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Posts Tagged ‘small poems’

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Bridge and Sun

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Travel, Writing, tagged , , on September 17, 2025| 10 Comments »

Queensferry Crossing over the Firth of Forth, Edinburgh, Scotland

I’m still dreaming of Scotland. This photo was taken from the bus window, so it’s not super clear, but I like how the sun beams down on the modern bridge. Imagine up ahead is the old town of Edinburgh. Scotland was a study in the modern and the ancient alongside each other.

On our return home, I went back to my genealogy to find that I have ancestors from Scotland.

Today I’m turning to the elfchen (or elevenie) form.

Bridge
carries across
Firth of Forth
Travelers of time to
Ancestors

Margaret Simon, draft

Please write a small poem in the comments and respond to other writers.

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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 , , , , on March 12, 2025| 21 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Scrap metal on the bank of Bayou Teche

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: Glacier Park Falls

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , on August 21, 2024| 17 Comments »

Photo by Dani Burtsfield

My friend Dani Burtsfield lives in Montana near Glacier Park. She sent me this photo from a hike she took with Allan Wolf, a poet who was visiting as a presenter for her reading conference. She had taken me on this same hike in the summer of 2018.

I don’t know the specific name for these falls, but I thought a postcard poem would be a good form. This week is Open Write at Ethical ELA and Jeania White led the prompt “Postcards from Places I’ve Never Been”.

Postcard from the Falls

Missing you
as I feel the spray
of cool water
on my face
remembering we took off
our shoes to put our toes in
and spread our arms out wide
to hold a Montana waterfall.

Margaret Simon, draft

Imagine this place on a postcard and write a small poem in the comments. Please respond to other poets with encouraging words.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Open the Gate

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , on August 7, 2024| 44 Comments »

Gate, photo by Margaret Simon

This photo is a gate in my daughter’s yard. There is so much lush vegetation around that passing through feels like an adventure, a mystery. When the jasmine is in bloom, the scent itself will entice you to wonder. Join me today on a writing adventure. Leave a small poem in the comments and respond to others with encouraging words. 

First day of school--
open the waiting gate
create your own path.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Seneca Falls Bridge

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , on July 31, 2024| 13 Comments »

Bridge in Seneca Falls, NY, photo by Molly Hogan

I have traveled this summer vicariously through my friend and fellow Inkling Molly Hogan. She recently went to Seneca Falls with her sisters. She shared her trip on her Facebook page here.

This photo appealed to me for many reasons, the play of metal to shadows, and my curiosity about the placement of bells. When I googled it, there is, of course, a story. The bridge was made famous by “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The bells are placed in honor of lost loved ones.

I started today by trying a triolet form. I came up with a long list of words rhyming with ringing. Thus a failed triolet became this offering.

Echoes of bells
ringing
send my heart
winging
memories of you
lingering
a shadow of love
clinging

Margaret Simon, draft

Write a small poem in the comments and kindly respond to others.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: First Fig

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged , , , on July 24, 2024| 11 Comments »

First fig, by Margaret Simon

We were given a fig tree and planted it this spring. We are now harvesting figs! One at a time. My husband joked that we were having our first annual Simon Fig Festival. I served the single fig cut into 4 pieces for our dessert last night. A small, but successful harvest.

Ethical ELA is holding Open Write this week. The first prompt came from Denise Krebs. She reminded me of a form that Jane Yolen created called the septercet. Each stanza has seven syllables and there are 3 lines per stanza. I wrote a septercet about my first fig.

Do you see rain and complain?
Everything wet in your path–
Grass and mud slide to the street.

I watch this single fig-fruit
turn from green to peachy-red
making rain into sweet juice.

You can decide the mood here.
Rain or shine, weed or flower
Fig tree loves enough of both.

@Margaret Simon, draft

You can choose to write a septercet about your own favorite fruit of summer. Leave a small poem in the comments and write encouraging responses to other writers.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Catching Raindrops

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , , on July 17, 2024| 6 Comments »

Garden child (photo by Margaret Simon)

This garden statue was a gift from a friend for my birthday last year (or the year before?) She is nestled in a space with succulents. This morning there was rain and I was drawn to how she seems to be catching raindrops with her upturned face. Maybe she can inspire a small poem in you today.

Angel
face upturned
glittered with raindrops
holding morning clouds with
Hope

Today I chose to use the elfchen form. The directions for this form:

Consider writing today. Leave a small poem in the comments. Respond to other writers with encouragement.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Heron Horizon

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on June 26, 2024| 31 Comments »

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

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: All That Remains

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , on May 22, 2024| 38 Comments »

Photo by Molly Hogan

I recently wrote a poem about the loss of an old oak for the sake of a new road. We discussed my poem in the Inklings writing group on Sunday. Molly texted this photo to the group. “I thought of our conversation when I was walking in a nearby town and discovered they’d cut down tons of trees as they repair the sidewalks. It made me so sad. Someone had placed these small cloth notes on the remains.”

I was considering a butterfly photo for today, but when she sent this, it hit me in my gut. We have to use poetry to resist. This itself is poetry of resistance.

The roots are sewing
messages of sorrow–
saying goodbye to their masters,
the trunk and branches
they served for years.
Underground, the roots
hold hands in solidarity
grieving and wishing
the world would understand.
Margaret Simon, draft

Please leave a small poem in the comments paying homage to the trees. Remember to respond with encouragement to other writers.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Sunset Photo

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on November 22, 2023| 20 Comments »

While I was in Ohio for NCTE, my husband sent me this photo of a harvested sugarcane field under an awe-inspiring sunset. He described it to me this morning, “It covered the whole world!” Ethical ELA held its Open Write this week. Kim Johnson prompted us to write a poem using Ada Limón’s poem Give Me This. I wrote a golden shovel about this photo using a striking line: “Why am I not allowed delight?”

So many sunset photos, I wonder why

attraction to orange, pink, purple sky is what I am

with you. Loving this mirror–I

with you, noticing. We are not

the same, yet we’re always allowed

a sunset delight.

Margaret Simon, after Ada Limón

I invite you to write an ekphrastic poem about this photo. Imagine the bigness of the sky, the awe-inspiring sunset, a field of brown…wherever the muse takes you. I hope you take a moment away from your Thanksgiving preparations to write. Come back if you can to comment on others’ poems with encouraging words. Most of all, “Happy Thanksgiving!”

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