Faring Monday Blues with a Lune

Welcome to Day 3 of the August Open Write. If you have written with us before, welcome back. If you are joining us for the first time, you are in the kind, capable hands of today’s host, so just read prompt below and then, when you are ready, write in the comment section below. We do ask that if you write that, in the spirit of reciprocity, you respond to three or more writers. To learn more about the Open Write, click here.

Our Host

Leilya lives in Ponchatoula, LA, a small town near New Orleans. She teaches and coordinates the English Education Program at Southeastern Louisiana University. Leilya loves people, cultures, their rich traditions, books of all kinds, and a freshly-brewed, steaming cup of coffee. She has served as a co-editor of Study and Scrutiny: Research on Young Adult Literature. Currently, she is a column editor for The ALAN Review. She reads, writes, listens to music, visits her children and grandchildren, or travels with her husband. Her latest book, Where Stars Meet People: Teaching and Writing Poetry in Conversation (2023), invites readers to explore and write poetry.

Inspiration 

Usually, I am more of an optimist who looks forward to the start of the week, especially the first day of school after a break. My fall semester starts in two days – yay! I miss my students and all the classroom action. However, this doesn’t mean I’m immune to the “Monday Blues” every now and then. I know many people experience it more frequently; for some, it begins on Sunday afternoon with feelings of unease, sadness, or stress.

The Monday Blues aren’t confined to just Mondays. The transition from the flexible and relaxing weekend or vacation to the structured work or school space with a busy week ahead, along with the responsibilities and pressures, can be intimidating. 

One of my coping strategies is to plan something enjoyable for Monday. If I have time, I may spend a few extra minutes preparing my favorite breakfast, plating it as if in a fine dining establishment. Realistically, this luxury is rare, especially for school teachers. Instead, I might plan a small treat after work, like a walk in the park, a lunchtime visit with a friend, or an engaging class activity. When my students are active and interested, it makes my Monday easier, more enjoyable, and less disruptive.

What helps you?  Think of something that may bring you joy and alleviate anxieties of an upcoming work day/week. You may always write a poem and make it your Monday treat.  Let’s fare through our Monday together!

Today, I want to introduce you to a lune. 

A lune poem, also known as an American haiku, is a short three-line poem. Lune poetry originated when American poets noticed that writing a haiku in English didn’t quite capture the essence of the Japanese form. Japanese words typically have more syllables, allowing for fewer words overall, so English poets adapted the form to better suit the language.

Poet Robert Kelly first created the lune in the 1960s. After some experimenting, he stopped on a 13-syllable poem with a 5-3-5 syllable structure: 5 syllables in the first line, 3 syllables in the second, and 5 syllables in the final line. Later, poet Jack Collom introduced a word-count variant of the lune that is more popular today: three words in the first line, five in the second, and three in the last (3-5-3 words).

Unlike haiku, lunes have no other rules. There is no need for a cutting word, rhymes are allowed, and the subject matter is open. While the syllable (or word) count is concise, this form offers more freedom. To read examples of Lune poetry, please follow this link. There are more explanations and examples here and there in the endless “cloud universe.”

Process

For your writing treat today, I would like you to connect the thoughts about “Monday Blues” and a lune poetry form.

To write a lune poem:

1. you may think about your current state: worries, fears, anxieties or their absence;
2. you may choose a word that carries your through challenging days;
3. you may share with us about a person, place, or event that makes you feel safe, whole, and/or happy; 
4. write about any of these things in a form of a Kelly or Collom three-line lune following either the 5-3-5 syllable structure, or 3-5-3 word count; 
5. you may write one, two, three, or as many lunes as you want. They may be connected with a common theme or stand alone.
   

You also don’t have to write about Monday Blues or in a lune form at all. Write about what you want and however you want it to look, read, or sound. Have a wonderful, stress-free Monday! 

Leilya’s Poem

My lunes follow both structures beginning with a Collom lune “Monday.”

Monday

Comes and goes.
It brings and takes away
Leaving me wondering—

What is next?
How do I know it
Doesn’t take more

Than I can
Afford to lose in one
Single day?

My second lune follows Kelly’s 5-3-5 syllable structure. It is about my happy place; any time the blue is in view, I think about my grandkids recalling treasured moments from their visits. 

Sweet Visitors

Tip-toe, tip-toe… shh…
here they come
with dimples dancing

on their smiley cheeks
huge plans pop
in smart, little heads

so many at once:
let’s draw, sing,
eat sweet berry cake,

jump in rain puddles,
play the game,
swim in that cool pool,

chase the dragonflies,

or simply
share a good story.

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.