Reflections on the Teche

Slice of Life: The Living Room

March 6, 2022 by margaretsmn

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

I have volunteered to write for Poetic Justice: Distant Learning.

Poetic Justice’s mission is to offer restorative writing and creative arts programs to individuals who are incarcerated in women’s prisons and jails.
Our vision is to offer opportunities for healing and growth by holding space to process trauma and rewrite personal narratives to transform the story of incarceration.
Poetic Justice.org

This week’s writing prompt was to write about a favorite room. The prompt involved comparing objects in the room with animals. For me, I wrote about the animals in the room. I read a quote from an article about Ukrainian refugees in National Geographic. The quote became interspersed into my poem. I will send this poem to my writing partner and hope for a response. I haven’t heard from her yet, but I am assured that I should keep writing anyway.

The Living Room
“We don’t need much,” said one refugee Lidiya Ivanenko. “A warm corner is enough.”
A warm corner is enough,
where a red fleece blanket
with holes the dog chewed
covers my bare legs. This warm space
is my respite
from a war-torn world,
from sound of sirens,
from calling chores.
The white cat plays in the corner
jumping for elephant ear leaves.
She darts away like lightning
then back in a flash
kneading the blanket
purring, bunting my hand.
We don’t need much.
We long for safety,
for the warmth of a room
that says you belong here.
Margaret Simon, draft 2022

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life | Tagged favorite room, pets, Poetic Justice | 8 Comments »

Slice of Life: Sick Day

March 5, 2022 by margaretsmn

I considered not writing today, taking a sick day because I am sick. I’ve had a cold and cough (Covid negative) for a week. This morning I decided to go to Urgent Care, and they have fixed me up with a steroid, cough medicine, and antibiotic. Excuse me while I cough.

I hate being sick. Does anyone really like feeling bad? No. But I can still be grateful.

For a cup of tea,
and my dog next to me.

A soft place to lay,
a comfortable place to stay.

Gratitude still owns my heart
when all else seems to fall apart.

How does gratitude influence you today?

Posted in Gratitude, Slice of Life | 13 Comments »

Poetry Friday: Quote Challenge

March 4, 2022 by margaretsmn

Poetry Friday round-up is with Kat at KatWhiskers.

Here we are again at another first Friday of the month. Since it’s Slice of Life Challenge month, this is a dual post. It was my turn to choose a challenge for my writing group, the Inklings. In my classroom, we are writing responses each day to a quote. I challenged my fellow Inklings to find a favorite quote and write a poem. Form was optional.

I am pulling a poem from the February project for Laura Shovan’s birthday. The prompt came from Ruth Lehrer who posted a video of Theo Janson’s Wind-Powered Sculptures. Fascinating. And the same day I saw a Madeleine L’Engle quote in my Instagram feed. I think there was also an influence of form from a poem-of-the-day, but I can’t remember which one. Muses, muses everywhere.

“Believing takes practice” Madeleine L’Engle
If believing takes practice
then wind plays
with swirling moss
hanging in the trees
practicing for inevitable storms
holding on for the ride to come.
Tell yourself you believe
over & over again
like the Dutch artist who preserves
the beach by creating beach animals
walking believing
so when midnight comes
vacant empty of moon or stars,
you can reach out & touch
the heart of the lonely
and bring them back to love.
©Margaret Simon

Other Inklings Poems:

Molly Hogan
Catherine Flynn
Heidi Mordhorst
Linda Mitchell
Mary Lee Hahn

There are still a few slots left for the KidLit Progressive Poem. If you’d like to participate, click here and leave me a comment.

Posted in Poetry Friday, Slice of Life, Writing | Tagged Madeleine L'Engle quote | 15 Comments »

Spiritual Thursday: Ashes

March 3, 2022 by margaretsmn

Every first Thursday I join a group of bloggers writing around a spiritual topic. Today, Ruth is the host, and she chose ashes as the topic. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. I am Episcopalian and attend an old historical church that was built by slaves in the mid 1800’s. I’ve attended this church for close to 40 years. In the last year, my friend Annie has taken the position of priest in charge. She is the first female priest in the history of our parish. Annie’s compassion and her ability to be present in the moment comforts me, even when she was marking my forehead with a smudge of ash and saying, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

Impermanence. We are not here forever. It’s not the most joyful thing to embrace. But in understanding and accepting my impermanence, I can be present in the moment. I can feel the soot on my forehead and touch the bread of life and know that I am loved.

The sign of the cross in ashes is the same gesture the priest makes with oil at baptism, saying “You are marked as Christ’s own forever.” No one can take away my belonging to God. Some days, especially during Lent, I need to sit with this belonging and be okay with who I am. I am enough.

Posted in Gratitude, Slice of Life, Spiritual Growth | Tagged ashes, enough, OLW, spiritual journey | 18 Comments »

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Story

March 2, 2022 by margaretsmn

Welcome to This Photo Wants to be a Poem. If this is your first time here, let me explain. Originating with Laura Purdie Salas’s weekly writing prompt 15 Words or Less, This Photo is a weekly photo-inspired writing prompt. Each Wednesday I post a photo and invite you to write a small poem in response in the comments section. If you write a poem, please write encouraging comments to other poets by replying to their comments. This is a safe place to play with poetry. No worries. No critics.

This week I am posting a photo that my daughter Maggie took of her 3 year old, my grandson Leo as they were leaving a diner. That’s as much as I want to tell you because when I saw this picture, I thought there’s a story in this photo. You can write the story in your small poem. Have fun with it.

Did you have your coffee?
Do you see the door?
I’m ready to explore.
Won’t you come with me?
Margaret Simon, draft

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing | Tagged Explore, Leo, small poems, This Photo Wants to be a Poem | 48 Comments »

Slice of Life Challenge Day One

March 1, 2022 by margaretsmn

Today is the first day of the March Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by the Two Writing Teachers blog. A group of teacher-bloggers join in a community of writers to write each day of March. I’ve done this challenge for many years. I can’t remember how many. Nine, maybe 10? Every year I feel daunted by the idea of writing every day, but I also know at the end of the month, there is satisfaction in having written. And the writing builds community and connection.

Today is also Mardi Gras Day which in South Louisiana is a big deal. This year the celebration is back after a hiatus for the pandemic. We have the week off of school, so I am traveling and visiting family. This weekend I was in New Orleans with my daughter and her toddler son. Above, he’s curious about the beads hanging from the porch railing. Beads can be found everywhere, in the trees, on fences, and even on a fire hydrant.

My sister and I drove up to Jackson, MS to visit our parents. She brought a taste of New Orleans in a traditional King Cake. When she cut pieces for Mom and Dad, she said, “Watch out for the baby!” and sure enough, Dad got the baby. He is certainly royalty to us! You can read about the tradition of the king cake in this article.

Posted in Slice of Life, Travel, Writing | Tagged beads, family, King Cake, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, SOLC 2022 | 12 Comments »

Poetry Friday: The Beauty of One

February 25, 2022 by margaretsmn

Poetry Friday is with Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect

Britt Decker wrote a prompt for Ethical ELA’s Open Write this week inspiring us to use a picture book quote to write a poem. At the school book fair, I bought “I am One” by Susan Verde and Peter Reynolds. It made me think about our one wood duck hen who is nesting. We have a wood duck house with a Ring doorbell camera inside so we can watch the progress of our tenants. Each day the Ring goes off around 7 AM, and we look at the video to see her poking around the shavings and settling in to lay an egg. She will do this for a week or so, then she will sit on the clutch. After 28-30 days, the ducklings will hatch. That’s the most exciting part. Within 24 hours they jump from the box into the bayou.

“Beautiful things start with just one.”
One wood duck hen
flies in the house each day
to lay a single egg
one by one
until her clutch becomes a dozen
twittering,
chittering,
jumping
chicks.
Margaret Simon, (c) 2022

If you haven’t signed up to add a line to the KidLit Progressive Poem in April, go to this post.

Posted in Poetry Friday | Tagged Ethical ELA, nature poem, wood ducks | 12 Comments »

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: This is a Rainbow

February 23, 2022 by margaretsmn

Welcome back to “This Photo Wants to be a Poem”. I took today’s photo on my morning walk. It was a quiet morning, but there was evidence that kids had been out playing with sidewalk chalk. Years ago I participated in a blog round-up with Betsy Hubbard of Two Writing Teachers. She called her idea “Chalkabration,” and every last Friday of the month, she encouraged teacher-bloggers to take their students outside to write chalk poems on the sidewalks. It was a favorite day for my students. I haven’t thought about it for a while, but I should definitely bring it back in the spring.

This photo qualifies as a Chalkabration. I love the simplicity of the sentence and how the child who drew it felt compelled to label the drawing. I hope you can find inspiration here, too. Write a small poem in the comments. Be sure to leave encouraging comments for other writers. Let’s have a Chalkabration!

This is a rainbow
that you can see, touch and tap
hop-scotch to the sky.
Margaret Simon, draft 2022

If you’d like to sign up for the Kidlit Progressive Poem happening in April, click here.

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Writing | Tagged chalkabration, rainbow, This Photo Wants to be a Poem | 39 Comments »

Slice of Life: Release Day

February 22, 2022 by margaretsmn

This month of February has been rich for my writing life. I’m writing at least one poem a day along with other writers in Laura Shovan’s 10th Annual February Project on Facebook. The theme this year is Time. Susan Brisson posted a prompt that began like this: “Tiny moments in time, brief exchanges with nature, split seconds of seeing something so beautiful, as fast as the flash of your camera or the time it takes for your thoughts to travel from your eyes to your brain. Have you ever had such a moment? Not a life changing moment but a mood changing moment.”

I immediately thought of releasing monarchs. I’ve been raising monarchs in my kitchen since Christmas. We’ve had a few freezes, so I collected them from my own garden as well as a school garden. I had around 20 caterpillars that successfully made 11 chrysalises. Of those 11, 8 have eclosed into beautiful butterflies. They’ve all been males. They have to be released in temperatures above 50 degrees.

One afternoon last week I released two of them onto outdoor plants. When I checked the next morning, they were still there and completely still. One was even flat on the ground. I brought them back into the enclosure in my kitchen. After warming up, they actually revived, but getting them to let go and fly took a bit of coaxing.

Release

The male monarch
emerged whole
and beautifully designed,
contrast of orange and black wings.
On the day of release
I gently placed my finger near his tiny legs.
He held me so tight my skin tingled.
We walked together.
I tried to coax him to fly,
but he clung, walking gingerly up my arm. Not ready
to let go.
Not ready
to fly.
I held him on my shoulder like a baby.
Then, as a mother knows best,
laid him down
and let him go.
He flew away.
I remember his touch.
Margaret Simon, draft

It’s time to sign up for the Kidlit Progressive Poem for National Poetry Month. The sign up post is here.

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing | Tagged #poemsofpresence, Laura Shovan, monarchs, small moments | 11 Comments »

Poetry Friday: We Belong

February 18, 2022 by margaretsmn

Poetry Friday is with Laura at Small Reads for Better Days

Laura Purdie Salas is our Poetry Friday hostess and a favorite author in my gifted classroom. Her lyrical, poetic language sings. We love to read her words again and again. Laura graciously sent me an F&G of her latest book, We Belong.

Check out this video where Laura talks about how it came to be.

There are so many things to love about this book. I love that it’s full of literary elements that make writing stronger. When we read good writing, we become better writers. The theme is set up by the title, but inside, the book is full of surprises. You can be quiet or loud, short or tall, and still you belong.

Maybe you’re happy.
A fun magic trick.
A sprinkler rainbow.
A kitten’s rough lick.
Maybe you’re sad.
A cloud.
A small cave.
Maybe you’re trying
your best to be brave.
Laura Purdie Salas, We Belong

The illustrations by Carlos Vélez Aguilera introduce us to a group of kids who are not alike, but they join together to play and welcome new friends in. We Belong reminds us that we’re alike and different and that’s not good or bad, it’s just what is true. And concludes with my One Little Word “You are Good. You’re enough.”

Laura’s rhyming verse refreshes the age-old message of I’m Ok. You’re OK. Let’s join hands and hearts and make what is true Sing!