This Photo Wants to be a Poem | Reflections on the Teche

Posts Tagged ‘This Photo Wants to be a Poem’

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Sunset Photo

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged Ada Limón, Ethical ELA, Golden Shovel, Kim Johnson, small poems, sunset, This Photo Wants to be a Poem 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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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Just a Rock?

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged On Being, ordinary object, Padreg O Tuama, pantoum, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on November 15, 2023| 8 Comments »

Rock through a jewel loupe, by Margaret Simon

I discovered The Private Eye Project years ago and have a set of jewel loupes in my classrooms. For our nature field trip last week, I brought them with us. One of our goals was to look at nature from different perspectives, as art and as explorers.

I took this picture of a rock one of my students shared with me. There is a whole kingdom inside one sedimentary rock. Use your imagination to write about this ordinary object in an extraordinary way. Make a list of what the rock looks like. You can create an extended metaphor poem. Leave a small poem in the comments and encourage other writers.

I used a formula for writing a pantoum about an ordinary object by PÁDRAIG Ó TUAMA from On Being.

A rock can be a kingdom
if you look through a jewel loupe.
Pick a small rock on a walk
before you embark on a new journey.

If you look through a jewel loupe,
this rock seems insignificant,
but you can embark on a journey.
If you look closely, you may find yourself.

This rock may seem insignificant
but a student thought it a gift.
If you look closely, you may find yourself.
When I hold it tight, I feel warmth.

A student gave me a gift–
a small rock.
When I hold it tight, I feel warmth.
A rock can be a kingdom.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Niagara Falls

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged #poemsofpresence, #writeout, Emily Lee Luan, Nature poems, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on October 18, 2023| 15 Comments »

For Fall break, my husband and I visited Niagara Falls. This trip was a bucket list item for me. The Falls did not disappoint. They are an amazing feat of nature, the kind that cannot be captured in a photo or video. You have to be there to hear the sounds of hundreds of thousands of gallons of water falling each second. I took a lot of pictures, but when I look at them now, they pale in comparison to the real live event. I’m so happy we did this trip. I highly recommend it. If you are planning to go, let me know. I have suggestions.

This morning’s Poem-a-Day from the Academy of American Poets was by Emily Lee Luan The warble of melting snow is the river. I borrowed her form for my own poem. I find that using a form helps me get out of my head and allowing creativity to do its magic.

The chant of rocks is the falls (after Emily Lee Luan)

is the rush of gravity
is the impulse of water*
is the pull of a mother… child
is the everlasting light of the sun
is the building of power
is the electricity of ages
is the reflection of rainbows
is the promise of peace
is the waking of a dream
is the shift of river
to fall.
Margaret Simon, draft

When you are inspired to write, please leave your poem in the comments so we can share. Write encouraging comments for other writers.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Ghosts

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged cinquain, Halloween poems, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on October 4, 2023| 28 Comments »

My neighbor’s ghosts are hanging around, over the sidewalk. On my early morning walk, I pass through them like passing through a curtain. The wind pulls them toward me, and I admit a little uneasiness. I saw Melissa in the store yesterday, and she grinned when she talked about them. She said, “I love my ghosts!”

Halloween is around the corner, literally. Follow the ghostly muse to write a small poem today. Post in the comments. Encourage other writers with your response. I wanted to try a cinquain (pronounced “sink-cane”). Syllable count of 2,4,6,8,2. There are other variations you can try. Here is a guide to the form.

Morning Walk in October

Ghostly
shapes in the wind.
Shivers ripple my skin.
I step lightly through the curtain
of gauze.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Dragonfly

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, dragonfly, haiku, small poems, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on August 9, 2023| 18 Comments »

Deep down south we have many varieties of dragonflies. I love to watch them. They fascinate me and take me away from worry to a place of gratitude. Who doesn’t love a good Google search for meaning?

“Dragonfly’s can be a symbol of self that comes with maturity. They can symbolize going past self-created illusions that limit our growth and ability to change. The Dragonfly has been a symbol of happiness, new beginnings and change for many centuries. The Dragonfly means hope, change, and love.” https://dragonflytransitions.com/why-the-dragonfly

That first sentence grabbed me “self that comes with maturity” because this is the week of my birthday. I will be 62. If there is an age of maturity, I’d go with anything past 50, but now that I’m in my 60’s, stuff keeps happening that requires me to be mature, to change the things I can, and accept the things I cannot change.

Consider writing with us today. You can choose one of the many things that a dragonfly symbolizes or write whatever comes. This is a safe place to explore. Perhaps time yourself for 7-10 minutes. Turn off the critic and let the words flow. Leave encouraging comments for other writers.

Dragonfly dazzles
a dry branch, revealing
self-purity

Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo (Video) Wants to be a Poem: Summer Solstice

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged haiku, Nature poems, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on June 21, 2023| 17 Comments »

I spent the weekend in Ridgeland, MS just north of Jackson. I stayed in a hotel near a lake and walked each morning both for exercise and meditation. I took some video while walking. This morning I wrote a haiku and created a video using Canva.

Today is the longest day…summer solstice. Think about what this day means to you. Add your own small poem in the comments. Please click over to this post about my personal fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association in honor of my mother’s 87th birthday.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Black Swallowtail

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #beingmamere, Mary Lee Hahn, Simon Summer Camp, swallowtail butterfly, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on June 14, 2023| 17 Comments »

Happy Summer! As the sun rises toward the summer solstice, today I’m offering a swallowtail butterfly from Mary Lee Hahn. Mary Lee inspires me in many ways. She’s a wonderful poet, teacher, gardener, critique partner, presentation collaborator, and friend. Recently, she has been watching her overwintering swallowtails emerge. I’ve only had this happen once in my life and its quite amazing. The brown, dead looking chrysalis lasts a long time. And by some miracle of nature, it emerges once the temperatures warm up.

Nature always fascinates me. This week my grandchildren and I are exploring nature every day at Simon Family Camp (We even have an official t-shirt). The cicadas are alive and “yowd!” Every day we find another exoskeleton to add to our collection. I’m exhausted but having the time of my life with Leo, 4.5, Thomas, 3.5, and Stella, 2.5. Explore is the theme of this inaugural family camp. Yesterday we discovered a mountain. The mountain was a dirt pile at a neighbor’s house covered with a tarp. When the boys started to throw dirt clods, we moved on with our hike.

I don’t usually choose two pictures for this photo prompt, but I know that some of my readers who write are more naturalist than grandparent. Bonus points if you can combine the two images.

Write a small poem in the comments and give encouraging feedback to other writers. Most of all, have fun!

We can be
explorers,
conquerers,
one-of-a-kind aviators
lifting our strong bodies
above the world
while holding
out our wings
in kindness.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Shadows

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #smallpoems #poemsofpresence, NPM 2023, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on April 5, 2023| 63 Comments »

For National Poetry Month, Molly Hogan and I committed to a flexible schedule of writing different forms of poetry, but I insisted on a weekly space for writing to a photograph. While out on my walks these days, I may open the Notes app and hit the microphone to dictate a poem. Yesterday while I walked, I contemplated the Ethical ELA prompt from Jennifer Jowett to write from an ungrammatical stance making nouns into verbs. See her prompt here. I observed the trees along my path, and spoke the words, “When I tree.” Then I saw the shadows from an overhead street light. Shadows are intriguing. I took this photo.

Broken Dawn

When I tree,
bayou-bell’s song echoes in me.
Yellow twinkle of sweet olive scents
my breath. Legs ache
from last night’s climb.
Turn to eastern broken dawn.
Margaret Simon, draft

Please leave a small poem in the comments and respond to other writers with encouraging words. Are you poeming daily this month? Here is a safe place to play with words.

The Progressive Poem is with Rose Cappelli today at Imagine the Possibilities.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Collage

Posted in Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged #poemsofpresence, #small poems, magazine collage, This Photo Wants to be a Poem 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.

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: Frost Forest

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged #poemsofpresence, #smallpoems, Frost flowers, Molly Hogan, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, winter poems on January 25, 2023| 25 Comments »

I do not live in a cold climate (In South Louisiana it’s cold when the temperature falls below 50.)and most of the time, that is fine with me. But I am fascinated and mesmerized by photos of snow. My friend and fellow Inkling Molly Hogan lives in Maine. She was telling us at our Zoom meeting about her experience photographing in single digit weather. She loves taking photographs of nature. She posted about this experience on her blog post on Tuesday. I “found” a haiku in her post along with an amazing photograph for today’s prompt. You should go to her post to see and read more: Nix the Comfort Zone.