Author Archives: kd0602

Playing with 3 Words: NPM 2019 Day 15

Back in the classroom today it was time to play around a bit with poetry. I asked my students for three words…and then read them some poems that featured three words from the book I am Writing a Poem About… by Myra Cohn Livingstone. All of the poems in the section included the words blanket, ring, and drum. They were unique in content and style and all used the words in completely different ways.

With those poems as inspiration, we took the three words I collected: candy, cat, and park and worked on our own poems. The first attempt felt more like stories about cats and the park and candy…even my own was focused on a cat.

Royal Cat

She slinks, graceful

a cat with a calico coat

as shiny as hard candy

Parking herself on the

windowsill

in a pool of light

she oversees her kingdom

©Douillard

After our first try, we took some time to brainstorm ideas about candy and cat and park, thinking about ways to incorporate imagery using the words. Then the challenge was on…write a poem using the three words that is NOT about cats or candy or parks. This was much more difficult! My second attempt was about recess.

Recess

The bell rings

and they rush out

like candy raining from

a busted piñata

a herd of cats

running this way and that

each following an invisible path

playful

fierce

full of energy.

Exhausted,

I park myself on the step and watch.

©Douillard

Painted in Waterlogue

Wyatt (who had seen a bear over his spring break) tried his hand at a guessing poem…about what else? A bear.

I sometimes eat things as sweet as candy

but I can be bitter and scary.

People leave treasures in the car,

I take that as an opportunity

to leave the car scarred.

Cats are no match for me.

I live in a place something like a park,

vast,

and you see the same things

over and over again.

I can see that we all need to play around more with the idea of layers of meaning…I think that will be tomorrow’s lesson.

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Malasadas Still Life: NPM 2019 Day 14

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Today I took inspiration from Go Poems, and decided to try a still life poem. I went in a little different direction than was suggested–moving away from items of regular use, and had some fun playing around with the idea of a still life poem.

Although I’m back home from my vacation, my mind is still in the islands. So here’s a bit of island flavor in the form of a still life poem.

Malasadas: Still Life

Nestled in a pink box

round balls of dough

rolled in sparkling crystals

of sugar wait.

Tropical creams…

mango, guava, coconut

peek out, hinting at the goodness within.

I take a bite and my mouth fills

with sweetness

that transports me to the sunfilled beaches

and the gentle breezes of tropical trade winds.

Memories of island paradise

fill my belly

all rolled up

in a delicious

Leonard’s malasada.

©Douillard

Words Fly: NPM 2019 Day 13

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Some days writing feels so hard, words seem elusive and out of reach. So on day 13, my poem is about the challenges of writing.

Words Fly

Some days my words hide

dipping down

under the lines

floating just beyond reach

of my pen

so shy

they perch

just beyond my mind’s grasp.

I pull at them

trying to get them to line up

like birds on a wire

some skitter as I get close

I move more deliberately

until finally

when the time is right,

they take flight.

©Douillard

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Water Blues: NPM 2019 Day 12

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How do you maximize your vacation on the day you fly out? Head to beach at the crack of dawn! The beauty of Hawaii is that the morning is warm and the beach pretty empty—perfect for that last dip in the cool blues of the sea.

And then 5 hours in the air gives quiet time for composing poetry. I’m not sure I quite got to any particular point…but maybe that is what poetry is all about. I followed the words, letting them lead me.

Day 12:

Water Blues

In the crack before dawn

morning rises fresh and new

dark becoming blue that

beckons us outdoors.

Breezes whisper nature’s secrets

in our ears

telling stories of

blow holes

and green shelled turtles

that give us reason to smile

and care.

Raindrops caress our faces

smoothing out the creases

of worry

carrying them deep

into the sea.

Stepping into the not-quite-warm

waters

where blue cools

concerns that churn

under the surface

splashing up waves

of frothy salty foam, intricate as lace.

Our eyes follow the lacy white

into a spectrum of blues:

the palest dance

along the surface

pirouetting into fine mist

keeping the air soft and moist

the darkest dive

deep

swirling with all the waters

through the ages.

Stories rise up

taking us on travels

through time and space

that skip and play like children

delighting in the unexpected

and wondrous.

Variations of blue

like a symphony

of sound and color

sing out

painting rhythms

on worry

sculpting melody

into hope

listen with all your senses

and you’ll hear the possibilities

as the sea performs

the water blues.

Plumeria: NPM 2019 Day 11

Paradise State of Mind: NPM 2019 Day 10

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I woke up this morning to a reminder on Instagram and Facebook that a year ago today I was snowshoeing on Mt. Hood (in Oregon)! What a contrast to my day today where I spent the day at gorgeous Hanauma Bay Nature Reserve (in Hawaii) snorkeling and basking in the tropical sun!

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Here’s my poem for day 10 in 2019!

Paradise State of Mind

In the cool of the salty sea

tiny corals grow

colorful fish swim by

stopping to nibble

looking up into my mask

looking down my eyes meet their eyes

we acknowledge each other

and continue our exploration.

In the warmth of the tropical sun

palm trees sway

standing tall in the trade winds

water evaporates

from my wet skin

muscles unkink and relax

Paradise may be

simply a state of mind

One I found today.

©Douillard

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Pineapples: NPM 2019 Day 9

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A quick whimsical poem after eating way too much pineapple today!

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Wear a flamboyant spiky hat

with a protective jacket textured with dragon scales

Grow sweet and juicy

from your vantage near the ground

Hang out with your friends in boxes that are shipped

around the world

Create sunshine and summer

wherever you are!

©Douillard

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At the End of the Day: NPM 2019 Day 8

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I found myself wanting to write about blue again. This place is all about blue and blue and blue…and then even more blue. I thought I knew blue, but the variations in shades are keeping my eyes in a constant state of definition!

So, in resisting the urge to write about blue, I find myself wanting to reprise a poem I posted from one of my students on our William Carlos Williams day. Caleb captured the wonder of that time after the exclamation point of sunset, when color expands in the sky…a watercolor painting, Mother Nature style.

Here’s Caleb’s piece (again):

The Colorful Afterglow

So much depends

upon

a colorful

afterglow

swarming with

bright colors

beside the turquoise

ocean

As I was thinking about this piece by Caleb, I wrote my own version as we chased the sunset at the end of our day today.

So much depends

on finding a path

that leads to the beach

in time to experience

the brilliance of sunset

against the roiling gray of clouds

threatening rain.

©Douillard

And you can see from my photo, we missed the “just right” sweet spot of sunset. Luckily, we enjoyed the exploration, the just-after sunset experience, and the sweet afterglow of the post sunset sky. After all, you can’t really go wrong in this beautiful setting!