Staghorn Fern at the New Orleans Botanical Gardens
Yesterday I toured the New Orleans Botanical Gardens with my sister who drove from Baton Rouge to spend the day with me. I am here babysitting my grandson who is in his last days of kindergarten.
Beth and I were fascinated by these magnificent ferns. They are epiphytic ferns that thrive in humid environments. I am wondering how one would do in my own bayou-side yard.
Being fascinated by words, I love how the name of this fern is a metaphor for the shape of its leaves. Their fronds look like antlers.
Today’s photo poem is a haiku. Please consider writing alongside me in the comments. Support other writers with encouraging comments.
With outstretched green horns mounted like taxidermy strong yet supported
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
My grandson Leo is in first grade. Wait? What? Time flies, doesn’t it? He is a little sponge absorbing all of the learning. He doesn’t even realize how fast he is developing his verbal skills, but as a teacher and proud grandmother, I am keenly aware.
His mother has always been good about thank you notes. She’s passing that on to her children. He wrote me a thank you note for his Easter gift, but he wrote it on the envelope and put another envelope inside it for me to write back.
His misspelling of thank you to “think you” charmed my husband to say, “You should write him a think you note.”
Who knows if our correspondence will continue, but I wrote him a note about what I was thinking about. (I should have taken a photo.) And enclosed a self-addressed envelope.
Leo’s “think” you note
I am writing poetry this month with Ethical ELA. Today’s prompt from Sharon Roy inspired us to write haiku about reading. I am reading Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. It’s my book companion when I can’t sleep, so I found this haiku.
Through my sleeplessness gravity of rivers flow hidden life below.
The Progressive Poem is with Irene Latham, originator of the idea, at Live Your Poem.
This art piece was lying on my sister’s kitchen counter. I picked it up and asked her about it. She said she found some charred wood outside from her outdoor fireplace and experimented with it. She then came inside and added more definition to the flowers with ink. She titled the piece “Out of Ashes.”
I often wonder where our creativity comes from. How sometimes the simplest things can become profound. (My One Little Word this year is Simplicity.)
I played with a haiku form today. Another seemingly simple short form. Out of simplicity, grace.
Out of Ashes
From burnt wood shavings Flowers grow from buried seeds Finding breath enough
Margaret Simon, draft
Please write a small poem today and leave it in the comments. Respond to other writers with encouragement and kindness.
Finding writing inspiration in the murals of Denver, this one took me two days to write, so I am posting on Thursday (rather than Wednesday) with a note about my process. I am experiencing some frustration with writing these days.
Yesterday when I looked at this image, I wrote “Her braid/ like a river/ binding her/ to the land.” I waited to see if something more would come to me.
Today I decided to play more with syllables and consider different articles (a river or a desert?) (binds her to her land or this land?)
I typed up the post and came back to it later. Sometimes the smallest of poems pose the hardest challenge.
Her braid, blue like sky, like river in a desert binds her to this land.
Margaret Simon, draft
If you find inspiration in this image, please write a small poem in the comments. Support other writers with your responses.
Some of my Inkling writing group friends have been inspired to write poems using Wordle guesses. I’ve tried a few times, but as a person who plays Wordle infrequently and always starts with the same word, the practice didn’t appeal to me.
Mary Lee’s rule is when she guesses in three words, she writes a haiku. Yesterday I got it in three tries. I wrote the words down, pearl, rival, and drill, and went about my day.
Newly retired, I’ve found the mornings to be a sanctuary. I take a walk with my dog, fix a pot of oatmeal, and eat on my back deck watching birds. Oh, the retirement life!
At the feeder, I get a variety of birds. (Tufted titmouse, chickadee, cardinal) The thing about using Wordle words forces a metaphor that may or may not work. I was finally pleased with this one, so I am sharing today. Have you tried writing Wordle poems?
A pearl of titmouse rivals chipper chickadee early morning drill Margaret Simon, draft
Summer is winding down. Although, the temperatures remain high. Once again, I turned to teacher-writer-photographer Molly Hogan for a photo prompt. Molly captured this water strider in perfect stride to open up a world. The photo itself is a poem.
It’s a just right day for a haiku. Please consider writing a response poem. Leave encouraging comments for other writers.
Glass pebbles glide below water strider toes tapping into green.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
I am spending some time in New Orleans with my daughters and grandchildren. Soon a new grandson will be here. But in the meantime, I took a walk in the neighborhood. A city walk is different from my small hometown walk, so I took some pictures to set the scene. (Don’t forget to add 80+ temps and 60% humidity to your imagination.)
We took grandson Thomas to City Park and walked around the gardens.
Thomas, 5, looks for turtles in the pond. Turtles, turtles…all around…City Park stone bridge
My One Little Word for 2025 is Still. Even in the midst of city traffic and busyness, a moment of stillness can be found.
City Park Haiku
Turtles sun-basking While heat rises from old stone Bridges to stillness
Here is another amazing photo from my friend Molly Hogan. She had to work hard to capture this scene. She used bubble mixture and a straw. She said it took patience and that her hands were freezing. Sometimes what looks easy is actually hard work. The reward is in this amazing ice kingdom inside a bubble.
Ice Trees
A magical dome where ice trees rise, multiply– Still frozen kingdom Margaret Simon, draft
Please leave a small poem in the comments and offer encouraging responses to other writers.
Great Blue Heron on Purple Creek, Ridgeland, Ms. by Margaret Simon
On a recent visit to Mississippi, I caught this flight of a great blue heron on my phone camera. The wingspan of these birds amazes me. They fly low across the water and perch near the water’s edge to forage for minnows and other small aquatics. This photo reminds me of a drawing my father did of a heron over the water.
Heron in Flight by John Gibson
I invite you to write today using these photos as inspiration. Leave a small poem in the comments and support other writers with your responses.
The Flight of the Great Blue Heron
Poised dawn glider Horizon solitude Regal wave to God
This week is state testing week, so I did not pull my gifted students out from their regular classrooms. I’m on stand-by to help if needed. But I do get to see my youngest ones. William, first grade, was only recently placed in gifted services. His gifted brain is so full of ideas that he can barely settle on one thing. I asked him to work with me on a haiku about a rainbow. We talked about how a haiku form captures a single moment in time, usually about nature, and has 3 lines, short, long, short. We played around with word order and placement of his ideas. Then he came out with the word “surprise.” Ah yes, that’s it!
Reflex (relects) in the warter (water). a rainbow comes out of clouds. surprise in the sky
William’s first haiku, 1st grade
Carson in 2nd grade has been working with me all year long. He’s more independent in his writing, but still needs reassurance. I showed him a video from Mystery Science about how the rain becomes a prism to refract the white light into a colorful rainbow.
Rainbows are still a mystery to me even though I have this knowledge. When I see an actual rainbow in the sky, I often take a picture. My husband knows to stop for rainbows. If you are drawn to them, to Molly’s amazing photo, and want to add your writing to the collection, go back to this post on Wednesday.
Sunlight prism in the water makes rainbows arch of colors
Carson, 2nd grade
While I was checking my Fanschool post, I realized that even though Adelyn was not coming to class, she checked on our weekly “This Photo Wants to be a Poem” post and wrote. She is crazy about all things mythological. Can you tell?
The great color arc, stretching above us. As water vapor shimmers bright in shining light, Iris glows.
Adelyn, 5th grade
After a skipped day on Thursday (no worries, just busy life), Karin introduces a new character.
Margaret Simon lives on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana. She is a retired elementary gifted teacher who writes poetry and children's books. Welcome to a space of peace, poetry, and personal reflection. Walk in kindness.
Reflections on the Teche 