Reflections on the Teche

Slice of Life Day 7: Poetry Friday is Here: Hermit Crab Poem

March 6, 2025 by margaretsmn

I am hosting Poetry Friday. Please leave your links at the end of the post.

This month’s Inkling challenge came from Molly Hogan. “Write a hermit crab poem–a poem that takes the structure of an existing text like a recipe, job application, multiple choice quiz, script, or whatever! Here’s some more info https://jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2022/10/18/its-an-experiment-hybrid-how-tos-with-arden-hunter-hermit-crabs-part-1-of-2/“

I put this one off, I admit. I knew I had a week of break to prepare, but still I created this last minute. I went back to the poems I wrote for Laura Shovan’s February project using the theme of Space. I had a different poem in mind when I found one I had written about the Aurora Borealis. I had just talked with a friend whose daughter had seen the Northern Lights on a trip to Norway. He shared fabulous photos from his phone. Definitely a bucket list item for me.

I realized I could transform my poem into a weather forecast. The creation part took some time using Canva and playing with placement of lines. I tried to adapt some of the words actually used in a forecast. Forget time; I was in Flow. The image is a bit busy for my taste, but I had to get this post done for the early Poetry Friday posters.

To see how other Inklings did this challenge: Linda, Molly, Mary Lee, Catherine, and Heidi.

If you are interested in participating in the Kidlit Progressive Poem, click the link and leave a comment or email me your name, date chosen, blog name, and URL. Thanks!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!Click here to enter

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

Posted in Poetry Friday, Progressive poem, Writing | Tagged 2025 Kidlit Progressive Poem, Aurora Forecast poem, hermit crab poem, Poetry Friday | 34 Comments »

Kidlit Progressive Poem 2025 Sign Up

March 6, 2025 by margaretsmn

Please sign up to add a line to the Kidlit Progressive Poem coming April, 2025. On your chosen day, you will copy and paste the previous lines of the poem to a blog post and add your own line. When you sign up, create a hyperlink to your home page. For example, Margaret at Reflections on the Teche. Thanks!

April 1 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
April 2 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
April 3 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 4 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
April 5 Denise at https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/
April 6 Buffy at http://www.buffysilverman.com/blog
April 7 Jone at https://www.jonerushmacculloch.com/
April 8 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
April 9 Tabatha at https://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/
April 10 Marcie at Marcie Flinchum Atkins
April 11 Rose at Imagine the Possibilities | Rose’s Blog
April 12 Fran Haley at Lit Bits and Pieces
April 13 Cathy Stenquist
April 14 Janet Fagel at Mainly Write
April 15 Carol Varsalona at Beyond LiteracyLink
April 16 Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm
April 17 Kim Johnson at Common Threads
April 18 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
April 19 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
April 20 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 21 Tanita at {fiction instead of lies}
April 22 Patricia Franz
April 23 Ruth at There’s No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town
April 24 Linda Kulp Trout at http://lindakulptrout.blogspot.com
April 25 Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
April 26 Michelle Kogan at: https://moreart4all.wordpress.com/
April 27 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 28 Pamela Ross at Words in Flight
April 29 Diane Davis at Starting Again in Poetry
April 30 April Halprin Wayland at Teaching Authors

Posted in Progressive poem, Writing | Tagged 2025 Kidlit Progressive Poem | 55 Comments »

Slice of Life Day 6: Spiritual Journey to Wholeness

March 6, 2025 by margaretsmn

Denise Krebs is hosting first Thursday Spiritual Journey posts at Dare to Care

Each month a group of bloggers, who met through the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge, gather to write posts about our spiritual journeys. This month Denise asked us to write on the topic of wholeness.

I think I may find wholeness by looking outward
to someone else to make me complete,
to their words of affirmation.

Wholeness is a river where my path moves in and out.
I find balance one day,
then a wind knocks me over the next.

I can watch the seedling grow,
but cannot see the growth in myself.

Whole means all of me–
Here now, in the present moment
where I am welcomed, accepted, and loved.

Broken, cracked, grieving, or angry.
All of me
Whole.

Resurrection fern on an old oak tree revived by rain.

Posted in Slice of Life, Spiritual Growth, Writing | Tagged spiritual journey, wholeness | 8 Comments »

Slice of Life Day 5: This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Sky

March 5, 2025 by margaretsmn

Welcome to my weekly photo prompt. A few years ago, Laura Purdie Salas held a weekly prompt called 15 Words or Less. When she decided to stop posting, I took the idea and made it my own. If this is your first time here, the idea is to write a quick, small poem draft in the comments and leave encouraging comments for other writers. I also post this prompt for my students each week on Fanschool. This week we have a break, so they may or may not join in.

I love to look up at the sky. On any given day, the sky can change my mood. On the day I took this picture, the clouds were wispy cirrus clouds that mean high air pressure and cooler temperatures. They are a happy contrast to storm clouds or the grey stratus of a winter day. Even as an adult I enjoy looking for images in the clouds. I took this photo while out on carline duty, so only now do I have the time to see the shapes. Do you do this? Can you find an image in the clouds? What do you imagine?

Did you know there are many names for colors of the sky?

Try to use one of the color words in your poem. Today I am writing a cherita. It’s a short form of three stanzas. The first line is one line, the second: two, the third: three. Similar to haiku, a cherita captures a small moment or story.

Carline Duty

Look into the Carolina blue sky.

Find the great white heron
with whispering white feathers.

Be curious about the secrets
of sky gods
who oversee the safety of children.
Margaret Simon, draft

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing | Tagged #sky, cherita | 41 Comments »

Slice of Life Day 4: Courir de Mardi Gras

March 4, 2025 by margaretsmn

Happy Mardi Gras, y’all! Today is Fat Tuesday, celebrated with parades and food and fun, the last day before Lent arrives, and we enter a season of penance and fasting. I decided to skip the New Orleans festivities this year and enjoy a quiet Mardi Gras; however, yesterday, my daughter invited me to go with her and her two children, Leo and Stella, to an event in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.

A few years ago I attended the “Courir de Mardi Gras” with my family in Eunice, Louisiana. I had some trouble with the drunken parade and abuse of chickens. This event in Breaux Bridge changed my view somewhat. It was specifically for the children, so the adults were drinking coffee and water and handing out snacks to their children. There was a chicken involved, but we were assured that the chicken was tame and would not be injured.

Traditional Courir de Mardi Gras mask made from home crafted materials.

The costumes were fabulous and fun!

The history of the courir, which in Cajun French means run, dates back to before Louisiana became a part of the U.S., from a time when the Acadians came to Louisiana without much of anything but a promise of land. The small communities would celebrate Mardi Gras by having a chicken run. The idea was to go house to house to get all the ingredients for the gumbo. The gumbo would be shared by the community.

The Teche Center for the Arts recreated the courir specifically for children. El Capitaine, the leader, assigned the children to groups. It was a wild chase, for sure, but it was quick and usually ended with at least one child crying about being knocked in the head or not catching the chicken or, in Stella’s case, losing a shoe. We paraded house to house and shared in the tradition. This was more my style, watching the children, carrying their catches, and taking lots of photos and video.

Posted in being mamére, Slice of Life, Writing | Tagged Breaux Bridge, Courir de Mardi Gras, Louisiana, Teche Center for the Arts | 11 Comments »

Slice of Life Day 3: Crawfish Time

March 3, 2025 by margaretsmn

Have you ever eaten crawfish? They are seasonal crustaceans here in South Louisiana. We measure the goodness of spring by the crawfish season. I think we’re expecting a good season this year because of all the rain. And it looks, by the catch above, that the hard freeze in January didn’t get deep down into the mud of the crawfish ponds.

On Saturday we attended our first crawfish boil. Our friend Patti has a home in Arnaudville with two ponds that produce crawfish. She told us the catch for this boil was from her neighbor’s pond. Notice all the (healthy) vegetables cooked along with the crawfish, potatoes, corn, Brussel sprout, and garlic. We spent the afternoon drinking beer, eating mud bugs and king cake, and watching all the dogs (and young boys) play in the pond.

For my poetry book for children, Bayou Song, I wrote a poem about the geometry (eating) of crawfish. The book also includes poem and drawing prompts for kids. You can do them, too.

The Geometry of Crawfish

Grab a long line antenna
Avoid looking into round peppercorn peepers
Hold the cylinder cavity containing fat
Watch out for triangular tweezer pincers
Detach the arced accordion tail
Remove curvy meaty muscle
Dip in a puddle-circle of spicy ketchup
Eat
Margaret Simon, Bayou Song: Creative Explorations of the South Louisiana Landscape

Bayou Song Illustrations by Amelia Cantrell

Write it: Make a list of geometry words, words about shapes. Choose an animal to describe using shapes. What shape is a snake? a bird’s beak? What about a cat’s nose?

If you would like to see some of my students’ slices, go to Fanschool: GT Allstars.

Posted in Bayou Song, Slice of Life, Writing | Tagged Bayou Song, crawfish boil, Louisiana Life, poetry prompt | 13 Comments »

Slice of Life 2: Walking Meditation

March 2, 2025 by margaretsmn

Kim Johnson, fellow slicer, has made a plan for her daily musings. I’m not one to make a plan. I like to be more open to what the universe is giving me to write about; however, I read Denise Krebs’ post yesterday. She sliced about the early morning. She reminded me of my daily walk.

I usually start out around 6:15, buckle up puppy Albert (who is now a year old and much better about the leash). On this particular morning, I went to my Insight Timer app for a walking meditation. I selected the first one in the queue. A soothing female voice guided me to be present in my body, to feel the breeze, to listen to the sounds around me, and to let my thoughts float in and out without giving them much notice.

Ah, yes. A walking meditation is the just right way to start my day. Sometimes my walk inspires a poem.

Notes from a Walk

I want to pick up a pile of oak leaves
the pile of leaves blown from the curb,
rejected into the street.

I want to hold
a gathering of leaves in my hands,
carry them home, make mulch.
Mulch that will feed the soil.

I want to pick up all the gumballs
those countless gumballs that fall
from the sweetgum tree. We could
create art together.

I could give you
supplies:
leaves and gumballs,
a cardboard tube.
You can make it yourself.
You can make a masterpiece.

We can be a masterpiece, you and me.
Margaret Simon, from 90 Ways of Community: Nurturing Safe & Inclusive Classrooms Writing One Poem at a Time (available for free download here.)

Photo by Vladimir Srajber on Pexels.com

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing | Tagged 90 Ways of Community, Denise Krebs, free verse poem, Kim Johnson, meditation, mindfulness, morning walk, poem, poetry, writing | 13 Comments »

Slice of Life 1: Brainrot Words

March 1, 2025 by margaretsmn

I am a “Baby Boomer” while my students are all in “Gen Alpha”. Admittedly they would have a totally different slang system that I don’t know and honestly, don’t care to learn. Two of my students, a 5th grade and a 6th grade girl, teamed up to make an instructional slide show. They also made a multiple choice quiz.

I think they were surprised at how well I did on the quiz, but I pointed out that while I won’t remember any of this tomorrow, I know how to study for a test: Take notes! I wrote each word and the definition on a sticky note.

While we were watching the slide show, I continually asked, “If the principal walks in right now, would he be OK with this?” I kept getting the feeling from them that they were doing something wrong, and I was oblivious to it. They assured me that there was nothing above PG rating in the slide show. But there were a few that were cringy.

Here is a list of the words. (Let me know in the comments which ones you knew.)
1. sigma
2. hyperpigmentation
3. nonchalant
4. cap
5. rizz
6. girl math
7. goat
8. delulu
9. baddie
10. low taper fade
11. mewing
12. bussin
13. Ohio
14. aura
15. skibidi toilet
16. fantum tax

How did you do? I only knew 4 of them because they are words that have been around a while. The most cringy for me was “girl math”. I think it’s time to stop this stereotyping of girls. In truth, all of them have a bite of stereotyping and sass. They don’t give me confidence in our Alpha generation that are way too tech savvy and on their phones 24/7. I guess that’s why the title of the slideshow was “Brain Rot Words.”

What did impress me was the level of time and work these girls put into creating the slideshow and how serious they were about informing me. I hope I made a decent grade on the test. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to take a test.

Posted in Gifted Education, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing | Tagged Gen Alpha slang, teaching gifted | 16 Comments »

Poetry Friday: February

February 28, 2025 by margaretsmn

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Denise Krebs at Dare to Care.

Alma Thomas, *The Eclipse,* 1970, acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1978.40.3

Each day this month I have written a poem. I know that this sounds impossible. It certainly feels impossible to me. I joined a group of like-minded poets arranged by Laura Shovan to celebrate her February birthday with poetry. Writing in a community can feel impossible. How can I meet the standards? Who am I to believe I am a poet?

But I did it, every day. This makes me believe that impossible things are possible. I have hope that we can exist in a world where poetry brings solace, hope, and community. Today, Heidi Mordhorst posted a similar art piece to compare our group to a circle of stars. I went to the linked page and found The Eclipse. There are different perspectives from each person in our galaxy. Some may see a circle, some see the dots of paint, and some focus on the dark center. However you view art, poetry, or time is yours alone. You get to decide.

But as Heidi so wisely said, “Some days, our circle was a parachute, lifting or sinking, catching or launching you. Some days our circle was the deepest well or mirrorest puddle, and maybe there was a day when our circle was a black hole of obligation, until the next day when you caught sight of a certain name, a certain voice, and our space became a sequin of possibility again.”

Tomorrow I will begin another writing journey, the annual Slice of Life Challenge from Two Writing Teachers. Today it feels impossible to write a blog post every day in March. If you read my blog, you are always welcome to swipe left and delete it. But I hope you’ll stick with me, cheer me on, and remind me that impossible means “I’m possible.”

Learning to write can seem impossible to a 6 year old. As I watch my grandson develop his reading, writing, and drawing skills, I am amazed at the capacity of our brains to learn. Here is a poem I wrote this month beginning with the space we make between words.

What space are you giving to yourself? How are you doing impossible things?

Posted in Poetry Friday, Slice of Life, Writing | Tagged being mamére, Heidi Mordhorst, Laura Shovan, space poems | 19 Comments »

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Aquatic Colonnaide Maquettes

February 26, 2025 by margaretsmn

Metal Sculpture by Ida Kohlmeyer at New Orleans Aquarium

Last week I met our friend from Maine, Molly Hogan, and her husband in the Quarter in New Orleans. She was visiting, and it was Jeff’s birthday, so we took the day off to visit with them during their vacation. One of the things we came upon (in addition to a fabulous walking parade) was a unique sculpture garden outside of the Aquarium of the Americas.

Further research identified these sculptures as being restored sculptures by artist Ida Kohlmeyer (1912-1997). The installation was supported by a grant to the Ogden Museum of Art. The sculptures are titled Aquatic Collonade Maquettes. AI defines this as “a small scale model, or “maquette”, that depicts a colonnade, which is a row of columns typically joined by an entablature, often used in classical architecture to create a covered walkway or part of a larger building.” For more information, click here.

I invite you to write a small poem about this sculpture. In the spirit of shared art, please encourage others with your comments.

I chose to write a cherita poem. A story poem told in three stanzas (1 line, 2 lines, 3 lines).

The collonade invites her in

with a curtsy and a bow,
curly flowers in her hair.

She dances in her ocean dream
obliviously happy
among her aquatic guests.
Margaret Simon, draft

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing | Tagged cherita, Ida Kohlmeyer, New Orleans street art, Ogden Museum of Art | 2 Comments »

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