Welcome to day 4 of the November Open Write. We are so glad you are here.
Our Host
Emily lives in Vinalhaven, Maine where she teaches middle school on an island 15 miles off the coast. After a decade as a science and environmental educator, she’s returned to one of her original loves: ELA. She works to connect with students through listening to their stories and sharing new stories. She’s happy listening to podcasts while cooking, and hiking throughout the island with her husband and 2-year-old Zeke.
Process
- This is an acrostic poem with your name: one version will describe you at your best, and the other at your worst. I encourage students to stay away from the physical, but you do whatever you’d like.
- Start by exploring adjectives and character traits that start with the letters of your name. Look for both positive and negative traits until you find a few that resonate with you.
- Create your acrostics using your chosen words, adding any flourishes you’d like.
- Write an ending line “but I am always…” fill in the blank for you.
- Variations: Write about something else at their best and worst. Your pet, town, country, scientific concept, class, or anything else on your mind. If acrostics aren’t calling your name (ha!) today, try any format you like.
Emily’s Poem
Worst & Best by Emily Cohn
At my Best I am…
Enthusiastic and earthy
Merry and magic-believing
Idealistic and imaginative
Laughing
Youthful
At my worst I am…
Envious and egotistical
Messy and mundane
Icy and irritable
Lazy
Yearning to be elsewhere
But I am always Emily
Your Turn
Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human, and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe. For suggestions on how to comment with care.
I have one of those longer names with repeated letters, so I may run out of ideas halfway through, but willing on this rainy morning to give it a go.
At my best,
Mood smooth like malbec wine
A steady
Rock you can lean on
Grounded in my faith
Alert to nature
Ready for a long talk
Empathetic with my tears
Trust me with your pain.
At my worst,
Moody
Arrogantly introverted
Reserved
Guarded soul
Assailed by doubt
Reactive
Enneagram four evading reality
Torturing myself
But I’ll always love you.
Em, I couldn’t be more proud of you. Love, Susie🥰
Emily, I adore acrostics! They can be incredibly creative and expressive, as yours is, offering a lens to examine oneself (yikes). The better we know ourselves, the better we can understand and appreciate others, with empathy. So: I have gone by the nickname “Fran” all my life, but my given name is Frances. It was my grandmother’s middle name. I decided today to embrace my inner Frances…thank you for this. Oh, and I also decided to get the worst over with first, lol.
The Worst and Best of Me
I am…
Fierce…there’s fire in my veins, verily
Reclusive…let me be, let me be
Angst-riddled…what can I possibly do?
Negative…I’m hard on myself; not just you
Caustic, critical…that fire in my veins again: POP!
Expecting… the other shoe to drop
Sad…too much burden I borrow
I am also…
Faithful, forgiving…my heart is set free
Reasonable…let it be, let it be
Able…enough and sometimes more
Nurturing…nature-loving to the core
Calm…I lend you my cloak, still warm
Expecting…to rise above the storm
Sanguine…it will be better, my love, tomorrow
and so I have learned to live
with these dual, dueling
Franceses in me.
Emily, thank you for this great prompt! I’d love to read more about teaching 15 miles off the coast of Maine. It sounds romantic–merry and magic making. And yet, I’ll bet there are some small town things that can be irritating. What a great place for writing! I wrote an acrostic for a character. It was super fun and allowed me to think of traits.Thanks so much!
Emily, I have often dreamed of moving to an island off the coast of Maine (this very recently came up in serious conversation again). How lucky you are! And magic-making is just the word to make today wonderful. Thank you for sharing!
Nov 19, 2024
It was the best of times…
July 4th birthday celebrations
Evenings with a book and Shadow nestled in
New adventures and places to explore
It was the worst of times…
Junk food bingeing
Endless to-do lists
Nightmarish news
Definitely two sides of a coin here. Evenings with a book and Shadow sound lovely…nightmarish news? all too real.
Emily, thank you for today’s prompt! I think I was meant to have your letters in my name. I, too, can be lazy and have to guard against it. I, too, more often than ever, yearn to be elsewhere and home at the same time, so I took that idea from your poem and added it into my own. This is a fabulous prompt for getting to know a new class or new group of people. Thank you for the inspiration today!
Knowing Kim
At my best, I’m
Kindle-reading with dogs piled in my lap by the fire on the farm
Inspired by writing and all things hygge
Making a plan
At my worst, I’m
Karaoke singing
In trouble again
Making a mess
But I’m always Kim.
love it–especially kindle reading by the fire.
Kim, From the first line, I would know this poem was yours even without your name. Books, dogs, fires, farm sound like perfection (I included 2 of those as well!). And “all things hygge” has become my coping focus for moving forward – along with lifting up those we love and surrounding them in kindness. I know you listed it as a worst, but I can imagine the fun with an evening of karaoke (that would be a worst for me too).