Category Archives: clmooc

An Earth Day Prose Poem: NPM25 Day 22

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Sometimes Ocean roars in like a dragon, frothing and swirling, energy radiating from every salty drop, tossing boats, leveling cliffs, chasing swimmers to shore. Every scale and feather ripples in this self-induced storm, power is the name of the game. Other days Ocean is a mirror, calmly reflecting the world around, inviting bare feet, sand castle builders, and sunset seekers. Still waters run deep and Ocean is seldom still and often deep. Beneath the surface lies worlds unlike those we know on dry land. Curiosities are common. Ocean makes a home for the octopus who is a master of disguise, changing shape and color at will. Pelican skims the surf above, joined by its squadron overseeing the shoreline, pouches poised for a quick snack. Ocean reminds us that water is everything: power and life and home. Whether dragon or mirror, to preserve life on our planet Ocean requires our respect and protection. Now is our time to roar.

Five Things I Did Last Week: NPM25 Day 21

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Five things I did last week:

Rolled with an earthquake on a Monday morning in my classroom while my students were out at their music class. It was not THE big one, but it was a big one.

Realized I made a BIG mistake in preparing our class ceramics project. Now our birds with feet will be footless…or footloose as they fly freely with no visible feet. Determined to turn this mishap into a beautiful oops…with a surprise twist (yet to be announced).

Finished reading a book (a memoir). Started reading two books, one a self-indulgent crime novel that came up on my online library holds, the other a nonfiction book about leadership that arrived on my doorstep last week (a book I didn’t order–but I do know who did).

Closed the rings on my fitness app every day last week, every day in April so far, every day for the year 2025 (and 2024 and 2023…) Has this become an obsession?

Wrote a poem each day, posted a poem each day, taught children about poetry each day, found myself immersed in poetry each day, swam in the poetry (mostly avoided treading water), breathing in the words, stroking through the rhythms, floating in the words of others, splashing in a variety of forms, propelling myself to experiment, dive deeply, hold my breath and hope I don’t drown. And when I feel like I’m drowning, I find myself grabbing for a life preserver: another poem.

@kd0602

Life’s Lines: NPM25 Day 20

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Some days a prompt is meant to be reinterpreted. That was today for me. Susan at Verselove offered a prompt called Lingering Lines that was born of lines from plays, movies, music… Those lines that linger in your mind and replay themselves without you consciously pushing replay.

But for some reason, lingering lines became literal lines for me today. I spent some time at the Safari Park and it was the long lines of bamboo reaching for the sunlight that lingered in my mind…and inspired today’s poem.

Life’s Lines

Lines of cars

ants

scurrying

hurrying

to get somewhere

Lines of people

queuing

for tickets

for food

for the tram

for a look

Lines of light

penetrating

lingering

caressing

nature’s greens

breathing in

human

breathing out

life’s lines

grab on

hold on

embrace lines

that heal

@kd0602

Sunday Swearing Lessons: NPM25 Day 19

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Today Jordan at Verselove invited us to write food poems. As soon as I read that invitation my mind took a trip back in time to those occasional Sundays spent with my dad’s Uncle Bob (maybe my dad’s Great Uncle Bob) in his tiny trailer.

In his tiny trailer

Sunday mornings were for

bubbly ginger ale

biscuit making and

swearing lessons.

He’d mix the dough

roll it out

handing us each a drinking glass

the same glasses that would hold

sweet and bubbly ginger ale

doubled

as biscuit cutters.

We’d push down and twist

the pan filled with biscuits

perfectly sized

for girl-child bites.

While we waited

he’d egg us on

urging us to repeat

his favorite

(perhaps G-rated)

profanity.

Goddammit he’d announce

as older sister, I remained silent

little sister tested the swearing waters

our parents, an indulgent audience.

Our sweet reward:

flaky hot biscuits

slathered in butter and honey

with a side of ginger ale

and timeless Sunday memories

with Uncle Bob.

@kd0602

Random Words: NPM25 Day 18

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What happens when a list of random words become the inspiration for poetry? Today’s Verselove prompt was to generate some random words and use them to write a poem.

I googled words for purple and got an endless list of words that definitely seemed random–and not so purple. I picked out 10–somewhat randomly–and let my pen and my words create the path.

Here are the words: iridescent, lilac, exotic, polka dot, legend, zebra, wears, parchment, eye shadow, blackberry

By the Numbers

Tumbling dice conjure

visions of eyes

shadowed in iridescent lilac

bodies wrapped in zebra skins

exotic lifestyle

of the rich or the reckless

My numbers roll out

dressed in jeans and tennies

alarm clocks and speed limits

sets of 23

to match those 46 eyes

that polka dot my classroom every day

I count myself lucky

wearing ordinary

as a golden crown

bejeweled in blackberries

warmed by the sun of their smiles

marked in violet on life’s parchment

a legend in the eyes of children

@kd0602

Some Hay(na)ku for the Earth: NPM25 Day 17

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A couple of weeks ago I learned a new poetry form. Related to Haiku (3 lines, 17 syllables), Hai(na)ku consists of three lines, the first line with one word, the second with two words, and the third line with three words–no syllable counting needed. This Filipino format was introduced to me by Barb who blogs over at Sitting Behind the Eight Ball. She provides more detail about this interesting form on her blog.

Since National Poetry Month and Earth Day overlap, the first graders in my class spend time thinking about and learning how to help the Earth in addition to writing poetry during the month of April (and other times throughout the year as well). They write about plants and animals and the Earth itself. For the last few years, I have had them write 6 Words for the Environment based on the idea of a 6 word story. But this week, after brainstorming a number of 6 word pieces about the Earth, I introduced the Hay(na)ku. We re-looked at our 6 word drafts and re-worked them to craft a Hay(na)ku. (The artwork was inspired by the book we read, Our Planet! There’s No Place Like Earth by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by David Litchfield)

It’s important to me that the young learners in my classroom understand that their voices matter and that there is power in their words. These first graders have opportunities to explore different ways to use writing and are just beginning to experiment with format. Poetry is perfect to encourage language play!

As I think about my students and my own writing, why not try to express those ideas in a Hay(na)ku myself? Here goes:

Writing

changes everything

speak out now

@kd0602

It might just be the right time for you to play around with form–maybe even try a Hay(na)ku for yourself! What 6 words might you use to express your care and/or concern for our Earth? I know my students would love to know!

This is the World: NPM25 Day 16

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Some days writing opportunities mesh, with one complementing another. Verselove offered a form today: an etheree. I’ve written to this form before (you can see an etheree about poppies here). And then on a network call this afternoon, I had an invitation to write in response to the National Poetry Month poster, with some lines from a Naomi Shihab Nye poem.

Here is my etheree:

This is the World

shared

you, me

together

this is the world

I want to live in

dancing to my own beat

feeling rhythms inside me

different from those you’re tapping

synched or syncopated, we can lift

each other, singing out tunes the world needs

@kd0602

Dreaming in Color: NPM25 Day 15

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Last night I woke up in a dream reaching for color. I could see it, just beyond my fingertips. Words pushed and pulled in my brain, like poetry chewing gum, stretching to capture the colors in that narrow slice of sky sandwiched between the black of night and the shadows of the ocean. Vermillion chased crimson and burgundy, playing tag with golden amber, marigold, and coral until the purples came out to close out the night. Violet swallowed lavender, fading into magenta before allowing indigo to close the colorful show. I tossed in the colors of the dreamy sunset, reveling in their taste and smell. I wrapped myself in the warmth dripping from my dreams, painting images visible only to my mind’s eye. Colors lullabied me back into slumber, settling me, soothing me, refreshing me. I slept. The morning dawned gray, color drained. But my brain danced with the colors lingering, tucked safely away to carry me into the day.

***********************************************************************

Imagine my surprise when my alarm went off this morning, with just a wisp of this dream still lingering and found today’s Verselove prompt. Brittany suggested writing a poem about color in nature. Did I manifest this prompt–or did she manifest my dream?

A prose poem seemed like the best vehicle to try to capture my dream search for color. And of course, I can’t resist including a sunset photo–one of my favorite things to photograph!

Safe Harbor: NPM25 Day 14

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I’ve been reading a memoir called The Salt Path by Raynor Winn–and while I’m not yet halfway through–I’m struck by the way the relationship between the couple sustains them despite the hardships they are experiencing: financial difficulties, the loss of the family home, a devastating medical diagnosis… And yet they decide on the most improbable solution given their circumstances–they decide to undertake a walk of hundreds of miles.

This morning, Padma at Verselove offered a prompt she calls Finding a Safe Harbor and offers as mentor text Safe Spaces, a poem from her novel in verse, Safe Harbor. The poem describes the library as that safe place. As I started thinking about safe spaces, harbor from the hardships of the world, I found myself thinking not of a place, but a person. Here’s my draft:

My Safe Place

When clouds roll in

threatening storms and unsettled air

stirring troubling thoughts

When skies are clear

skin warmed

emotions sailing high above

like a kite on a string

Whether the weather

is calm or turbulent

there is only one place for me

A place of comfort

of support

A place to relax

and be myself

No judgement

no worries

no doubts

It’s my place

our place

nowhere but everywhere

all at once

It’s my safe place

It’s the only place for me

My place is with you

@kd0602

I don’t think we’ll be taking off on a hundreds of miles walk anytime soon, but I do count myself lucky to have a sustaining relationship and a safe harbor…for however long it lasts.