry Friday: Luc Bat Inklings Challenge

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged , , on December 1, 2023| 19 Comments »

The Poetry Friday Roundup is with Anastasia Suen

The first day of December is here and it is raining, raining, raining. We’ve gone months without rain, so I guess it’s catch up time to meet our rainfall for the year. But I’m not happy about it.

Back in October I learned a new poem form, the luc bat, Vietnamese for six-eight. Wendy Everard posted a prompt on Ethical ELA. The form is quite easy in that each line alternates between 6 and 8 syllables. It’s free with no limit on the number of lines. However, there’s this twist of rhyme. The last syllable of the line of 6 becomes the rhyme for the 6th syllable in the line of 8. Then the word at the end of 8 becomes the next rhyme for 6:

xxxxxA
xxxxxAxB
xxxxxB
xxxxxBxC

Molly Hogan challenged the Inklings to write a luc bat for our December challenge. I’ve written a few of them now and I love how the internal rhyming is both challenging and satisfying.

I wrote a short luc bat for this week’s This Photo Wants to be a Poem. I also tried the form on a previous Photo post here: Ancient Door.

Photo by Burcu Elmas on Pexels.com

Today I am posting the poem I wrote in response to Wendy’s prompt. I used one of her lines to get started. This poem reflects on the process my husband and I went through during my illness this past summer. We’ve made it through and are stronger together for our resilience. “In sickness” is one of the hard places in a marriage.

When leaving words unsaid,
our shared trauma wed and silent,
fears become resilient.
Illness causes consistent stress,
silence under duress.
Feelings close off, repress our love.
Searching within, whereof
words we can speak with love to heal.
Find our way back to real and us.

Margaret Simon, with a line by Wendy Everard

If you want to read more amazing responses to this form, here are the links to my Inkling friends.

Linda Mitchell
Molly Hogan
Heidi Mordhorst
MaryLee Hahn
Catherine Flynn

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Perspective Moon

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , , on November 29, 2023| 44 Comments »

Perspective by Leigh Anne Eck

Leigh Anne Eck has been naming moons. I was taken by this photo she posted and her commentary about it:

I have been naming skies for a few months now. Typically I capture the morning sky on my way to school. Tonight I captured this one on my way home from a basketball game.

I have named it “perspective.” Sometimes when we look at something from another perspective, our eyes and hearts become open to new possibilities! I hope you see something with new eyes this week!

Leigh Anne (Facebook post)

When I was walking in the early morning on Tuesday, the sky was a deep blue with the moon glowing its heart out before the sunrise. We are often mused by the moon, I know, but I hope you will write another time and another about this mysterious and magical being. Leave a small poem in the comments and write encouraging words for other writers. Your vulnerability is safe here.

I’ve been listening to The Book of Common Courage by K. J. Ramsey. She writes poems and prayers as she is going through a healing journey. I loved the term “holy margins” and borrowed it here to write a luc bat short verse.

Sometimes clouds bloom above
clouding the image of your light.
An orb of love this night
you fold in my tears, tight and true
with holy margins blue.

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Sunset Photo

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , , , , 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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