mask poem | Reflections on the Teche

Posts Tagged ‘mask poem’

#NPM2018: The Artist

Posted in Poetry, Spiritual Growth, tagged ekphrastic poetry, John Gibson, mask poem, Psalm 22 on April 5, 2018| 13 Comments »

National Poetry Month 2018

Three Trees by John Gibson

I have watched my father draw all my life. He is still doing it in his 80’s. I marvel at how he creates shapes with ink dots. One of his favorite subjects is trees.

I am using Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s book Poems are Teachers and following her posts on The Poem Farm to prompt my students writing every day. She has opened padlets for each prompt, so my students are posting on these.

Poem number 3 was a mask poem. She tells what a mask poem is here.

I wrote alongside my students, so today’s poem is not ekphrasis but a mask poem from the point of view of the artist.

The Artist

I begin with an image
a photograph, a landscape,
a walk outside.

Drawn to the space
between light and dark,
I trace a line, soft and simple.

As time stands still,
my hand moves, dabbles, dots
until a shape appears.

Art is a way of seeing,
a definition from my eyes,
a miracle of my hands.

Margaret Simon, (c) 2018

For more Spiritual Thursday posts, click over to Carol’s Beyond Literacy Link.

Today is the first Thursday, and a group of fellow bloggers link up and share our spiritual journeys.

The theme for this month is Poetry as a Spiritual Practice. If I were to analyze word choice in my poetry, I would find many words that speak to the spirit, words like miracle, grace, sacred, God, and love. The spirit breathes through these words. I am forever grateful for the gift of writing, for I believe it is a spiritual gift. I am not alone when I write. The Holy Spirit guides my hand. Poetry is a spiritual practice.

On Good Friday last week, I was moved by Psalm 22 to write my own psalm. I am reposting it here as a response to Carol’s call for today’s posts.

Deus, Deus meus

My God, my God, why have you forgiven me?
The toll of the cardinal song
echoes You are my child.

Long ago, I carried a child in my own womb
felt her heart beat with mine,
felt the soft body roll inside.

Is this how you love me, God?

I held the hand of his father
as he passed into your light.
I let go of his quiet strength.

Is this how you love me, God?

When I think on these things,
I can know kindness.
I can hear stillness in the noise.
I can feel love in the bird’s song.

When you are near me, God,
My soul lives for you.

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SOL16: #11 Wonder(ful) Poems

Posted in Poetry Friday, Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged mask poem, student Slice of Life Challenge, wonder poems on March 11, 2016| 17 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

When Wonder Wednesday comes around on a Slice of Life Challenge Day, we write in a slightly more personal way about what we wonder about. My students scan the internet for information sometimes having a hard time committing to a subject. And as they sit side by side, ideas spread across the room and before I know it, I have 3 or 4 kids gathered around a computer screen watching a video about ghosts.

Later when I check blog posts, I find that not only do their interests spread, their writing decisions do, too. Wonder poems have been cropping up on Wednesdays. I am afraid to tell my students how much this pleases me. I think maybe I should leave well enough alone.

Tara Smith posted this quote on Facebook: “The fact is that kids learn to make good decisions by making good decisions, not by following directions.” Alfie Kohn

As my students write daily on their blogs, they are making more and more decisions about their writing without me. I read and see so much development, so many craft moves, and so much care to write well. I also see them becoming aware of the pleasures of writing for writing’s sake. They are pleased with themselves.

Lani shared with me her Wonder SOL, “Look at my poem! I rhymed and I didn’t even know it.”

I Believe

There is the world

where the dead

are still alive

and they

spy

on the living.

Maybe one day

everyone will

have a

belief that this

is true

that ghosts

can haunt you

and they indeed

say BOO!

Lani, 4th grade

Lynzee sat close to Lani and wrote about ghost towns. She created a poem, too.

Montana Ghost Town

Deserted,

No one to be seen or heard,

You suddenly think,

“Ghost Town.”

You run,

And run,

And run until you get home

Then you think,

“Home, Sweet, Home.”
Your parents then say,

“Where were you?”

You say,

“Just playing.”

–Lynzee, 1st grade

Emily perused some pictures from a local newspaper photo contest. I cut out the photos, mounted them on colored paper, and left them on the table for inspiration. She didn’t realize that she was writing a mask poem until I told her. Don’t you love when a student just naturally has a gift for writing a poem? What a pleasure to see this one appear in her Slice.

Photo by Kim Bayard.

I walk across a gravel road with my 3 little cubs,

We search for berries and fruits to eat, but we can not find them,

From behind some type of yellow shelter emerges a little child,

With hair of blonde and eyes of blue,

We run for a bit, but stop,

She approaches with berries of blue,

With even amounts for each,

I thank the young girl with a friendly rub at her knees,

She laughs and runs back home,

She won’t understand how grateful I am for feeding my children and me.

–Emily, 5th grade

Poetry Friday round-up with Irene Latham at Live your Poem

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A Portrait Mask Poem

Posted in Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged elementary art, elementary poetry, forms, gifted education, mask poem on April 29, 2014| 6 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Recently, we took our youngest gifted students (grades 1-3) on a field trip to the Acadiana Center for the Arts. There they viewed an exhibit of portraits called FaceTime. We planned an art and poetry activity to enrich the experience. The gallery allowed us to use a workshop room for this activity. We had gathered magazine cut outs of facial features, different colors and textures of paper, and fabric samples. We used cardboard circles for their portraits and encouraged the students to fill the space.

For young students to write a successful poem, a fill-in-the-blank form works well. I adapted a mask poem form. You can download and use the form here. A Portrait Mask Poem

This was a fun learning experience for all of us. Unfortunately, art and creativity are taking a backseat these days in most classrooms. I am happy we were able to provide this experience for our students.

I am a girl.
I am as yellow as a daffodil.
I am curved like a cheerleader.
I dance.
I am feeling cheery.
I wonder if I could join cheerleading.
I can sing.
I am a girl. by Emily

I am big foot.
I am as brown as mud.
I am round like an apple.
I scare people.
I am happy.
I wonder if I will be found.
I scare people.
I am big foot.
By Tobie

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