This Photo Wants to be a Poem

Posts Tagged ‘This Photo Wants to be a Poem’

Posted in Photography, Poetry, tagged chiaroscuro, Supermoon, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on April 28, 2021| 29 Comments »

Spring is in full swing and many of my phone photos are flowers, but last night was a marvelous super pink moon. The phone camera didn’t really capture what I saw, so I took the photo through the Waterlogue app just to see what I would see. The negative space shows up, the sky that is blue with the nightlight of the moon and the white spaces in the trees. Makes me think about negative spaces and chiaroscuro, the light we don’t see until the perspective is changed.

Chiaroscuro, in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition.

Silent light
Curves through darkness
Under a full moon
Revealing the sky’s
Open door
Margaret Simon, draft

Please leave a small poem in the comments. Write a comment for other writers.

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This Photo wants to be a Poem

Posted in Creativity, Photography, Poetry, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, contour drawing, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on April 21, 2021| 19 Comments »

I love to place flowers in a vase on my kitchen table. Last Sunday the rain finally stopped and the sun came out revealing new colors. Flowers were so happy about the rain. They were blooming like crazy. So I cut some and put them in a simple vase, a knock-out rose, yellow gerbera daisies, and blue flag iris. There they sat when I found an email with a link to a YouTube video on contour drawing. I drew this still life and I wasn’t disappointed in the results. I usually hate my drawing and often give up on any exercise that involves drawing skills. But to live creatively, you can’t give up. You shouldn’t deny the things you love. And you should always, always place flowers in a vase on your kitchen table.

Still life with flowers, photo by Margaret Simon enhanced by Waterlogue app

Buds today
will be blossoms tomorrow
Don’t forget to water
the seeds you plant.
They are yours
for only a moment.
Margaret Simon, draft

Use these photos to prompt a small verse and leave it in the comments. Encourage other writers with comment replies. Thanks for being here today.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem

Posted in Photography, Poetry, tagged nature haiku, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on April 7, 2021| 16 Comments »

This week I am traveling with my sister. She lives in Texas, I in Louisiana, and our parents and brother live in Mississippi. We’ve had a quick visit after more than a year of separation. Yesterday, Beth and I wanted to take a walk. It was a gorgeous spring morning, so we found Friendship Park near our hotel. Both of us were taken by the scenery. Huge old azaleas were in bloom. There was a winding soft asphalt path to walk. The trees jutting up to the sky were fresh with new green. Each of us snapped multiple pictures.

New green reaches
for a heavenly lit sign
all is well
Margaret Simon, draft

Please consider writing your own small poem response in the comments. Give encouraging feedback to other writers.

Today the Kidlit Progressive Poem is with Rose at Imagine the Possibilities.

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#SOL21: This Photo Wants to be a Poem

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged bluebird, Molly Hogan, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on March 31, 2021| 41 Comments »

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

On the last day of the March Slice of Life Challenge, walk with me. Listen to the birds. Take a minute to just be here.

This month of Slicing has been a way for me to be present. Present to my thoughts. Present to the words of others.

One of my favorite photographers is my writing critique group partner, fellow SOL blogger, Molly Hogan in Maine. I cannot imagine how she gets such amazing photos of birds. She must be so still and patient. Her latest batch on Facebook are shots of bluebirds. This one she posted looks like a cartoon character.

Consider writing a small poem in response to this photo in the comments or on your blog (link in the comments). Leave encouraging comments to other writers.

Morning birds serenade my walk,
an aubade to the trees and sky,
gentle as your hand
on my sleeping shoulder.
Margaret Simon, draft

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#SOL21 #This Photo Wants to be a Poem

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged March haiku, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on March 24, 2021| 26 Comments »

You may use this image on your blog if you share a poem from this prompt.

The clocks have been set forward, the days are getting longer, and there is a rumor that spring is here. I forget how turbulent March can be. It’s like the weather can’t decide. There is a war between hot and cold, humid and dry, that causes wind and storms and then bright sunny days and flowers.

I love spring flowers. My photo app is full of them. One of my favorites is the wisteria vine. Wisteria is an invasive species in South Louisiana. My husband hates the insidious vines that rot wooden railings. I’ve lost the battle over trying to keep it in our yard. But this week they were blooming beautifully in our neighborhood. On my walk, I smelled their fragrance before seeing the vine.

Lavender leaves weep
wander in March windy ways
fragrant springtime tears
Margaret Simon, March haiku

Join me today and write a small poem in the comments or on your blog (leave a link in the comments). Be sure to support others with encouraging comments.

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#SOL21: #This Photo wants to be a Poem

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Clover, spring, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on March 10, 2021| 20 Comments »

This photo was an impulse photo, like an impulse buy in the grocery store at the check out line. I was walking in the cold of the early morning and making a wish for warmer days. I know I’ll get my wish soon enough, but 41 degrees is chilly, and frankly, I’m tired of having to put on layers for my walk. I almost tripped over this patch of clover.

Where did it come from? How does it know it’s time to bloom? When everything else is still brown? So I stopped, grabbed my phone with my stinging cold fingers and took a picture. I think my wish worked because the day warmed up to 70 without a cloud in the sky. Spring is coming slowly but surely.

Secret starbursts proud
emerging from a green cloud
Harbinger of spring.
Margaret Simon, draft

The way this works: Look at the photo for inspiration and write a small poem in the comments. Leave encouraging comments to other writers by replying to their poems. Let your mind wander. No pressure.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem

Posted in Photography, Poetry, tagged This Photo Wants to be a Poem on February 25, 2021| 24 Comments »

Buffy Silverman is a children’s author-poet and a new friend because of an Artist’s Way group that meets each week. She lives near a lake in Michigan and finds her sacred space in the nature and quietude there. I reviewed her latest book On a Snow-Melting Day here. She’s currently offering a giveaway on Twitter.

It's a drip-droppy, slip-sloppy, snow-melting day! In honor of the season, I'm giving away a copy of ON A SNOW-MELTING DAY. Please follow and RT to enter – I’ll pick a winner on March 1st. #kidlit #STEMeducation #BookGiveaway @LernerBooks pic.twitter.com/yeMxvdxpwp
— Buffy Silverman (@BuffySilverman) February 23, 2021

I found Buffy’s image on Facebook. I was drawn to the composition within the bare tree branches. Please join me today by posting your own small poem in the comments. Encourage other writers in the comments.

Tufted titmouse,
snowball fluff,
twitter me a song.
My day’s been rough.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem

Posted in Photography, Poetry, tagged ice poems, Molly Hogan, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on February 18, 2021| 28 Comments »

Join this weekly photo poetry prompt community by leaving a poem in the comments.

This has been a frigid week in the deep south. The ice storm has caused widespread power outage and water loss. Our home was without power for 12 hours. Our house plumbing is fine, but my husband’s office had a burst pipe. Southerners just aren’t equipped to handle this extreme cold for an extended period of time. The temperature rose to 36 degrees yesterday, but we are staying home from school due to low water pressure.

But ice can be beautiful. My friend and poetry writing group partner Molly Hogan lives in Maine, so she is well-versed in cold. She is also an amazing photographer. She recently posted photos of ice on plants and this one she claimed as her favorite. I can see why. There’s a poem waiting there. Leave your own small poem in the comments and respond to others with kindness and encouragement.

There is beauty in a single moment,
tresures in a whisper,
A world waiting
in an ice-encased atom.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem

Posted in Photography, Poetry, tagged camellia, nature poem, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on February 11, 2021| 31 Comments »

If you are a reader of my blog, you know that I love spending time with my grandchildren. A few weeks ago I took Leo to visit his great grandmother. We wandered around her backyard. Minga picked a camellia, a common winter flower here in the South. She handed the beautiful pink blossom to Leo. He held it out to me and pointed up, “Tree!” So, of course, I placed the flower into the tree. Off went Leo, satisfied and ready to romp across the yard.

Camellia blossom in an oak tree. Photo by Margaret Simon

With a line borrowed from Ellen Bass, I offer this small poem. Leave your own poem in the comments. Please encourage other writers with response to their poem-gifts.

The thing is
to love life,
to hold a flower
in your hands,
and then give it
away.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem

Posted in Photography, Poetry, tagged Frost flowers, Kate Messner, Lake Champlain, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on February 4, 2021| 44 Comments »

I have followed Kate Messner for years and have many of her wonderful books for middle grade readers. Kate is a real person, as well as an author-hero, who lives on Lake Champlain. Too cold for my southern blood, but she posted photos on her Instagram recently of ice flowers. Kate wrote a blog post about this phenomenon on her website here.

Natural beauty that comes with scientific facts fascinates and inspires me. I tend to dive into googling and wonder. Here is an interesting article from American Scientist. There seems to be controversy or conversation, rather, about what to call this amazing phenomenon. Frost flowers, frost weed, or frost plant, these winter blooms are sure to inspire some small poems.