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
After more than a year of staying close to home, we ventured out this week, spending several days away from home. This morning represented our final leg–knowing we would land at home later in the day. We didn’t have a concrete plan when we woke up. We knew we had about 4 hours of a drive–and were in search of an adventure somewhere along that path. We considered some lakes (up in the Grapevine) and even talked about walking on our local beach once we got home. The beach! Why not explore a beach that is not close to home?
We decided we would head off to Malibu. A beach everyone has heard of, but so many people have not visited. We programmed the navigation and set out through the mountain pass. Clearly there are others who are also itching for some travel. LA’s freeways, while not at peak gridlock, were plenty full. Midway there, Google maps offered another route–one that would save us 11 minutes. We took it.
Once parked, we set off to explore the beach. Right away we heard the shrill sound of birds. What was that? Seagulls? What was going on? We watched as a huge cloud of birds lifted, screeching and calling. It happened again and again.
Cloud of Birds
A high pitched cloud
swirls up from the beach
whirling, cartwheeling
somehow sensing each wing
each beak
flying high, flying low
over the surfers, above the shore
moving in synch, as one
a crowd in perfect unison
terns turning
Is it murmuration?
®Douillard
A bit of investigation on our drive back home led me to discover that these are likely least terns, a tern variety recently at risk. I really don’t know if murmuration is specific only to starlings, but it was fascinating to watch these birds rise and fly and move as a group.
We loved our morning in Malibu. The weather was perfect, the crowds minimal, and the traffic manageable. A perfect ending to a bit of a spring break.
Even though today is technically spring break for me and my students, I found evidence of poetry writing in our Google Classroom. I scheduled a mentor poem for each day this week to inspire and support my young poets–all poems we had studied earlier this school year. Today’s poem was The Blue Between by Kristine O’Connell George.
The steady downpour of rain was another influence evident in my poem and my students’ poems. I’m trying to appreciate the much-needed rain and to find ways to make this week feel like a break. Instead I’m feeling cooped up, without the escape of neighborhood walks. I tried to duck out early this morning, thinking I would beat the rain–just to pull the door open to the skies opening up! I rode that stationary bike…but it’s just not the same for me.
For escape, we took a drive up the coast in the pouring rain. The sight of the stormy ocean was a refreshing change from the walls of the house–even if viewed only through the car window.
My poem:
Raindrops
Raindrops fall
dripping dropping
teardrops
across sky cheeks
Gray on gray
blotting out color
a palette
of monochrome
And yet
precious moisture
dampens fire risk
feeds parched
creeks
ponds
rivers
lakes
reservoirs
Look closely at each
raindrop
and find the hope
reflected
inside
®Douillard
And a student poem by E–also inspired by the rain:
Rain
Everyone hates the rain, sulking in their raincoats,
Hiding themselves under their umbrellas.
I see rain differently,
I see the fun between—
The water to run and splash in
The fun trails to dash across,
Arching up across puddles..
The rain dancing down,
Making gallons of fun,
A river of joy,
Slithering around every house.
In those cloudy days,
I see a different scene.
In those rainy times,
I see the fun between.
And by M (not inspired by rain):
The Gaps Between
Many people see one whole
I see the gaps between
The face standing there
with only one eye.
The pigeon flying by
The trees in a band
The concrete is Atlas
holding up the Stones.
Those rough dark places
I see a different picture
I see the gaps between
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.
I know I’ve seen plumeria–those fragrant Hawaiian flowers–and some people even have them growing where I live in San Diego. But somehow it slipped my notice that plumeria is a tree! Today we took a walk through a plumeria grove–with many trees bursting with plumeria blossoms.
Tonight, as we celebrated our last night here in Hawaii, my sweet husband decided I needed a plumeria lei. It was such a treat to feel hugged by the tropics! The warm moist air encouraged the fragrance to emerge, perfuming both me and the air around me. Tonight’s poem tries to capture that moment using the brevity of Haiku. Here’s my attempt:
Plumeria
Delicate blossoms
Strung with love around my neck
Tropical perfume
©Douillard
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!
Somehow Saturday evaporated and Sunday appeared…it’s Spring Break, so my schedule is disrupted as I travel and enjoy some vacation time. But I continue with the poem-a-day challenge…here are entries 6 and 7.
Day 6
Flight 297
They queue
single
file
into the heavy metal tube
soon
it will hurtle
through the sky
bird-like
but not.
Once inside
they vacillate
between
fear and boredom
seatbelts latched
tray tables too
eyes glazed
by movie after movie
restless to arrive
hours crawl
moving back in time.
As never-ending approaches
they
land.
©Douillard
Day 7
A Blue Kind of Day
The day dawned blue
with light that warms
your shoulders
and your heart
Azure
Indigo
Ultramarine
Royal
Navy
Turquoise
Aquamarine
Sapphire
Teal
and all the colors nature invented in between
Blue that melts worries
lets you breathe deeply in and out
and calms the soul.
It was a blue kind of day.
©Douillard
Sometimes in writing (as in life), less is more. Coming back from our spring break, we asked our students to zoom into some aspect of their spring break activities and compose a 25-word story to capture the experience. 25 words is short…and it’s not as easy as you might think to come up with a “story” in only 25 words. But our first, second, and third graders gave it a try. Here’s a couple of examples (the links are to their published blogs–they would love comments if you have time!):
My friends and I went to my Gramma’s house, we had tons of pure fun. We got lost sometimes but it was still extremely fun. (N.B.)
Biosphere two is an amazing place where the scientists are in Arizona, the desert and survived 2 years trapped, researching plant life in threemile greenhouse. (A.R.)
And then there is the student who writes the 25 word story…but can’t resist expanding on the story in her blog post! (A girl after my own heart!) Here is the 25 word version…you can click on it for her blog post.
And of course, I had to try to my hand at a 25-word story about my spring break. It took me a number of tries to come up with this one…and I might have to try another dozen or so to really craft a story. And I will include a few photos to enhance my words!
Toes tapping and fingers snapping, she explored the city along the banks of the Cumberland in her new cowboy boots. Her camera captured the details.
Seems like spring has gotten a lot of attention this year. Maybe the especially harsh and strung out winter in so many parts of the country has made people long for warmer weather, blue skies, flower blossoms, and baby animals. Here where I live, winter forgot us this year…and yet, the yearnings for spring remain.
And this is spring break week for me. People who know me well know that it is hard for me not to work, even when I have a week off. But I am trying to make each day a bit of a treat. Luckily, with some family visiting, that hasn’t been too hard to do.
Today’s treat was lunch out followed by a walk on the beach. Since I spend plenty of time at the beach, taking pictures that are somehow different from those I have already taken becomes a priority. We managed to hit the beach at low tide, and tide pools were exposed. I came across this bivalve still attached to a piece of algae, opened–making it evident that the creature who once lived inside had left (or became some other creature’s lunch!). These pools of water are fun to explore, especially while walking barefoot.
And I always love sandpipers. They are such energetic birds, and when they gather it reminds of a party. They flit here and there, seeming to engage in small talk as they poke their long beaks into the sand for a tasty tidbit. For a bit of variety, I played with filters and used a sepia tone on this version of the picture.
Even though it was warm today, into the 70’s even along the coast, sea breezes make the air feel cool and it’s evident that the trees along the shore deal with harsh breezes regularly. As I looked up through this tree, I noticed the halo around the sun…an effect of the cloud cover.
I’m enjoying a beachside spring break that isn’t about tropical drinks and sunbathing…although both sound appealing! Instead, taking time on the beach is an opportunity to commune with nature, to appreciate the natural beauty, the cool breezes, the relaxing sounds of the surf and the chatter of the sea birds, and enjoy the company of my son and daughter-in-law. Spring break is off to a great start!
Thinking Through My Lens 