A very special thank you to our August Open Write hosts: Denise Krebs, Gayle Sands, Wendy Everard, Scott McCloskey, and Ashlyn O’Rourke. We so appreciate your generosity of time and compassion in creating these writing prompts and attending to our lines and stanzas these past five days. We hope you will all join us in September (16-20).
Our Host
Ashlyn O’Rourke is a preservice teacher studying at Oklahoma State University. They plan to teach high school and hope to have the opportunity to teach creative writing during their career. In their free time, Ashlyn enjoys partaking in their latest craft obsession (currently embroidery) and walking their dog, Bella. Their favorite movie is The Little Mermaid and their current favorite band is My Chemical Romance. They are thankful for the opportunity to lead this community of writers today!
Inspiration
What we look like on the outside doesn’t always match who we are on the inside. Though we try to tell others who we are with our facial expressions, how we style ourselves, and how we position our bodies, we can only ever tell part of our story. After all, people have layers.
Consider the things your family, friends, coworkers, teachers, etc. have said about you. Do they all have the same comments and make the same assumptions, or do they all see you a little differently? (For example, I’ve been told that I’m “quiet” for as long as I can remember, but my friends would tell you otherwise!) Some people say every person we have a relationship with knows a different side of us. Do you think this is true?
Process
The Challenge:
Write a poem exploring the similarities or differences between how other people see you and how you see yourself.
You might consider… (from maricopa.edu)
- your physical characteristics (height, physical ability, body language)
- your personality traits (introverted/extroverted, doubtful/hopeful, relaxed/ambitious)
- how you are categorized by society (religion, relationships, race, ethnicity, age, gender)
The Form:
Concrete poems, or calligrams, are poems whose lines create visual imagery.
You might consider…
- Are you a mirror? Is it only you who can see your truest self?
- Are you a spiral, with pieces of you visible to others, but the rest tucked further and further away?
- Are you an iceberg, hiding most of your honest self below the surface?
- You might see yourself as something else: a flowering tree with a hidden, hardworking root system, or a flower who lays her heart out on her petals for the world to see.
When choosing your form, consider what you want your audience to take away. After reading your poem, what will we learn about who you truly are? How will your choice of form influence our understanding? As always, you are free to take as many liberties with the prompt as you see fit. Or, reject it completely!
Ashlyn’s Poetry
Mirror by Ashlyn O’Rourke
Deeper by Ashlyn O’Rourke
Ashlyn thank you for hosting today’s prompt.
I am the most introverted extrovert I know
Some days I am even too much for me
DeAnna, beautifully juxtaposed. It’s a short poem but there’s a lot of meaning and depth. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, Ashlyn! I don’t know you but I feel like I do. Your future students will be in loving hands with you as their teacher! Thank you for this prompt, the guides, and for trusting us with your gift.
I hope my image is clear enough to see. If not, here’s the text:
I am…
daughter
sister
mother
teacher
friend
creator
worshiper
baker
poet
nurturer
warrior
encourager
dreamer
believer
but deep down inside
I am the gatekeeper of my secrets
I am the holder of my fears
and the key to my freedom
©Stacey L. Joy, August 23, 2023
P.S. Big thanks to all the hosts this month! I always cherish our Open Write days together! 💙
Stacey,
Wow, I have similar feelings about myself as you wrote in the closing of your poem. Thank you for sharing today.
Stacey, as you often do in your writing, you tell the truth! We have the key to opening doors, but too often we hide those keys under the bush in the front yard, hoping no one sees where we hid them, open those locked doors, and get to know us for real!
Stacey,
You are rocking the Canva creations. Love the list poem and the way it becomes more expansive at the end. In addition to the key, I see a vase filled w/ blooms branching out into the world. You are the essence of poet and beauty in every way. 🤗
Ashlyn,
I just loved your poem, which kind of broke my heart. The format was everything!
I decided on a blitz poem: it seemed to complement the “listing” nature of my poem:
Multitudes under Seas
Whitman said:
“I am large, I contain multitudes.”
Multitudes, indeed, exist within me.
Multitudes, surprising even me.
Me, who started smart
Me who grew into gawky
Gawking at the pretty girls;
Gawky, and wishing I were they
They, seemingly effortless
They, containing multitudes of perfections.
Perfection found me at 16
Perfection found imperfect, regardless
Only I could see the flawed inside
Only I knew my secrets
Secret torments, secret shame
Secrets at home, well kept
Kept dogging me into my adulthood
Kept me from myself
Myself and I, careening through life
My self-perception flawed
Flaws nagging, nibbling at brain
Flawed judgments, decisions
Decisions made, abandoned,
Decisions made about me, for me, in light of me
Me, who at 30 rejected those perceptions for
Me, and me alone
Alone, I discovered myself
Alone, I was a woman
Woman with confidence
Woman standing tall
Tall above perceptions
Tall and strong-shouldered
Shoulders to bear burdens and
Shoulder burdens I shouldn’t have had to bear.
Bear with me, though:
Barely made it, I did.
Did I?
Did it kill me or make me stronger?
Strong opinions, strong stance,
Strong-willed and strong heart:
Heart, this is your ode –
Heart, be strong:
Strong tides await to drag you to sea
Strong wills, strong words
Words will have to sustain you
Words will need to buoy you through these seas
Seas to sail you to calmer waters, so you
See clearly through the storms ahead:
And, with firm words and raised head,
You will find the power to be you.
Wendy,
I loved seeing the Whitman lines, which I referenced in my note to our host. Blitz is a wonderful form, and yours is full of determination and expresses the self-judgment so many of us feel and work to overcome. Thank you for giving voice to these powerful ideas for in doing so, you have “found the power to be you.”
I gave it the first title, but in making it into the picture, my mind kept repeating the second alternate title, so I included both.
Poker Face/Leaves of Three, Let Them Be
You see a calm countenance
betraying not an iota of judgment
or even evaluation or ego
But this blank face is a well-practiced
mask of inscrutable beguilement learned
from years of finely honed discipline
So ask those startling questions,
attempt to shock me with your actions,
I will not unveil my inner thoughts
I honestly admire you, Cara! You are strong, firm, determined, and in control of your emotions.I like both titles; the first one goes well with the content, and the second reflects the form. Thank you for your poem!
Cara,
I have witnessed your unbreakable poker face first hand many times. I am always impressed by it. I love both your titles, it works for this poem and your life.
Thank you for sharing today.
Cara, I really admire how your poem works both on the page (yay for kindergarten days!) and through the transcription. I love the motif of 3 throughout: 3 leaves in the title and picture, 3 stanzas, 3 lines in each. It’s such a strong number! Here’s the line that stood out to me today: “mask of inscrutable beguilement”. It’s so fun to say aloud.
Cara, first the artwork pulled me in. I am in awe.
The poem hits like your discipline is palpable! I love that even though you call on us to ask and shock you, you remain untouched, unscathed.
Thank you!
Three shirts
Mine says I’m the oldest and make all the rules
I’m the most boring
they see me as wiser
in their eyes I am soaring
I’m dutifully driven
Middle says she’s the reason we had rules
but to the youngest, no rules
We’re just fools
Me, most responsible
smaller in size
though older in years
filled with admiration
from my peers
My shirt doesn’t fit
It’s gigantic in size
i can never fill it
however large the prize
I get from their love
I need bigger thighs!
Carefree, they laugh
and make jokes with each other
at my seriousness
l just act like our mother
the wiser of three.
Susan,
I have been trying to convince my sisters we need these shirts. I made the youngest and the rules do not apply to me. I love how your poem expressed how your shirt not only doesn’t physically fit, but the words also not fit.
Thank you for sharing today.
Oh, Susan, ; what a tribute to the trio! You each are special and you seem to appreciate that about each other. Your poem shows you recognize that and are pleased to share it. You know, I’m one of three sisters, too, and the oldest. My brother was born first, but I was always seen as the “eldest” if not the first born!
Susan, although “the rules don’t apply to me” — as the youngest of my siblings — I can appreciate, on occasion, how my brother, the eldest, believed that he “made” the rules, too, lol. And I’ll have you know, that my sister, the middle child, and I would only, occasionally, “make jokes with each other / at [his] seriousness.” Thank you for sharing your photo, your siblings, and your poem with us!
Susan,
So funny, honest, and loving! I hope you’ll share this with your sisters. I am in love with this stanza!
Phenomenal tribute to you and your sisters!
Thank you for your mentor poems and this prompt, Ashlyn! I can totally relate to the “bookish binge watcher” dichotomy in your “Mirror” mentor text! And your “Deeper” poem with its iceberg shape had me thinking about a story I remembered about Sue Grafton (who is on my mind because I’m working through her wonderful alphabet books!) and this led to my – sometimes – “Zoom Uniform” of shirt and tie for the camera and pajama pants for the comfort of sitting all day long. 🙂 [I tried to make a person above the line and then a “mess” below it.]
(Side note: I was able to finish my comments for yesterday’s prompt! So if anyone didn’t see my thoughts on your offering yesterday, you can see them now.)
Transcript of poem:
Here’s
an anecdote
that I like. It’s
probably
apocryphal
but I like it anyway.
It involves Sue Grafton,
famed mystery novelist,
and her morning routine.
____________________________________________________
She said that she woke up in the morning,
showered, ate breakfast (maybe in
that order, I’m not sure, hey I said
this was most likely apocryphal)
and then she would put on her makeup,
full, going-to-meet-the-day makeup
and then walk into the next room
of her house, “the office,” and
get to work crafting another Kinsey
Millhone novel.
I gotta say,
when teaching
during the
pandemic,
via Zoom,
I, most
certainly,
did not
follow
her
R
O
U
T
I
N
E
.
Ha! What a great take on this prompt! Love how it dwindles down to the letters of routine.
Another masterpiece, Scott! I enjoyed the anecdote, however apocryphal you may consider it. It didn’t surprise me that you hadn’t followed Grafton’s routine, but it looked so good with a period standing alone after it. Thank you for making me smile today!
Scott,
What a great poem. I see the person above the table. He looks very put together. Good for Sue Grafton! But I’m sure most of us went your way of looking like the mess under the table.
(Thank you, by the way, for reading and responding to my silly poem yesterday. I’m glad you thought it was funny–that means something coming from you!)
Ashlyn, thank you for this prompt. I wasn’t sure where I was going to take this, but I loved the image of the iceberg. I looked outside and my blooming sunflowers inspired my own version (image attached of my concrete poem)
sunflower petals:
displayed / hidden
optimistic / angry
confident / indecisive
witty / well read
intelligent / people pleaser
kind / slow
tenacious / controlling
organized / judgmental
quiet / anxious
Gorgeous concrete poem, Rachell! The flower suits your personality well! I love the artistry.
Rachelle,
Your sunflower is beautiful! Your petals seem to be in direct contrast with each other, with the “negative” traits somewhat hidden. And yet, they make the flower so much fuller and well-rounded!
ooooh! This is cool. All the paradoxes make a beautiful flower.
Rachelle,
You have done a wonderful job expressing the real you. Your sunflower is a beautiful tribute to you.
Seconds Before Our First Class Begins
skin mind swirls with questions of belonging: skin
skin who are these people? will they see me? skin
skin what is my place among them? is it here? skin
skin will they make me feel good? being me? skin
skin do I belong among them? how to know? skin
So I played with this one a little bit to see if I could, within this text box, capture the questions crawling beneath my skin just before I meet my students for the first time. It needs work:)
Sarah, I understand this feeling of last-second nerves. No matter how much I affirm myself, some of those last seconds before the first class can be the most tormenting. I like how the structure even gives the idea of goosebumps forming. Thanks for sharing this feeling with us. You’re not alone–you belong 🙂
Sarah, I think students might be amazed by the questions that run through a teacher’s mind. Those first few moments and days seem particularly important when establishing a relationship with students, too. I loved your question, “will they see me?” Very provocative poem! Thanks!
Sarah,
Your poem is raw and honest. Anyone who has taught elective classes that rely on enrollment numbers understands the anxiety inherent in teaching those classes. Repeating “skin” makes me feel mine on a visceral level. In terms of needing work, I love the poem as it is but understand your thought in those words since every poem I write sings “needs work” to me.
Fascinating…what questions the skin feels. This is all so true but I never put these feelings into words in this way. Fabulous mask poem.
Wow, Sarah. Thanks for sharing those questions “crawling beneath [your] skin.” I hope your day went well and that you have transforming classes this semester.
Was as sa saW
What you see
Cannot be.
My perception of reality.
For years the mirror has stricken my soul,
All my stories remain,
Untold.
Demons and Angles hide behind blue,
Striking, stabbing,
Dying to live though,
The agony of material lust,
Pain, suffering,
until ashes and dust.
There is no mirror on the wall,
Only reflections,
That’s all.
To see you, as you see me,
Is coincidental.
Conformity.
Through the mirror is where we exist,
Left to right,
A moral twist.
The other side for eternity,
Pictogram
slights of brevity.
Reality of perception my,
Living where untruths lie.
Be not can,
Only for two-to understand.
See you what,
Open your eyes
forever, shut.
-Boxer
Clayton,
What a cathartic read! I love “To see you, as you see me, / Is coincidental. / Conformity.” Thank you for your reflective submission!
Boxer, I am captured by your paradoxes. The “two-to understand” and the contrast of having a mirror and “eyes/forever, shut” . Very compelling and provocative poem!
I’m amazed that you can delve into such a thought-provoking topic while rhyming seemingly so easily. The second to the last stanza speaks to me.
There is so much here to respond to! I was taken by the moral twist of left to right. I always forget that visually how we perceive each other is not accurate. Too bad we need a mirror to remind us.Yes, Open your eyes!
Thank you, Ashlyn, for hosting today. Best of luck with your future career!
Me Inside
forever an abstract mystery
voices SHOUT in my head
I question their intentions
I try to snuff them out
search for hope and bliss
but I’m in a constant swirl
dizzy, crazed, confused
if I could only stop this spinning wheel
be free from its tilt-a-whirl−
my good could heal the world
Barb Edler
23 August 2023
I feel the movement and tumult in this poem, Barb. The spinning wheel and tilt-a-whirl are perfect images!
Barb, I love the way you ended your poem “my good could heal the world”. I loved the word choice like “dizzy, crazed, confused” with the repeated z sound mimics that “constant swirl”. Thank you for sharing with us.
Barb,
I feel these lines in my soul. I can relate it to when I referred to my mind as “clouded,” but your words feel much more accurate! I especially like the image you included. Thank you for your post!
Barb,
The sizzling energy in your poem is palpable. Those haunting voices chirp in my ear, too. Like you, there’s the “if I could…” thoughts. You’ve nailed the engrained idea of what it’s like to be female in this world w/ so many voices snapping g at our heals. Fabulous poem. Love the art, too. It’s full of energy and chaos.
Barb, I am right there on the tilt-a-whirl with you, wishing it could slow down for just a bit. I wish my voices in my head would pipe down, too…..and yet, the busy-ness of life is a blessing, too. Love this!
Barb, I can feel the movement in your poem and in the abstract art. Is it your artwork?
Yes, your good brings a lot of good to the world! Keep the search for hope and bliss.
Thanks, Denise. Yes, I created the picture. If you notice, it has an upside-down words in it. I tried to do a computer piece, but I couldn’t get it to transfer so then I just used some colored pencils to color what I tried to do on the computer. It was fun to do.
This has been another great five days of Open Write!! Ashlyn, thanks for today’s provocative prompt!
As this new school year begins, please know –
my quiet ≠
I am malleable
I am uninterested
I agree with you
my quiet =
I am listening closely
I am taking notes
I see things differently
when the moment is right,
I will speak my truth
Steamrollers are great for road construction
and not for building connection between people
Wow, Maureen, so much is left unsaid, but what you’ve said is perfectly enough. love your use of the equals and not equal to symbols in your poems. The metaphor of steamrollers not being great for “building connection between people” is striking.
Maureen,
I so appreciate this and love the use of the signs/symbols of equality, which contain so much meaning of the ways we read or make meaning of “quiet.”
Peace,
Sarah
Maureen, I love your use of symbols and how you emphasize the reason you are quiet. Your final two lines perfectly illustrate why some people are unable to persuade others. I think your title would be an outstanding poetry prompt in of itself. Thanks for sharing this important message and poem.
This is perfect, Maureen. Thanks for speaking up for all the quiet people!
Yes, Maureen, all of this! Thank you for articulating this so well! My college classes start today and my high school PDs are next week, so your poem is “spot on” for me and right on time!
Maureen,
Every person in power in education needs to read this poem. Seems they all come in like Miley Cyrus’s wrecking ball and cause so much havoc. Excellent use of not equal to symbol.
Prophetic and well-said! Relationship first, build influence and respect, then challenge the thinking. The world needs more people like you, more teachers like you.
Ashlyn, your poems are honest and beautiful. I will have to spend more time and write a mirror poem like you and others have done today. I so appreciated the ending of the iceberg poem about remembering the whispered words about you: “I’m afraid you should be too.”
Your prompt got me started on a whirlwind of thoughts about my inside and outside self. I really need to spend some more time with this prompt, but for now. This is who I am today…
Transcription:
I don’t think anyone sees me as focused and single-minded, steadfast…wait…I want to visit Zumbo, the talking dog, where can I find him…Maybe in this pile of library books here. Oh, this one is short, I’ll read it now and think about my poem later. The author is fascinating. Look, she had all these famous musicians in her home when she grew up. Now she’s a professor. No, actually, Wikipedia says she died in 2018. Do you think that bridge is going out and will make it impossible to get to your doctor appointment on Friday? Maybe I’ll work on this blog post for Friday. Those bikes are looking ready for a ride on this unseasonably cool day. First some Grape-Nuts. Then a game of Bananagrams. Yes, no one sees me as focused-single-minded. But I do play all the games.
Denise, I absolutely love your poem. I can totally hear you in this and your image of your concrete poem really shows all of these thoughts going around in your head. Although I do think you are fairly steadfast and a wonderful soul!
Oh my word, I love the rambling nature of your focused poem. I lost it on the Grape Nuts……laughing out loud, my friend. I needed this today. You are my people.
I adore this swirl whirl of a poem, Denise! I love that you diagrammed your thinking – and I feel I could clone much of this for myself. We are everywhere at once, and yet focused when necessary!!
Oh, I love that we are seeing into your hand script, not of this mechanized font, right? Your hand (thinking back to Saturday) is using the page in ways that defy these digital spaces allowed on our site. Thank you for showing this.
Sarah
Denise,
“But I do play all the games” is certainly going to stick with me! I am inspired by your decision to write in such a free form. Being somebody who always has to color in the lines, I’ll have to experiment with this! Thank you
Grape-Nuts! Now, I know this is fiction! Would anyone willingly choose to eat a “bowl of gravel”? Lol. I’m kidding of course…well, kinda kidding, lol…I love the stream-of-consciousness and meanderingness (especially of your handwritten version) of your poem, Denise! I found myself quite at home in this. Being “focused and single-minded, steadfast” is simply overrated! 🙂
Denise,
It occurs to me some folk don’t understand the fact it’s possible to hold more than one thought in one’s mind. You, my friend, can. I think it must be boring not to have a swirl in one’s head! Now, go do all the things!
Ashlyn, Thank you so much for this prompt! It is fun, and I can see my students enjoy crafting self-reflective poems using concrete forms. I like both of your poems for letting me know you better. The forms you chose also work so well with the way you see yourself.
I had two ideas in mind, the first one was to write a poem in a shape of a heart and the second one is what I actually did – my DNA want-to-be ))
This might be difficult to read on the phone, so I typed it:
I Am not Quite There Yet
I am my parents’ child striving to be
as good as they were through life
kind / caring
intelligent / witty
funny / shy
and
honest / humble
candid / calm
and
active / agile
artistic / authentic
brainy / bold
and
cheery / chilled
loving / affable
Leilya, this is beautiful. I love the DNA strand you wrote it on too. I think that DNA graphic could be a neat science/language cross curricular lesson while students consider their DNA and what makes them unique. I am falling in love with your parents because they have helped to make you the amazing person you are!
Agree!
Leilya, Oh my, what a wonderful poem and the image you created is fantastic. I’m curious to know how you accomplished it. I tried doing my art on word, but I couldn’t get it to transfer. Love the flow of your poem. You are authentic, brainy and bold! Perfect words to highlight the fantastic individual you are!
Thank you, Barb!
I found an image and then opened it with Paint program. Then I clicked on Select and chose the portion of the image (it was the entire image for me), then right click and Copy. After that, I opened a new Word document and pasted it. Printed out and wrote on it. Finally, I scanned it as JPEG image.
What a nice tribute of honor to your parents. I know you are a being molded after their hearts and souls.
Leilya, this honoring of your DNA is so incredibly artistic and moving; I’m awed by it. I can just imagine your parents would be, too.
Love the look of this! What a lovely ode to great parenting. Beautiful!
Leilya,
I love the DNA strand as a poem. This is something I see working in a science class. It’s lovely the way you focus on the positive attributes of your parents. Kudos for a brilliant poem.
Now THAT is a clever way to write a concrete poem, and the circular/helix nature brings you full circle. Every word choice fits you, Leilya. And creative is right there at the top.
Ashlyn, your prompt is similar to an activity I loved doing with my 8th graders. I called it Inside/Outside Selfie. The words on the inside are what we think of ourselves and the outside words are what others think of us. I have a busy day and will write a new poem later, but I wanted to share this.
Mo, thank you for sharing your activity. Your selfie is as beautiful as you are – love it! 🙂
Mo, thank you for this sweet inside-outside concrete selfie poem. Two of my favorites are “addicted to chocolate” and “ruins pictures.”
I adore how your thoughts, inside and out, form the lines of your self-portrait – this is so cool. I always started the school year with self portraits – this is an awesome version for 8th graders!
Oh, what a joy to see the hand crafting this work — this inside/outside selfie is a great idea.
I’m guessing, Mo, that one of your students drew this. I have to laugh. I have a really fun one a student made of me. Very humorous. Thanks for sharing!
LOL, no! It’s from a photograph from a few years ago. It was traced in Sharpie first, then outlined in pencil lightly, then the words were added and colored. All me!
Thanks for offering this opportunity to look at ourselves and decide what to share. That new iceberg form is one that would be interesting to use at the beginning of a course. Hmm. Today, I’m going old school with mainly quatrains. 🙂
Your Choice or Mine?
Small is my name, but I’ve always been tall
And that has been part of the problem.
Should I live up to my name or to my height?
That challenge has caused many a fight.
Sometimes, the fight was with a classmate
Who thought I was taking her place,
We moved a lot, so I often was new,
Would they see the real me or what they could view?
Who is the real me? I’m more than what you see,
A tall black woman with a bright, bright smile
Who ran track, as a sprinter, running less than a mile.
Because I’m tall doesn’t mean I play ball
Just ‘cause I’m a Small don’t mean I am less.
Just ‘cause I screw up don’t mean I’m a mess.
I’m learning to be nice, but often must think twice
To ignore backstabbing chatter.
Keeping in mind that I’m who God made me,
So, what you think don’t really matter.
Much!
Anna, you deliver a unique one every time I read your poem. I love the very first stanza that pictures you – the real you! Among my favorite lines today are:
“Just ‘cause I’m a Small don’t mean I am less.
Just ‘cause I screw up don’t mean I’m a mess.”
Your rhyme and rhythm make the poem even more dynamic. Thank you!
Anna, what a fun poem. You really captured the Small being tall as part of a problem for kids.
My favorite:
And that last word, Much! a sweet bit of vulnerability.
So many fabulous lines here, Anna – “Should I live up to my name or to my height?” had me chuckling…and “Just ‘cause I screw up don’t mean I’m a mess” should be a sign on the wall of every classroom.
You have my permission to borrow it as long as you post my picture, URL to my website, and discount coupon to my books, and, oh, my name, of course. (I’m KIDDING Maureen. Share what you wish with your students.)
Anna, what a beautiful photograph! I love how you show your running prowess and sensitivity within your poem. We are always working on ourselves. Perhaps, sometimes we are our worst critics because sometimes what others perceive about us is not really accurate. That’s why I love how you show what matters and enjoy that you separated the word Much!
Anna, It is a treat for me today to read one of your rhyming poems. I learned another thing about you…didn’t know your ran track.
Oh sizzle, fizzle, Anna for the win! That is some sass AND class, my friend. Your rhyme scheme pops and your last line rocks. In true Anna style. Nice and classy, and you speak divine truth here. Love the vernacular of the last line. It stares us right in the face and tells us what you mean.
Anna,
Is that you in the photo? You a hottie! Love that gorgeous young woman holding her head high. Love these lines, too:
“Just ‘cause I’m a Small don’t mean I am less.
Just ‘cause I screw up don’t mean I’m a mess.”
Speaking the truth right there, my friend.
Ashlyn,
Thank you for hosting and for today’s prompt. I often think about how complicated people are and how little I know about them. As Walt Whitman wrote: “I contain multitudes.” I love the look of your poem and decided to follow your idea of pairing, sort of.
Know It All
When…
my sister
who never
met a
punctuation mark
she likes
asks me
to write
a letter
for her
I say
I will,
so
when
my sister
tells me
you think
you know
every thing
I say
I do.
That has
the desired
effect of
shutting her
up. Now
I wear
a graphic
t-shirt
that reads:
Things haven’t
been the
same since
that house
fell on
my sister.
I texted
my sister
a photo
and bought
her the
same T.
She laughed.
I really
do know
her all.
—Glenda Funk
August 23, 2023
You are a “know-it-all” person, Glenda, for me as well. Jokes aside, I am constantly amazed by the things you do, read, share, and discuss. Such a wide array of interests, knowledge, and expertise. Your note about the t-shirt inscription made me chuckle. Thank you for this treat!
Oh, my, I love that shirt idea (perfect for Glenda) and the fact that you got one for your sister and she laughed shows so much love and understanding between you too. Sweet.
You had me giggling at “never met a punctuation mark she likes” and then you introduced the t-shirt. Lol! You make me lonesome for a sister. And, if your poem were a punctuation mark – it would be, quite appropriately, an exclamation point! Love it.
Glenda, I am laughing out loud as I read your poem. I love the humor and how you quieted your sister. The t-shirt is fantastic. After reading this and seeing Stacey Joy’s school t-shirts I really feel inspired. Very fun poem. Thanks for sharing and I hope you sent this to your sister:)
Oh, Glenda, what a delight to read such humor and poking fun. This is a beautiful love language you speak with your sister. The sibling squabbles, all in fun. She’s blessed to have a sister who will use her own strength to help her out when she needs it, and I’m sure it goes both ways. And the shirts. Oh my……I’m loving it!
Glenda, I ADORE this poem, the way you structured it, building tension and contention, only to tie it all up with laces of love. Even poking fun: the T-shirt quote kills me! Does it have the Wicked Witch of the East’s feet sticking out from under it? Just so wonderfully crafted!
Hi Fran,
No, the shirt doesn’t have the feet. We went to the Wizard of Oz museum this summer. When I saw the T-shirt my husband insisted I buy it. I actually sent the photo of me wearing it to my sister but didn’t tell her I’d bought her one. I sent the one I bought for her so she’d be surprised when it arrived.
This is just fabulous, Glenda!! I’d love to visit the Museum. On my first visit to DC, 5th grade field trip, the main thing I wanted to see in the Smithsonian was Judy’s ruby slippers. Love this 🙂
Ashlyn, your poems are so evocative…they reach deep into the soul, striking universal chords. We do remember the whisperings, the words we hear; we carry the marks, and there’s always so much more to us than what other people ever see. If we could only remember these things, we might find more grace within us for the giving. Thank you for these offerings today and for hosting.Very best wishes to you in your teacher preparation this year!
Here’s where my mind went with this prompt…
Transcription:
Billy Collins once wrote
of the dawn arriving with
her arms outstretched, offering
a small cup of light. I
am not the dawn. I want
to be the vessel, my substance
poured out each day in
infinite gratitude for
the gifts of life and
love and the
wellspring of
words.
Fran, I love your poem in a shape if a cup, but mostly your words. I thank you for generosity you “pour out” in return for the life’s gifts.
Fran,
Being the vessel—a gorgeous image—pouring out the “wellspring of words”—another gorgeous image of life-giving nectar—is being the light. You can and are both.
Oh, wow, Fran. I can feel the depth of your soul in this beautiful vessel filled with light. “the gifts of life and love” what could be better–maybe a bonus of “the wellspring of words” Absolutely stunning.
Fran, What a beautiful poem and sentiment. Bravo!
This is very beautiful, Fran. I keep going back to the dawn arriving and offering a small cup of light.
Fran, your poem is so inspiring! Especially when I think of the years we saw teachers as pitchers and students as cups into which we just POURED the knowledge we brought with us. Instead, you say, you are sharing gifts of love and life. So much more effective than dumping and doubting the students would catch it all!
Fran, indeed you are the vessel and you carry much light within. I love that you wrote this in the concrete shape of a coffee cup. Or maybe it’s a vase or something to hold water, perhaps an urn. I saw a handwarmer coffee mug, and somehow I think of all the ways that coffee and light and words and gratitude and love are all part of that wellspring. And your poetry brings all of these things, and there is no better way to start the day!
Fran, this sounds like a prayer, in a good way. This reminds me of the meditations at the back of my prayer book that I always thought were more interesting than anything! This idea of being a vessel strikes me as very humble, content and grateful. What a lovely bit of light you shared this morning!
Fran, this is gorgeous. A wall hanging for sure! I love the prayerful lines, “I am not the dawn. I want to be the vessel…”
Ashlyn, thank you for hosting us today and inviting us to take a look at ourselves in the mirror. There’s nothing like a reflection.
I tell the hard truth.
He asked for my opinion.
Then said it was wrong.
Can an opinion
be all wrong when it’s based on
long-observed patterns?
He thinks I’m too strong
but I don’t argue he’s wrong.
My mother raised me.
Kim, haiku is always your perfect tool of reflection, even as you see your mother looking back at you in this metaphorical mirror. The flow is impeccable; every word falls right, and that “too-strong” strength…is a gift.
Kim, he just didn’t know whom he asked )) My hubby reminds me not to ask questions if I’m not ready to hear the answer. Your poem reminded me of this. Love the final haiku with it’s punchline: “My mother raised me.” Thank you for sharing!
Kim- I love this reflection on strength and honesty. Honesty takes so much courage and risk, and your sets of haiku highlight that tension. I love the homage to mama at the end- sounds like she was a great model of strength and honesty. I love the pride I feel from you in the end in your mother’s strength.
Kim,
I feel seen in your poem, except the mother part. lol! “I tell the hard truth” is such a challenge these days but so necessary. Perfect rhetorical thought question. I’d call those observations evidence. I love both the deductive and inductive logic in your poem.
Oh, you captured this so beautiful. Yes, here’s to strong mamas raised strong women. Love, love, love. Are you working on that haiku anthology? (Or chapbook perhaps?)
I hear the painful sound of someone trying to box you in – which is kind of where my poem ended today. Go, Mom!! These lines made me scream out with understanding and horror –
Ahhh, Kim. I love how you open this poem. “I tell the hard truth” is such a great opening line, straightforward and weighty. Your final line shows the grace you share every day. Beautiful poem and inspiring, too.
Ashlyn, thank you! I read this prompt and am blown away by your mentor poems. They are crisp, clear, and intensely universal to all of us. I’m energized to know that you want to be in the profession with us. We need you!
At first, I wanted to skip this prompt because it felt a little too meddling. I’ve already had a confrontation with a student over a cell-phone and I don’t want to start out the year that way…I’ve been reflecting on it and ugh! I don’t want to be the bad guy all year.
BUT, this was just what I needed. How did you know?
I’m attaching my poem as formatting never works for me 🙂
Linda, Linda! I love how you wrote this to be what they see and who you are, especially the old lady glasses and the thirteen-year-old metal mouth. Of course, I’m going to mentally store “I’m confrontational?? Who, me?? Nope. I just refuse to let fear win.” That’s a great way to put it. Confession: I, too, prefer audiobooks when the school year rolls around and I’m so busy that it’s either not read a book or read by audio so I can multitask. Great ideas here in your self-perception.
Hi, Linda! I am thinking that you might be too harsh on yourself. What they see may be just what you think they see. “What is Me” paints a more realistic picture. Thank you for letting me know you better through this poem: “dependable / loyal /shy,” and most importantly “unwilling to let fear win.”
Oh yes!! This is so excellent. It takes time for students to see the staff that care about them so much as full humans, and it’s worth remembering. I love how the second part of the line describes the underlying vulnerability and strength in there. I love the “old school/dependable” tension. Also, the metal mouth- me, too! What a fantastic poem. Thanks for sharing a crisp, strong, and sweet portrait. No wonder apples are the teacher symbol!
Linda,
Like you, I am not going gently into “old lady glasses” persona. It’s a struggle. And I know these inner adolescent feelings that still lurk inside. I imagine you’re in good company. Yesterday I learned there are capes that look like markers. Kids take them to the restroom and huff on them in class. 😑 That almost makes phones feel quaint. Anyway, love the poem and share much of these same concerns.
Linda, I want to write my own version of What they See and What is Me. I will need some time to focus and really self-reflect. I love how you interpret in the second column what they see (or at least maybe the student with the cell phone this week). I especially love the last line. I’m sure some students would enjoy getting to know that and other things about you. Have a great year!