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
Reflections on the Teche 