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Paper Whites, Margaret Simon
For the next few weeks, blogger-friends and I will be posting about the spiritual aspects of our chosen words for 2016. This week we are writing about Carol Varsalona’s word, Believe.
I took this picture of paper whites blooming in my front yard this week. When I see flowers blooming, I believe deeper in the true magic of life. I didn’t plant these flowers, and yet, every year they pop up and show their little white star-like faces. They shine. Wake me up. Make me Believe.
I encouraged my students to create an acrostic with their words. An acrostic is when you use the letters of the word as the beginning letter for each line of the poem. Sounds easy enough, so I decided to write one with the word Believe. In my notebook I wrote about 3 half-possibilities. Each one kept sounding sappy.
But Believe is not a sappy word.
Believe is a strong word,
a word that holds on for dear life,
never letting you completely fall,
Believe buoys you up,
especially when troubles want to push you down.
Believe is a word you can count on,
holding its own weight.
Trusting in you to show up
when the sun is rising,
be ready for this new day.
Believe is a certain word,
proud yet humble,
a handkerchief that your grandmother stitched
calmly drying your tears,
then showing you the stars.
Believe believes in you.
–Margaret Simon
Reflections on the Teche 