Reflections on the Teche

You never know when you’ll need a Santa suit!

December 17, 2013 by margaretsmn

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On Saturday, I attended the Solomon House Christmas party. We started giving this party a few years ago for the families we serve. The party is fun for the kids. We have treats and pizza, candy canes, games, and always…Santa. Well, except maybe this year. Our usual Santa (St. Nick) just plain forgot, or was not given a sufficient urging; nevertheless, he was not there, and here we were with a parish hall full of families and no Santa.

No worries. The president of the board to the rescue. Susan is the queen of Goodwill shopping. I think she goes at least once a week. And back in July she couldn’t pass up a Santa suit for $9.99. I mean, who would pass that up? So she sent her husband out to pick up the suit while we stalled with cookies and Christmas carols. When he returned, she grabbed her 18-year-old son and suited him up. Put a man in a Santa suit, and you have transformed him into every child’s hero. Amazing power of red and white synthetic fur.

Our party was a success, and some needy families went home with bags of gifts. Many volunteers make this possible, but I think there must be some divine intervention that makes someone buy a Santa suit in July.

Posted in Slice of Life, Solomon House | Tagged Christmas party, community service, Santa | 10 Comments »

Celebrate Service

December 14, 2013 by margaretsmn

This week I am celebrating service to the community. At one of my schools I sponsor a leadership group. For the last two weeks, we collected pajamas. For each pair of pajamas donated, the teachers matched with a book. If a student or teacher participated, they were able to wear PJs to school on Thursday. We collected 105 pairs of PJs to give to Solomon House, an outreach mission of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany.

On Friday I took a group of students to Solomon House. They helped sort food that had been donated through the Food Net Drive. They also walked (or ran) the labyrinth in the backyard.

As today we remember the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook shooting, let’s celebrate kindness. What acts of kindness will you do today? 26 Random Acts of Kindness

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Solomon House, Teaching | Tagged leadership group, pajamas, Solomon House | 5 Comments »

The Bleak Midwinter

December 13, 2013 by margaretsmn

As much of the country experiences cold temperatures, freezing ice and snow, I am thinking about this Christmas song. In the Bleak Midwinter is a poem by Christina Rossetti written prior to 1872.

My poetry book Illuminate, features the following poem, Outside Salzburg to my father’s first Christmas card drawing. My brother recorded a CD to accompany our book. Following my reading of this poem, he sings “In the Bleak Midwinter.”

Take a moment to focus on the season of Christmas.
Slow down.
Pray for peace.
As we feel the cold chill of the winter air and remember the tragedy of Sandy Hook, may we embrace each other a little longer
and find special ways to show kindness to one another and to our world.

Outside Salzburg

From the train, snow-covered hills beckon
outside Salzburg. The whistle echoes.
Trees stand tall and barren.
Weary travelers stare in wonder.

Somewhere in the distance,
a child is torn from his mother’s arms,
a beggar reaches out with empty hands,
Somewhere, a woman grieves for her lost lover.

But here—on the road to Innsbruck—
a church glistens on the smooth,
unblemished snow, calling out
Let
there
be
peace.
–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved

In the Bleak Midwinter
by Christina Rossetti

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

To order a copy of Illuminate with CD by Hunter Gibson, click here. To order on Amazon, click here. I’ll give away a copy with CD to a randomly selected commenter.

For more great poems, join Poetry Friday over at Tabatha Yeatts’ place, The Opposite of Indifference.

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing | Tagged Bleak Midwinter, Christina Rossetti, Hunter Gibson, Illuminate | 14 Comments »

Lagniappe at the Fire and Water Festival

December 10, 2013 by margaretsmn

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This weekend I was invited by the Acadiana Wordlab to read at a poetry reading for the Fire and Water Festival in Arnaudville. I walked in to The Little Big Cup, a quaint restaurant that even has blue china in the bathroom. The cake balls are just the right size for a sweet treat, along with a cup of your favorite hot drink. There was a large table full of poet friends and poet-friends-to-be. Ten poets gathered to read! I wrote down lines from each poet, added a few of my own, and created this found poem.

Visions
Last night I dreamed the moon was burning.
She smelled of incense, indeed as special as a single snowflake.
There is no exhale on nights like these.

The moon sees everything in red,
eyes wild like the river.
Blooming ginger stalks, waves of fragrance paint the sky
All the way down.

Our vision is often smeared.
We don’t see the signs, or ignore them.
While poets print their poems on the back pages of a calendar,
our soft necks hold them dear.

–Margaret Simon and poets of Acadiana Wordlab, all rights reserved

Before leaving the town of Arnaudville, I stopped at Nunu’s to see what was up. There were demonstrations all day long, cooking, crafts, etc. I happened on a woman making posies. Do you know what a posy is? Karen explained it’s a small bouquet. She had a table full of greenery and carnations. She showed me how to make the bouquet in my hand. “Start with the lightest color at the top. Twist in each stem. Arrangements in threes are pleasing.” I made this sweet bouquet to take home.

The next station I visited was a book making one. The artist, Juliet, and I had an immediate connection. She helped me make a book using mat board and duct tape. I sewed pages together using a needle and dental floss. She called each set of pages a signature. We told each other of our father-artists and the artist journey. She even identified me as a fellow Leo.

Juliet Lockwood, artist in residence at Baton Rouge General, and Karen Willingham of Deaux Bayou Gallery, were my gracious instructors.

A day of poetry and lagniappe!

Acadiana Wordlab
Deaux Bayou Gallery
NuNu’s Art and Culture Collective

Posted in Creativity, Slice of Life | Tagged Acadiana Wordlab, Arnaudville, arts, Deaux Bayou Gallery, Fire and Water Festival, found poetry, Little Big Cup, NuNu's, posy | 6 Comments »

Celebration Saturday

December 7, 2013 by margaretsmn

Celebration Saturday is here once again. Do the weeks fly by for you? I have much to be thankful for this week.

1. Last Saturday I had a book signing at Lemuria in Jackson, MS with my father. We were signing our book Illuminate. The biggest treat was to see old friends and to share the joy. We even sold one to a stranger.

Here I am with a high school friend sitting under photos of Eudora Welty and Walker Percy among other famous authors.

2. Tuesday night I rode in the Christmas parade all decked out in a vintage red dress and white wig.

My best queenly wave!

3. On Wednesday, my students went to the Shadows to rehearse for their play. Every year, the gifted students in grades 4-6 perform a play for the first graders in the parish. This program based on the history of the plantation home has been going on for 30 years. Some of my students have parents who performed in the play when they were younger. This is a great experience for my students. They all learned their lines and behaved well. We went to lunch downtown on Main Street at Victor’s cafeteria. This is an iconic place in New Iberia. They have a sign that reads “Dave Robicheaux eats here.” My students did such a good job at paying and figuring out tip that they were complimented by the cafeteria staff, so I let them have a play time in Bouligny Plaza. They played a vigorous game of hide and seek. Down by the bayou, I showed them a sculpture garden, another fun place to play and take ~~group~~ family pictures. A great day!

Girls in period costume

4. On Thursday evening, I took an art class. I learned how to use a gelli plate for printing. The instructor, Marcie Melancon, had made a mold from gelatin for me to use. You can purchase a gelli plate, but since I didn’t have one, I used the homemade one. I was very pleased with the resulting prints. The process was fun and easy. Just squirt out paint, roll it on, and print. We used a variety of found objects for printing, like toilet paper tubes, bubble wrap, leaves, string, etc. The one I liked the most was a double print rather than a mono print. So the images layered to create a beautiful mystical image. The woman figure was a magazine cut out that was laminated with packing tape.

5. On Friday, I found $50 that I had lost somewhere in my purse. I thought it was gone forever, but it surfaced miraculously when I was looking for something else.

This was a wonderful week, and I am working hard to avoid getting into a holiday frenzy. I want to continue to find blessings in every day.

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Teaching | Tagged Gelli plate art, Illuminate, Lemuria, The Shadows | 6 Comments »

Crows on the Playground

December 6, 2013 by margaretsmn

See more Poetry Friday with Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge.

Photo from Wikimedia Commons. Click on image for link to original image.

One early morning this week when I sat down at my desk, I became aware of a murder of crows on the playground outside my window, so I wrote a poem about it. Poetry is everywhere.

A flock of crows in the school yard
perched on the basketball goal,
side by side on the swing set,
cluttering the picnic table.

Like children who will come out later,
they chatter, peck, and flit.
Tag, you’re it. Hide-and-seek,
Treasure hunt.

Some are flying alone.

Some are gathered together.
Crows on the playground.
–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved

A Poetry Friday friend, Donna Smith, posted this video in response to my crow poem. Funny and clever, a crow snowboarding.

Posted in Poetry Friday | Tagged crows, playground, poetry | 10 Comments »

Technology Rocks!

December 3, 2013 by margaretsmn

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Some people say technology gets in the way of real relationships. Put down that device and talk to me, will you? However, this Thanksgiving holiday I was grateful for new technology: Facetime and Texting especially. Only one of my 3 daughters was able to make the trip to my parents’ home in Mississippi this year. Traditionally, this is where we spend Thanksgiving, but as they have grown and have lives of their own, it has become more and more difficult for all of us to be together.

Daughter #1, Maggie, was attending an Indian wedding in North Carolina with her boyfriend. Using group text, she was sending updates with pictures of all of the events- henna tattoos, painting the groom, the ceremony, the reception. Vicariously, we all experienced the wedding with her.

I love this picture of my daughter, Maggie, dressed in traditional Indian clothing with her boyfriend, Louis.

On Thanksgiving night, we did Facetime with daughter #3, Martha, who was celebrating the holiday with her boyfriend’s family in Wisconsin. She’s in school in Chicago, so this was a treat to see them both from so far away. We even met Bailey, the boyfriend’s beautiful collie. The next best thing to being there is Facetime, an amazing invention in my book!

The last night I was with my parents, we went out to eat dinner at a restaurant where my brother was entertaining. As he was singing along with his 2 daughters, ages 11 and 14, I was missing my girls. But then came a new group text:

Maggie: We had mint choc chip dippin dots during the ceremony.
Kat: Write that down for your wedding!
Kat: We just put the Santa gnome on Wayne’s tree.
Martha: Home alone making banana bread and listening to Love Actually soundtrack.
Maggie: Ha ha perfect!

Even without them physically present with me, I was in a circle of love.

Posted in Slice of Life | Tagged facetime, Slice of Life, texting | 8 Comments »

Thanku. Chalk-a-bration. Celebration

November 30, 2013 by margaretsmn

Join the Chalk-a-bration over at Teaching Young Writers

This post combines three ideas/connections to three blog sites. The Thanku poem was started by the Teaching Authors who encouraged us to write thank you haiku about teachers who have influenced us. Chalk-a-bration is a monthly round up that Betsy Hubbard hosts at Teaching Young Writers. And the Celebration Saturday round up is hosted by Ruth Ayres at Discover. Play. Build.

Last Friday before we broke for a week off, my students wrote their Thanku poems in chalk. I wrote, too, and was pleased with the sticky thanku I wrote for my mom. I’m hoping she will read this and make me pancakes this morning.

I celebrate that Brooklyn’s flying and thanking me for her wings. How awesome!

Tyler celebrates the sunshine in his life, his mother. His grandma makes pancakes shaped like Mickey Mouse.

I love you, Mom, for more than just your pancakes, but your pancakes are the best!

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Poetry | Tagged Betsy Hubbard, chalkabration, poems about mothers, Ruth Ayres, Teaching Young Writers, thanku | 5 Comments »

Thanksgiving Day

November 29, 2013 by margaretsmn

See more Poetry Friday at Carol’s Corner.

Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day, Betsy Hubbard of Two Writing Teachers asked us to take a moment to be still and write a poem. I actually wrote this poem by speaking into my phone on the way to Walgreens to get some decongestant. (My sinuses do not like the cold.) While I was shopping, a young woman, girl actually, asked if she could help me find something. Then she commented that I smelled. “It’s not a bad smell.” I had carried the roasting turkey smell with me. Anything can make its way into a poem.

Thanksgiving Day

Fire orange blazes from the tops of the trees
announcing the season’s change,
so I drive to my parents’ home by the lake
through the woods, tall pines, draping oaks.

Mama puts the turkey on early in the morning
while I still lounge in pajamas.
That Thanksgiving smell fills the air,
a scent I cannot emulate,
a scent I hold here

in my clothes, in my hair, my heart.
My mind does not wander to times before;
I do not miss the sound of children.
No, I am just here with this now,

This turkey roasting, the warmth of the fire,
this place where I am always loved.

–Margaret Simon

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing | Tagged Betsy Hubbard, poetry, thanksgiving, Two Writing Teachers | 12 Comments »

Not Everyone

November 26, 2013 by margaretsmn

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This weekly Slice of Life Challenge makes me write. Sometimes, the writing comes easily. Sometimes, I re-write it ten times. Sometimes, I don’t know what to say. Sometimes, I think what I say is stupid, or worse, uninteresting.

This quote from John Green, the author of The Fault in Our Stars (which is an awesome book, btw) really hit home with me. I have to do a lot of self-talk to convince myself that I have something to say. I want to be worthy of your time spent here.

On Saturday, I went to Wordlab. I hadn’t been in a while, so I forgot how stimulating and yet, frightening, it is to sit with a group and write raw and read raw. This week’s guest writer-presenter was Charles Garrett. He first asked us to write 10 American sentences. I had not heard of the American sentence before. Apparently coined by Alen Ginsberg, who rejected the Japanese haiku, the American Sentence is a sentence of 17 syllables.

The apple in his eye had a bite taken out, a black and blue spot.

Don’t say this is easy until you have drawn on the page left-handed.

Speaking of the black bird singing, did you hear the owl who cooks for you?

In a perfect world where lines are straight and black is black, no grey, I’m blind.

My hips are square in this red chair, but my mind is flying to the moon.

Crazy, right? Then Charles asked us to choose one of the lines to be the title of our poem. As if that wasn’t hard enough, then we had to chose a line from within poem 1 to be the last line of poem 2. Our brains were stretched and prodded and poked, but none of us gave up.

I combined these prompts with a technique from Ava Haymon that I tried with students last week, repetition.
So even though I don’t think I have written a brilliant poem, these writing exercises give me something to write and keep me breathing and healthy.

Not everyone sings in the shower.
Not everyone believes Namaste.
Not everyone digs in the hard ground,
or buys roses to bloom the next day.

Not everyone steals to feel worthy.
Not everyone wants a stiff drink.
Not everyone smells like a flower,
or washes their hands in the sink.

Not everyone loves their own mother.
Not everyone wears socks in the bed.
Not everyone turns on the TV
to hear what the weatherman said.

Not everyone reads The New Yorker.
Not everyone watches cartoons.
Not everyone adds sugar to coffee,
or stays in pajamas ’til noon.

Not everyone likes to write poems.
Not everyone knows how to rhyme.
Not everyone has the same gifts
or discovers them all in good time.

–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved