A big thank you to our October Open Write hosts: Erica Johnson, Wendy Everard, Tammi Belko, Donnetta Norris, and Anna J. Small Roseboro. We appreciate your care with our hearts, minds, and words. See you all next month November 18-22. If you will be at NCTE in Columbus, Ohio, please look up and support our Ethical ELA community there: Glenda Funk, Anna J. Small Roseboro, Denise Krebs, Jennifer Guyor-Jowett, Margaret Simon, Leilya Pitre, and Sarah Donovan. (Note: Please let Sarah know if you will be there so she can update this list.)
Take a Word for a Walk
Anna J. Small Roseboro, a wife, mother, and a National Board-Certified Teacher, has over four decades of experience in public, and private schools and colleges, mentoring early career educators, and facilitating leadership institutes, in five states. She has served as director of summer programs and chair of her English department, published eight textbooks based on these experiences, and was awarded Distinguished Service Awards by the California Association of Teachers of English and the National Council of Teachers of English. Her poetry appears in several issues of FINE LINES: An Anthology of Poetry and Prose (2015-2023); was in her own publication EXPERIENCE POEMS AND PICTURES: Poetry that Paints/Pictures that Speak (2019). Her new textbook PLANNING WITH PURPOSE: A Handbook for New College Teachers published by Rowman and Littlefield (2021) and EMPOWERING LEARNERS: Teaching Different Genres to Diverse Student Bodies is due out this Fall. She is also working with a team of OPEN WRITE members to publish a textbook for using poetry writing as an assessment tool in content areas across the curricula.
Inspiration
One way to review vocabulary words you teach your students is to have them use those words in fresh and interesting ways. You know the expression, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.”
- First, invite students to help you generate a list of vocabulary words your class has been studying and words or terms they are expected to use correctly in an upcoming writing assignment.
- Project that list of words so the students can view it as they write.
- Then, invite students to choose three words from the list and take each of those chosen words on a walk, walking one word per stanza.
Or, project the list of abstract terms and invite the students to choose a word, check the definitions, then take that word for a walk, using the word at least once in each line of a stanza of five to seven lines. Note that the chosen word is used as the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth in the line.
Process
Take a word for a walk. Choose a word from the class generated vocabulary list or from this list of abstract terms. Move this word through the poem so that it appears in each “X” position. There can be six words in each line. Use color, abstraction, or other poetic devices in your poem.
Anna’s Poem
Green about Dignity
Dignity just means we have self-respect.
Seeing dignity can be quite inspiring.
Sometimes dignity evokes green jealous feelings.
Viewers may think dignity is arrogance.
Still, stride in daily with dignity.
“Green on jealous at our dignity!”
*For another “Take a Word for a Walk” prompt, see this one from October 2022.
Your Turn
Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may 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.
Thanks, everyone, for trying this prompt today and for sharing ways you may incorporate it into your teaching. I am learning so much as I read the comments. What stands out for one may slip past another. Aren’t you glad we have this platform?
It’s a treat to meet you each month, and it’s gratifying to know that something we do inspires those with whom we share this profession.
Thanks, too, Sara. You conscientiously see that oldies and newbies get to post. It’s a thrill to see new pre-service teachers co-planning and posting, knowing that what they have to share is important to expanding pedagogical practices. Yes, it’s a joy to see oldies return with new ideas. But we’re not turned away when, like me, we reoffer a prompt that proved evocative in the past. Thanks for including the “regret” walk on this day’s page. I don’t regret joining this group at all!
Hi Anna, thank you for hosting us and providing this fun prompt! I wish I had been able to walk today, but timing didn’t work out. I read the prompt early this morning and imagined finding my “word to take on a walk” while I was out walking. Oh well. Maybe another time.
Instead, my Daily Calm meditation provided the perfect word: SATI.
“Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak.” Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavah
Sati, a Pali word meaning mindfulness
Today sati is the meditation topic
Breathing in sati and remembering softness
Center self with sati for peace
Awareness in this quiet sati zone
Coming back to find breath. Sati.
©Stacey L. Joy, 10/25/23
Oh, yes, Stacey, that does sound like the perfect word for today. I’ve never heard of it before, but you have given it life and breath and I feel more relaxed after reading it. Beautiful.
Stacey, I totally agree with Denise! Your verse is so calming with all those “m”s — “meaning mindfulness…meditation…remembering” — that lead into those “s”s — “softness / Center self.” So relaxing! Thank you for this!
Thank you, Stacey, for sharing SATI with me.
How insightful the quotation and the poem. Thanks for sharing both, Joy. Now it’s time for me to center self with a good night’s rest.
Stacey, I am reading your poem while watching Breaking News from Lewiston, ME, and crying. How longing I am for sati right now. Thank you for teaching me a new word today! I wish I could “center self with sati por peace.”
Stacey,
You’ve chosen a marvelous, calming word for an anxiety-inducing day. Words I love: calmness, quiet, peace, breath.
Anna,
This is a clever prompt. Dignity is an excellent word for your poem as you embody poise and dignity.
About my poem: I am distressed the new speaker of the house is an election denier, anti-woman misogynist, a man who stands against LGBTQI+ rights, and a threat to democracy here and abroad. I am distressed no Rs had the spine to stand against authoritarianism.
Ask
Ask the republican-controlled House why a
reporter’s ask they booed, drowned, denied the
opportunity to ask about their nominee
backing election rejection. Ask how
Americans can support him. Ask why
parts of woman’s body must ask their permission.
—Glenda Funk
October 25, 2023
Only 3 letters and yet, ask punches all the buttons in this poetic rant.
WOW! Glenda, you’re demonstrating ways educators can have students write poems using vocabulary word to connect with current events. Kool!
This makes me really think. Yes, more of us should ask! This is a chaotic world right now. I ask how did it get so? Why?
Yes!!
Glenda, it’s insanity like I’ve never seen.
My brain wanted your word to be ASS when I finished reading your intro! But yes, it’s all a matter of ASKING! We deserve answers and solutions to this madness.
Thank you!
Glenda, Amen, sister! How did that even happen? I will be asking my Republican Rep about it AGAIN. Peace and a blue wave in a year.
Here’s two…I feel like the October, haunting weather is getting to me. Thanks, Anna, for this prompt and a time to play with the idea.
Frustrating, I can’t get things done.
It’s frustrating when I can’t twist
but move in frustrating motion.
Brain, solve the frustrating puzzle!
Getting older – plain frustrating.
Fire
grey, moving whisps of smoke
nostrils full of smoke smell
eyes drip, smoke clouds my sight
soon smoke fills up the sky
smoke curls under the doorway
Susan,
You’ve touched on two topics I obsess about. I feel those aging pains and am currently reading Fire Weather. It’s frightening.
Susan, some readers may not know that 20 years ago TODAY the incident in your second poem is one we experienced during the horrid fires in a Southern California! The best reminder is thankfully there was no loss of life in many communities. We were welcomed into the home of an English department member and had to stay there for two weeks before we could return to see if our house survived those raging fires! We developed raging appreciation for our friends and neighbors who helped in so many ways. PTL!
Oh yes, I remember and I think that was what was subconsciously on my mind. That was quite a week!
Susan, I am impressed that you crafted two poems today on important and powerful experiences. I hope you give yourself some grace because you deserve it.
The smoke poem is frightening! Vivid images!
Susan, wow. Two great word walks today. I can relate to being frustrated about aging, that’s for sure. You’ve captured it with this fun verse. The Fire poem is haunting, and somehow having the way you switched up the form and had smoke going upstairs, as it were, through the poem makes it more effective.
Susan, both of your poems are very relatable, especially the second one. On Tuesday morning, we had Super Fog conditions caused by dense fog and smoke from the marsh fires. 12 miles from my house, there happened a horrifying 168-vehicle pile up on a highway (I-55) with 8 people dead, over 30 in a hospital. I have never heard about anything like this. Just heart breaking.
Hi, Anna! My daughter Emily and I visited the eye doctor yesterday for another first. 🙂
Patience personified as she tries her
thin patience out: First contact lenses.
Finger to eye, patient each try,
until, finally: Success! The patient, triumphant,
learns winning comes from struggle, patience.
Love all the versions in this story-poem!
Wendy, your poem brought me right bag to my first experience with contacts. I got them in successfully, but when it came time to take them out, I really struggled. I imagined having to go to the ER to get help getting them out. Thanks for reminding me!
Wendy, thank you for sharing. She will master the skill )) It is frustrating thought, my patience is thin too.
Patience is a good think to learn. Especially with contact lenses. It is so hard for some people to put finger to eye. Glad there is success.
Wendy,
Your poem nailed one of my issues: eyes! I’m not always patient when the doctor requires patience as we figure out my always changing prescription. I adore this walk w/ patience and how it speaks to me.
Isn’t that fun when an experience leads to a sweet poem like this? I love the double use of patient/patience, and I’m so glad she had success!
Oh, this reminded me of my first time trying on contacts! It was not easy. It got better, eventually, but, yeah, it took “patience.” Thank you for this poem, Wendy, and the memory it stirred!
Words Walking
Patience is crucial for struggling students
have patience with me, youthful daughters
Insist on patience unceasingly with yourself
As you age, patience embraces you
Rushing seems preferred yet patience is wiser
Try to exercise routinely with patience
Written by Seana Hurd Wright
Seana, a word that is so difficult to give sometimes, yet so needed when WE are the ones needing it. Great reminder! The older I get, the more patience I need with myself, so I love your line 3. I needed that.
This is lovely, Seana. I really like your second line. I’m not sure parents ask for patience enough from their children.
Seana,
This is brilliant! Every admonition toward patience is perfect, from what students need from us and what we need to and for ourselves. 👏 👏 👏
Seana, I feel like your poem goes through the eras of life, and with each line the reader is wiser and more patient. I love this phrase “youthful daughters”
Thank you for a poem with such a needed word for today, Seana!
grace I think I misuse misoffer
when grace is granted I give
what to grace to you not pardon
or mercy or grace courtesy why mine
to give or withhold grace compassion
benefit of doubt for what is it: grace
Sarah, I like your question – – why mine to give or withhold? – – grace is quite a word to choose for today, for everyday. I need to offer it more freely than I do sometimes. What a remarkable, redeeming gift it is!
Sarah,
Theres an inherent tenderness in these words and in your questioning of the giving. I often think of that twisted canard: No act of kindness goes unpunished. Still, what’s the alternative? Maybe if more offered grace we’d need less and have more to go around. A paradox, perhaps.
Grace is such a beautiful word, and I love reading more about it in your gentle asking and witnessing. Yes to grace, compassion, “benefit of doubt”
Nineteen Verified Arrangements
Patterns of Patterns, Stern!
Yearning- Patterns shall burN!
Learning– Life Patterns We Churn,
Earning— Our Path Patterns, leading Concern,
Returning- toward our Youthful Patterns to reaffirM?
Spurning– Our rash choices of Patterns, past Adjourned?
Squirming— In our Silver Haired, Aged Pattern; Infirmed.
Overturning- Our Patterns of Patterns of Patterns; irrational- discerneD.
Affirming— the reincarnated Pattern of Existence with Pattern of a Death Turn!
Terming—The beginning Pattern until the end of Pattern, the beginning Pattern is Confirmed!
Patterning our wheel, the wheel that always turns— with our hearts, our hearts always burn- —vicious cycle of aged youth or youthful age- our Patterns remain stern,
there is no after
there is only a return.
Reincarnated Patterns Confirm.
– Boxer
Boxer,
I see you using this as inquiry, the inquiry in a word in its walk around your meaning-making process. I am thinking about all your textual features with the italics, underlining, capital letters at beginnings and within for reaffirM. These are the patterns you are uncovering visibly and in between.
Sarah
Boxer, your creativity always amazes me – the way you take a form and twist it into a whole new dimension like this. Absolutely brilliant. Your words churning and return and cycle and reincarnated help me see the never-ending patterns that emerge.
Boxer, wow. This is something! I love the way it looks on the page. I love how the first word in each line gets us thinking about each pattern. And all the rhyming words at the end. So fun and also thought-provoking.
Thank you, Anna! I absolutely love this exercise, and tomorrow, when I am introducing strategies for teaching vocabulary, I will use this prompt and see, how my students will “take a word for a walk.” Can’t wait to see what they’ll write! I love your word choice. Dignity is what is so essential for humankind. I love your lines:
“Viewers may think dignity is arrogance.
Still, stride in daily with dignity.”
I am taking the word “eloquence” for a walk. I like the way it sounds and what it means. Eloquent people inspire me.
Eloquence
Eloquence—a quality of powerful communication.
Skillful eloquence captures audience’s attention.
While forceful eloquence fails to convince,
Thoughtful and sensible eloquence certainly wins.
Those, marked by this incredible eloquence genius,
Conquer incompetent, brassy assumptions with eloquence.
Oh, what a word, Leilya.
I love this unpacking and exploration as this word moves down and across the lines so eloquently. You made it look as beautiful as it sounds, and that last line of “conquer incompetent” is a powerful and beautiful phrase.
Sarah
Leilya, I think you and eloquence are a great match. You are eloquent, wise, humble, sensible, smart. All of those things. The third line – – forceful eloquence – – that is a thing I have seen, and I agree that it fails to convince.
Leilya,
Truth in every line. The line that pricks my thoughts best is “While forceful eloquence fails to convince,” which I suspect is because so many still support that inelegant, y eloquent orange guy.
Eloquence is a great word, and you revealed so much about its meaning and usage in the stairstep walk, with graceful eloquence.
Leilya,
My goodness, had I read this earlier I could have used it today in class. Eloquence is one of my students’ vocabulary words this week. Your poem would’ve made a great example for them. Maybe I can share it Friday since I won’t be with them tomorrow.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Oh, Leilya, you have made a case for learning to become more eloquent. Is that possible? I always thought some people are gifted. I do appreciate those two middle lines, which makes me think about people who seem to have “forceful eloquence”:
And that last line–so powerful!
Anna, thank you for this great prompt. What an engaging way for students to explore vocabulary words. I chose an everyday word after watching the horrific news yesterday.
Children buried in rubble of war.
Are children literally only flesh and
blood–just children born to bleed
die survive as children no more?
Adopting hatred of elders, children waste
Will reconciled justice ever win, children?
Oh, Denise! Your word and poem make me cry. I had so many losses in life, but losing a child sounds and seems incomprehensible at all 🙁 How can we protect children, the most valuable that humankind has?
Denise, I have not been able to turn on the news. The world is a dreadful state of affairs, and here we sit, mostly in safe places, while children there are buried in rubble of war. Powerful reminder today.
Denise, your poem brings tears to my eyes! I know poetry is supposed to be vivid, but today…we MUST NOT WASTE our children because of hatred between adults! We’ll just lose our own futures. I don’t know whether to thank you for this, or just say “You’ve communicated your message effectively in this walk with this word.” I stick with
the latter.
Wow! This states the innocence of children captured in the wars of adults. Very strong message.
Denise,
You’ve set the standard w/ this prom. Honestly, my friend, a love the you that uses poetry to speak up and out. You have written so many fabulous poems in which you raise awareness in verse.
Isn’t it awful.
No words.
Thank you, Denise.
Anna–I immediately thought of changing one of my lessons to this one–I love it! I found it more challenging than I initially imagined–to do anything other than a series of definitions. Then I thought about how surprising life is and went with that. Your poem is wonderful–the last line, particularly.
Surprise
Surprise: shock, amazement, bombshell, ambush, revelation.
I’m surprised at the variety available.
I’ve been surprised many times.
Curveballs, frequently–small surprises that
changed my life, leaving me surprised (stunned)
at their far-reach. Almighty surprise…
GJSands
10-25-23
Thank you for sharing, Gayle! I also considered this word initially. I just wish all surprises were kind and joyful.Love these lines:
“Curveballs, frequently–small surprises that
changed my life, leaving me surprised (stunned)
at their far-reach. Almighty surprise…”
Those curveballs that we think are the end of the world are often the saving grace surprises. Lovely way to reframe the unwanted surprises and show their silvery flash of better living.
Gayle, you have made this sound flawless. I love the way it reads so effortlessly. Some lines I almost forgot the word you were repeating. The variety of synonyms in the first line is interesting. And I love “Almighty surprise…”
I tried not
to choose
violence
today
but I guess
it chose
me.
I was
reading
something
that left me
addled,
stunned,
jolted,
floored,
utterly
dumbstruck
(which I guess
is better than
thunderstruck
but not as
awesome
as awestruck).
To reiterate,
I was dazed,
reeling,
shocked,
shook-up,
even,
perhaps,
a bit
flabbergasted,
but I really
don’t know
what that
means
(It just
sounds
painful,
doesn’t
it?)
To belabor
the point,
again,
I was staggered,
taken aback,
bowled over
(I almost typed
boweled over
which would
have brought
us right back to
flabbergasted).
Why are all
of these
terms so
violent,
so aggressive,
so, apparently,
gassy?
I was blown
away,
really,
truly,
blown away
and, to be
honest,
a bit
fumed
and miffed,
too,
when I found
out that
the word
“ripsnorter”
is a kind of
synonym for
“humdinger.”
How is that
even possible?
I’m totally
gobsmacked.
I just
don’t
get it.
________________________________________________
Thank you for your prompt today, Anna! I took a bit of a left turn (in terms of directions/format), but I couldn’t shake “this idea” once it occurred to me. There are just a lot of synonyms for “confused” and many of them are quite violent in nature (which was really secondary to the actual impetus of the poem that “ripsnorter” and “humdinger” – two vastly vastly different words can, essentially, mean very similar things – this was, for me, on par with learning that cleave can be both “to stick together” and “to split apart.” What?! (That could be, and, perhaps, should be, another whole poem itself, lol.)) What I’m saying, I guess, is that the English language never ceases to amaze me. 🙂
Thank you for teaching me a couple of new words today, Scott! I am still under impression of Denise’s poem about children taken by war, so your word “violence” triggered even further desperation.
Scott, so many times your tongue-in-cheek humor and style scream Billy. Billy Collins. He’s a favorite of mine when I need to smile or chuckle – – or laugh. I love the puns of boweled and flabbergasted and gassy alluding to good old fun bathroom humor. HAHAHAHAHA!
Kim said it for me! Your play on the topic was perfect!
You took those words for a hike up and down the side of a mountain and came down with a hilarious flip. Thanks for the humor. I need to relax about following rules and go with the flow. Maybe create a humdinger that leaves you gobsmacked.
Scott, you continually remind us f different ways students can adapt assignments and still show understandable of the concepts, skills and knowledge we’re expected to teach. It’s a pleasure to see those like you who do things their own way ..l as long as they also can show that know what they’re expected to show.
We are learning to be flexible in accepting and applauding freshness. I will no,longer belabor the point. Keep up your good work, here and in your classroom.
So fun! I love how you break form so often with your purely Scott M form. I can’t wait to read your first book of poetry!
Extraneous
By Mo Daley 10/25/23
Unimportant tasks assault my brain daily
How unnecessary when life is so busy
It’s just frippery fueling my anxiety
I must move beyond and focus
Why do I have irrelevant ideas?
Today I will ignore the extraneous!
Good morning! This was fun, Anna. I used Merriam Webster’s Word of the Day Calendar and used extraneous. Rather than repeating the word, I used synonyms in each line, which I think would be fun to use with students.
Hi, Mo! You are so wise. I like your use of synonyms in each line too. They would also help enrich students’ vocabulary. I want to make your final line my daily mantra: “Today I will ignore the extraneous!”
Oooh, Mo, I love that word choice, and my favorite synonimical version (extraneous wording) is frippery. That’s a fun word, and it reminds me of the fringe on a lampshade. Fringery frippery, extraneous shade detail……I love the way you wrote this.
Frippery— great word!
Mo, I love this idea because it makes you think about usage as well as meaning. There are so many unimportant details that pile up in a day. I’m learning to chill out and not be so anxious over the frippery.
Yessss, great twist on this prompt! I think my students would get a kick out of this method.
💜
Mo, new prompt! I want to try it now, and I think students would enjoy this format, as well. “frippery” what a word!
I, too, think this is a great idea, Mo, using different synonyms in each line! And I also agree that this “would be fun to use with students.” (Oh, and, I am with you with all the “[u]nimportant tasks [that] assault my brain daily.” There are so many: every.single.day. Lol.)
What a fun way to work with new words!
One of my friends used the word “curmudgeon” in a post this morning, so I thought I’d take it for a walk.
The curmudgeon scowls and skulks about,
acting all curmudgeon-ly: “Get off my lawn!”
His world one of curmudgeon-ish grumbling
at the misguided follies of other, non-curmudgeon-ly folks–
I dread hearing, “Oh, don’t be such a curmudgeon!”
I love that word! Makes me think of A Man Called Ove, played by Tom Hanks in the movie version. I like the first line – scowls and skulks about. Great sound device there! non-curmudgeon-ly is also a great expression like a Frayer model, and those misguided follies are….well,…..amusing!
Julie, your response to this prompt is just what we look for with our students. When they see a new word, look it up, play with it, take it for a walk and develop an understanding for the versatility of that word … as you have done here. Thanks for sharing your process and your poem.
I love your reason for taking curmudgeon for a walk today. My favorite part of the poem is the way you so beautifully used prefixes and suffixes to add even more depth and meaning to the poem. Sweet job making an antonym in line 5!
An invitation to this group to pop over to my weekly photo prompt for more low-stakes writing: https://reflectionsontheteche.com/2023/10/25/this-photo-wants-to-be-a-poem-sky-octopus/
Thanks, Margaret. Seeing how many of our group are developing alternative ways to expand the idea of draft poems from prompts is gratifying. And, you know how I like writing inspired by pictures! This summer I found the OLLI group from American University in DC found the one-week course I had the privilege of offering to be novel and pleasurable. They surprised them with the vivid poems they wrote as they viewed pictures! Glad you’re doing it to.
Hi,
I accidentally posted twice on your blog. Feel free to delete either one. I didn’t see it and thought I needed to try again. Silly me.
Love that photo!
Anna, a huge thanks to you and all of our hosts for October for the inspiring prompts and for investing in us as writers. Your word walk poem is fun, and I can see this being used in a classroom to reinforce vocabulary with students. Your word choice of dignity is one that I think more about the older I get, and the more I see my parents age. I read Stacey Joy’s poem yesterday and smiled when I saw she used the unexpected word boon. So I tried this as my walking word today. I always smile when I hear that word for some reason.
Master of the House, Doling Out the Charm, Ready with a Handshake and an Open Paw
Boon – blessing, benefit, favorable, friendly, chipper
Everybody’s boon companion – one convivial mister
Les Miserables boon lyrics loop de’loo
We have a boon canine: Boo,
who sleeps under the boon moon
awakening soon, our Boo boy boon
I think you discovered a great nickname for your dog, “Boo-boy-boon!”
Love your choice of a word, Kim! Your walks, literal and poetical,seem fun. I also smile hearing this word. So much love for your “Boo boy boon”!
Writing about our pets is such a boon, isn’t it? I just came across the Spanish word “chimuela” in a book I’m reading. It means toothless and is my new nickname for Bitty, my 13 year-old toothless Yorkie.
Kim,
This poem sings. The /b/ repetition is wonderful and knowing the poem is about a special doggie is an even bigger boon to readers. Hugs and kisses to Boo from Sun, Stanley, and me. He’s a good dog.
Oh, that title tells us so much we need to know about Boo Radley. He sounds like a very special fellow. I like how you chose this word because you saw it in Stacey’s poem yesterday. I think I will notice the word next time I see it and smile in honor of you and Boo.
Sympathy begins with sad eye contact.
Then sympathy reads your sad thoughts.
I express sympathy for your loss.
You may reject sympathy as ingenuine.
But I see you, sympathy, walking
along the worn road of sympathy.
Margaret, this is a beautiful walk with sympathy, a truthful one. It makes me think of the Browning poem I Walked a Mile with Pleasure. As I reflect on the poems you’ve written over the past couple of years, I can see your journey through the grief and sorrow of losing a loved one. It is painful. The poems you’ve written are deep and meaningful and reach deep because they are part of the worn road that we understand. Blessings to you!
Such a needed word, Margaret! We all need sympathy and, I believe, should be able to offer it at all times. Each line carries weight here. I love the second line: “Then sympathy reads your sad thoughts.” The final two lines make me pause and think:
“But I see you, sympathy, walking
along the worn road of sympathy.”
Thank you for your wisdom today!
Margaret, thank you for your dear words here. The “worn road of sympathy” is a sad, but important road. These lines are so true:
“You may reject sympathy as ingenuine. / But I see you, sympathy, walking…”
In Syn
Synchronized time to match the rhyme
Then synchronized clocks to dance away
Each hand, synchronized; a tick, tock
A foot, that synchronized the beat
A music heart, that synchronized sound
And you, to me, we’re synchronized
Kevin
This was tricky, with the six word lines and then the movement of the word. I kept getting, eh, out of sync. I also noticed that the word starting looking funny to my eyes, as if I were forgetting how to spell it, even though I had spelled it so many times. Strange how the brain works.
In Sync (not In Syn, but that had me laughing)
I love the turn at the end to you and me, synchronized. I’m also a fan of synchronized rhythm.
Kevin, what a treat! You nailed it! Your poem makes me think of the synchronized reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Bells, watching groups of choral readers using white gloves and black clothing to synchronize their movements (I watched them on YouTube not long ago). There is something powerful about synchronized movement.
Thanks, Kevin. So many of us are in Sync today, as well as in harmony. Both make great music.
Kevin, you captured it, even though you got out of syn (sync 😉 a bit when you were writing it, you brought it together as only a musician could. Your word walking poem sounds lyrical. “tick, tock” “a music heart” It all sounds lovely together.