Ethical ELA | Reflections on the Teche

Posts Tagged ‘Ethical ELA’

Slice of Life: What is Normal?

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged #beingmamére, #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, Ethical ELA, Tammi Belko on June 24, 2025| 9 Comments »

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

This past weekend was the Open Write at Ethical ELA. I am trying to write a poem every day, but it sure helps to have a good prompt. On Sunday, Tammi Belko led us to write in response to the question “What is normal?” You can see her full prompt here.

I was spending the morning with two of my grandchildren. As I sat with my tablet and notebook pondering her prompt, my grands Leo and Stella were drawing. Leo, age 6, has always loved drawing. Now he is old enough to add words to his drawings. Stella, his sister age 4, is following in his footsteps. Her drawings tell stories.

“The monster was walking in the forest. In the ocean, the whale was splashing.” By Stella

Kid-Time Normal

All they need
is a marker
and paper—
Imagination soars…
Dinosaurs
with super powers,
Bad guys
with two robot arms,
Magical crystal charms…
Transformed
Transfixed
Time stops
on paper.

Margaret Simon, draft

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Poetry Friday: Demi-Sonnet

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, Demi-sonnet, Ethical ELA on May 23, 2025| 14 Comments »

Poetry Friday is gathered today by Michelle Kogan.

For 5 years I’ve been participating in Ethical ELA’s #verselove and #openwrite. This month Sarah Donovan (whose brainchild is Ethical ELA) led us in 3 days of Open Write prompts. One of these prompts was to write a demi-sonnet. This form includes 7 lines with semi-rhymes. One of Sarah’s suggestions was to write about a moment you almost missed.

At the moment I was holding my pen above my notebook I could hear the loud morning call of a wren outside. Writing in May has been hard for me. It’s a busy month as school winds down. This May has been particularly hard as I cleaned my classroom for the last time. My demi-sonnet turned into advice for myself.

I Almost Missed the Call

Morning wren calls my inner critic’s bluff
repeating wake up, wake up, wake up.
I almost missed its call
holding me accountable for my role.
Open the blank page, it is enough.
Ink seven lines of poetic stuff.
Bloom from an imperfect soul.

Margaret Simon, draft

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Poetry Friday: Waking in Red

Posted in Books, nature, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, Books along the Teche, Ethical ELA, ode on May 9, 2025| 13 Comments »

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.

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Poetry Friday: Retire is a Bold Word

Posted in Teaching, Writing, tagged double dactyl, Etheree, Ethical ELA, retire on April 25, 2025| 22 Comments »

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.

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National Poetry Month Day 14: Safe Harbor

Posted in nature, Poetry, Progressive poem, Writing, tagged #verselove, childhood, Ethical ELA, Padma Venkatraman, Safe Harbor, tanka on April 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Today’s #verselove prompt is from Padma Venkatraman who wrote Bridge to Home and most recently Safe Harbor. Her books never fail to take me to a new place where I can find a relatable character and beautiful language. What a honor to have her writing a prompt for us based on her latest book. She invited us to write about a safe place.

I am visiting Ridgeland, MS, a few miles from the place I grew up. While my visits here bring forth many emotions, this morning I wanted to find solace in a walk in nature. Even though my hotel is near an outdoor shopping mall, there is a creek nearby with a walking path. The creek is the very same creek that ran behind my childhood home, Purple Creek. I used the poetry form of tanka (haiku with a chorus) which has a syllable count of 5, 7, 5, 7, 7.

The Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Janet today at Donna’s blog, Mainely Write.

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Poetry Friday: I Remember

Posted in Poetry Friday, Progressive poem, Writing, tagged #verselove, Ethical ELA, I remember, Kim Johnson on April 11, 2025| 14 Comments »

Irene Latham is gathering Poetry Friday today at Live Your Poem

I didn’t want to write about my father today, but I woke up and looked at the clock at 4:44 AM, so there he was. He would tell us that he always woke up at 4:44. He had a thing for double numbers. His birthday was 11/11/33. On this day 4/11/22, he had a stroke and died 11 days later on 4/22/22.

When I opened #Verselove, I saw a prompt that Kim Johnson shared in our poetry session on Wednesday at the Fay B Kaigler Children’s Book Festival. Unfortunately, Kim had a family emergency, so she had to leave on Thursday. She is supposed to be sitting with me as I write this morning. The loneliness has gotten the best of me, so I had to write about my father. As Kim and I said to our session participants, poetry can be healing. It’s a place of vulnerability. Kim’s prompt can be found on Ethical ELA.

Remember

I remember
the phone call
in the middle of class.
I answered it.
I remember thinking something bad had happened.

I remember I packed a bag
for 3 nights max (I stayed 2 weeks).

I remember the gruff hospitalist
rattling the bed with her pronouncement
of no hope. You stared after her
with anger and fear.

I remember the long days
as you fought, grabbing tubes,
glaring helplessly,
speech stolen by the stroke.

I remember tears and singing,
prayers whispering, silently longing
to bring you back to us.

I remember someone said
the deepest grief comes from the deepest love.
I wasn’t ready to remember.

Margaret Simon, draft

The Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Rose today at Imagine the Possibilities.

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National Poetry Month Day 8: Mac & Cheese

Posted in Poetry, Solomon House, Writing, tagged Ethical ELA, love poem on April 8, 2025| 8 Comments »

Verselove prompt today is with Darius Phelps.

I am drafting a poem each day in April. There is no perfection here. Only my brave self posting even though I know these poems need work. There is a freedom in drafting that cannot be found in revision. Some writers love the revision process. I question myself too much. When I draft, I just write. Critiquing is harder for me. Today’s poem was written in my notes app as I took a walk, got ready for school, arrived in my classroom. Before the day gets away, I wanted to draft it again for a blog post. Work in progress.

Darius Phelps offered a prompt today based on a poem called Good Son by Kyle Liang. Both Kyle and Darius used food references metaphorically to reveal a deep truth. I love when metaphor works in this way. How metaphor can lead us to a deeper meaning.

Macaroni & Cheese

Our first fight was over macaroni & cheese
which ingredients should be added
at what temperature
to achieve the creamiest bowl.

Kraft is the only brand we’d buy,
but you argued that I poured the little flakes
of fake cheese too fast, didn’t stir enough
to fully achieve the milk to cheese ratio.

You don’t have to be good, according to Mary Oliver,
you just have to love what you love.
So we loved each other well.

After long marriage, I wait for you
to offer the spoon to taste your gumbo.
You tell me my spaghetti is always good–
Our edges smoothed like macaroni & cheese.

Margaret Simon, draft

Photo by Cree Payton on Pexels.com

The Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Janice Scully at Salt City Verse.

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National Poetry Month Day 6: Where I Live

Posted in Poetry, Writing, tagged #verselove, Bayou Teche, Ethical ELA, National Poetry Month, Where I'm From poem on April 6, 2025| 6 Comments »

Today’s #VerseLove prompt is from Stacey Joy. She brought back once again the faithful form Where I’m From, originally from George Ella Lyon. Like Stacey, I’ve written many iterations of this poem over the years. A recent one that I actually liked, I posted here.

Today I used one of Stacey’s alternate suggestions to try, “I live” as a repeated phrase. Again, my results came out kind of corny. I always feel when I try to rhyme that it sounds corny and forced. I’m sharing anyway.

New Iberia, Louisiana April 6, 2025

I live where heat and humidity full bloom around noon.

I live under a canopy of cypress trees
with knees that will full stop a mower’s blade.

I live near bayou brown
watching for wood ducks
coming round.

I live with spiders, roaches, mosquitoes, and gnats.
I’ve learned to let-them-be or smash-them-flat.

I live among neighbors who know me,
who offer mint leaves for tea.

I live in a red state with hearts of blue.
What about you?

Margaret Simon, draft

The Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Buffy today.

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National Poetry Month: Late Shadorma

Posted in Poetry, Writing, tagged #verselove, Ethical ELA, Inklings challenge, National Poetry Month, shadorma on April 5, 2025| 4 Comments »

I dropped the ball yesterday with my Inklings writing group. I had given the monthly challenge and forgot about it. Today I am trying to make up for it by combining the Ethical ELA prompt from Bryan Ripley Crandall to write about scars with the form. Shadorma poems have a syllable count of 3, 5, 3, 3, 7, 5.

Virus

weary soul
invisible scars
tenderly
heal in time
slowly becoming new skin
touched by cleansing light
Margaret Simon, draft

To see how the Inklings approached this challenge, here are their links:
Mary Lee Hahn
Heidi Mordhorst
Molly Hogan
Linda Mitchell

The Kidlit Progressive poem is with Denise Krebs today at Dare to Care.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Mural Art

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Progressive poem, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged Ethical ELA, National Poetry Month, New Iberia, tricube on April 2, 2025| 18 Comments »

Mural in process at The Southern Linen Company, New Iberia, Louisiana

I was running late for a lunch date with friends, but I had to stop. The artists, Hannah Gumbo and Terez Molitor, were hard at work painting this bright and cheerful mural. A little while later, they stopped for lunch at the same cafe. I was able to get their names and thank them for their tireless work on the mural. They both lit up. Creating this art brought them joy. And now it will bring joy to passers-by. Public art is for everyone!

Can you write a small poem inspired by this photo? Join us in the comments. After you write, be sure to stop back by to leave some comment love on other writers’ poems. Together we are creating art with words.

At Ethical ELA Verselove, Leilya inspires us to write a tricube poem. This form is 3 stanzas of 3 lines with 3 syllables each.

Mural Art

In spring, red
dances with
yellow light.

Buds become
butterfly,
bee feeders.

Painted walls
fill my heart
with delight.
Margaret Simon, draft