Welcome to Day 3 of the June 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
Susan Ahlbrand is in her 36th year of teaching 8th grade English/language arts in the small southern Indiana town of Jasper. When not preparing lessons or grading papers, she enjoys reading and writing, binge-watching shows with her husband, exercising, attending sporting events, and heading off to visit one of four kids who are scattered across the Midwest and South. Planning and executing the kids’ high school graduation parties was a monumental task as she felt the need to “keep up with the Joneses.” But these celebrations closed one chapter and looked ahead to another for each of her children.
Inspiration
Many of us just wrapped up graduation season. Being teachers, we often experience graduation every year whereas others only do when loved ones graduate. Since we don’t have Open Write in May, I thought June would be a good time to reflect on the role graduations have played in our lives. And, no better way to look at this milestone than through the lens of the greatest mother-daughter series ever . . . Gilmore Girls.
Process
Watch each of the clips below. Let your mind cull what it wants to, but I’ve added some commentary.
This clip of Rory’s graduation speech from Chilton brings a few things to the forefront . . . “I live in two worlds,” how books shape us, how our grandparents influence us, how we strive to fulfill our parents’ dreams.
This clip from Rory’s graduation from Yale features a few things . . . random catcalls, getting married younger and younger, switching seats, parents having pull, “that’s not how I do it,” “You just sit there and enjoy your daughter’s graduation from Yale. This is as much your moment as Rory’s; enjoy it.” the nonverbal exchange between Lorelei and Rory.
This clip of Lorelei’s graduation from community college (after not having gone through high school graduation) unveils a number of notable moments . . . the emotion of Emily and the emotion of Lorelei when she witnesses the emotion of Emily, the paparazzi, the moving of the tassel, “Me in the middle with the gown, the traditional pose,” words swallowed, the gift of money . . . “Put it toward something fun”
If Gilmore Girls doesn’t inspire you, perhaps look through old photos of key graduations, maybe even your own. Depending on your teaching role, reflect on the graduation of your students. Maybe Google some notable graduation speeches and watch for inspiration. The Steve Jobs’ speech at Stanford’s Commencement is epic. Go wherever your heart takes you.
Once you have some inspiration, just go with it. Some options:
*Free verse is my preferred form, but anything could work.
*I thought an Etheree (a ten-line poem that builds each line syllable-wise . . . one syllable, two syllables, three syllables, four syllables, five syllables, six syllables, seven syllables, eight syllables, nine syllables, ten syllables) would maybe match the purpose a little, with the natural build-up it reflects. I used the website word hippo and searched “uncertainty” to help generate a word bank to use. I ended up not worrying about syllables or word count, but I chose words/phrases that helped preserve the shape. And I decided to leverage alliteration.
*You could use one of the lines from the show clips as a Golden Shovel. Really, as always, anything goes.
So many options . . . .
Susan’s Poem
flow of feelings
elation
excitement
smiles shining
pulsing with pride
a milestone moment
forever memories float
remember, recall, reflect
recognizing the resilience
celebrating with satisfaction
the wrapping up of relevance
gratitude and gratification mix
looking back then looking ahead
wondering with worry what’s next
excitement is excised by indecision
an ambivalent approach to tomorrow
questioning the constant confusion
anxiety and apprehension aflame
fickle future flirts with my wits
the disquieting doubt lingers
myriad misgivings mount
the nervousness niggles
insecurity strengthens
in a tentative trance
wondering waffles
clarity confused
fear of future
uncertainty
~Susan Ahlbrand
6 June 2024
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.
Hi Susan,
I haven’t written in a while in this group, but my son just graduated and I got an inspiration for writing on this prompt. I absolutely LOVE Gilmore Girls and the relationship between Lorelei and Rory (and Emily)! My son and I have had a hard time with this graduation thing, as he is my last one and he is yearning for his independence now that he also just turned 18. My idea was to write from both perspectives about this time in our lives. Here goes…
Graduation (Corey’s view)
My dream
Not your dream
Our accomplishment
Thanks, Mom.
Independence
What I yearn for
Anticipation
Both good and bad
Leaving my childhood
It feels different now
Heavy weights
What will I become?
I will still need you.
Graduation (Mom’s view)
Your life
Dream big!
Our accomplishment
But YOU did it!
Love you, son.
Independence
It’s hard to let you go
Anticipation
The world is at your feet
Growing up
It’s inevitable
Don’t change deep inside
You know who you are
I will still be here for you!
Judy,
I am so glad that you chose to write in this space again. Sometimes the prompt just fits! I love what you did here! Poems from two perspectives are hard to pull off, but seeing both sides sure helps. It helps the reader and it helps to writer to consider both sides.
I was in your shoes two years ago, having our last graduate and prepare for independence. I wish I had thought to write something like this so I could try to take on his mindset.
This is truly a gem!
Thank you so much! It was a great topic and prompt!
Susan,
Thank you for hosting. You’ve given us a timely prompt, but my arrival is akin to the kid who arrives late to graduation. LOL! I confess I’ve never seen any episodes of Gilmore Girls, and my mom chose not to attend my high school graduation. Therefore, I took a little different approach and wrote about the student in Meridian, Idaho who made national news last month.
graduation staged
she walked across her
graduation stage, handed
him a book he’d banned
& refused to ac-
cept—this dystopian tale
she placed at his feet
lay *under his 👁️*
on graduation day she
feels fiction unfold
& the class of twen-
ty-four leaves high school & walks
toward new gilead
that make ‘merica great a-
gin game is gen z’s handmade’s tale
Glenda Funk
6-17-24
Glenda, thank you for reminding me about this girl and her remarkable graduation statement. This moment deserved a poem. I hope she gets into a great college where she doesn’t have to fight for her right to read and say what she wants. I like an eye image in the “lay *under his 👁️* line. It makes me think Dr. B. will have this scene in his mind for a long time.
Glenda, I’m glad you made it late to graduation! Though I heard the story, I had forgotten it was an Idaho young woman who did it. That title. “graduation staged” is powerful. If he would have accepted the gift, the world wouldn’t have noticed. Good for her statement. I like your haiku sonnet, and the way the hyphenated “twen-ty-four” and other words look on the page.
Glenda,
It made me so sad to read that your mom chose not to attend your graduation. That must be really hurtful still today.
I am so glad you chose to write about the brave young lady who elected to protest book banning while she had center stage.
These lines . . .
speak volumes.
Glenda, heard about this, and love, love your tribute to it!
I’m so glad I found this today (6/18/24)! I missed this story in the news but will now go find it. Your poem is important. Your message is important. I already love the student. (Brilliant how you used “gin game” in the last line.)
I’m sharing a revision of a poem I wrote 35-40 years ago for my graduates in Exira, Iowa, my first teaching gig. It did not age well! When I read it tonight, I realized the speaker assumes all readers are headed to college after graduation (!?). And I struggled to bring distractions of the1980s (Solitaire, magazines) up to date.
Thank you for this prompt! It was fun to dig back and find/revise (and think about the me I was when I wrote it, and the me I am as I revised it.
On Graduation Day,
a day of hugs and tears
and photographs,
no one wants to hear what I have to say:
This day is no more precious
than some Tuesday in February when you’ll feel like
sleeping in,
skipping class,
eating Doritos,
playing seven straight hours of Baldur’s Gate 3.
This day is not one minute longer
than the Monday next March when your Sociology 101 analysis
is due at midnight,
and the WiFi is glitchy
and you are scheduled for the 6-10 cafeteria shift
and your phone is dead
because your charger is buried
beneath the pile of dirty laundry
in the middle of your dorm room.
This day carries no more opportunity
than tomorrow
or the next day
or the next
when you choose to
speak out against injustice,
or follow through with a promise,
or stand up for someone you believe in.
This day is no more special
than next May 19
or October 12
or April 5.
Because each of these days
and the days connecting them
and the minutes filling them
and the moments molding them
are as promising
as potent
as fragile
as fleeting
as this day.
Allison, I really enjoyed reading your poem especially the angle you took to usher us to this graduation day. What I gather is that all the days of the course are significant the experiences and the opportunities too. Your last stanza reiterates this:
“and the moments moulding them
are as promising
as potent
as fragile
as fleeting
as this day. “
Allison, your poem reminded me of my husband’s common saying: “I love and celebrate you every single day, not just on your birthday or Valentine’s.” I agree this is just a day, and it is here because all the other days and the work and efforts invested in those. That is a refreshing way to consider any “significant” day. Your poem is as timely today as it was many years ago. I noticed the name of the video game and Wi-Fi mention that aligns well with our time. Thank you for sharing this poem with us!
Allison,
I envy the fact that you could put your hands on a poem that you wrote 35-40 years ago. I so wish I had a clue where some of my early writings are. They are probably in boxes in our attic. I know some are on floppy disks and I have no clue whether there is a way to retrieve those. That being said . . .
This poem really really struck a chord with me. Big events and occasions are big and they are to be celebrated, but I love how you bring the moment back to the essence of how no way day is any more special than another. They all have potential. I love it!!
Oh, Allison, what a beautiful poem. I’m wondering what all changed from 40 years ago? So much wisdom in this one! Was the other one so wise too? I think you did a great job updating. Glitchy Wifi, buried under laundry charger, etc. Nice!
Susan! I love, LOVE Gilmore Girls, and your prompt filled me with joy!
My daughter IS graduating this year! My youngest, and my husband and I will be empty nesters. 🙁
I loved your poem with its beautiful waterfall of language. Here is my poem to Em:
Emily
Long locks
Lips locked for so long
Senior year saw her blossom
Take a stand, stand up, stand out
…in a few months, she’ll be flown, grown
Standing on her own, in a new place, new friends
My nest will be empty, still feathered with her pillows,
Blankets, comforters for me to sink into and comfort myself
When missing her becomes unbearable.
Wendy,
What a wonderful quick but very meaningful capture of where you both are. In just a few lines, you expertly relay her growth and blossoming. And then the way you work in details about your neat being padded with stuff of her…so dang sweet.
It’s so hard to let them fly!!
Wendy, I can understand your feelings. Missing kids is my daily reality. Live alliteration with “l” in the first two lines. Then the third line comes adding to Emily’s growth, but the sound effect carries on from the previous line – so beautiful: “so long … blossom.”
*Love alliteration – this phone is too annoying sometimes ))
Wendy, you’ve really captured what it feels like to be an empty nester. I love the idea of your place being feathered with her pillows!
Oh, Wendy! I love the luscious words: flown, grown, own…feathered, pillows, comforters/comfort. Please tuck this into your daughter’s pocket on the day she “flies”!
Also, I hope you learn to enjoy your empty nest! <3
https://the-medical-dictionary.com/usher_syndrome_article_3.htm
Allison, this was great advice –thanks so much! ❤️❤️
Wendy,
Congratulations on your daughter’s graduation. The empty nest is a big adjustment made easier over time. I love your word play in “flown, grown” and the endearing image of you nested in that comforter.
My last get-together with my graduating 8th grade girls. We talked about dating. I shared with them what it was like when I was in high school.
A Lesson In Then and Now
I will purposely out myself
always loud and proud,
not a single closet
in which to keep a skeleton.
I’m much to verbose and open,
accused of TMI before that was a ‘thing’.
I shared with my girl’s club
what life was like in 1970
and the dating scene,
so they could compare it to
their current ideology of
3-texts-shared-and-they-are-going-together
screwy . . . limiting
I cheerfully explained dating in 1970:
Friday night a hockey game with Jack
Saturday ice-skating with Bob,
Saturday night movies with David,
Sunday church with Paul,
and maybe a Wednesday trip to McDonald’s again
with Jack after Young Life
With eyes growing larger with each admission,
looking truly dumfounded,
their question to me,
when they were able finally to get past their shock,
“Miss Judi, were you a Ho?”
Judi, your poem shows how ready we must be to be misunderstood when we tell our stories! But, if we’re not open and honest with us, we can expect them to be either with us.
I’m chuckling, but am glad to read your story and know that your students “trust” you enough to ask you that final question.
Keep up the good work of teaching by telling and helping them know, by what you show about reading, writing, thinking…AND listening.
Judi, funny how times change, isn’t it? That last line made me laugh. I also appreciated your openness and candor in your first stanza here. It sets up the rest of the poem.
LOLOL! What a story! And, yeah, they just do not get what it was like in “our day.”
I also loved the clever wordplay at the beginning of your poem…Happy Pride! XD
This is just perfect, Judi! You’ve spoken volumes about the past and present. Your poem reminds me of a student who said to me years ago, “You got engaged, then married, then had kids? And you’re still together? Uh uh. That’s too much!”
Judi, this genuinely made me laugh out loud. The juxtaposition with Ms. and Ho, but not a surprising response. You never said you did anything this these men so their assumptions…they have so much to learn. Your first stanza resonates with me because I was the total opposite-quiet and shy. Never seen in a room. I love how you can be so open with your students. I think they truly appreciate your wit and wisdom. Thank you for sharing.
Hi, Susan! Thank you for hosting today. I enjoyed watching the video clips from The Gilmore Girls. I liked the Etheree form you suggested as a possibility and the way you led us in your poem from “elation / excitement / smiles shining” to “clarity confused / fear of future / uncertainty.” This is true for so many kids, and as a parent I had mixed feelings. My child graduated high school very early, and I was so worried that I made a mistake letting her to do that. She grew up strong, independent, and very determined, but sometimes I sense that maybe, just maybe, I should have let her be a child a little longer.
A Little Lesson for Mom
At fifteen and a half, the youngest one
in class, you bravely walked toward
an adult life, leaving me no
time to prepare to let you
go. I thought were fragile,
shy, and not ready.
You proved me
(you did!)
wrong.
I am not at all surprised that you raised a daughter bright enough to graduate SOOOO early. What an impressive accomplishment!
I empathize with you about how you felt in feeling unprepared to let her go. But she’s your daughter and well-equipped!
Leilya, I’m so happy she proved you wrong! What a great photo that is too. Wow, she was young. Your title is so perfect. Graduation day, and sometimes the adults get the greatest lessons.
Leilya, how different it is to consider graduation from the perspective of the teacher and the Mom. What a blessing, though, to see our young one grow up, as you described it
you bravely walked toward
an adult life, leaving me no
time to prepare to let you
go.
You’re probably a better Mom than you give yourself credit for. Keep up the good work of guiding her when she asks and supporting her when she chooses.
Leilya, lovely picture, and lovely poem to accompany it! Glad that things turned out well for her!
Leilya, such a beautiful daughter who proved you wrong. We as parents shelter our children. Your line “I thought were fragile,
shy, and not ready” is a lesson we can learn in seeing our children as who they are to become instead of who they are. Thank you for sharing this vulnerable moment. It gives me hope for my daughter. We’re just trying to make it to junior high!
Leilya,
I love that your daughter proved you wrong. Isn’t parenting a series of second guessing oneself? The photo is lovely, and the form of your poem evokes a movement toward independence.
It’s All Pomp and Circumstance
By Mo Daley 6/17/24
I
used to
be a fine
young thing, but now
have graduated
to a woman who uses
retinol, savors snuggles
and squeezes and exhaustion a day
with family brings. I wear my robe
and mortar board proudly, loving this life.
Oh, Mo,
This is just what I needed today, still in my PJs at 5pm. I was just thinking how teachers need a graduation when they retire. They deserve that pomp, right? “I wear my robe/and mortar board”. Yes.
Sarah
Brilliant suggestion!
Sarah, my colleague who retired two years ago wore grad robes and cap to her retirement party — she told the seniors all year that “she was graduating, too”! LOL!
Hi, Mo! I was just thinking this morning that the only thing I am kind of ready to graduate into is a retirement with robes, slippers, and snuggles with a book or a cat )) I can certainly relate.
So perfect, Mo!! That robe and mortar board are the best of any you have ever worn! The title is the best!
Loved, as usual, your quirky and fun take on the subject! I’m with you all the way. I agree with Sarah – we ought to have a graduation ceremony for us . . . . but alas, at what age!
Mo, what a super title! I am “loving this life” too, and like Sarah said, I like the idea of a graduation ceremony and celebration. You made it, and deserve all the snuggles and joy!
Mo, loved your wordplay! And, boy, can I relate to these details!
” I used to be…but have graduated”. Fine young thing to woman. I think a mortar board and a robe is the perfect combination of “Congratulations, you’re an adult!” Thank you for sharing Mo.
this is water
the last
assignment
I gave my Lit
students this year
was to compare in
content and/or structure
the David Foster Wallace
Kenyon Commencement
Speech from 2005 to
Samuel Beckett’s
Waiting for
Godot
this is water
I wanted
to impress
upon them the
fact that they too
were trapped in this
play, in this very
speech unless
they chose
not to be
this is water
but it
needed
to be, most
assuredly, their
conscious &
deliberate
choice
________________________________________________________
Thank you, Susan, for your mentor poem, the prompt, and the pictures today! (And thank you for reminding me how clever and witty the dialogue is in Gilmore Girls!) Your alliteration and rhyme is wonderful throughout: “the wrapping up of relevance / gratitude and gratification mix / looking back then looking ahead.” For my offering today, I took a note from the shape of your poem and noticed (only after crafting it, mind you) if you turn your monitor sideways and squint a bit, you might just see some gently breaking waves…
I see the waves and feel the water moving me and your students toward the shore.
Oh, I love this assignment and so wish I could have witnesses the process with you and the students. “this is water” refrain in the italics is a lovely way to call attention to these borrowed words (right?) and the words “conscious” and “deliberate” ring here in the way speeches are crafted for these occasions. Words linger.
Sarah
Thank you, Scott! You made me perform several moves with your poem and the explanation. First, i had to turn the screen sideways and squint ))). Then I looked up David Foster Wallace Commencement Speech and Samuel Beckett’s play. Now your clever allusion to “this is water” makes sense. The final statement is valuable for anyone, especially for young people: it has to be their choice.
Scott,
Once again, I’m a broken record and celebrate just how dang smart you are. Now, I’m not just celebrating you but your students. America is NOT dumbed down if your students can pull of the comparison you present.
I love the repeating italicized
it provides such cohesion.
And I love the directive at the end. It IS a choice!
Scott, love this brilliant assignment!! And love your sweet and sensitive poem — a bit of a turn from your norm!
Scott, I was drawn to your poem because of the shape. I like your summary at the end which helped me connect the waves to the water and then the context of the poem. Thank you.
Scott,
Waiting for Godot is one of my favorite plays. It made an impression on me when I was fifteen and saw a cutting from it at a speech contest. I finally got around to teaching it my last year in the classroom, and it was a hit. I vaguely recall the David Foster Wallace speech but have heard it a few times. I love the assignment and the challenge inherent in it to choose not to be stuck but to flow like water, to keep moving through this world. I hope those who read your poem watch or read the play if they haven’t and listen to the speech if they haven’t. Otherwise, they won’t really appreciate the gift this last assignment you gave to seniors is.
Hi Susan,
Thank you for hosting us today! I love the Etheree and usually forget that it’s a form that works for me. I love a syllable counting form because it keeps me from wandering too far off my topic. I have never watched the Gilmore Girls and I believe that’ll be on my summer binge list. It’s funny how some shows are big hits and some of us never see them. Thanks for those clips. The first one was me all the way last week trying to hold back the tears.
This class that I finished with last week completely stole my heart. I cried so much at their culmination that it became contagious. Moms, dads, grandparents, children…everyone was crying. So this poem is for them!
Tears
Welling
Huge puddles
Floodgates open
Words stuck in my throat
Say your names, shake your hands
But I must hug you tightly
So our hearts can beat together
One last time before you leave the school
Run across the playground and jump for joy
One last time before you leave the school
Look at all the friends you have made
Remember lessons you’ve learned
Conceive, believe, achieve
Motto for success
Never hold back
Shine your light
Congrats
Grad
©Stacey L. Joy, June 17, 2024
Stacey,
Your poem inspires me and makes me feel like I can conquer the world! I’m certain your students feel that way. Use Canva to make this look cute and mail one to each of them!
The lines that pack a real emotional punch for me are
Aww, Susan, thanks so much. I think I will do that right now. But I’ll send to families because my hunch is that 5th graders aren’t looking for emails from me anymore. 🤣
Love “conceive, believe, achieve” motto you send them on with. I know you did your best with them. Saying goodbye is so hard.
Stacey, I wish every teacher had the same love for their students as you do. This isn’t just a job or career – – it’s a clear calling, a passion, a deep love of teaching and forming relationships to cheer on your students. I see it, I feel it. I know it.
Stacey, this is so sweet and full of love, care, pride, and hope for your students. These kids spend more time with you than with their parents in elementary school so you become so attached. These lines resonate with me every time I end the semester with my students too:
“But I must hug you tightly
So our hearts can beat together
One last time before you leave the school.”
I like Susan’s suggestion to decorate the poem with a Canva image and make a card to mail to your students. I write Thank You cards to mine, but now I am thinking I could write a poem for them. You see what you are making me to think about? 🙂
Oh, Stacey! Congratulations to you too, friend. You made it. What a wonderful poem, full of memories and reminders of a growing year. I am glad you will send it to the parents. 🙂
Stacey, this sweet poem brought tears to my eyes!
Thanks, Susan, for hosting. Celebrating a different landmark so writing about that instead—and our amazing experience in South Africa.
Anniversary
Oh
happy
from the jeep
we saw lions!
lions sauntering
cheetahs lounging, yawning
the elephants paraded through
a giant white rhino eating
hyper springboks, leaping with joy
giraffes, side by side, munching on treetops
we spied a hippo’s eye at the water hole
the spotter’s light kept pace with the leopard’s beauty
the best part — sitting beside you, my love—twenty-nine years
I took a trip to Tanzania in 2016 and the safari has stayed with me. It’s amazing!
Sharon, the adventure is palpable here, the wonder of jungle animals on safari! And that last line tells the story. All the most exciting parts are sharing the moments with those we love.
Happy anniversary, Sharon! Twenty-nine years is certainly something to celebrate!!
Your use of such strong verbs add so much action and power to this poem. And, I think those strong verbs and images make the emotionally-focused ending line all the more powerful.
Sharon, I love the participle phrases you’ve used throughout: “sauntering,” “lounging,” “yawning,” “munching.” Thank you for sharing your anniversary with us!
Wow, Sharon! What an amazing variety of wildlife you saw, and that last sweetest of lines was a surprise and joy. Happy Anniversary!
Sharon, what a great way to celebrate your enjoyable experience in South Africa! I can see all these animals doing their thing while you pass them in a jeep. Sharing this trip with your loved one is priceless. Happy Anniversary!
Sharon,
How exciting! This sounds like a perfect way to celebrate 29 years of marriage. Congratulations!🎉🎉
For Emme
High School Graduate
Graduation Day
Like the leaves changing color in fall
So you, too, have changed
From the day you were born
I knew you were special
Independent, strong, beautiful
As you achieve one milestone today
I think of all you will continue
to accomplish
Remember to have fun along the way
Appreciate life’s small moments
Have gratitude for all the gifts
God has bestowed upon you
As I am thankful for you
The world is waiting
For all you have to offer
Celebrate
Love,
“Auntie” Heidi
Such a sweet recognition of Emme’s accomplishments yet it motivates as well.
certainly makes her feel so validated and seen and ready to conquer the world!
What a lovely gift poem for Emme. Very inspiring words.
Thank you for letting us celebrate Emme’s graduation with you, Heidi! She sounds like a very special person. Your advice is wise and valuable. With you, I root for Emme to have the best future and notice “life’s small moments.”
We’re Out of Here!
Graduation,a time to move up and out
Discovering ways to share what we’ve learned
While we’re out and about.
Graduation, a time to justify the time we spent
On books and couldn’t pay rent
That’s why we lived at home
When we much preferred to roam.
It may be years before we stop and think
Of all our teachers poured into us
Or tried when we turned our cups upside down
Because they’d not taken the time to think
Why we deserved their attention as much as the class clown.
But, thankfully, we’ve reached this day
And so, I’d like to say
Thanks for getting us to this point in life
Better prepared to handle the strife
That we’ll inevitably encounter,
Based on the books you made us read.
Hoping our hearts and minds you’d feed.
Graduation, a time to recall the meaning of that word
It’s an interim term that suggests we’ll keep moving
Maybe with a little less time for movies and grooving,
But better prepared for what’s coming next, no matter how absurd.
Anna, I read your reflection on graduation and find it relatable. I am mostly attracted to the thought that graduation is “an interim term that suggests we’ll keep moving.” Indeed, our growth is gra-du-al, it is a life-long process regardless of whether we “attend” a school or not. This will keep my mind occupied for a while. Thank you for this lesson!
Anna, thanks for your poem and the graduate’s experiences. What was really poignant to me is the morphology you exposed, gradual, graduate, graduation. They are no where near the end but they are moving or better still transitioning.
“It’s an interim term that suggests we’ll keep moving”
Thank you
Susan, thank you for the challenge today. I enjoyed watching all the clips and seeing speeches that others have linked to. It’s been a minute since I’ve even been to a graduation, but this one I wrote about today, I celebrated on Instagram.
She
was not
the one I
would have thought would
go to dental school.
But she did work hard in
junior high, stayed after, made
sure she tried to get tiresome
details. This month she graduated.
She’s Dr. S. (Of course, I should have known.)
Denise,
I think that parenthesis are underused in poetry. I like how it presents similar to an aside on stage. I like how you had the aha moment remembering how she applied herself in middle school. I like how you maintain the teacheresque anonymity with her last name as well.
You capture this young lady’s accomplishment very well! Like Rex, I really enjoy the parenthetical sentence. It confirms that she was destined to reach for lofty goals.
what a great Instagram surprise and I love that you so succinctly put it in a verse! And the ending was the icing!
Denise, I love when surprise twist endings take us to happy places! Cheers for Dr. S. Dr. Smiles, perhaps?
What an inspiration. What a journey through time – from junior high school – and I will repeat the other comments – LOVE the use of parenthesis – I must try this! Thank you!
Hi Denise,
What an accomplishment to celebrate! Shouts of congrats to Dr. S. I think it’s incredible to remember when students took extra time to get what they needed to learn and we later see the grand rewards.
🎊Woohoooo!
Doesn’t it feel good to see our students exceed our expectations? How could you know? (Hint to your parenthetical statement) Lol. Thank you for telling us about Dr. S.’s successful graduation, Denise!
Susan,
Thank you for hosting today. I went to two gradations this past school year and none of them were my own students. I feel some type of way around this time of year. I appreciate the realization of the highs and lows- from elation to uncertainty. But despite my feelings, I have a poem to share. Thank you for sharing.
You Did It!
A milestone has passed.
Cheers! Here’s to new beginnings.
Memories made and etched in stone,
while others need to be forgotten.
What to do now?
Take the road less traveled off the beaten path
or fall in line on the paved expressway,
taking a quick trip to nowhere fast?
Some may have a bay window
view of the entire landscape,
While others see through frosted glass,
unable to see beyond the translucent horizon.
Oh the places we’ll go!
Encountering detours, roadblocks, and construction.
Graduation
Jessica,
I liked the metaphoric focus on the view of the future, through two less conventional types of windows. I liked the Dr. Seuss reference, and how it is followed by a more cynical referencing to hurdles than clear paths. It makes it seem more real life.
Thank you Rex. I originally scrapped my first poem because it was just s/bad. This one was much better. We need more real life because I want the future generations to be ready to be dealt the cards of life. It’s not always a royal flush.
Jessica,
Love this framing in the form of a toast with some of the traditional wishes sprinkled with your insights and place of the “bay window” and “frosted glass.” All in the lens we use to witness. Yes. Love the way the windows and glass can show detours, roadblocks, and construction.
Sarah
Thank you Sarah. I never really know how my poems will turn out. I’m glad I was able to share my view from the frosted glass. It’s beautiful on the other side.
You capture the extremes of what might be happening next so well. I love the antithesis of the bay window versus the frosted glass . . . genius. But my favorite part is
The allusion adds power but the whole idea of falling in line and just going nowhere opens eyes for sure!
I love this description and your take on my poem. Thank you Susan!
Hi Jessica,
I appreciate the options and visuals your poem delivers. The honesty here really caught my attention:
Thank you for your beautiful poem.
You’re welcome Stacey Joy. I had a few flashbacks and cringed, lol. But if the 17 year-old Jessica could see me now…thank you for your thoughts.
Moving Up Ceremony
Pomp, plug,
publicity, preparation.
Drive to share
Our fifth graders.
Their spike
Their achievement.
Testimonies
Myriad of accolades
Introducing transition
elementary to middle school,
from being the
oldest to the youngest.
the pull of independence
Subtly exposing
future learning
to our dear fifth graders.
Making the fanfare worthwhile.
Juliette,
I, too, was thinking of the graduations that move students into new schools — going from the oldest in their school to the youngest, the experience to the novice, the belonging to the strangeness. This “pull of independence” is definitely one of the things my 8th graders looked for in graduating to high school. I love this line of “subtly exposing” on its own.
Peace,
Sarah
Juliette,
I love that you title it “Moving Up Ceremony.” I’m going to assume that’s what it’s called at your school. I really like that. We called it Achievement Night because it’s not a “graduation” per se but the whole community calls it “8th grade graduation.”
Going
is a transition that repeats often in life and it needs to be celebrated . . .
Thank you, Juliette, for your wonderful poem on a major transition point in every child’s life! That transition from 5th grade to middle school is HUGE and I’m so very glad you chose this and your robust words (“the pull of independence – Subtly exposing” – they hit a major chord with me!
Juliette, what a joy to guide these young ones from elementary to middle school. I love sharing that transition with students. I’ve been on both sides in my career (sending off fifth graders, and greeting new junior highers coming from the elementary school). “Making the fanfare worthwhile” is lovely.
Juliette,
I, too, teach 5th graders and know that feeling of independence pulling at them. I love “Moving Up Ceremony” and our kindergarten teachers call their ceremony “Stepping Up.” Love the excitement and anticipation you bring us today.
Thanks for this – I love that your poem uses alliteration well. It somehow sounds like a graduation speech, but better! This reminded me of a picture I had of my two roommates who grew up in Hawaii and I sandwiched together on a hot football field in Chicago. Their families each carried a mountain of leis with them, and I loved this tradition. I got one, too and now it’s a part of my memory.
Leis
rope upon rope of blossoms
carried in coolers to Chicago
each petal mostly intact
gold-pollen lustred
subtle, spicy aroma of hibiscus
whites and purples for school
shells and grasses for home
from every
auntie, uncle, oma, opa, granny
a soft, damp hug
ceremoniously placed over your bowed head
crowding your necks like winter scarves
and crowning your overwhelmed and
radiant faces
And we learn about another super cool and special graduation tradition. I love this!! If you feel so compelled and can easily find the photo, I’d love to see it!
As for your poem . . . the details really help me understand just how sentimental the leis are . . . not like the cheesy plastic ones we get at the dollar store. The simile of comparing the stack of leis on the neck being like winter scarves creates a great image while showing contrast.
ends this beautiful poem so perfectly.
Emily,
i am so moved by these lines:
I can feel the familial love and pride.
My nephew graduated from college in May and one of his roommates families’ gave him and his four roommates leis. The five young men came from many different places, but it was a wonderful way to show how they shared a bond, living together to er, far from their families.
every mother’s wish
graduations
mark moments
pause to ponder
mysteries at work here
sacred space, seeds sown, hidden
in time, knowledge yields to wisdom
Brevity and beauty.
it’s hard to remember that the hidden seeds usually reveal themselves.
just perfect, Patricia.
Your poem feels serene , and it reminds me of the last day of school when as teachers, we let go and wait and watch them fly away. I would guess this reminds parents who have had children graduate of that feeling, but mine are too young for me to confront that emotion yet!
I love this reflection – it definitely reminds me of the mothers in the Gilmore Girls clips that were in the prompt. I liked “sacred space, seeds sown, hidden” and how it will all hopefully lead to wisdom, it’s hard to make sense of in the moment. Very lovely, Patricia!
Patricia – your words are like hammer blows in my head! “sacred space, seeds sown, hidden in time, knowledge yields to wisdom” So powerful. Thank you for writing this important observation!
Patricia, I love the depth of meaning in the graduations you write about here. “mysteries” “sacred space” “seeds sown” “wisdom” So much goodness. It is a good reminder of what is important about these transitions. Lovely title too.
Susan,
Thank you for the prompt today. All three of my children had some form of a graduation this year, and I think I am still processing it all. It didn’t get trumped by the arrival of the cicadas, but out of respect for the overwhelmingly dominant impact they (the cicadas) had on the realm I live in, I shifted my focus this spring to the graduation of Brood 19.
POETICS OF BROOD XIX
In southern Iowa
late May early June of 2024
measured in their songs,
their flights,
their emergence, and passing
they earned the right
to become their own simile…
like a new fodder for the fox,
crunching, soon sated in the tree line,
filled with this year’s fortune,
like overloaded drug smuggling Beechcrafts
listing, lifting from a jungle airstrip,
heading to a greedy payoff
like sleepy snacks for the bandit raccoon,
gorging beneath the maple,
in the darkness of a new moon,
like appetite lessons taught for the backyard birds,
squirrels, potty break dogs, feral cats,
sneaky toddlers, bored chefs
like reminders of slaughter in the husk piles of early emergence,
purposeful postcoital passings
and the sweet sickly smell breezed beneath trees
like the penultimate call to party with a vengeance
rocking a three week span of natural debauchery,
shaming Mardi Gras in the verve and vivacity
like the rolling repetition of “Pomp and Circumstance”
ear numbingly looped as pupils prepare to shed old husks,
a soul tinnitus, burr barbed and snagging in collective consciousness:
buzz,
buzzed,
buzzing.
Bravo, Rex!!! This is simply fabulous. We keep waiting to hear the cicadas here in southern Indiana. We thought we were in the region marked for it, but we have not yet. So glad that you capture so many aspects of these little beasts via a number of perfect similes. Of course, I love the ending three lines because what else is there to say, but there are so many lines with such power due to imagery and sound. You lace alliteration through your similes so there is even more power. I do think my favorite stanza is
It made me smile and chuckle. This is really really well done!
LOL—Couldn’t help seeing metaphors for our grads:
filled with this year’s fortune…
heading to a greedy payoff…
sneaky toddlers, bored chefs …
purposeful postcoital passings…
call to party with a vengeance…
buzz,
buzzed,
buzzing
I LOVED how you tied it into graduation imagery in this stanza:
“like the rolling repetition of “Pomp and Circumstance”
ear numbingly looped as pupils prepare to shed old husks,
a soul tinnitus, burr barbed and snagging in collective consciousness:”
You capture the overwhelming chaos of life cycles that take place in the late spring and early summer. This time has intensity of every kind, and you nailed it.
Rex, wow, what a simile packed poetic offering about Brood X!X. (I wonder how many poems have been written about them this year!) I love “they earned the right / to become their own simile…” And this is my favorite part of your poem, such a great image:
A Grad Speech Nonet
They all wrote graduation speeches
mentored by Everybody’s Free
(to Wear Sunscreen). One eighty
eighth graders listing aph–
orisms. Advice
to survive, thrive
junior high;
knowledge
dropped.
____________
I watched the Gilmore Girls videos, but just couldn’t write about them. Graduation, family life, didn’t look like that for me, but I loved imagining what my life would have been with a mother standing up in the crowd to applaud me (would I have looked at her lovingly like this scene?).
But I did begin to remember the 20 plus graduations for 8th graders that I supervised, supported. All the safety pins I offered, sometimes bandaids for the girls wearing heals, definitely doing my best to tied ties. And then I thought of the graduation speeches. Of course, one student gave a speech at the ceremony, but I made all my students write a speech so I could hear what they’d said if they had the ear of a thousand students and parents in a hot gym in June. Loved this assignment. Thank you, Susan, for prompting this memory.
Oh, Sarah . . . I may just have to copy you! The 35 8th grade graduations that I have been a part of would make great fodder for a poem. Yours . . . sure hits on some key details. I am totally embarrassed to say that I had never seen/heard/read the “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen)” speech. I will definitely be using it as a mentor piece for having my students write their own. I tend to use Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech as the mentor.
The nonet works so well because it forces your hand to use certain words, phrases. The ending being
works so well.
Sarah, I LOVE this idea of dropping wisdom on that final day, and I can only imagine that there were some unexpected gems. I loved the explanation at the end.
Sarah,
I appreciate how the nonet doesn’t lose anything in strict adherence to the form. I liked the section that has the shift to assonance and rhyme. And the end…makes me think of a mic drop. what a way to bring it to a close, especially when focusing on graduation/speeches.
Sarah, the aphorisms written by the wiser selves of those who started the journey – – these are priceless pearls of wisdom. Dropping knowledge is a beautiful way to leave a mark, leave a droplet of hope for those coming along next.
Sarah, what a great assignment. I enjoyed watching the whole Sunscreen speech today. It was my first time seeing it. Thanks for sharing. I can imagine the great “knowledge / dropped” by your eighth graders sharing their aphorisms.
I didn’t miss
A single one…
…But now I will
1300 miles away
Three more years
Away for them
But my mind
Remembers, my heart
Holds their faces
Selfishly, I’ve sort of had
Five of my own—
Two for school
Two for combat boots
And I longingly stare
Ahead of one more
The final walk
Across the stage
A change of my name
Why am I
So happy for them,
So happy for myself
But begrudge and collapse
At theirs?
I’m not ready
For my own
To leave my nest
To fly away and thrive
Ten for J
Nine for S
Sixteen for F
Tassels, and caps
In the air, and I
Have too few years
To prepare
Ashley,
It is just sooo hard to watch and let them fly. These milestones are so emotional because we become so aware of just how dang fast time goes. And, we become aware of regrets and missteps and desires for re-dos.
“There are two lasting gifts we can give our children . . . one is roots and the other is wings.” Now that three of our four are even college grads, I have to remind myself over and over of these wise words. It’s so hard to watch them become independent.
While your poem shares very specific details that make me empathize, there is some mystery that makes me yearn for backstory. Isn’t that the sign of a great poem?
Your poem encapsulates the quote in the video: It’s as much for you as it is for them. Maybe more? I feel like this prompt has been a great exercise in hindsight!
Susan, graduation is a pivotal time in our lives, as parents and as children. My youngest child graduated from graduate school 10 years ago. It’s been a minute. So it took viewing the Gilmore Girls clip for me to compose. I feel like this poem is full of cliche’s but so is graduation, right?
I am posting a photo so I could keep a format. Hope it works.
Margaret,
I love what you have created! And that image enhances your words well! I love the way you incorporated the GG words of “I’m not crying.”
the lines that stick with me are
You may not be crying, but this moved me to tear up!! The tree metaphor really struck me.
Ah Margaret! Your words mark all of our letting go moments so well!
Brilliant use of the I’m not crying phrase and all the ways to consider NOT to cry – even though I’m fairly certain you did 🙂
Margaret, the reasons not to cry are so heartfelt. Of all these reasons, I love that their strength becomes yours. The cycle is felt here, this raising of a child to adulthood and creating the autonomy that we want, don’t want, want, don’t want, want for them. I can feel it. It’s so hard to let go.
Susan, I watched all the clips; I have so many thoughts. I think perhaps the last one, of Lorelei’s late graduation, influenced me to share a bit of my own story here. Your double reverse etheree is so compelling, visually as well as in essence. Every line is a complete sensation in itself and rings with truth. Thank you for this celebratory moment layered so with “uncertainty” – as I write this, the proverb “nothing ventured, nothing gained” comes to mind. So much of life is uncertain. We shall write our way through <3
December Graduate
I graduated from college
at 43
after two decades
of starts and stops
the first female
in the family
to obtain
a baccalaureate degree
My husband and youngest son
attended the ceremony
our oldest couldn’t
he was taking final exams
concluding his first college semester
My grandparents
who asked throughout the years
how “school” was going for me
didn’t live to see it
neither did my dad
yet they seemed near
My mother?
Lost
somewhere on her own
broken path
and lost
to me
I would not dwell
on who wasn’t there
to see
instead
on my lapel I pinned
the poinsettia brooch
twin to the one I pinned
on Grandma’s lapel
as she lay in her casket
two Decembers before
and I carried her
close to my heart
underneath the purple robes
throughout the ceremony
and into
the new adventures
awaiting me
Oh my goodness, Fran…I don’t even know what all to say. My arms are still filled with goosebumps as I tap the keys to comment. The resonant detail right now is the poinsettia brooch. What a beautiful way of carrying Grandma with you at a milestone ceremony. I love that you were able to focus on who was there rather than who was not, but the mention of your mother cuts like a knife. The detail of your achievement hitting when your son was, too, in college warms my heart.
reveals so much resilience. I can only imagine the pride you had to have felt and how your grandparents beamed from above.
This is one special poem.
Tears and pride. You did it amidst such odds against you! That poignant poinsettia brooch? How touching. Thanks for sharing this part of you.
Fran,
This poem reflects threads of pasts entwined in the grandmother, mother, daughter. The twin pins “pinned/on Grandma’s lapel” and “on my lapel I pinned” show agency in the wearing and carrying of our family histories, the ceremonies of our lives that leave a mark/pin in our memories. Hear, hear to “the new adventures/awaiting me” and the people who love you nearby to witness (or a poem like this to allow readers to bear witness, thank you).
Sarah
Fran,
I’m moved by the connection between you and your grandmother
Beautiful! I can feel the love.
I love the sentimentality in this verse – and the ties to your family. For graduations are truly a time to consider our systems of support which you beautifully highlight here. I too love that twin poinsettia pin. I’m sure you still wear it on special occasions.
Fran, this is as touching and riveting as it gets. The symbols of those we carry so close to our hearts, the connections still to keep our loved ones right where we know they already are, as a powerful reminder that love never, ever, ever dies. Grandma Ruby was right there – cheering you on. I, too, graduated later, at 33 and had some significant absences of people at my ceremony. I didn’t walk for the last two degrees I earned – Mom was sick for one, and then she was gone for the other. It sounds like you found ways of overcoming the pain, and strength got you across that stage. What a way to walk through the doors of opportunity! This is fabulous.
Oh, wow, Fran, those family dynamics here–so poignant and rich. The twin poinsettia brooches are such a rich takeaway. This is the first I heard you received your degree when your son was in college too. “after two decades of starts and stops” says much about your character and perseverance, during a chapter that was busy with a young family and extended family deaths and separations. What a powerful part of your memoir.
Fran, there is so much to love about your poem and journey! (And I love that you bookend your poem with “I” and “me.”) Thank you for sharing this!
Susan, all the feels are here in this poem, and I can’t wait to come back after my school day and read what everyone has written today. Thank you for hosting us and investing in us as writers. I understand your line about worrying about what is next – – the biting fingernail stuff of life as we watch our fledglings fly. I have a different memory of graduation. Graduating on the coast, we launched beach balls to begin the ultimate forever kind of summer. And then we realized……wait, there’s more, and then there are bills.
Graduation Nonet
Teachers all worried about airhorns
beach balls should have been their concern
they learned how to inflate them
under their gowns, then how
to launch them at once
on secret cue
skyward dreams
island
style
I’m hearing Beach Boys in my mind as I read this
🙂
Kevin
“Island style”!!
we never stop to think about him graduation traditions are different in other areas of the country or world. Thank you for sharing an experience special to where you live.
The image of “skyward dreams” makes me smile.
What a glorious tradition, Kim – I can see it as if I am there, tasting salt on the breeze. “Skyward dreams island style” – the airiness of this buoys my soul. Beautiful nonet. I am chuckling, too, over your into about beginning the ultimate forever kind of summer and then realizing, wait, there are bills. This is exactly why the true golden summer moments, brief as they are, mean so very much.
“Skyward dreams” as the beachballs and their lives are launched: great image!
Kim,
I never thought about the varying traditions of graduation by place — the beach balls. Fantastic. Indeed, as someone who has supervised upwards of 20 graduations with 13 year olds with pretty strict protocols to support 500 or so graduating each year, I cannot imagine whose idea it was to welcome beach balls into the fray. Sounds like the kids had this brilliant prank in mind. Of course, we can celebrate the ingenuity of “inflate them/under their gowns” and developing a “secret cue.” Yes, island style is right, and it inspired this poem, which made me smile today.
Sarah
“to launch them at once / on secret cue” How magical and wonderful, really! I wish I could have seen it. And you were part of it? That’s perhaps the best part. I love the idea of the “island / style” dreams going out. And then, like you said, “there are bills.” What fun!
Susan, boy do I miss the Gilmore Girls – such joy and emotion in each episode. Thank you! And thank you for your mentor poem, filled with fabulous alliterative lines like “fickle future flirts with my wits” bringing lightheartedness to the verse.
You inspired me to recall a weekend filled with ceremonies!
A momentous weekend
A trifecta of celebrations
Three college graduations
Spread across three days
One bachelor’s degree
Two master’s degrees
Two proud parents glowing
While standing by their side
Different colored tassels
Different paths ahead
Guided by their passions
Living out their dreams
A momentous weekend
A trifecta of celebrations
Capping off years of studies
Two proud parents
standing by their sides
Christine, great use of repetition here: “A momentous weekend/A trifecta of celebrations” – momentous, indeed! I love the word “trifecta”. I feel the joy of these moments, the reward of the years, the payoff of encouragement that has such far-reaching, lifelong effects. Reading this poem makes me want to throw confetti high into the air, alongside the caps that surely flew.
You remind me of how hectic graduation time can be when you have multiple kids. We once had two kids graduating at the same time, one from law school, the other, undergrad. Trifecta is a great word!
Christine,
How wonderful, this weekend of graduations and the possibilities in “colored tassels” and “different paths” and “dreams” – yes, dreams. Parents witnessing this “standing by their sides” is just the sort of partnering that shows the team effort.
Peace,
Sarah
Christine,
Oh, this needs to be made into something displayable . . . I see it with the poem in the middle and photos from the three celebrations framing the words!
The repeated lines weave through so well, getting the emotion of pride across so effectively.
The detail of “different colored tassels” helps set the stage for “different paths ahead” and I love how clear it is that you support them and allow them to be exactly who they are!
Christine, this is beautiful. Is it a certain form you used, or did you create your own repetitive lines. I really enjoyed it. So much detail, yet several important lines repeated. I really enjoyed it. I wonder if you were one of the graduates?
Why aren’t we kinder?
– George Saunders
Each of us,
born central
to the universe –
our only story,
separate from all
that other junk
— you know,
other people —
but we believe;
we really want,
in our hearts,
the present moment:
more open and
more loving
Blackout Poem/Found Poem with original text from a section of George Saunders’ “Failures of Kindness” speech https://jamesclear.com/great-speeches/failures-of-kindness-by-george-saunders
Kevin
I am always in awe if blackout poetry… creating something new, beautiful, thought-provoking from an existing piece. You really dug down to the power of this text and created power.
Kevin, a blackout poem!! And one that brings such truth! I love what you’ve done here. You inspire me to want to bring out the discarded books and find some poems today. I like that you used a speech for this. I chuckled at the other junk/other people…..so true from the introverted reader’s angle.
Kevin – just extraordinary. The finding of this blackout poem (no small feat) and the truth of it. In our very core, don’t we yearn to be more open and more loving? Then the question of all questions – Why aren’t we kinder? I shall carry this poem with me.
What a great idea to use a speech for a blackout poem! Visiting my mother this weekend, I realize the weight of the present moment as it’s only the present moment for her. I am called to be more open, more loving.
Kevin,
I so appreciate when we find the form that matches our poetic ideas. And I am so grateful for the speech by George Saunders. I spent a good half hour reading this in the hopes I will err in the direction of kindness today and to “Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial.”
Then, I read your blackout poem and looked for the phrases you brightened. You have captured this contrast of the “central to the universe” and sense of self (and selfishness” that can drive us, the ambition, but yes, yes, there is this want “more loving.” And to get that, we need kindness. Love this today. Thank you.
Sarah
Kevin,
Thank you for reminding me of this wise speech.
You and George echo an essential truth: our need for love and kindness.
Kevin, I read your poem early this morning (and then read Saunders’ speech) and have been thinking about both all day long. Thank you!
I too am always amazed at blackout poems! And yours today was spot on! No pun intended. You always amazing me with your quick poems