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
Thinking Through My Lens 