Each summer Tabatha connects us kidlit poets by coordinating a poem swap. My first poem swap was with Kat Apel, all across the globe in Australia. Believe it or not, we have met face to face. She is a tall, sunshiny gal. I finally got around to sending her a poem yesterday, and she has shared it with the world today. Check it out here.
Kat loves nature and often writes about it. She has watched our wood duck nesting box project over social media. She sent me this poem a few weeks ago. She captured the photo from my video, so cute with two ducklings peeking out. The poem is a lai form (which I looked up here.)
I’ve gotten woefully behind in reading a poetry book each day for #TheSealyChallenge, and that’s because school has started. My focus has shifted. So to create a post for today, I sat down with Late Father by Taylor Mali, a gift from Janet Fagel for the summer poem swap. I got lost in the poems that lead us through his life with candor, humor, and grief. Then I googled him and found his website and a link to his Facebook page where I watched a video…In other words, I took too long on this post.
I’ve heard from a few poets that giving the title some of the heavy lifting can be helpful in writing a poem. Irene Latham does this often in This Poem is A Nest. I noticed it in Elizabeth Acevedo’s verse novel The Poet X. (Title: “Another Thing You Think While You’re Kneeling on Rice That Has Nothing to Do with Repentance”) And here it is again in Taylor Mali’s book. Time to pay some attention to this craft move.
From Late Father by Taylor Mali
I’ve Already Worked too Long on this Post
Praise be the poet who, having written a poem every day this week, opens her docs and plops one into a blog post and calls it Poetry Friday.
She must know that I will read it again and again and call myself a faker. Berate the time I spent watching “Outer Banks” rather than writing this poem.
(I got this.)
She must know that poetry can be a playground with a swingset anchored for cloud viewing–even if now there’s rain– the memory of a vision is enough to build a poem on.
LaMiPoFri* by Margaret Simon
*Last minute poetry Friday form coined by Kat Apel.
As I peer through bleary eyes at the end of a long week after a week off, I am remiss to find a proper poem to post, but Alas! Kat Apel has saved the day. She created a form just right for this occasion.
What is a lamipofri? It’s a poetry snapshot that’s quickly scribed, to give people an insight into the world around you at a given point in time – that point being the last minute as you’re scrambling for a Poetry Friday poem to post! Hence the name: LAst MInute of a POetry FRIday!
Poetry Friday round-up is here today! Put your links with InLinkz at the bottom of this post.
Last week the Sunday Night Swaggers posted Nestling poems, like Irene Latham in This Poem is a Nest. I couldn’t stop there. I had to share the concept with my student writers. I had planned to teach the inaugural poem by Richard Blanco, One Today. I have the picture book, and it’s just an amazing poem all the way around. It’s especially full of nestlings for writers to find.
I filled two notebook pages with them. I copied a few into a Canva design. (My student helped with titles.)
Kaia and I wrote this one together, each choosing lines back and forth.
millions of faces
arrayed
all of us
we keep dreaming
many prayers
buon giorno
every language spoken
into one sky
by Kaia and Mrs. Simon
trains whistle
like a silent
drum tapping
on every rooftop
a birthday tune
by Chloe (She asks you to guess the title)
For the Winter Poem Swap, I received a gift poem all the way from Australia, along with the cutest little carrying bags with an original print of an echidna. Kat Apel and I muse about how similar and how different our landscape is. We often post similar pictures on Instagram of canoeing and walking about. Her poem is a delightful back and forth about our similar, yet different homes.
Pop over to Kat’s post to see how Robyn wrote in a similar style in her poem for Kat. It’s a small world after all.
I live on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana. I love teaching, poetry, my dog Charlie, my three daughters, and dancing with my husband. This space is where I capture my thoughts, share my insights, and make connections with the world. Welcome! Walk in kindness.
Reflections on the Teche 