Praise poem | Reflections on the Teche

Posts Tagged ‘Praise poem’

Poetry Friday: Roundup and Gratitude

Posted in Gratitude, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged Poetry Friday Roundup, Praise poem on July 18, 2024| 33 Comments »

The Poetry Friday Roundup this week is here. Scroll down to enter your links into the inLinkz party.

My summer is quickly coming to an end. I will be returning to teaching on August 1st (yes, it gets earlier every year). Two weeks left, but as every teacher knows, you must start working on plans and classroom arrangement much earlier. So today I am here with a praise poem from my summer.

Today, I Praise
(after Angelo Geter)

Today I will praise
the sharp teeth of a puppy
how he nips without force
licking my hand
with scented puppy breath.

I swoon over
a Gulf fritillary in the garden
flitting zinnia to zinnia,
how her wild orange gown
opens to the light.

Today, I praise
fairy tale enchantment
a stage of costumed pretenders,
how they rise above us
sing and dance a trance of fantasy.

Praise summer rain.
Praise magic of evening’s glow.
Praise long shadows of draping oaks.
Praise songs we sing because we know all the words.

Praise words.
Praise songs.
Praise me.
Praise you.

Margaret Simon, draft

Gulf Fritillary on a zinnia blossom, photo by Shelli Helms.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Butterfly Garden

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged butterfly garden, Ethical ELA, flower poems, Kwansaba, Praise poem, school garden on April 17, 2024| 11 Comments »

We’ve started getting the school butterfly garden ready for spring. I was a bit overwhelmed and excited to see all the plants that survived the winter. I was particularly taken by the purple salvia which last year was a small percentage of planter box space and now is practically taking over. But it’s so beautiful.

Yesterday on Ethical ELA, the prompt from Dave Wooly was a new form to me: Kwansaba, a praise poem based on #7. Seven lines, seven words, seven or fewer letters each word. The letter count stumped me because I wanted to write about the butterfly garden. Butterfly is 9 letters long, off limits. I felt like I was putting together a complicated puzzle where the pieces wouldn’t fit together. I’m sharing my effort, however, along with my garden partner Avalyn’s garden celebration.

Purple Salvia Kwansaba

In our school garden, spring rises in
purple salvia opening with violet nectar.

Beauty abounds here, left after winter’s freeze
bidding hummers, bees, moths, pollen seekers come.

I want to plant a home garden–
enrich, connect place to place where life,
a sense of hope, comes richly back to us.

by Margaret Simon

Avalyn’s Garden Kwansaba

Garden

Such a pretty flower, dancing flowers behold.
The wind cannot uproot even in storms.
You are such beauty I cannot explain.
You are the scent I want to smell.
You stand for happy, so much color!
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
A praise poem to all the flowers.

How are the flower gardens doing in your part of the world? Please consider writing a small poem in the comments and encouraging other writers with your comments. Happy Spring!

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Slice of Life: Flowers, flowers, flowers

Posted in Poetry, Writing, tagged Ethical ELA, Praise poem, spring flowers on April 16, 2024| 5 Comments »

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

What an amazing month for flowers! They are everywhere. Knockout roses, wild purple salvia, native Louisiana iris. I even say a few poppies in a neutral ground. Jasmine is blooming sending fragrance through the windows. I am finding hope and poetry in the flowers this month. Today I want to offer two poems about flowers. I hope you are watching flowers blooming in your part of the world. Small daily miracles.

Iris in a Glass Vase

If you want to know hope
as the deepest thing,
look at each flower blossom.
The iris yellow eyes like little candlelight
wrapped in a purple gown.
Nature plants seeds for us
to notice new life
to believe that God wants
us to rise up and wink at the sun,
to hear the sounds of birds
as they shout out loud,
We are here!
We are here!
We are here!
Margaret Simon, draft written to my own prompt on Ethical ELA

This next one is after Clint Smith as prompted on Ethical ELA. Pop over to see many wonderful poems.

Today I will write
a poem
about a small white flower
opening
overnight
to burst into fragrant song–

Jasmine climbs boldly
over a picket fence
persisting to be here
in a place where no one cries,
innocently hidden from view.

The scent of it
opens
over spring breeze
announcing its place
in the family of things.*

*from Mary Oliver Wild Geese

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DigiLitSunday: A Poem for the Earth

Posted in Digital Learning, Photography, Poetry, tagged Earth Day, Louisiana wetlands, Praise poem, science on April 23, 2017| 8 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

I’m one of these people who believes that every day should be Mother’s Day or Teacher Appreciation Day or Earth Day. But these annual celebrations serve a purpose. They remind us that we need to stop and think about Mom or your teacher or the Earth.

As a teacher, part of my responsibility is to teach the truth. I believe in Science. Scientists are trained, dedicated people who care deeply about the world. I know them. They do not make things up. One sign I saw online from the March for Science said, “Sometimes the truth is inconvenient.” That does not mean that it is to be denied or disregarded.

In my area of the Earth, wetlands are disappearing at a rate of a football field an hour according to the US Geological Survey. Because of science, data, environmental agencies, and yes, federal funding, this trend is turning toward the positive. When we pay attention, change can happen for the better. We need our wetlands.

In Louisiana, wetlands have come into the limelight. Educational programs help teach our students about their own home. Education about the environment can begin in your own backyard.

Next week I am taking a student to meet with a water testing chemist just down the street from our school. A few months ago, my students met with a naturalist about an oak tree in our area. They learned about the importance of preserving our oaks.

I did not join the local March for Science, but I am being intentional about how and what I teach my students. They are the future stewards of our Earth. It is our responsibility to make them care.

I am writing poetry every day for National Poetry Month. Today I wrote an ode to the Earth. I used pictures from my files to create an Animoto video.

https://animoto.com/play/up5iJ1fieqCgp4gBWcu0DQ

If you are joining the conversation, please add your link below.

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Poetry Friday: Gratitude

Posted in Gratitude, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged Laura Foley, Mary Lee Hahn, Praise poem, Tara Smith on August 25, 2016| 18 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up is with Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe

A few weeks ago, Mary Lee Hahn posted her poem Gratitude List as an exercise after Laura Foley’s Gratitude List. I immediately saved it to do with my students. This was the week of Gratitude, eating popcorn (Popcorn & Poetry), and writing our own Gratitude List. My students responded well to Laura Foley’s as well as Mary Lee’s poems. See this post to read these mentor texts.

As always, I write alongside my kids, so with a handful of popcorn and pictures from my trip to Tara’s farm, I fashioned my own version.

Praise be the morning mist,
the dewy grass, the crisp air,
and that moonrise last night
we raised a glass to.

Praise be a gathering of friends,
travels across miles, and the dog
that greeted each of us with a wagging tail.

Praise be the morning coffee, pancakes
covered in blueberries and maple syrup,
sweet, cool watermelon.
Praise be the wildflowers
in a canning jar.

–Margaret Simon (For Tara Smith)

I want to share a few lines from my students, too.

Praise be this afternoon
for gifted, the relaxing writing,
the fun of talking to friends,
reading a book.

Praise be Frootloop breakfast,
the hard floor under our feet
and a roof above our heads
and sunshine
after the flood.

–Madison, 3rd grade