Author: Wondering and Wandering
I am a Massachusetts elementary school teacher who messes around with writing from time to time. You can find me on Twitter @WymansWonders.
#WordlessWednesday #WaldenWednesday
Words Take Wing #PoetryFriday #NikkiGrimes
Happy Poetry Friday, everyone! Irene Latham is hosting this week’s festive gathering on her blog, Live Your Poem. Won’t you join us there? This week we are celebrating the one and only Nikki Grimes and her amazing accomplishments. If you don’t follow Nikki on Twitter (@nikkigrimes9), you are missing out. Her words are uplifting and always inspiring. And her recent memoir in poems, Ordinary Hazards, is on top of my summer stack waiting for me one week from today when my school year FINALLY wraps up.
If you are new to Poetry Friday and are ever wondering where to find the weekly host of the roundup, you’ll find a list of hosts and their blog links here.
The inspiration for my poem is Nikki’s fabulous verse novel Words with Wings and it’s heroine, Gabby. I threw out “words with wings” to my Kindergarten poets, and one astute young naturalist/writer said words having wings reminded him of dandelion seeds floating in the air. His image served as the seed for my poem.
Many thanks to Irene for hosting this most joyous of roundups, and for all of Nikki’s words that have taken wing and flown into our hearts. Be well, friends!
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#WordlessWednesday #WaldenWednesday
More Poem-ish Pieces #PoetryFriday #NatureNurtures2020 #PoemsOfPresence
Happy Poetry Friday, everyone! Mary Lee Hahn is hosting this week’s gathering on her blog, A Year of Reading. Won’t you join us there? Mary Lee has a wonderful intro to the work of poet Marilyn Chin. Mary Lee is prepping for a conversation she’ll be facilitating with her soon. I’m signing up. How about you?
If you are new to Poetry Friday (I’m looking at you, Teach Write friends!) and are ever wondering where to find the weekly host of the roundup, you’ll find a list of hosts and their blog links here.
Here is my own personal round-up of #poemsofpresence for the week. What a fun challenge this was! Many thanks to Michelle for hosting at Today’s Little Ditty and Margaret for masterminding this challenge! All four of my poems were inspired by moments in or around my garden and farmer’s porch (a.k.a. our summer living room).
Many thanks to Mary Lee for hosting the roundup this week. Be well, friends!
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Cardinal Calls #SOL20
Slices behind the #PoemsOfPresence.
For many years, our alarm clock has been set to the same station and the same time — our local NPR affiliate, WBUR, at 4:50 AM. I know that sounds boring and awfully early, but we are pretty routine-oriented in our home and are “early-to-bed-early-to-risers.” That’s just what happens when two writers live under one roof.
Lately, though, someone is beating the clock. It used to be a robin, but not anymore. This virtuoso — or I like to believe it is the same singer each morning — starts his warm-up as early as 4:15 and really gets going around 4:30. We love his song, and when the alarm kicks in and the final segment of BBC programming begins, we hit the snooze button, so the concert may continue.
BRAVO!
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Thanks for wondering and wandering a bit with me today. And many thanks to the crew at Two Writing Teachers, and the extended SOL community, for giving us the time, space, and encouragement to live the writerly life here every Tuesday throughout the year and daily during the month of March.
Poem-ish Pieces #PoetryFriday #NatureNurtures2020 #PoemsOfPresence
Happy Poetry Friday, everyone! Carol Varsalona is hosting this week’s gathering on her blog, Beyond Literacy Link. Won’t you join us there? Carol has been very busy collecting wonderful #NatureNurtures2020 poems this spring from many contributors. You may find them here and it’s not too late to add your own!
If you are new to Poetry Friday (I’m looking at you, Teach Write friends!) and are ever wondering where to find the weekly host of the roundup, you’ll find a list of hosts and their blog links here.
In between ZOOM calls with students and colleagues, I’ve been trying to find time to step outside and experience what is turning into a most glorious spring here in New England. So much to hear and see, and what a relief from staring at the computer screen! I’ve had a chance to cobble together several #PoemsOfPresence this week, and hopefully there are more to come.
On Wednesday afternoon I managed to squeeze in (MORE SCREEN TIME!) a wonderful webinar, Nature as Inspiration and Transformation: An Intro to Nature Poetry with poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil. Oh, was that balm for the soul! If you missed it, here’s the recording. Curl up with your notebook, something to write with, and a glass of refreshing ice tea or lemonade. It will be an hour well spent. I promise.
One of the writing invitations Aimee provided was to take an interesting animal fact and use it as the first line in a poem. The fact that hummingbirds fly backwards immediately jumped (or is that flew?) out at me and this is what I came up with.
And lastly, our Teach Write “Time to Write” group has begun to play around with common prompts, sharing our work with one another, and providing feedback from the heart, mind, and writers within us. This week we are using “the blank page.” That’s it. Just “the blank page,” and we were asked to use a blank page. I knew I wanted to go in the nature notebooking direction because I’ve been enjoying Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s nature writing and keeping a notebooking videos and Paula Bourque’s nature notebooking video, too — as have so many of you! It ended up being poem-ish.
I’m longing for more time outdoors with my notebook. How about you?
Many thanks to Carol for hosting the roundup this week. Be well, friends!
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Clouds Billow #PoetryFriday #PoemsOfPresence
Happy Poetry Friday, everyone! Jama Rattigan is hosting this week’s gathering on her blog, Jama’s Alphabet Soup. Won’t you join us there? Today is National Chocolate Chip Day and you know how much Jama loves to bake. You might need a big glass of milk to drink while reading Jama’s deliciously delightful post. If you are new to Poetry Friday and are ever wondering where to find the weekly host of the roundup, you’ll find a list of hosts and their blog links here.
As we inch closer to summer and warmer weather, I find myself dreaming of the ocean. My parents are both from Maine, so growing up I spent a part of most summers at one aunt’s home on Peaks Island or another aunt’s on Chebeague Island. My family also, for many years, rented a cottage in Boothbay Harbor. In all three locations, I loved — and still do! — to walk along the shore collecting time- and tide-smoothed stones, sea glass, and picking wild blueberries. It was also fun to just sit and watch all the action on the water. Boats, bobbing birds, and the odd harbor seal provide hours of entertainment and a sense of peace.
Many members of my Tuesday night #TeachWrite writing accountability group have purchased the Write the Poem journal and are writing from “the ocean” prompt. Word associations provided include billows, deep, brine, offing, wave, flux, tide, and current. As I began to write my poem, I had one particular afternoon on Peaks last August in mind. Today’s poem, Clouds Billow, is my second offering to the #PoemsOfPresence collection.
To learn more about Margaret Simon’s wonderful #PoemsOfPresence challenge, click here. Many thanks to Jama for hosting the roundup this week. Be well, friends!
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#WordlessWednesday #WaldenWednesday
Sunset Streams #PoetryFriday #poemsofpresence
Happy Poetry Friday, everyone! Michelle Heidenrich Barnes is hosting this week’s gathering on her blog, Today’s Little Ditty. Won’t you join us there? If you are new to Poetry Friday and are ever wondering where to find the weekly host of Poetry Friday, you’ll find a list of hosts and their blog links here.
Michelle welcomed the one and only Nikki Grimes for a visit and celebration of her new stunner of a book, Southwest Sunrise. Nikki’s lovely verse, accompanied by gorgeous artwork from Wendell Minor, celebrates the beauty of a part of our vast country I have yet to explore.
Nikki threw out a challenge for us to create a poem inspired by either an image from the book or another. I chose Michelle’s image of a fence covered with “an abundance of blooms,” which spoke to me, and I’ve borrow her words for my first line. I went for Nikki’s bonus points by creating a haiku (or tanka), my go-to form. It’s just a quick draft, but…
And speaking of fine weather, we have finally had the most gorgeous week of weather here in New England. Each day was filled with the most glorious sunshine after what has been a dreary and chilly early spring. We aren’t out of the woods yet, since a touch of snow is predicted for overnight tonight, but this week has me feeling much more hopeful about what is to come, both literally and metaphorically speaking.
One stunner of an early evening, while scribbling in my notebook on the porch, the following poem of presence came to me.
Many thanks to Michelle for hosting our festive event this week, and for Nikki’s generous time, too. Be well, friends!
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