I realized today that I forgot to post my poem for day 9. #verselove had prompted a poem that breaks rules–but instead my poem was all about the end of my spring break. I suppose since it began as a Haiku, it did break those rules along the way as well.
Break the Break
At the break of break
Songbirds trill, sun warms the now-spring air, breath flows in and out
I suppress the urge to throw the alarm clock across the room
Break broken
Emily (who happens to be from my writing project!) at #verselove invited writers to share something about themselves using Clint Smith’s poem by the same name as inspiration. Thanks for a great prompt Emily! I knew right away what I would write about–but it was much harder than I anticipated! Here’s my attempt:
Something You Should Know
is that the teenaged me bonded with Dad over
sprint cars as pit crew members
Squeezed in the back of the truck
nestled with the spare tires
on long road trips to the racetrack
Circles of speed
left turns only
going around and around
arriving nowhere fast
Rolling tires
topping off fuel
pushing the race car to the starting line
Dressed alike in white jeans and t shirt
as we traverse the muddy track
trying not to wipe grease stained hands
on those bright white pants
Life’s lessons:
watch your back
compete even if you can’t win
fitting in sometimes means standing out
and eventually you figure out what matters most in life
through the relationships built
watching cars drive around in circles.
Today’s #verselove prompt was “death in a poem” and I struggled. My mind searched for ways to weave the theme of death into something I could handle on this last weekday of spring break. You’ll not be surprised that I turned to nature. I was thinking about the difference in the way we describe landslides (or in our parlance, cliff failures) on the southern CA coastline as compared to the way that landslides were described in Zion National Park. There, the landslide was an expected way that nature sculpts the landscape. Of course, there were also not multimillion dollar homes perched along the rim that crumbled. So, I’m not so sure that this qualifies as death in a poem, maybe instead it is life in a poem. I chose to use an etheree–a 10-line form that begins with a single syllable and build, adding a syllable to each line until you reach the tenth line with ten syllables.
Cliffs
Erode
Fail daily
Crumbling downhill
Everything tumbling
Into a pile below
Erosion meet gravity
Cliff death creates new habitat
Algae covers what was once a road
In nature, death offers new beginnings
On a bittersweet day, a heading home day, a too long on the highways and byways day, the poetry prompt at #verselove was to write a Sijo. Please don’t count the syllables too closely!
Endings
Senses fire, awake alert
breathing, gulping nature’s power
Around each bending slanting
slipping path, eyes hugged by mountains
Driving home in deep monotony
reflection stirs, awe cements
Today’s #verselove prompt was offered by Bryan–something he calls “poetic drive-bys” but I understand more as an ode–a poem of praise, of understanding and appreciating a person, place, or thing. I spent my day at Zion National Park–and had water on my brain…in all its forms.
Water: A Super Hero
It slips in and out of our consciousness
We crave it in scarcity
waste it in abundance
underestimate its power
Water shows us its superpowers
shape shifting with ease
from liquid to gas to solid
As liquid it carves canyons, topples trees, moves mountains
what looks like a calm river
can roar with ferocity and later gently lap the sandy shores
It’s mysterious as vapor
sometimes appearing to mask the view
other times rising to mound in voluptuous curves, ready to give birth to liquid again
Frozen it is rigid, sharp, unforgiving
breaking stone, cracking under pressure
encasing everything it touches in translucence
Stalactites, growing longer, pointier drip by drip
until they drop and shatter
or pierce the bubble of truth
Water we love you
want you, need you, worship you
and forget just how much power you wield
Thanks for reminding me!
On day four, I found myself tasked with being grammatically ungrammatical and playing around with words. (Check out Jennifer’s prompt over at #verselove for more information). After another day spent with incredible geology filling my eyes at Valley of Fire, I decided to play around with some geology words. Here’s what I came up with!
Geo-Logic Logic
When boulders shoulder
Merging silica and limestone
Cross-bedding beehives of red
Sand dunes of dinosaurs
Mountain into fiery geometry
Geo-logical equations
Strata striate
Rainbows blasted in everpresent wind
Building hidey holes for whack a mole
Cryptobiotic soil
Gardens Cyanobacteria
Micro nourishments for life below the surface
Mind muddled, brain baffled
Geologic time unfurls
A spectacle of wonder
Today’s poem is inspired by a day exploring the Red Rock Canyon Conservancy outside of Las Vegas. Stacey over at #verselove suggested a Haiku sonnet composed of 4 3-line Haiku and two more lines. But of course, I couldn’t resist also turning my Haiku sonnet into a photo essay. Enjoy!
Time to Explore
Twirling and swirling
Hair soaring like sacred bird
Breath stolen by wind
Define resilience
Windswept tree emerges from rock
Strength is surviving
Scrambling. Rocks not eggs
Terrain fit for mountain goats
Will hike for ahhh, views
Rare desert water
Liquid gold, secret to life
Listen. It’s singing
Glimpses, moments, stay present
Appreciate nature’s bounty.
On day two of National Poetry Month the #verselove prompt was to write a coffee share poem…a way to connect and introduce yourself. But after spending my day exploring Death Valley National Park, the coffee shop metaphor didn’t feel quite right. so instead, just come walk with me!
Come walk with me
I’ll tell you about the power of my friend camera
And how it’s changed the way I see the world
Noticing details of salt flats
Almost hexagonal frames surrounding minerals dried in the hotter than hot desert sun
Come walk with me
I’ll tell you how walking helps me explore
Taking me out of my head and into nature, even the nearby nature of my backyard
To hear the wind and birdsong and the steady beat of my own heart and feet
Come walk with me
I’ll tell you about the inhale
of hope and possibility that comes with time immersed looking, thinking, breathing
Don’t forget the exhale, breathe out stress and negativity
Make space for yourself
Let’s lace up our shoes
And head out
To walk and talk
Breathe and listen
Noticing the world together.
It’s the first day of National Poetry Month…and that’s no joke! When I awoke this morning I saw that #verselove over at Ethical ELA had a haibun prompt. Hmmm…. I don’t think I have ever written a haibun, but I had just read about it as I reviewed the picture book Wabi Sabi that I will be using with my students after we come back from break. This form begins with some prose poetry and then ends with a Haiku.
So after quite a full first day of spring break…here is my haibun.
The break arrives just before the taut knot of
assessmentsreportcardsconferencestoomuchtodointoolittletime
bursts allowing a slow start before taking to the road to unravel and explore
Crisscrossing state lines
Natural beauty awaits
But first stop: Vegas
There’s something satisfying about accomplishing a goal you know will be a challenge. And even though I have taken this challenge for a few years now, it really doesn’t get easier. Two Writing Teachers and their annual slice of life challenge is an amazing community of welcoming writers. There is something about writing in community that makes this daily writing and posting of writing not only something I can do, but something I want to do…with some level of competence! Many thanks to all who have read, liked, and/or commented on my slices this month. And also thanks to those of you who have written and offered your writing for comment and reading. It’s such fun to see all the different approaches writers take to accomplishing this 31 day challenge. You are appreciated!
Writing every day is humbling. Some days coming up with something worthy of posting seems impossible. I envy those early morning writers who seem to wake with ideas galore. I feel like I search all day long, and luckily when I open my computer to write, a slice somehow finds me. I love the way writing takes twists and turns. Some days I KNOW what I am going to write…and then I open my computer and the words take a new direction.
I look forward each day to reading other slicers’ offerings. I love the glimpse into lives across the country and world, across different stages of life, and seeing life from a variety of perspectives. It’s interesting to see some people dig deep with their writing, sharing grief, health concerns, and parenting dilemmas. It’s fun to read poetry, ramblings, 6-word memoirs, lists and listicles, photo essays, and everything in between. I’m reminded that there are lots of way to write and lots of approaches to developing a topic and idea.
I like that a focus on my own writing also helps me focus on teaching writing. I find myself thinking about how to help my students prime the writing pump, getting ideas flowing so they can’t wait to pick up their pencils and start getting those ideas on the page. I’m reminded to offer variety and choice, letting them follow their thoughts and ideas. Community for writers is essential. My students want to share their writing with their classmates and me and benefit from hearing each other’s writing.
And each year I remember that March is not only a month for daily writing, but also the month for writing report cards, preparing for and conducting parent conferences, and thinking about that upcoming spring break. Then it is followed by April, National Poetry Month, and I find myself tempted to keep on writing, challenging myself to another thirty days of writing–this time all in poetry (yikes!). As my spring break begins, will I also be writing and posting a poem a day? Probably.
Maybe I need to figure out what the May and June writing challenges should be. Why do I write every day for 61 days and then stop? Apparently I need the accountability of a community of writers and a daily challenge to keep my writing flowing. Guess that’s my next puzzle to figure out!
Thinking Through My Lens 