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Posts Tagged ‘#small poems’

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Bubble Acrostic

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged , , , on June 19, 2024| 17 Comments »

Grandson Thomas is fascinated by bubbles

This morning I am waking up with Thomas. His mother is on a work trip, so I am being Mamére. Thomas is fascinated by bubbles. He has a bubble blower and a collection of bubble wands. Early in the morning, this is his outside play time in between bites of cereal.

I wrote 3 poems for Two Truths and a Fib, an anthology by Bridget Magee. In that book, I have a bubble metaphor poem, acrostic, and Fibonacci poem. Since another fascination of Thomas’s is numbers, I decided to write another Fib poem. The syllable count follows the sequence, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 (and so on, if you choose).

Bubbles

Trapped
Air
circles
in the wind
caught in a rainbow–
A fascinating wonderland.

Margaret Simon, draft

I invite you to write a small poem today. Please respond to other writers with kind encouragement. Thanks for stopping by.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Dragonfly Summer

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged , , , , on June 12, 2024| 12 Comments »

Dragonfly by Julie Burchstead in Roseburg, Oregan

Last Friday as I read different Poetry Friday posts, I noticed the trinet form. Rose Cappelli wrote one about peonies. I have not tried this form yet, so I decided to offer it today. The form is 7 lines, 2 words in lines 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7, 6 words in lines 3 & 4.

I went on a swamp tour yesterday and dragonflies were flitting all around. Then I saw Julie Burchstead’s beautiful Facebook photo of this one, perfectly posed for a picture. Dragonflies are common insects. I found this on a dragonfly website:

“Dragonflies are similar to damselflies, but adults hold their wings away from, and perpendicular to the body when at rest. Their two sets of wings work independently, allowing dragonflies to maneuver through the air effortlessly. Their huge eyes give them incredible vision in almost every directions except directly behind them.” If you want to use some facts in your own poem, go here.

Dragonfly wings
aerial lift
flittering over stillness in sacred swamp
summer days echoing of cicada song
daring us
to reflect
light–shine!

Margaret Simon, draft

Please leave your own poems in the comments and respond to other writers with encouragement. Happy Summer!

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Safe Star Temple

Posted in Gratitude, Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , , on January 17, 2024| 26 Comments »

Star Temple Baptist Church, Jefferson Island Road

I have driven past this church for 16 years. It resides on the same country road as one of my schools. On the left is a small cemetery. Sometime this year I noticed a carpenter I know (I’ve nicknamed him Saint because he is selfless and kind.) doing work on this church. I assume it is an active congregation, but for me, it is the safe haven for our school’s safety plan in case we have to evacuate. We would meet a bus here that would take us to a high school down the road. Does this little building know its job? I’ve been wanting to take this photo for a long time and finally stopped last week. Notice the crooked stop sign, the high cirrus clouds, the simple steeple. Where does your mind go? Please write a small poem today and share it in the comments. Kindly respond to other writers.

I found out about the Stafford Challenge yesterday on Barb Elder’s blog post. I signed up. There is a Zoom gathering tonight with Kim Stafford. I had the pleasure of writing with Kim years ago at a writing marathon. His father William Stafford inspires writers everywhere to practice a daily poem. Whether you join or not, I think this is a good commitment to daily writing.

I continue to play with the elfchen (elevenie) form.

Temple
safe haven
corner Baptist church
sky of cirrus fields
star

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Fall

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , on September 27, 2023| 18 Comments »

photo by Margaret Simon

Fall here in South Louisiana doesn’t offer much color change of the trees. The oaks stay green. The cypress turn brown. Crepe myrtles are still blooming. I found this yellow beauty near a sweet-gum tree. I picked it up and pressed it into my notebook.

I invite you to think about fall with all your senses.

One of my favorite forms is the zeno created by J. Patrick Lewis. Based on a mathematical sequence, the syllable count is 8,4,2,1,4,2,1,4,2,1 with all the single syllable lines rhyming. I usually decide on the one syllable rhyming words and write the poem around them.

As sun’s glow fades through purple clouds,
I walk alone
seeking
fall.
A yellow leaf
beneath
sprawls,
beckons to hear
barred owl’s
call.

Margaret Simon

Write your own musings in the comments and leave encouraging comments to others. With my students, today I plan to make Zeno Zines. Here’s a video of me sharing a Zine.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Phlox with Water droplets

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged , , on August 30, 2023| 41 Comments »

I hope this post finds you happy and healthy and enjoying the last dog days of summer. My friend, fellow teacher-poet Molly Hogan has been getting outside and taking amazing photos in nature. I borrowed this photo from her Facebook page. She identified the flower as phlox. The water droplets transform this image into something new entirely. I’ve been watching a great white egret appear on the bayou each day, so my haiku turns the image to the egret. Use your imagination and write a small poem in the comments. Be sure to read others and encourage with your responses.

Phlox with water droplets by Molly Hogan.

White wings drape water,
bloom droplets of crystal grace
Egret makes no waves

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Above the Sky

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , on June 7, 2023| 26 Comments »

My friends James and Susan recently flew to Costa Rica for a long awaited vacation. James is an excellent photographer and while I enjoyed his Costa Rica photos (they reminded me of our trip last summer), I took a special interest in the photo he took while flying home. He wrote, “Over the Gulf of Mexico, somewhere.” It’s the somewhere I want to play around with.

One can’t help but think of the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” This photo muses me with “Somewhere over the sky.”

Somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico by James Edmunds. (all rights reserved)
Somewhere
           where space meets clouds
                      our wishes shine in ambient light.
Margaret Simon, draft

Take a moment and write a small verse to welcome summer, the sun, the warmth of summer. Leave your small poem in the comments and respond to others with comforting encouragement. Thanks for being here beside me.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Collage

Posted in Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged , , , on February 15, 2023| 8 Comments »

And now, folks, for something different. I’ve been working on a collage that I thought I was going to use as a prompt in Laura Shovan’s February project, but another idea came to me. I decided to offer it to you today as a photo prompt.

Collage work is intriguing to me. I cut out images that evoke some emotion in me and build it like a puzzle. I feel like my response poem will be different from yours because I have spent more time with it. Although, as I type this, I haven’t written a poem yet.

Think about the story that is happening in the collage as though it was a magazine photo. Interview the woman. Who is she? Where is she? Why is she there? Or take a more descriptive stance. Describe the scene using your senses. Whatever you decide, please share a bit with us. Remember this is quick draft writing, so leave only encouraging comments to others.

Magazine collage by Margaret Simon

Fire Girl

My adventures usually begin in my mind.
I wander the savannah, discover beauty,
feel the rush of adrenaline…

Then there is the mountain to climb,
the people I may leave behind,
so I settle in, next to our small fire
and thumb pages to find my bookmark.

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Baby Tern

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on August 24, 2022| 19 Comments »

Leave a small poem response to the photo in the comments. Be sure to support other writers with encouraging words.

If you’ve been here before, you know that one of my favorite photographers is a critique partner, Inkling Molly Hogan. Molly lives in Maine and is an amazing photographer. Please take a moment to read her Tuesday post about “gathering calm” through nature.

When I go out to take pictures, I usually have at least the location in mind, which dictates some of what I’ll see. Ocean versus marsh versus river. Forests or fields. Still, there are surprises here, too. I never know what will capture my attention at that particular time. Will the fog call to me, or shadows or spider webs? Will interesting patterns emerge in sand, water or sky? 

Molly Hogan

What does the poet see? What will draw your attention? The ocean waves? The striking bird? The patterns in the sand?

Fledgling tern cries to be fed, photo by Molly Hogan

Hunger…

makes the baby cry
the great owl hunt
the fledgling squeal
Hunger opens our souls
for feeding

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Baby Calf

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged , , , on August 17, 2022| 3 Comments »

Welcome to This Photo: I hope you are inspired by this photo to write a small poem. Leave it in the comments. Read other small poems and write an encouraging message.

School has started and thus, my itinerant trek from school to school. Last year I found an alternate route that took me through the country. I have come to love this scenic route. In the spring I stopped to take a photo of a barn among wildflowers. One day last week I saw a new calf in the field with the white cows. I passed a few times before I decided to stop. On this particular day no one was anywhere around, so I pulled into the driveway. Momma cow saw me coming and kept a close eye on me, but I spoke to her kindly and was able to get this photo of her new baby.

White cow, white cow
what do you hear?

Little calf, little one
love is always near.

Margaret Simon, draft

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Slice of Life #30: This Photo Wants to be a Poem

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged , , , on March 30, 2022| 45 Comments »

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

Last week I took my students out to the playground to find photos. I wrote about the activity yesterday. I was surprised by the variety and interest their photos generated. Without any direction, Adelyn straddled the drainage and folded herself in half and took this photo upside down. When I asked if I could use her photo for the poetry prompt, she said, “Be sure to give me credit.” Of course. She wrote this equation poem: Investigation = question + adventure.

Now it’s your turn. What do you see? Write a small poem in the comments. Support other writers with your comments.

Follow your curiosity.
Landing among the stones,
Explore a mystery.

Margaret Simon, draft

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