#poemsofpresence | Reflections on the Teche

Posts Tagged ‘#poemsofpresence’

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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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Fairy Door

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #elfchen, #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, fairy door, Kim Johnson, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on May 7, 2025| 16 Comments »

“Walking in the woods today, I came upon a fairy door,” wrote my friend Kim in a text. She suggested I use it here for a poetry prompt.

From Wikipedia: “A fairy door is a miniature door, usually set into the base of a tree, behind which may be small spaces where people can leave notes, wishes, or gifts for the fairies.”

An open invitation for imagination. I’m curious about the R on this door. Is it part of an alphabet trail? Is it the first or last initial for the person who made it? Is there a fairy with that initial?

Today I am choosing to write an elfchen. Somehow a fairy door calls for an elfchen poem.

Fairy
holds wishes
in the forest
Delicate balance of presence
Oracle

I invite you into this magical forest to let go of concerns and be imaginative. Write a small poem in the comments. Join me on Instagram during the month of May writing #smallpoems, #poemsofpresence. Tag me @margaretgsimon.

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Spiritual Journey: Blossoming

Posted in Gratitude, nature, Photography, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, #spiritualjourney, Georgia Heard, May flowers on May 1, 2025| 16 Comments »

Carol Varsalona is rounding up this month at Beyond Literacy Links.

“A world of grief and pain, flowers bloom—even then.” -Kobayashi Issa

Carol’s husband died recently and as she navigates her grief, I am pleased that she still wants to be involved in the wider world of blogging. I love the quote she offered by Issa. I received Georgia Heard’s newsletter in which she invites us to write small. Writing that is small can carry a large load or it can capture a small moment. Here’s Georgia’s May calendar of invitations.

Gardenia power
scents the whole kitchen with breaths
of grandma’s perfume

Flowers have brightened my daily walks this spring. With the sun rising by the time I head out with Albert, I’ve had more light to walk in. Sunrises, too, delight me. A spiritual journey is a daily practice of presence.

I invite you to write #poemsofpresence this month. I will post daily on Instagram. I will also give myself grace if I miss a day or two. May is about keeping myself grounded as the whirling ending of school presses upon me.

This desert rose thrives at my front door. Another blossoming welcoming spring.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Buttercups or Primrose?

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, buttercup, primrose, word poem on April 30, 2025| 5 Comments »

Growing up in Mississippi and now living in Louisiana, I always thought this flower was called a buttercup and grew wild on roadsides. This photo was taken in my neighborhood near the curb of an empty lot. These wild things love a bit of concrete to bloom from.

Yesterday when I googled them, I saw that I could actually buy seeds and that they were also known as a primrose. I love both of these names and wanted to play with them in a poem.

There is a poem form in which the first line is _______ is a ________ word. I came across this form when I was cleaning my classroom. Irene Latham had sent me two along with a collage in a summer poem swap who knows how long ago.

Buttercup is a bouncy word
open to the spring
of teacups with a dollop of honey
and lacy pink napkins.

Primrose is a proper word
holding out its pinky
ready to sip sweetness
among the wild grass.

Margaret Simon, draft

Please write a small poem in the comments and support each other with positive feedback.

The final line of the Kidlit Progressive Poem is with April Wayland at Teaching Authors. Hope over and give her some comment love, too. The line is a celebration. She’s asking for a title.

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National Poetry Month Day 15: Sunrise

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Progressive poem, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged #EthicalELA, #griefpoem, #nature, #poemsofpresence, #sunrise, #verselove on April 15, 2025| 8 Comments »

I am writing daily poems with Ethical ELA’s #verselove. Today’s prompt is with Brittany Saulnier.

Visiting my mother is filled with emotions for me. Bittersweet is a good word because she’s still here with us, but in many ways she is far from us. Her Alzheimer’s is advancing slowly at this point. Each visit she’s thinner and less able. Yet, she knows me and loves me and tries so hard to talk to me. This morning I will visit her before I drive back to Louisiana. Will this be the last time? Who knows?

At the hotel, I looked out at a beautiful sunrise. It reminded me of days sitting on the back porch with Mom and Dad looking at the lake behind their house. How I long for those easy days. There was always a heron that came to perch. All of these thoughts came when I read Brittany’s prompt to write about nature using 3 different colors.

Outside the hotel window in Ridgeland, MS.

Sunrise

I wake to sky color–
golden-white-lined gap
in purple-blue clouds

where sun rays sparkle
through
like angel wings.

Bittersweet grey clouds
hover high
like heaven’s shroud

reflected in heron’s stealth.

I imagine you next to me
with the news (all ghastly)
and your coffee mug steaming.

We sit in silence,
the silence of years between us
looking for the heron.

Margaret Simon, draft

The Kidlit Progressive Poem continues its ride through spring with Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link.

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

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Wooded Path

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, Acadiana Park Nature Station, metaphor, Patt Little photography on April 9, 2025| 3 Comments »

I borrowed this photo from Instagram. I’ve been to Acadiana Park Nature Station, but it was years ago on a field trip with students. I was drawn in by the path and thought about that tree, fallen across the path. How could this be a metaphor?

Metaphor can be elusive. Metaphor can be magical. Allan Wolf uses the phrase, “Metaphors be with you!” Think about metaphor today. Can you make it work in a small poem?

A Path Can Be

A path can be a crooked line
scribbled on a page.

A path can be a stopping place
to let the world pass by.

A path can be a rocky road
where every step is tricky.

A path can be a long, long road
that leads you to your home.

Margaret Simon, draft

The Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Tabatha today at The Opposite of Indifference.

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Slice of Life Day 26: This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Cat in the Window

Posted in Blogging, Photography, Slice of Life, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Travel, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, Irish proverb, Jone MacCulloch, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on March 26, 2025| 28 Comments »

Cat in the Window, Kilcullen, Ireland by Jone MacCulloch

When I choose a photo to feature as a poem prompt, I choose what pleases me. Sometimes it’s a picture I’ve taken during the week, but this week it’s a photo that caught my eye on an Instagram post from Jone MacCulloch. I asked her if I could use it this week, and she sent me the photo and the collage she had made with it.

Jone wrote, “The piece you like is a mixed media piece. I have been playing with landscape scene. This was a cat in Kilcullin, Ireland, 2022. This has some pieces of my grandmother’s journal(copied). It’s part of a new exhibit in April.” Congratulations to Jone on her upcoming exhibit.

I love how blogging has opened windows and doors for me to creative people. Jone and I have not met in person, but we’ve been on multiple Zoom meetings together. We’ve had conversations through blogging and email. She featured this same photo on her blog for “Wordless Wednesday.” But I think the photo invites words.

Please join me in the comments by writing a small poem today inspired by Jone’s photo or art collage. Encourage other writers with comments.

“A cat’s eyes are windows enabling us to see into another world.” Irish proverb

Behind a lace curtain
on a warm windowsill,
a nonchalant cat
holds a light
until her people
come home.

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Slice of Life Day 21: Poetry Friday: The Way to Breathe

Posted in nature, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, Bayou Teche, Ethical ELA, Just YA on March 21, 2025| 19 Comments »

EnneaThought® for the Day

Type Four EnneaThought®

“Are you still yearning for your ideal life? Appreciate the small daily pleasures, kind words, and heartfelt exchanges that are already present. You’re already more appreciated than you may think.”

I am a type four on the Enneagram. I’m the one who cries, who ponders over the past, and who turns to romanticism. Daily the message for me is to be present. Be still and know…

Recently I have felt rushed and busy. I try to take some time or myself in walks and in writing time. What space can I give to just being in the moment? How can I slow down to breathe and be present?

In poetry, I find a place to be present. When I write with specificity and imagery, I feel present. I also like the comfort of anaphora, a phrase that leads to a new thought. This poem I wrote in response to a prompt on Ethical ELA here from Sarah Donovan. She used the mentor poem “A Place to Breathe” by Christine Hartman Derr from a free Ethical ELA anthology Just YA.

There’s a Way to Breathe Today

It’s the way the sun
dapples the oak tree
with a halo of light.

It’s the way the cypress
needles pop out like
green leprechauns.

It’s the way a bayou
runs through and around
a town of ancestry.

It’s the way I sit
at my table with coffee
and a pen.
Margaret Simon, draft

I hope you find a little corner to breathe in today. Find stillness. Find peace. Write about it.

Don’t forget to sign up for a place in the Kidlit Progressive Poem.

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Rose Capelli at Imagine the Possibilities.

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Slice of Life Day 12: This Photo is a Metal Heart

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, 15 Words or Less, Bayou Teche, small poems, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on March 12, 2025| 21 Comments »

Is it trash or is it art? When my grandkids, my husband, and I were canoeing on Sunday, we passed this piece of metal.

“Look at that! It looks like a heart.”

“I want a photo of it.” Jeff knows what that means. He has often rerouted our canoe trips because of my directions to get a picture. I was extra pleased when, by the time we made it back to the “art”, there was a beautiful reflection of it in the bayou water.

I hope this photo inspires you to stop and see. Maybe write a small poem. If you write a poem, share it in the comments and encourage other writers with responses. Today, I wrote a 15 word poem.

If you find
still water,
place a piece
of your heart near;
reflect imperfect love.
Margaret Simon, draft

If you would like to participate in the Kidlit Progressive Poem for National Poetry Month, sign up in the comments on this post.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Snake Skin Nest

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, cherita, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on January 29, 2025| 11 Comments »

Happy New Year! Today is the Chinese New Year and this year, 2025, is the year of the snake. I am totally afraid of snakes. I even find it hard to touch a photo of a snake. But this year I’m trying on a new skin, a more brave stance toward the scaly beasts. What are they good for?

At a recent art show, I saw this sculpture from nature. Can you find the snake skin? It is fascinating that snakes get to shed their skin in order to grow and change. Snakes symbolize transformation and creativity. How can we as humans “take off our skin” and begin again?

I was reminded of the cherita form in a post yesterday and wanted to offer it for today’s writing prompt. Simply put, a cherita tells a short story in stanzas of one line, two lines, and three lines.

What are your hopes for 2025? What skin do you need to leave behind? Explore with me in a small poem.

Hidden in a bramble of dried prairie grass

A single snake skin looms
empty, translucent, urging me

To believe* in the possibility
of creative transformation
and strength.
by Margaret Simon, draft

*One Little Word 2025

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