This is the Open Write, a place for educators to nurture their writing lives and to advocate for writing poetry in community. We are organizing 30 days of poetry in April for National Poetry Month: Verselove. Pledge here to write one or more poems with us.

Our Host: Katrina Morrison

Katrina Morrison teaches English and German in a rural community in Osage County, Oklahoma. She has worked in education her entire career. This is her 19th year in the classroom. She has a master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership from Northeastern State University and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Oklahoma. In addition to teaching, she worked in admissions and student services and in financial aid at Phillips Theological Seminary. This month marks her fifth year of writing and discussing poetry via EthicalELA.

Inspiration

Every day, I discover new and familiar poetry in my inbox. One great source is Poets.org. In a recent email, I learned of A. Van Jordan, who “holds the humanities and sciences chair in English at Stanford University and lives in Oakland, California.” (Poets.org). It was his poem “Grandfather” that caught my eye. “Grandfather” is the inspiration for today’s prompt, which I am calling a “Dictionary Poem.” If anything can define and expound upon the meaning of a word, it is poetry.

Process

Pick a word to take apart and put back together in a poem. Begin with the dictionary definition of the word. Obviously, some words will offer multiple meanings. Craft your poem however you will. After the definition, expound upon the word’s meaning. 

As always, your own interests and the vicissitudes of life may direct you to write a haiku or a villanelle or free verse today.

Katrina’s Poem

ger – mane (adj.): being at once 
relevant and appropriate: fitting
A vocabulary word written
On the white board
To be copied by
Students

ger – mane (adj.): stay on point
Don’t go chasing rabbits
Look for context clues
Stick to the script
Read the room,
Teacher.

ger – mane (adj.): what is always
Germane within these four
Brick walls is kindness &
Helpfulness & honesty
& willingness to
Learn.

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. 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. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers.