In these parts we’re known for being fickle about the weather. We want some–until we have it–and then we complain that it arrived. A heavy downpour delayed my walk this morning, but also inspired me later, when the sun peeked from behind the clouds so I could head out into the backyard in search of water drop photos…and a poem.

The mentor poem I left for my students today was Pencils by Barbara Esbensen. We studied this poem earlier in the year and I wrote about it here. And here are some examples of their poems as videos written in October.

Midway through our spring break, I haven’t seen what my students have come up with as they encountered this poem again. But I am looking forward to seeing their writing as their poetic skills continue to evolve.

So with raindrops on my mind, I wrote again with Pencils as my mentor text.

Raindrops

The rooms in a raindrop

are round

filled with reverses

upside downs

mirror image

reflections

of the world outside

In a raindrop

molecules hold hands

gripping tightly

to the moisture within

How do they balance

on the tip of a leaf?

Who wipes their tears

when they fall?

From a drop of water

gardens of color emerge

blossoming into stories

of hope and possibility

Raindrops, teardrops, skydrops

wash down the page

blurring and

brightening

making space

for new beginnings

®Douillard