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.
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!
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!
I absolutely loved National Poetry Month and my #ThoreaulyInspired project, but I’m pooped! Writing a poem draft a day is a labor of love, indeed. Here’s a Padlet of the poems that I either created from scratch or revisited and revised from the past. I do feel more connected to not only Thoreau but the changing world around me.
I also wanted to share some sweet haiku that several of my Kindergarteners chose to write on National Haiku Day last month. I shared a line with them during a ZOOM session and here’s what they added. Not bad for their first haiku!
So now it’s May, National Notebooking Month, and I’m looking forward to lots of scribbling about whatever comes my way.
***********************************************
Thanks to Elizabeth for hosting this week’s celebration! Happy Friday, all, and be safe and well.
Each day during April, I will write a poem-ish piece inspired by a word or phrase mined from the pages of Henry David Thoreau’s jewel-laden journals. I have left my challenge open so that the poems may take any form — haiku, free verse, borrowed line, blackout –and who knows which direction they will go in.
Day #30: Wandering and wondering
A peek at my process —
Today’s final poem was inspired by the mutual connection I feel to Thoreau through the pages of his journal and mine. While our intent differs in some respects, this month-long poetic journey has shown me that we do indeed share a mutual admiration for all things natural and a sense of joy from time spent wandering and then reflecting upon the experience.
And now for…
30 days ago, on April 1st, our Poetry Friday family launched the 8th annual Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem originally organized by author/poet, Irene Latham. Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche is taking over this year as the organizer. Many members of the #PoetryFriday family signed up to provide a line for the 2020 poem, and last Friday was my turn, so I contributed the line “Something familiar, I know so well.”
Today it was Michelle Kogan’s turn to bring our sweet poem home on her blog. Not only did Michelle finish up the poem, but she created a musical interpretation using what else? Her banjo! The explorer in our poem didn’t travel terribly far but nonetheless had an adventure. Sometimes the best adventures happen close to home. Don’t you think? Thoreau certainly knew that.
So here it is in its entirety — the Progressive Poem 2020!
Many thanks to all contributors to this years’ poem. It was so fun to collaborate with you!
Each day during April, I will write a poem-ish piece inspired by a word or phrase mined from the pages of Henry David Thoreau’s jewel-laden journals. I have left my challenge open so that the poems may take any form — haiku, free verse, borrowed line, blackout –and who knows which direction they will go in.
Place names were clearly important to Thoreau. Thank goodness they were, because he left behind a trail of breadcrumbs for us to follow in his footsteps. Today’s list poem is made up of place names scattered through his journal entries, many of which I am able to visit today.
And now for…
Our Poetry Friday family has launched the 8th annual Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem originally organized by author/poet, Irene Latham. Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche is taking over this year as the organizer. Many members of the #PoetryFriday family have signed up to provide a line for the 2020 poem, and Friday was my turn.
Here’s where the poem stands with just a day to go!
Today it’s Fran Haley’s turn to provide a line choice for Michelle Kogan to choose from and bring it home. You can find Fran’s lines on her blog, Lit Bits and Pieces. An extra special welcome to Fran who is joining the Progressive Poem, Poetry Friday, and NPM family of poets for the first time!
Here’s the itinerary for the final days of the Progressive Poem. I really don’t want it to end! Does it have to?
Each day during April, I will write a poem-ish piece inspired by a word or phrase mined from the pages of Henry David Thoreau’s jewel-laden journals. I have left my challenge open so that the poems may take any form — haiku, free verse, borrowed line, blackout –and who knows which direction they will go in.
Day #28: Nature
nature infinite expectation uncertainty broad and unexplored from scraggy hillside to partridge drum lies out there as old, and yet as new varies every day growth and changes of the seasons influence of the elements the eye never twice rests upon the same prospect much more does a character show newly and variedly if directly seen
A peek at my process —
On April 28, 1841, Thoreau wrote in his journal, “I approach a great nature with infinite expectation and uncertainty, not knowing what I may meet. It lies as broad and unexplored before me as a scraggy hillside or pasture. I may hear a fox bark, or a partridge drum, or some bird new to these localities may fly up. It lies out there as old, and yet as new. The aspect of the woods varies every day, what with their growth and the changes of the seasons and the influence of the elements, so that the eye of the forester never twice rests upon the same prospect. Much more does a character show newly and variedly, if directly seen.” (The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, Journal I: 1837-1846, Chapter V. 1841, p. 254)
It would be hard to improve upon Thoreau’s thoughts about nature from this entry. In fact, I found his words so eloquent, that I scooped them up and formed them into a concrete found poem in the shape of a drumlin. Drumlins, and their geological opposites — kettle holes — dot the landscape here in Massachusetts and may be found all over the world. The image in the background is the namesake drumlin at Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary, just down the road from us in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Drumlins are giant deposits of sediment formed during the last glacial retreat. Their whale-like shape is steep in the front and tapers to a tail in the direction of the ice flow. The view from the top of this particular drumlin on a clear day is lovely, and Thoreau wrote about it in his journal in 1853.
And now for…
Our Poetry Friday family has launched the 8th annual Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem originally organized by author/poet, Irene Latham. Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche is taking over this year as the organizer. Many members of the #PoetryFriday family have signed up to provide a line for the 2020 poem, and Friday was my turn.
Here’s where things stand with our sweet poem’s adventure thus far.
Today it’s Jessica Bigi’s turn to provide a line choice for Fran to choose from. You may find her lines on Mainely Write, as they have a guest appearance there today!
Here’s the itinerary for the final days of the Progressive Poem. I really don’t want it to end! Does it have to?
Each day during April, I will write a poem-ish piece inspired by a word or phrase mined from the pages of Henry David Thoreau’s jewel-laden journals. I have left my challenge open so that the poems may take any form — haiku, free verse, borrowed line, blackout –and who knows which direction they will go in.
Snow is sadly in the forecast for us tonight and the early o. It isn’t unusual for us to still have a few flurries this time of year in New England, but fortunately, they don’t last for very long.
And now for…
Our Poetry Friday family has launched the 8th annual Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem originally organized by author/poet, Irene Latham. Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche is taking over this year as the organizer. Many members of the #PoetryFriday family have signed up to provide a line for the 2020 poem, and Friday was my turn.
Here’s where things stand with our sweet poem’s adventure thus far.
Today it’s Robyn Hood Black’s turn to conjure up new lines for Jessica to choose from. You may find them on her blog, Life on the Deckle Edge.
Here’s the itinerary for the final days of the Progressive Poem. I really don’t want it to end! Does it have to?
