Welcome. All are welcome to participate in the 5-day Open Write — from one day to all days, depending on your schedule. There are no set rules for the length of a poem, and you are free to modify or reject the prompts as you wish, allowing you to write whatever is on your mind or in your heart. We firmly believe that the best writing instructors are actual writers, and this platform offers a supportive environment for you to nurture your writing journey. Just scroll down to share your poem in the comment section. For more information about the Open Writes click here.
Our Host: Anna J. Small Roseboro
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 has just been published (2023). 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
Consider inviting students to reflect on what moves the characters in the fiction and non-fiction they are reading in this course. In most full-length writing, the major characters are moved from forces from inside and outside by intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. For this assignment, invite students to choose a favorite character. This may be the protagonist, antagonist, or even one of the many minor characters.
See lists at this link: MOTIVATIONS. If this length is too complicated for your current students, consider Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. “I need it and Imma do whatever it takes to get it!”
Process
Preplanning:
- Identify the motivation.
- Examples from text support that observation (What do characters do?)
- Show the result (How do others respond?)
Since the goal is to reflect on reading and show what they know in a succinct format, leave the poetry genre to the students, but ask them to respond in 9-21 lines. This will give space for writing haiku, nonettes, sonnets, and free verse. If students like structure, offer the acrostic as an option.
Or, after reflecting on the text, invite students to write about what motivates themselves!
Anna’s Poem
Mama won’t let me
Open the door to let him in.
Time she leave for work,
Ima do what I want and let him in.
Valuing not vaunting the rule
At home and at school
To do what the grown-ups say,
Is keeping me back
Outing me from inside the group
No! Imma do what I want. I don’t give a whoop!
For January 22, 2024 Open Write by Anna J. Small Roseboro
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.
Introducing, the Queen Honey Bee, Shug Avery!!!
by Tracei Willis
People don’t like nobody that’s too proud and too free,
Feel free not to like me, baby, because that’s me to the Capital T.
Too Proud and Too Free!
Just call me Vulgar,
if you sit down with the Sunday School Set.
If you get down with what’s going down,
Come on down to Harpo’s Juke Joint,
Saturday nights I tutor and give lessons
on where that button is at.
Blue, Black, Beautiful and sexually attracted to
both men and women,
but truly in love with one man and one woman,
who are man and wife,
even though she really still a virgin…
And even though he’s a hardass, with proclivities towards violence,
she still got a penchant for him.
Shug shoulda been Albert’s wife,
but Albert’s first wife was a woman
who had the misfortune of being killed
by her boyfriend and
dying in her oldest son’s arms…
And Albert had the misfortune
of his second wife being a woman
who could love and be loved
by the woman Mister thought
he loved the most.
Driven by lust?
Or was it always just a wistful search for love?
Thank you once again for hosting Anna. I love your acrostic. I have no idea what you sound like, but I imagined your voice reading this with a snazzy rhythm and inflections where needed. I love this idea as a way to connect to poetry. The 5th graders at our school were struggling with this concept. I don’t know if poetry would’ve helped them, but for some, it would’ve been an interesting experience to consider a character’s motivation and use text evidence to write a poem.
I am still reading The Fault in our Stars so my motivation today comes from Hazel Grace and she finally goes to Amsterdam to get her questions answered, specifically what happens to the Dutch Tulip Man. I still haven’t finished the book so I don’t know what happens at the end, but the scene I want to share is when Hazel Grace and Gus finally meet Van Houten. I did an acrostic poem.
Douchepants is my new name for this
Unrelenting
Tipsy
Charlatan
Haggard looking recluse.
Teasing me with sympathy and lies
Unable to answer my questions about his characters.
Liar, stop your barrage of drunken truth.
Instead, just give me what I want so I can go as I
Please back to the States with Gus.
My mother will continue to shelter me after this disaster fiasco
And I will have this memory, a hijacked Wish tainted with images of the liquor-stained
Nightmare of a home.
Blind-Sighted
at the end of sight
he na-vi-gates spa-ces he
can-not see through cloud-y
orbs. he trusts sha-dowed
forms & a red-tipped cane
to guide his foot-steps
to each des-ti-na-tion
at the end of sight.
–Glenda Funk
1-21-24
*In the poem he is Andrew Leland, author of the memoir The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight. I could not get my mind around writing about a character in fiction. I read a lot of nonfiction, and reading Leland’s memoir is personal given my father’s blindness and his struggles navigating the physical world, and given my on vision problems.
Glenda,
Thanks for sharing the memoir, your poem and your connection with the topic. You show vividly what the character is experiencing.The first line repeated at the end emphasises the message.
Thank you so much, Glenda! Your poem brought me back to 2015-2016 school year when I taught blind kids at the local school for visually impaired. I had to learn with them Braille, walking with the blinders and a cane, and assistive technology, but it opened my mind and my understanding of their world. The way you wrote your poem with breaking down the words into parts and syllables really reflects the way the speakers life and his world spin. He needs to take time to “na-vi-gate spa-ces” and “trusting” the cane is essentials to his movement and safety. You found a great way to represent Keland in your poem.
Glenda, I think your poem creates a striking contrast between being in cloudy world while using a “red-tipped cane” to guide you. Your word play in the final line is brilliant.
Glenda, what a powerful poem. After reading the description, it was even better. I love your use of hyphens. It makes me feel the tentative nature of being blind and taking small steps. Your poem makes me want to read Leland’s book; I just placed a library hold.
Thank you, Anna, for your time and prompts this weekend. I have had a busy day, but kept thinking of characters’ motivation along the way, realizing it’s such a big topic for my motivation too. I guess I felt overwhelmed with the prompt, but came back to read others…
What has taken my
motivation? No virus
to fault–Just blasé
Denise,
I feel you. I wrote a sh*tty etheree this morning, but it’s too awful to share. Then I wrote my Stafford Challenge poem, but it doesn’t fit the prompt, so I don’t want to share it. It’s like my mind’s a blank but too full to drag one character from the overpopulated collection. Oh, well. 🤷♀️
Every one of us has days like this, Denise! I completely understand, and you still wrote a haiku. I sometimes choose to just enjoy the peers’ poems and respond to their writing.
Denise, I can empathize with your emotions of feeling blasé. Sometimes it’s better to just give yourself some time to rest. I like how you open with the question because, sometimes we can’t really put an exact reason for why we feel unmotivated.
Today, dear poets. you inspired me as I read the myriad ways you each “fulfilled” the assignment using your skills of reflection to capture to draft myriad poetic forms and styles that show, not just tell, the motivation of personal and literary “friends”. What is especially gratifying is to read the explanations how and why you chose to write on various topics and about chosen people and characters. Further, it is heartwarming to peruse the comments and commendations you post to one another. You provide feedback that shows you’re reading closely, thinking critically, and articulating graciously about that experience.
Seeing how different adult learners respond to a prompt encourages me to keep exploring options so that elementary, middle, and high school students experience similar flexibility within assignments and feel safe to be honest about their thinking, responding, and writing.
Though very different in outcome, each of the poems shared today shows on-topic thinking and that’s really what we strive to evoke in our students as they encounter life, literally and figuratively. Many of you have written poems that can become “models” for our students to consider, too. Thanks for sharing!
For the next few days of this session, it’ll be my turn to be on the other side of the desk. I look forward to the prompts coming from our other educators. Isn’t this an invigorating group?
We are about to start our survival-themes lit circles in which we use Maslow’s hierarchy to think about what our characters need. I love the variety that comes in this unit, from Hatchet to The Martian to Speak to The Book Thief, survival means so many different things. I’ll be asking my students the essential question: what character traits help these heroes survive? Here’s my nonet in answer
Melinda
Surviving the double violence
A pariah, violated.
Numb, but bravely attempting
One step, then another.
It happens again.
Friends defend – SPEAK.
She bravely
Creates
Art.
Thank you! I love the way the form funnels us to the final word and act–creating art as survival. Beautiful!
This sounds like a very cool unit, Emily! Like Katrien, I love how your nonet culminates in (on) “Art”!
Emily,
this is so powerful. Those first 2 lines are a real one-two punch. The poem is a portrait of survival and a fitting tribute to Melinda’s character.
That does sound like a wonderful unit you are embarking on, Emily. So many powerful books you mention. This nonet is powerful. I love the brave young woman in Speak.
Anna, thank you for this thought-provoking prompt! I enjoyed creating an acrostic poem for Demon Copperhead—I think one of his motivations is simply to survive, so that is what inspired my poem.
Demon Copperhead
Standing on another set of steps,
Unwelcome and unwanted, so many
Revolving doors of foster homes, on the
Verge of losing all hope;
It only takes one
Valiant person to
End the cycle.
Hi Larin. Thanks for giving me another book to add to my TBR list! Your poem really leaves me with a lot of questions. Can’t wait to read this one.
Larin – I loved this book, and yes, one of the most memorable characters I’ve read in a while. I love the image of the very first line of waiting on another set of steps – so poignant and says a lot in one line. Each line has purpose. Kudos!
Larin – I love Demon Copperhead, and your first line is so poignant. Each line has weight and purpose. I love the shift in the middle and the character you refer to, also. Thanks for this tribute to a fantastic character.
Larin, your poem reflects a motivation we see at times in students of ages, including many of us here. Thanks for challenging us to be that valiant person.
Larin, I’m with Mo. I’ve vaguely heard of this book, but now I’ve added it to my TBR list too. I like the long lines at the beginning of your poem, and the line breaks to spell survive. I want to read his story now that I’ve read your poem.
What to do when a
Virus steals motivation?
Rest sans guilt, again
Or write a haiku
Which you did, valiantly.
Feel better soon, Mo.
Hope you feel better soon, Mo. Let the rest do its thing.
You write a haiku
Valiantly poetic
Feel better soon, Mo.
Ugh. It’s the “again” that gets me, Mo. Here’s to you resting guiltfree!
Mo, glad you came even though you are feeling sick. Your haiku inspired mine today!
My poem is based on the book Uprooted by Grace Olmstead which examines leaving “broken places” or small towns and rural life. It’s about brain drain and postindustrial collapse. I chose to write a nonet, attempting to capture that desire one might experience or even feel pushed to leave a homestead, etc. Thanks again for hosting, Anna.
Uprooted
goodbye, snowy hillsides, purple moons,
stoic gravestones, shadowed valleys
friends, family, traditions–
get the hell out of Dodge
seek greener pastures,
golden coffers–
before it’s
too late–
run
Barb Edler
21 January 2024
Barb,
I really heard your voice in the getting the hell out of Dodge. I like the contrast in the colors and for some strange reason the coffers made me think of coffins, maybe going back to the stoic gravestones.
Hi Barb. This is such a vivid poem to me. Your second line really spoke to me. And I love the use of italics in the last line.
Barb – oof. This really hits home as I see students in my very isolated community leave for various reasons. I had a recurring dream about a family that left that they were jumping on to a swinging rope, desperately reaching out for the other shore. I love how your last few lines catch that urgency and the need to break with that tradition to be your own person. The greener pastures, golden coffers – it all rings true with beautiful imagery.
Barb, this resonates with me so much in where I live. Saying goodbye to the beauty and the pre-nostalgia here, but the need to seek opportunity elsewhere. You captured this sadness and urgency here. Thank you.
Such an authentic voice in your poem, Barb! I love how you chain together the sketches of hillsides, moons, gravestones, valley, and then move to “friends, family, traditions.” Your “get the hell out of Dodge” and “run” sound like a call for action, a call for change. Thank you for your words today!
Barbara, your quotation could have diminished the effectiveness’s of your poem if readers didn’t know the source! It made me smile as I kept reading, though, recalling this command was for the villains on GUNSMOKE, not the regular people!
Barb, your poem is heartbreaking in some ways–I have seen “broken places”, and there doesn’t seem to be easy answers for what to make of it. Your poem shows the imperative to get out, but somehow leaves the sadness that goes with the runner.
Barb,
The nonnet is a perfect choice here. I know today I poo-pooed the notion of universality in literature, but your poem could apply to so many novels. “Get the hell out of Dodge” is a fun line.
Wow, I am loving these prompts! Such cool ways to respond to literature–I definitely plan to use them with my students!
My poem today is again from the book Babel and the Robin Swift character.
Canton-born, native Chinese speaker
Orphaned at a young age,
His mother’s life cut short by a
vicious disease.
Then, miraculous salvation,
an Oxford professor scooped
Him up, spirited him away
To the sacred seat of knowledge–
Those hallowed Oxford halls
Here, he became Robin Swift,
and unknowingly grew into a
tool of the massive,
cruel system of colonization…
until he dared
to look a gift horse in the mouth,
to pull back the curtain
and expose the ugliness
hidden underneath.
Now, what will he do
with this terrible understanding?
He, who has only ever known
the white man’s world as home,
yet is a perpetual outsider–
what part will he play
in history?
Julie, oh my I am completely pulled into Robin Swift’s story. You have captured his motivation to reveal the evil behind the curtain. Colonization is such a perplexing topic. Love your closing question. Powerful poem!
I want to read this story now!
I want to read this story now!!
Julie, Robin Swift sounds like a great character. I want to know “Now, what will he do
with this terrible understanding?” Great poem, and I think these two days of prompts are going to serve you well in school!
Was Shakespeare thinking about
character transformations or
the psychological underpinnings
acast a vast sea of troubles when
he penned act four of Hamlet,
or was he thinking this setting
symbolically represents some
trial for his protagonist or some
foreshadowing of what was to come
(and thinking of that, when did he
realize he had only one act to go,
but his main character had a one-way
ticket to the “undiscovered country”)?
Did he briefly consider renaming the play
Claudius only to reconsider (re)renaming
it back to its original title in hopes of casting
about for a solution to his problem, which,
of course, surfaced when he snagged upon
the only possible, only plausible answer:
pirates.
______________________________________________
Anna, thank you for another excellent poem and prompt today! (and thank you for your comments on my offering yesterday, too. 🙂 ) I spent more time with Hamlet today but turned my attention toward the Bard, wondering about his motivation/thought process behind his inclusion of pirates – a seemingly bizarre, “out of left field” decision, at least to my mind – at the end of his play. Where did this idea come from? Was it planned out – as many critics seem to think – or was it just out of desperation after the realization that “you can’t have your main character off stage (in another country) at the end of your play”? Or maybe he planned on having Hamlet not even get on the boat in the first place, only to “exit, [the scene] pursued by bear” until he thought, no, I’ll save that gem for another play, lol.
Scott, this note at the end makes me think of a good friend who once planned his own big birthday party and then when all the guests were there, he left out the master bedroom window and went to the beach to be alone. Main character exits, thank goodness no bears.
I love the what-ifs here.
Scott, I love the questions you ask in your complex thinking and how they come out in your poems. That last line is perfect. It makes it feel even more “out of left field” Well done! (I’m so glad you don’t just write poetry for your wife any longer!)
Anna, thank you for this prompt. I was making lesson plans yesterday and decided to add “Thank you, ma’am” to our short story unit. We have been reading poetry by Langston Hughes, so it is the perfect addition. Here is my try at a poetic interpretation of the story.
The boy grabbed the strap of the old woman’s purse.
His weight pulled him down when the strap broke.
A second later, she kicked his butt and yanked him up.
“Now ain’t you ashamed of yourself?” she asked.
Knowingly, he answered, “Yes’m.”
“You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong,” she said.
Once inside her humble abode, she made him wash his face.
Ultimately, the boy had wanted a pair of blue suede shoes.
Mrs. Louella Bates Washington Jones understood the nature of want,
And fed the hungry boy whose name she learned was Roger,
And gave him money for the shoes. He had earned her trust somehow.
Minutes later, he left, barely able to say, “Thank you, ma’am.”
Katrina, this is a favorite short story of mine. “You a lie!” I think of that line all the time – – I think how the world needs more women like her, with big purses to keep some unruly youngsters in line. It makes my heart happy to think of it, and I love your acrostic line starting words.
I loved teaching this story!!! The acrostic is wonderful! (Louella was my hero)
Katrina, I love your poetic retelling of this classic! This poem seems to say and remind of so much in so few words. Lovely work!
Oh, this is so classic, and SUCH a great January story about fresh starts. I hope you share your poem with your students!
Katrina, what a wonderful story you summarize in your acrostic. Beautiful. I’m sure this will be a great model for students.
Anna, another provocative prompt….I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction about Alzheimers as my mom was diagnosed in Aug. and I was forced to put her in a memory care unit.
I wrote this poem from her perspective as a patient and mother.
I Can’t Remember
A year ago I could walk unassisted,
Saw your hazel eyes clearly,
Remembered which day of the week it was,
Cooked my own meals.
365 days is an eternity at 92….
Now I need a walker to ambulate,
The glasses no longer help when you’re legally blind,
You have to tell me what day it is,
I dropped to 82 pounds.
Know that the one thing I’ll never forget
Is how much I love you,
Even when I yell and call you names
I chose you, remember
I miss my home
I miss who I used to be
Forgive me, I did not choose this.
Heidi,
What a lovely poem of perspective taking and imagining into another’s way of being and thinking. This shows such empathy and even agency especially in the stanza of hearing the words “I love you” and ” I chose you.” What a gift, I hope, this poem has been for you and for others reading it. I imagine our students writing into a poem the words they want others to say to them, too.
And I know your experiences will resonate with many poets in this space, too.
Hugs,
Sarah
Heidi- this such a heartbreaking thing to watch, and you express your mother’s pain eloquently. Indeed, she did not choose this, nor did you… all my empathy for you and for her…
Very tender, Heidi. This captures when our souls speak, as it seems so with the last two stanzas.
Heidi, while we extend our sorrow that you’re experiencing the emotions expressed in this well structured poem, we also see ways students can be invited to assume the persona and write in the voice of real or literary persons.
Heidi, this is heart wrenching. Thank you for writing and sharing today!
Anna, thank you for another engaging prompt. Your poem pulled me right in. What was your inspiration/character?? The character seemed famiiar.
I was compelled to write a Golden Shovel and I’m focusing on the character from Ghost who “has to learn to reconcile from his traumatic past” and that is my striking line. AI generated the response when I asked what Ghost’s motivation was.
Run or Reconcile
His name is Castle Cranshaw, aka Ghost
joining the Defenders track team has
helped him find community. He’s starting to
trust Coach. He didn’t expect to learn
that running away would not lead to
a better life, a safer life. He had to reconcile
with his suffering and with
the harm caused to him and his
mother. His father created these traumatic
memories BANG! BANG! taunting him from the past
©Stacey L. Joy, 1/21/24
Love the meme/gif (?) is there a name for this multimodal poem? What a perfect form choice for the prompt today — golden shovel. That last line is beautiful visually and so powerful in its italics and caps from “the past.” Wow.
Sarah
Hi, Stacey! I like the AI’s suggestion for Ghost’s motivation. Your Ghost learns a valuable lesson that “running away would not lead to / a better life, a safer life.” You are so skilled in Golden Shovel form, and I think choosing each line to end with a word from a line works great in this poem.
Stacey, your photo and your poem inspire me to want to read this book. I have not read it, but I understand it is pretty phenomenal. Thanks for bringing it to the spotlight today. I like the way you use the past and onomatopoeia in the last line, making me want to read it even more.
Wow, your poem is riveting. I love your Canva creation! The Bang! Bang! at the end helps show us what part of his trauma deals with. I must get this book after reading your poems about Ghost. You are a master with the Golden Shovel poem!
I learned something new with the format. I like it. There is a nice contrast in senses with memories and loud sounds in the last line. Nice formatting with the photo, as he is running away, out of the frame, but toward the light.
Another wonderful prompt, Anna! Thank you so much.
My character is the spirit Asa in Jesmyn Ward’s Let Us Descend. I am sure that my poem will not display in the format that I desire, so I’m including a screenshot image.
Asa
(Jesmyn Ward’s Let Us Descend)
haunting Asa is haunted
whirling with grief
melding with thunder, lightning
wind and restless water
echoing violent days of living
a spirit powerless to cross
to the other side
weaving rolling seeking
the broken hurting enslaved
Asa screams Look at me!
I knew you before you came!
thrashing needing torturing
there is a world beyond this
so much more than we know
Asa beseeches survival
Whoa! It did format correctly! Ha, who would have known? lol
It formatted!Miracles happen! The vigor of your words and the physical swirl create a mood of such torment–“thrashing needing torturing”
I needed to take a deep breath at the end!
Yes! It did format perfectly. Such a whirlwind of haunting, lightning, violence, weaving, rolling, screaming, and thrashing! Your poem words and structure capture Asa well. Now I want to read about him.
Maureen,
I know… I am so impressed with the formatting. I am never able to get lines indented. Well done. The spacing add such an important interpretive element in the movement in the “thrashing needing torturing.” That gerunds add that movement, too.
Peace,
Sarah
I’m loving the swirl/twister/movement aspect of your poem, and I’m glad it formatted so we could read it exactly as you wrote it – – it adds so much to the dimension.
Maureen, your poem is stunning. I love your use of powerful adjectives and verbs to show Asa’s struggle! Fantastic formatting, too. It looks like you accomplished the way you wanted your poem to look, and I love how it looks like a thunderbolt! Loved “a spirit powerless to cross”. Magnificent poem!
Hi Maureen,
I hoped to finish reading Let Us Descend during winter break. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. I sort of got irritated with all the figurative language and my brain needed a pause. Now, your poem makes me want to go back and finish. I didn’t have much more to go so maybe I will. I love how beautifully compelling the form is and you captured the essence of the spirit world from the book perfectly!
Thank you for encouraging me!
Maureen,
I, too, love the formatting and the way it reinforces your ideas, words such as “thrashing,” “whirling,” and “restless.” I see a path into the horizon in your structure.
Ukrainian Survival
Humble peasant caught in the middle
of a war between two countries
Need to be safe, no more guns
packs beehives and honey
sale for survival
find windows, light
people, peace
no war
love
Susan – your nonet is so powerful and LOVE is the strongest ending. The world needs this poem!
Ditto!!
I love a Nonet – – a great form for this poem, when you want to say a little more than a short form but a lot less than a long one. I like it!
Thank you, Anna for your prompts for the last 2 days. I’ve been reading, but not writing. I waited on the sidelines. My reading these days don’t correspond to a complex character, so I wrote about snow which is looming large in my life that past week or so.
Blue sky does not fool me.
Looks are deceiving from my window
Upon fence posts and rooftops it collects,
Snow glistens, calling for me to join
Temptation wins, I don coat, gloves, and hat
Erasing all resistance, I plunge headlong
Right into the icy belly of winter.
Joan, this made me laugh because here in San Diego it is raining. We need it but I am not used to it. When the sun and blue sky come out, I am fooled because I do the same. I put on my hat and jacket and go out for my daily walk just as the rain comes back and drenches me.
Joanne, the icy belly of winter is a perfect place to be when there is snow on the ground for playing and having fun. I am keeping my fingers crossed for some snow this winter, still. There is nothing as BLUSTER-loved as a snow day where we can sit fireside, snuggled with dogs, and read.
Joanne, your poem is chilling! I love your use of a direct voice and the vivid language especially “temptation, deceiving, resistance” but most of all your final line. Wow, what a punch at the end. Exquisite poem!
Joanne, soooo beautiful and I feel the chill!! I wish I could spend one season in snow, just to say I survived. LOL. You know we are cold in Los Angeles when it’s 56 degrees and a little sprinkle!
Gorgeous ending!
Joanne, your poem brought back many memories of how the winter snow pulled me in as a child and pulls me in today. I love seeing it glisten as it falls and feeling it crunch underneath my feet. I can just see the snow pile on the fences and rooftops outside your window, calling you to come out. Thank you for sharing!
I love every word in your poem, Joanne! It is so tempting to play in the snow, but that “icy belly of winter” sounds so real and scary. Thank you for sharing your poem today.
You keep challenging and inspiring us, Anna, and this is exactly what my brain needs on a Sunday morning. Thank you for the prompt and your thoughtful poem. Motivation is a powerful tool for any age and situation. For this prompt, I am thinking about Jing Wang from American Born Chinese by Gene Yang and his struggles with self-acceptance through his adolescent voice.
Acceptance
As I walk to the mirror, I simply
Can’t face the reflection: my eyes, hair—my
“Cultural identity” falsely praised doesn’t mean I belong here.
Everything leaves me longing to fit.
Please, I just want to be in with “in-crowd”!
Transformer’s my favorite toy; I can turn into Danny, an All-American boy
A blond hair dye, some bold moves, and playing basketball do the trick
Not for a long time though—here comes Chin Kee to teach me:
Changing how I view myself comes as a tough lesson and
Embracing the beauty of who I am makes me whole again.
Great poem, Leilya. I especially like the last line – which embraces healing and leaves us with a positive feeling.
Leilya! Your poem resonates with me as I remember being asked to help a Korean student learn English when I was in 5th grade. When I look back on those days, I wonder what she must have felt, how she navigated the space where her culture was not honored. Hers wasn’t even “falsely praised” as your character’s was. This is a powerful poem.
Thank you!
Leilya, your poem shows so much about your character and the pain one feels when they feel like they are living on the outside. Love the positivity of your final two lines. Stunning poem!
Leilya, this is a poignant representation of what Jing Wang goes through in the book. I love how you have recorded his struggles yet ended with a positive note about the importance of accepting who we are. What a lovely reminder. Thank you for sharing!
Anna,
I didn’t think I’d be able to do this one, but I got off my sorry butt and set down to type after church. I am writing from the perspective of Mike, the main character in Robert Cormier’s short story “The Moustache.” As a fan of both family and facial hair, it seemed like it wasn’t as difficult to do as I thought. That having been said, this short story’s focus is so deep, I feel like I learn something new each time I read it.
Looking at that afternoon
Our family history took a strange turn,
You’ll never know that strangeness,
At least, I hope you won’t, her
Looking at me and seeing her husband…
Taking the moustache was uncomfortable, but easy.
You can show family love, sometimes just in shaving.
Hi, Rex. I am posting right after you again. Thank you for bringing up R. Cormier and his short story. I love his work. The word “loyalty” sounds thoughtful through Mike’s voice. This line: “Looking at me and seeing her husband” made me pause and think of what she saw beyond the shaved moustache. Little things are what truly shows the bigger picture. Thank you for sharing!
Small poem, deep and complex meaning. Thank you for sharing.
I may have to read that story! Facial hair is so meaningful. My husband accidently shaved his beard off one day by using the wrong blade on his shaver. I had never seen his full face in forty-five years. I was very glad that his facial hair grew quickly…that strangeness!
Rex, your acrostic poem lends itself perfectly to your poem’s narrative. Love your final line and the way your poem progresses to this final insight.
Reacher
Marine-base child. Army-baseless man.
Inducted, habituated—fragmented.
Settled civilian is anathema to him.
Silver star on purple heart
In a folding toothbrush, drifting
Odd jobs with acute deduction, figuring
Nexts packing only Beretta in his jeans.
_______________
Okay, so poem #2 about a series character. I don’t think I have ever written two poems about an action figure from a TV show — in a row. I enjoyed this poem-ing though writing about what I am reading/watching requires much more time and precision with my words. I find that writing this way (rather than about myself or my own internal/external observations) draws me out of myself and into a space of inquiry and research. I spent time reading more about the character I’ve been spending time with on Amazon Prime. I learned a lot about his past and had to really think about the external motivation (mission) and the internal, which I think is belonging. I think the missions give him a reason to engage with others while he is wandering the country.
Hi, Sarah! It is really interesting to see how some characters can draw us beyond the TV show’s context. I also appreciate that you share your work through poem crafting process with us. In your poem, I like both of the words you chose to highlight: mission and belonging. I wonder if the word “belonging” formed while you wrote out the “mission”, or whether you made an intentional effort to bring it to clarify the mission. In any case, both are weaved in seamlessly.
I, too, was fascinated by how long this poem took me compared to my usual rambling, lol. I was quite surprised to see a poem about an action figure here – and I love it. That last image gives me the shivers, “Nexts packing only Beretta in his jeans”
Sarah–This phrase–“In a folding toothbrush”–so much is given to the reader in four words. Wow.
Sarah, I am so impressed how you have captured the essence of Reacher in this poem. I love the line “In a folding toothbrush, drifting” and your final description “packing only Beretta in his jeans” I think you really showed Reacher’s essence with the line “Settled civilian is anathema to him.” Although I wouldn’t want to live Reacher’s life, he is always admirable. Fantastic character poem and I love how you shared your poem’s intention and your process.
Wow, Sarah, I might have never considered watching Reacher but now I am intrigued! You are the expert at bringing a ton of thoughts to my mind in few lines and words.
And oh how I love alliteration with “s” words!
Anna, this is another wonderful and deceptively complex prompt. The list of character motivations is definitely making its way into my classroom.
In the service of brevity, I’m choosing the kwansaba form (7 lines, 7 words in each line, 7 letters or less per word, and usually a praise poem or poem of gratitude) to respond to the prompt.
People have been good to me, mostly.
Been met by open hearts and hands
over time, a helpful smile to counter
fearful eyes. And second chances after
falling flat. It’s those moments that make
or break. So I mind memory, finding grace
to honor the grace shown to me.
Dave,
Indeed, this prompt was deceptively complex!
I have never heard of this form, so I hope you will consider developing a prompt for us with the kwansaba.
The rhythm here is lovely and the enjambment works so well to invite a pause and ponder with the final word “hands” that lead to “over time and “counter” to “fearful eyes.” Just the right amount of distance between these words for the reader (me).
And the last line, a reminder I will carry with me this week.
Peace,
Sarah
Oh, Dave. So many positives in so few words. Your realism (mostly), the helpful smiles, the second chances. Oh, those second chances. I needed some heart warming today. Thank you. I am sending this to a friend right now.
Thank you for introducing me to a new form, Dave! I need to read more about it and try it out in a poem. Your poem feels so warm and leaves me with a sense of safety. I love the final two lines: “So I mind memory, finding grace / to honor the grace shown to me.” We all need to remember that.
I love this…off to find this form. I need to make this form a daily habit. Thank you so much for using it beautifully.
Dave, I love how your poem captures the hope we get from others’ kindness. Many times I have been the one with fearful eyes, searching for a helpful smile. What vivid imagery there. Thank you for sharing!
I took a lot of notes, not just for my students, but for myself in developing a story character. Dabble is a great resource. I got sucked in, so I didn’t get to a poem per se. I wrote a daily elfchen.
Motivation
drives us
through bumps along
a lifelong path to
understanding
Thanks for this, Margaret.
I like thinking about motivation as what gets us through bumps. Thinking about motivation as a handhold to help us keep going along the path. A comfort there.
Sarah
Lifelong path to understanding! You can say that again! When I think I know – I realize I do not – and have to go just a little bit deeper.
Margaret–A ray of hope for us today! All those bumps do have a purpose!
I will just take your entire poem as words of wisdom and, most likely, turn it into a journal prompt for my students on Tuesday. Thank you, Margaret!
I love this form new to me, “elfchen”. And your little ride here packs a mighty zing of truth.
Another intriguing prompt, thank you Anna. Another one I can use with my elementary students. Thinking deeply about the character and the plot.
Seeking More
Sharing the unknown
Always questioning
Fear creeping in
Everyday, a day of wonder
Trust, lack of it
Yet the days rolled on
Juliette, you raise a great point – – this prompt and inspiration to write can be used across so many grade levels. Your acrostic word choice is illuminated strongly in each of your lines, and the last line is so compelling – – time often weakens the feeling that the safety net has any strength and makes us question whether it ever did. It makes me think of students who feel so alone in their quest for safety.
Juliette,
Thank you for this contemplation of SAFETY, which makes me think of how it is both internal and external and a shared yet personal need. The unknown brings that “fear creeping in” and also “wonder.” I am holding onto the idea that I do not know the “trust” that others have experience and how to nurture the spaces I inhabit as trusting.
Peace,
Sarah
Juliette–the contrast between a day of wonder–a good thing?–and the lack of trust–so sad. And the days do just roll on. We can only hope to help our kids as much as we can as they roll…
Anna–thank you for this prompt, and for that resource. It makes me (almost) want to go back into the classroom, just so I can use it! If you have not yet read Demon Copperhead, by
Barbara Kingsolver, you should. It is long and heavy, but so worth it. It is the story of growing up poor in the Appalachians, with no assets and few hopes. It is the story of motivation, of trying to better, and the insidious hold of drug addiction on lives. It is truth. It gave me insight into why once it gets its tenterhooks into you, addiction does not let go. It helped me understand the power of addiction and why my son cannot shake his.
Need
Need is a cruel employer.
Need wears many masks,
but he sends you hunting to fill a hole..
Insecurity, pain, loneliness, poverty, loss…
The search begins to meet Need’s job requirements
and the solution appears.
A miracle.
A cure for what hurts you, a stopper for the hole.
A bandaid for the soul.
It starts small–one hit, one snort, one pill.
The hole is closed. So you do it again.
And again.
Need has found a new driver, a faster car.
One that can’t be outrun.
A new boss–Addiction
Because, you see, when you Need
Everything,
Addiction takes priority.
In order to leave Addiction’s employ, you must detox.
To detox, you Need time to suffer, and time to recover.
But you Need to work, because you Need money to pay the rent.
In order to work, you Need the drug because it hurts too much to stop.
You’d like to go to rehab, but you tried it before
and it failed and
in order to go to rehab
you Need money and time
and you don’t have either.
So maybe you’ll detox at home,
but that failed before, too.
And, anyway, it is what it is,
And, after all, it is so much easier
to just keep going,
to meet the most pressing Need.
So you use the money you were saving
for a decent car to drive to work
to buy the Pills you Need to be able to work,
but then the money you Need for the rent and the car
is gone because you Need the Pills
in order to be able to work,
because you Need to pay the rent
and buy the food and buy the gas
to get to work
and the car broke down again
Need. Always. Wins.
Gjsands 1/21/23
Gayle, thank you SO much for sharing your deeply moving poem today, shedding light on the cycle of addiction. I think that one of the things I love most about this writing group, besides the writing, is the connection that occurs between us – we all have our struggles, and you and I share a common thread here. We build trust and understanding, and as one who has had children go through this as well, I know the tears and the anger and the disappointments – and the courage it took to write this poem, and even more to share it. I’m hugging you, thanking you, and standing beside you, friend. And I’m ordering that book today.
Gayle,
Wow. Need always wins. From the very first line this pulled me in. The poem pulls back the curtain on addiction and the maddening spiral downward that it creates. Thank you for this.
I am enlightened by your poem Gayle. This is one that gets your reader thinking, replacing the need with another. These lines were a great lead, “Need wears many masks,
but he sends you hunting to fill a hole.” Thank you
I read Demon Copperhead and your poem is simply perfect–both for the character’s perspective on the subject and its personal component. Thank you for this very powerful poem.
Addiction is such a crisis here on Cape Cod. I love how you capitalized Need every time. The last line gave me goosebumps.
This is so sadly, powerfully true. “The hole is closed. So you do it again.” That is it in a nutshell. You have so many lines with excellent descriptions of the way addiction works. Demon Copperhead was such a great book to use as a basis for this poem. I am sorry to hear about your son and hope that he soon sees that he deserves sobriety; my own loved one is recovering – and I know the torment of the journey.
ooooooh! I’m just starting to listen to Demon Copperhead now. It is intense…I can tell the part I’m in is leading to something big. Look at all the challenges in this poem. So much story in even ONE. But, there’s folks with all of them. Well done.
Dear Gayle… I’ve read the book. I’ve recently read a lot about addictions to prescription meds, especially “Oxy” (ref. Demon’s mom) just trying to understand the vast scope of our opioid crisis, the black market, the turn to heroin because it’s eventually cheaper and more readily available. I’ve read the words of addicts and of their families. Your poem conveys it all in a profound way – it’s all wrapped in “need”. Need becomes the master – an utterly merciless one. Your haunting last line echoes the truths other mothers have said about addiction. The cycle is so indescribably vicious (as is detox, I understand; maybe worse than vicious). I pray strength to you and your boy, for overcoming. Thank you for your incredible courage and the powerful gift of this poem – it is indelible.
Gayle, thank you for sharing this powerful, eloquent poem. You capture the complexities of addiction and the insatiable need that so often takes over. I found myself reading faster and faster as the momentum built up in your poem. Stellar use of spacing to emphasize different words and phrases. And your last line–wow. This is a poem to be shared!
Anna, day two of a rocking prompt to help teachers see what students know in an engaging prompt that challenges students yet keeps the learning creative and fun. Your poem shows the understanding of the inner rebellion and need to belong that so many book characters and so many of our own students feel, and I love that you used an acrostic for your starting letters of your lines. Thank you for investing in us as writers today. Your prompts rock!
I thought of the book I’m reading, An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor, and decided on two limericks today, showing the relationship between the old doctor O’Reilly and young doctor Laverty. (I changed the last line of the first limerick about twelve times…..you can guess the obvious struggle with that last word, but I kept it clean since it’s Sunday).
There was a young doctor from Belfast
whose countryside practice in green grass
was learning the ropes
in this village of folks
from an old mentor doctor with wise sass
When Laverty finds Doc O’Reilly
he bites his tongue, sees raw truths wryly
patient respect is a must
as country doctors earn trust
before they’re regarded so highly
Kim–love the lightheartedness here. And I am SO glad you didn’t offend my delicate sensibilities with that last word! 🙂
This makes me smile. I love “an old mentor doctor with wise sass.” This idea of earning trust before being regarded highly – I rather like this, too. Wonderful limericks, Kim!
Kim, your poem is inviting. I will have to check out An Irish Country Doctor. How clever (and challenging) to use the limerick.
Ha! “wise sass” made me chuckle.
I like the second limerick very much. I can see this published for office decor.
Kim, I’ve loved limericks since I was a kid; I can recite the first one I ever read (it’s clean, too, lol), There’s a special joy in reading/writing this form – the rhythm, the rhyme, the build- up to some surprise or truth in the last lines. Yours are marvelously crafted, a delight to the ear. What a fun, fitting tribute to these Irish characters – and lessons learned.
Kim, you’ve got the limerick rhythm and rhyme perfectly captured in these two poems. I always struggle with limericks, which makes me doubly impressed by your craft. Love how you show so much about your character in these two poems!
Hi, Kim! I love limericks for the playful mood they create. Your skillful narration of the “wise sass” made me smile, but you brought up the serious issues of learning, respect, and earning trust. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Anna, thank you for gifting us with poetry that can be used for reading reflection as well as writing. There is much to ponder in your words, “outing me from inside the group” as I imagine kids frequently feel in response to adult decisions.
2081
Harrison broke free from the chains
that bound him to mediocrity,
imprisoned him by inequality
only to be taken down
by the system
when he spoke out
broke out
woke out
briefly
awakening the damn nation
to his damnation
Jennifer, there is so much here in these 11 lines – restraint, freedom, imprisonment, outcry, awakening. My favorite part is the way lines 10 and 11 dance together in those plays of words that together have such impact, where one alone would not have that kind of power. Your rhyming with broke out and woke out in that repetition is stirring here.
Jennifer
–The rhyme at the end was so effective and the short phrases added a punch to the message!Jennifer, thank you for sharing. I love, “awakening the damn nation/to his damnation.” We recently read “Harrison Bergeron” in Pre-AP English II. It is on tap for tomorrow for English II if we go virtual due to icy weather.
“woke out” is a perfect. Woke is a word being thrown around a lot these days…but woke out is different in a fresh way.
Jennifer, magnificent rhythms and wordplay here. Contextually, that one little word, “briefly,” carries the weight of the world and of all the oppressed in it…
Jennifer, you’ve captured the essence of “Harrison Bergeron” so well in this poem. I love the language you’ve used and the powerful punch you deliver in your last two lines.
Jennifer, I don’t know the story of Harrison but your poem tells of a strong person and also of the truth and frustration caused by the system. It highlights the divisions in our country and how freedom and opportunity for all is often not taken seriously.
With his mother crying but not remembering why…Nice work, Jennifer. I like the repition of out as a rhyme, as it ties so well to escape. Nice emphasis with briefly being alone, between the two strong rhymes. It almost takes on the role of an afterthought, like Harrison breaking free.
What a great prompt! The line, “outing me from inside the group” gets to the heart of the matter. Wonderful line. Thanks for getting my brain thinking this morning.
S ilent, that’s what I’ll be when
E veryone is guessing…
C ould she?
R eally, it’s nobody’s business.
E ven if –even if
T hey want to know.
S atisfying curiosity is not my role.
Linda, your poem both makes a point about remaining silent as “satisfying curiosity is not my role” while provoking curiosity simultaneously. I am meant to be satisfied at the end of the piece but curiosity makes that ever so hard – thus proving the conundrum, and the strength of that character.
Linda, I love this acrostic with SECRETS – – the internal dialogue of the speaker, the problem defined, the solution decided. I particularly love that this is an issue that students face….(where else? On Facebook and other social media platforms) ….when the chatter gets going, and your poem rests at the end with the role responsibility for self making good choices. The world needs more poems like yours.
Linda–please, do tell! This is a mini mystery in just a few lines. The repetition of “even if” adds to your power!
That last line has been something I’ve been grappling with: Is this mine to do? You just hit two birds with this one!
Linda,
This poem really resonates. So much truth here. I wonder about the “could she?” I’m tempted to want to know.
And the repeated “even if”—the temptation to reveal. And then the resolution of the last line is perfect.
So full of intrigue, Linda! But that is the pull of secrets. It’s so powerful to be able to keep – to choose to keep – something to oneself.
Anna, I love acrostics – they are powerful, ancient, biblical, and, I think, underused. Love the strong voice and sense of story in yours.
Your prompt brought many little faces to mind this morning, elementary students who struggle with self-confidence…
People don’t
Really see
All that
I can be.
Speak a word (please?).
Empower me.
True! Oh, so true. I can see this as a poster or an anchor chart for acrostic poetry. I like the word (please?)
Fran, I can feel the yearning from those little faces. Your poem speaks to the power of a single word and the focused impact it can have for that one (or those many). Praise is empowering, indeed. The placement of please within parentheses, emphasizing the lack of confidence, especially as it sits after a command, is impactful, thoughtful, and so well-placed.
Fran, I agree so much with your words about acrostics. And that word Empower in the last line is such a compelling verb. The call to speak out to empower and reveal what others rarely see is needed, particularly for our little ones. I think this should go in your school’s parent newsletter – – such a powerful reminder for parents and teachers alike, to empower our children.
Fran–so very true. And so needed–“please?” It takes so little to empower our students…
“Empower me” is a poignant line spoken in a child’s voice. They can’t always verbalize their needs, but this one is primal. I need to keep it in mind when interacting with my students’ writing.
Love this, Fran! Going to use it before I pray. Thank you!
Love this word for motivation – and that E – Empower me!
Fran, your poem touched. my heart. Especially poignant are the final two lines, “Speak a word (please?)./ Empower me.” Sometimes, I realize that I did not even look some of my students in the eye during the course of 50 minutes.The need for recognition or even simple acknowledgement is real and so important.
Thank you for sharing such a motivational prompt!
Teach
I Reach, Influencing Each
Nurture Everyday- Notes Xeroxed
Shhh! Quiet, Quiet Please!
Pupils Understnd Uplifting. Instruction
Imagine Ideas Increase Rigor
Rise Read Repeat Everyday
Exprnce Entrtainng Enjymnt Daily
-Boxer
the Picture shows how the work appeared on my end 😃
Cool! I love how you lined up the rhyming words. It’s like a spelling list poem for teachers. great words that all work together perfectly.
Oh, I love how you did this! Very creative. Words rang out so true. Thank you!
Boxer, I love the placement of your words, the added challenge of crafting a poem both vertically and horizontally, and how expired is the only acrostic in the past tense, thereby emphasizing its meaning in yet another way. The more I look, the more I see!
That brain of yours and your outside-the-box thinking is so inspiring. I’m glad you shared the picture in the comments, because the formatting really helps me see all that you have going on here. As always, mind-blowing and cerebrally energetic.
Love the ‘word list’ for teaching – each word so very important. I adore the misspellings of the last line “Exprnce Entrtainng Enjymnt Daily” – and think, yes, teaching means making mistakes daily. Thanks for this!
Anna, your prompt got me thinking of a classroom story my colleague told me the other day, so I turned that scene into a poem.
Kevin
The paper project handout,
an imagined horn of plenty,
folded gently, with barely a sound,
until the moment of reckoning,
like a herald announcing the entry
of royalty to the room with a groove:
duh-duhhhhh-dahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
duh-duhhhhh-dahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
duh-duhhhhh-dahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
and then it’s the hand, beckoning,
another moment on the stage
with the actor, removed
Ha! I got it immediately. Sounds like my last week. Great capture of a moment.
Alas, poor actor! I can see the glow of fun-loving faces and the mischief on the herald’s while playing that long, loud fanfare. Kids are hilarious…and spontaneously, innately creative.
I can see and hear this whole situation unfolding much less gently than the initial folding moment. Oh, those decisions and the quick reactions afterward!
Oh, the imagined horn of plenty, diminished at the end. The onomatopoeia of the trumpet heralding an announcement is so well placed in the middle. That moment of reckoning comes.