Reflections on the Teche

Poetry Friday: Waking in Red

May 9, 2025 by margaretsmn

The Poetry Friday Roundup is being gathered by Sarah Grace Tuttle.

Last month I was writing a poem each day prompted by Ethical ELA. One of the prompts offered by Alexis Ennis invited us to write an ode to peace. This prompt landed on a Sunday when I had time to sit and sip on my back deck overlooking the bayou. In winter when I had to haul pots inside, I cursed my love of tropical flowers, but on this day, I was celebrating their quiet and bright emergence.

As I revised this poem, I asked AI to give it a title. I like the response, go figure, of “Waking in Red.”

Waking in Red

the corner of my heart
slowing for breaths
deep and long

on the cypress
the cardinal busy
on branches by and by

here is the ruby-throated hummer
humming a second longer

there the glowing sun rising
to light this day

space opens for red bat plant,
desert rose, and buckeye

skin warms
as I wake
with the power
of red.
Margaret Simon, draft

I am writing a poem a day in May using #poemsofpresence and #smallpoems. Many of them are inspired by flowers. I invite you to join me on Instagram.

If you live nearby, come by Books Along the Teche (our local indie bookstore) for our book signing. Books Along the Teche will take orders for signed books.

Posted in Books, nature, Poetry Friday, Writing | Tagged #poemsofpresence, Books along the Teche, Ethical ELA, ode | 13 Comments »

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Fairy Door

May 7, 2025 by margaretsmn

“Walking in the woods today, I came upon a fairy door,” wrote my friend Kim in a text. She suggested I use it here for a poetry prompt.

From Wikipedia: “A fairy door is a miniature door, usually set into the base of a tree, behind which may be small spaces where people can leave notes, wishes, or gifts for the fairies.”

An open invitation for imagination. I’m curious about the R on this door. Is it part of an alphabet trail? Is it the first or last initial for the person who made it? Is there a fairy with that initial?

Today I am choosing to write an elfchen. Somehow a fairy door calls for an elfchen poem.

Fairy
holds wishes
in the forest
Delicate balance of presence
Oracle

I invite you into this magical forest to let go of concerns and be imaginative. Write a small poem in the comments. Join me on Instagram during the month of May writing #smallpoems, #poemsofpresence. Tag me @margaretgsimon.

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing | Tagged #elfchen, #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, fairy door, Kim Johnson, This Photo Wants to be a Poem | 16 Comments »

Slice of Life: Six Year Old Activist

May 6, 2025 by margaretsmn

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

The week of Earth Day was a spring break for my grandson Leo. Because he has working parents, he went to his former daycare for the week. We are not sure if that is where he learned about Earth Day, but he came home and wrote in his special journal (the one with the soft cover). Leo is in kindergarten, so he is new to reading and writing, but this grandmother/ teacher/ writer sees the potential of his writing. If nothing else, it will go in the archives of his earliest writing.

My interpretation: “How Do You Help The Earth”

Do not litter.
Do not throw trash on the ground.
Do not pick the plants.
Do not kill the plant.
Do not kill the environment.
Do not cut the trees because the trees help us breathe.

How do we help the people?

We can help people walk and help people get things if they can’t reach it.
We can help do the remote when people can help people keep up the house
and we can all help people get ready for a party.
We can help people if they have a broken leg.
You can help people if they are not tall enough to put up the lights.

How do you share?
You can give away something.

Keeping the world good.
by Leo, age 6 (kindergarten)

Photo by Porapak Apichodilok on Pexels.com

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing | Tagged #beingmamére, early writing, Earth Day, Leo, literacy | 8 Comments »

Poetry Friday: Poetry Speaks to Children

May 2, 2025 by margaretsmn

Mary Lee Hahn has the Poetry Friday Round up at A(nother) Year of Reading.

Today is the first Friday in May which means it’s time for another Inklings challenge. This month, Linda Mitchell asked us to consider a line borrowed from poet Whitney Hanson, “In poetry we say…”

I took out an old favorite anthology of poems in my classroom, Poetry Speaks to Children, and created a cento poem using lines from other poems. The process was interesting and fun. You may even recognize some of the lines.

Lines from these poets:

Rita Dove
Robert Frost
Gwendolyn Brooks
Carl Sandburg
Lewis Carroll
Maxine Kumin
W. S. Merwin
Jane Yolen
William Shakespeare
J. R. R. Tolkein
Joy Harjo
Langston Hughes
John Ciardi
Nikki Giovanni
Sonia Sanchez

The 2025 Kidlit Progressive Poem is complete! See the poem as a whole along with all the participating poets archived here.

To read how other Inklings approached this challenge:

Heidi @my juicy little universe
Mary Lee @A(nother) Year of Reading
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Catherine @Reading to the Core

I invite you to join me on Instagram for #smallpoems, #poemsofpresence, inspired by Georgia Heard’s calendar.

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing | Tagged cento, Inklings challenge, Whitney Hanson | 11 Comments »

Spiritual Journey: Blossoming

May 1, 2025 by margaretsmn

Carol Varsalona is rounding up this month at Beyond Literacy Links.

“A world of grief and pain, flowers bloom—even then.” -Kobayashi Issa

Carol’s husband died recently and as she navigates her grief, I am pleased that she still wants to be involved in the wider world of blogging. I love the quote she offered by Issa. I received Georgia Heard’s newsletter in which she invites us to write small. Writing that is small can carry a large load or it can capture a small moment. Here’s Georgia’s May calendar of invitations.

Gardenia power
scents the whole kitchen with breaths
of grandma’s perfume

Flowers have brightened my daily walks this spring. With the sun rising by the time I head out with Albert, I’ve had more light to walk in. Sunrises, too, delight me. A spiritual journey is a daily practice of presence.

I invite you to write #poemsofpresence this month. I will post daily on Instagram. I will also give myself grace if I miss a day or two. May is about keeping myself grounded as the whirling ending of school presses upon me.

This desert rose thrives at my front door. Another blossoming welcoming spring.

Posted in Gratitude, nature, Photography, Spiritual Growth, Writing | Tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, #spiritualjourney, Georgia Heard, May flowers | 16 Comments »

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Buttercups or Primrose?

April 30, 2025 by margaretsmn

Growing up in Mississippi and now living in Louisiana, I always thought this flower was called a buttercup and grew wild on roadsides. This photo was taken in my neighborhood near the curb of an empty lot. These wild things love a bit of concrete to bloom from.

Yesterday when I googled them, I saw that I could actually buy seeds and that they were also known as a primrose. I love both of these names and wanted to play with them in a poem.

There is a poem form in which the first line is _______ is a ________ word. I came across this form when I was cleaning my classroom. Irene Latham had sent me two along with a collage in a summer poem swap who knows how long ago.

Buttercup is a bouncy word
open to the spring
of teacups with a dollop of honey
and lacy pink napkins.

Primrose is a proper word
holding out its pinky
ready to sip sweetness
among the wild grass.

Margaret Simon, draft

Please write a small poem in the comments and support each other with positive feedback.

The final line of the Kidlit Progressive Poem is with April Wayland at Teaching Authors. Hope over and give her some comment love, too. The line is a celebration. She’s asking for a title.

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing | Tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, buttercup, primrose, word poem | 5 Comments »

Poetry Friday: Retire is a Bold Word

April 25, 2025 by margaretsmn

Heidi Mordhorst is hosting Poetry Friday at My Juicy Little Universe and she also has the next line for the Kidlit Progressive Poem.

This week we are back from Easter break and in the depths of standardized testing, so it has become an opportunity for me to start the daunting task of cleaning out my classroom for retirement. I’ve been looking through old files and deciding what to keep and what to trash. Most of it is trash, but I look at it anyway. There are some things that are hard to throw away. It’s hitting me hard, I must say. So for two of the poem prompts at Ethical ELA, I wrote about this process. Writing is the way I can let go of some of the pent up feelings. (I don’t want to show them to my students.)

Larin Wade gave the prompt on Wednesday. Ironically she is a first year teacher. She asked us to write about seasons using the etheree form (consists of ten lines of increasing syllable count: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. 10)

Time
reflects
a long life
of commitment
not only to teach
but to nurture children
hold them with loving kindness
allow a safe space for growing.
Retire is a bold, yet daunting word.
One door closes. Will another open?

On Friday, Ashley challenged us with double dactyls. To see the rules (guidelines) for this poem, go to her post here.

Higgledy-piggledy
Filefuls of gibberish
Fill up her trash bin with
Piles of old news

Secretly covering
Years of her mothering
Spilling soft mutterings
long overdue.

And now back to the task at hand. Happy Friday! Four Fridays to go!

I made this collage years ago in a paper workshop.

Posted in Teaching, Writing | Tagged double dactyl, Etheree, Ethical ELA, retire | 22 Comments »

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Fawn

April 23, 2025 by margaretsmn

My friend Lory is a retired first grade teacher who now works at the Avery Island Country Store. She posted a picture of a small sleeping fawn. A sure sign of spring on “the island.” Today in my class, we are on the letter K for poetry month, so I am writing a kouta, aJapanese form that contains a quatrain with the syllable count of 7, 7, 7, 5 or 7, 5, 7, 5.

Early morn, she saw a fawn
a nestled speckled pillow
Where’s your mama, little one?
Can I be your friend?

Margaret Simon, draft

Please leave a small poem in the comments and support other writers with your comments.

The 2025 Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Ruth today: There is no such thing as a Godforsaken Town.

Posted in nature, Photography, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing | Tagged #smallpoems, kouta poem, Lory Landry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem | 11 Comments »

National Poetry Month Day 22: You Matter

April 22, 2025 by margaretsmn

I’ve been writing this month with Ethical ELA’s #Verselove. On Sunday, Susan Ahlbrand led us in a prompt called “Lingering Lines.” We could choose a song from a musical to use as inspiration. One of my favorite musicals is Waitress by Sarah Bareilles, and my favorite song is You Matter to Me. Try to listen to it without crying. I can’t.

This weekend my daughter was visiting with her son, Thomas, who is now 5 and a half. How time flies! He is the sweetest boy with an active imagination and crystal blue eyes. He loves me without condition which warms my mamére heart. I borrowed the song lyric and wrote a short poem for Thomas.

You Matter to Me

I find sea glass treasure in your eyes.
You look in my heart as a mirror
and smile for the picture frame.
You matter to me.

I sing a lullaby love song
and you think I’m magical.
You say “I love you” like they’re
the easiest words to say.

I know your love is true
innocence of a 5 year old
simple and free, no baggage
or judgement. You see
You matter to me.

Margaret Simon, draft

Kidlit Progressive Poem Update: Patricia had a family emergency, so Rose is taking her line today (at Imagine the Possibilities). That is one thing I love about this community. We can lean on each other.

Posted in being mamére, Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing | Tagged #beingmamére, #EthicalELA, #verselove, musical lyrics, National Poetry Month | 8 Comments »

National Poetry Month Day 20: Things to Do if You’re Mamére

April 20, 2025 by margaretsmn

In my book Bayou Song: Creative Explorations of the Southern Louisiana Landscape , I have a Things to Do poem about the alligator snapping turtle. You can see the poem and poem prompt here. On Friday, I was looking at the Barred Owl Cam from All about Birds with a young poetry student. We wrote Things to Do poems. From Ethical ELA, Tammi Belko suggested using random words to write a poem. This prompt fit well with our Things to Do poems. We looked at AI generated words about barred owlets and made a list of words to use in our poems.

On Saturday #Verselove, the prompt came from Jordan Stamper. She asked us to think about food memories. What she didn’t know was that very morning I was making a food memory with my grandson Thomas.

Banana Bread (first line from Billy Collins)

I love the sound of
a grandson in the morning
finding the muffin tins
and demanding to bake with me.

We gather flour, sugar, butter, eggs–
Stir the dry.
Whisk the wet.
Smash dappled sweet bananas.

“When will the banana bread be ready? he whines,
melting my heart
with his crystal blue eyes.
Goodness takes time to rise.

Margaret Simon, draft