Today the sun warmed
us, brightened blue with yellow
I am here! It said
so remember tomorrow
as we are in eclipsed awe
I’m looking for poetry challenges. Today I wrote a tanka.
(More Tanka resources here)
Photograph
There’s a photograph Of me
and my best friend
We are maybe seven
standing in the backyard under an umbrella
with a sprinkler
bathing suits on
Later we would
have pudding pops
float in the pool
swing
color
maybe
play barbies
Look at our
smiles
we are laughing
or were just laughing
or were about to start laughing
sprinklers with umbrellas
laughing with best friends
that’s
what summer meant
Happy April! Happy Poetry Month!
I’m looking for poetry challenges. Today I wrote a photographic poem!
Teaching Poetry: A Few Tips
Poetry Challenge: Free Form Friday
Teaching Poetry
Did you ever
notice
that kids speak in poetry?
If you want to teach children
to write
poetry,
I have a few
tips.
One. Listen.
Two. Notice.
Three. Listen some more so that whenever you can
fit in step four, you know it.
Four. (Don’t skip this) Say it back to them.
Say
Wow! You are a
poet! Can you say that again?
I
need
to
write that down!
(Say it with serious enthusiasm.
You won’t be faking it. Children are
already poets.)
Five. Read their own words back to them.
Repeat.
Soon they will know
their own poetry
and they will draw it
recite it
build it
write it
fall in love with it.
Then you can start
to listen
to notice
to listen some more
to your own
poetry too.
Happy April! Happy Poetry Month!
I’m looking for poetry challenges. Today I did a Free Verse. Free Verse Friday! It’s a thing. Because I just made it a thing!
Poetry Challenge: A Nonet
She writes every day now, does she?
And we are supposed to read it?
You should of course, but she skirts
around the specifics
hints at the issues
read all you want
you’ll never
get the
tea
Happy April! Happy Poetry Month!
I’m looking for poetry challenges. I found a few, like the Nonet here!
Poetry Challenge: A Ghazal
I thought I might challenge myself to a new kind of poetry
since April is meant to be a month that’s designed for poetry.
Ghazal is new to me, might cause me more heartbreak than my divorce
syllable counting, rhyme finding, stretching my mind for poetry.
Thankfully I believe in approximation and ish-learning
which, honestly is a good way to be inclined for poetry.
Historically, the ghazal, pronounced guzzle is tragedy
just write for me! Pardon the sarcasm maligned for poetry.
It’s not even close to perfection, with so many liberties
but I’ll take a gold star for my effort enshrined – for poetry.
***********
Happy April! Happy Poetry Month!
I’m looking for poetry challenges. I found a few, like the Ghazal here!
Some Days Are
Some days are
wake up early with the dog days
dog is scared of rain days
it’s raining all day days
Some days are
meetings cancelled days
kids are awesome days
work gets done days
Some days are
coloring is part of my job days
kindergarteners say hi in the hall days
people are so appreciative days
Some days are
rush home from school days
walk the dog in the drizzle days
zoom class with good people days
Some days are
don’t see your kids very much days
make a salad late at night days
hope to go to sleep early days
I Used To Be A Writer
I’m afraid
that if I don’t write today
I won’t
write tomorrow
I’ll slowly lose
this
writing power
it’s true – it happens
one day I missed a run
just one
that was 2016
I mean
I used to be a runner
okay but
I never want to say,
I used to be a writer
so I best
keep
writing
It’s April! It’s National Poetry Month! So, I’m writing some poetry.
Relax. It’s March (Soon Enough, It Will Be April.)
I was so inspired by Fran’s Relax slice, and I’ve been trying different versions on my own. But, it’s hard! Today I read a lot of people’s March Slice of Life wrap up slices, and I thought … what if I did a wrap up Relax slice? It might seem depressing … but the cool thing is that I’m still standing! Here’s my try, from my month of slices: Relax. It’s March (Soon Enough, It Will Be April)
Relax.
It’s March.
Things are going to be bad.
You will realize you have been wearing the tag
on your shoe in public. It will make you laugh,
and write. You will be angry about things you can’t
quite publish. You will know you will never be
as unf***withable as your friend was. Noticing things
all month will become an issue. There won’t be any
paper towels or plastic garbage bags at your airbnb
and you will sob saying goodbye to your daughter. You will continue
to parent teenagers. An honor, for sure, but also so tiring
being a punching bag. You will go to Home Goods and
realize that death is just around the corner, and you will
not practice your therapist’s advice in order to pause that
catastrophic anxiety. The SATs will come and go. Your son will
curse at his computer screen while practicing. This will make
you feel, once again, like a bad mom. Your kids will roll their eyes
at you. A lot. Spring break will end, and all the poetry you write
will not stop school from coming in like a lion. Even your dog
will be embarrassed by you, although he is an old man, not a teenager.
The world of education will continue to go mad, citing research
that the powerful cherry pick. Meanwhile, you will go in and out
of classrooms finding joy but not realizing you should
have been paying attention to how the teachers took
lunch count. It will warm your heart to hear your cat play,
but she will be alone without her cat brothers which will
break your heart. People will be scared to voice their opinions,
and you will feel like a storm is coming. You will worry
that more things will be thrown out with the bath
water. Your dog will get sick which you won’t write about, because
ew, gross. You will try to remember that it won’t be winter
forever but anxiety will take hold as you wait
for a meeting. You will try to spend your energy thinking
about little joyful things. You will realize almost nobody
can be trusted, and that fumbling through
new things is in your future. A glass will get stuck in your
garbage disposal. You will lose faith, but you will always have poetry,
which will help you march on. Undappled won’t be the word you
want it to be. There will be too many questions in your head, and
you will search for answers. You will be reminded of betrayal, as if
you need to be reminded. Your filter will disintegrate,
and you will stop watching your face, but your connections
will just keep growing. You will be proud of your kids, even
when you have to use google translate. The Easter Bunny won’t
leave jelly beans on the piano, but there will be
a scavenger hunt for the teenagers, and then there will be
a quiet Sunday afternoon. Soon enough, it will be April.
Easter
When I’d wake up on Easter morning,
I’d search for jellybeans
around the house
black jelly beans on the black piano keys, that sort of thing
we weren’t
church people
not that there’s anything wrong with that
some of my favorite people
go to church
I loved the mini Cadbury eggs with the crunchy candy shell best
and the little carton of egg-shaped gum
we must have had Easter dinners somewhere
I have vague vegetarian memories of
watching people eating ham
we weren’t
ham people
I will never understand eating
ham
or lamb
especially on Easter
here, let’s celebrate life, joy, hope,
the spring
by killing this baby animal
it just doesn’t make sense
even though
some of my favorite people
eat baby animals
One year my daughter lost her tooth
the night before Easter
The Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny had to come the same night
They left a note together and I was left
wondering what other magical visitors could
come together
I guess the Tooth Fairy could meet anyone else
since teeth can fall out
any day
Some people use
Easter as a time to practice
forgiveness
but I have learned that not
everything needs to be forgiven
so I will focus on rebirth
and hope
and just a little bit of
vegan chocolate
Clásico H
I am watching the virtual presentation and Dr. Peter is talking about connection over compliance. I am all for it. I think we need to shout that message from the rooftops, to be honest. There is a lot packed into his short presentation, so many things I need to remember to practice in and out of the classroom. At the end he reminds us of his Feeling Thermometer. It’s a simple tool that helps you gauge your own feelings and that of the child you are with.
I remember this thermometer. It became a really useful tool when my middle child, H, was young. As parents we had to practice not having a green zone conversation with H when he was in the red zone. We talked about feelings, we empathized and let him know we’d talk about it when he was in the green.
Those days were…
Those days were exhausting.
As I am listening to the presentation and remembering my own years of feeling thermometer work at home, I get a text from H – now 17. We haven’t talked about the feeling thermometer for a very long time.
A few days ago he decided he wants his ears pierced, and he’s wondering if we need an appointment for the next day, and can I do that? He doesn’t know if the piercing place is the same company as the tattoo place, and he isn’t sure how to figure it out.
I’m in a presentation though, so I can’t call, I can’t figure anything out. I feel bad, but ask him if he can do it.
“All good! Thx” he texts.
A bit later he messages, “I just called them, they are in fact a different company, most likely they’re situated within; probably a strategic alliance. They have walk-ins and have availability tomorrow. So I think it will be good.”
He adds a link, not to the piercing company, but to information about what a strategic alliance is. I guess he wants to make sure I’m duly educated .
I’m glad the presentation is over, because I can’t help but laugh… this is classic H.
One thing you should know though, is that when you think you’ve got classic H figured out, you don’t. Because, next he starts texting me in Spanish.
At first, I’m hanging in, remembering enough of my high school Spanish to mostly figure it out (Shout out to Señora Birzes!)
Soon, I need to start using google translate. I can’t quite be sure of the exact meaning of his next two texts.
“Ok, no estoy seguro si tienes que estar alli conmigo.”
“Pero, podría ser mejor si haces.”
And as I’m google translating that last part
“Ok, I’m not sure if you have to be there with me. But, it might be better if you do.”
I get his next text, “Im not using google translate!!! Im actually learning!”
I’m laughing again, of course, while I admit to him that I am using Google Translate, and then continue to use it to try to remind him to walk the dog in Spanish. And that’s that!
Until today when I ask him if I can write about this.
“It’s Multilingual Friday!” I say, and he says it’s fine.
“Can I also write about how I was in a Dr. Peter presentation?” I ask him, and he squints his eyes at me like, “why?”
I only cry a little bit explaining to H how parenthood works. One day you are using feeling thermometers, exhausted from trying to support your little kid’s big feelings, and the next he is calling piercing places, getting information independently, and texting you in Spanish.
It’s hard to explain, but I’m just so proud, piercings and all.
On a Thought 