Day 3, March’s Open Write with Dr. Kimberly Johnson
Kimberly Johnson, Ed.D., is a literacy coach and media specialist in a public school in rural Georgia. A former public school classroom teacher for 20 Years, she taught all grades except 4th and 12th, and she is the author of Father, Forgive Me: Confessions of a Southern Baptist Preacher’s Kid.
Inspiration
As we consider the impact that Amanda Gorman’s poetry recitation has had on the multitudes of people who now believe more firmly than ever in the power of words to effect change, it’s a blessing to look back at the experiences that we have shared in this group and to savor the joyful reading and writing of poetry that has not been lying dormant for us as it has for so many. We breathe through pens by sharing poetry within this group each month, and perhaps we all harbor secret dreams about collaborating on a text for teachers to use that include all of our voices through our prompts, mentor poems, and feedback comments that offer teachers and students a glimpse of what it feels like and looks like to be part of a writing community. I believe that our inky fingerprints over the past few years would be gold in the hands of teachers and other writing groups.
I once asked a friend named Jill how she got to be such an organized principal. “I think it was because my mother gave me all her old empty spice jars when I was little,” she replied. “I spent hours and hours organizing those jars in different ways, and so that got me thinking about organization at an early age.”
A couple of years ago, Sarah Donovan shared a thought of organizing a presentation proposal on verse in verse. That thought has not stopped spinning in my mind, and I started thinking about how I might write a table of contents organizing my poetry for the poems I have written over these past few years in verse.
Process
Imagine you are creating a collection of your own work, and try your hand at an organizing poem today using a format like the one below to be a table of contents or any other feature of a book. In this version, for example, Chapter One would be “The Smiles, The Fears, The Laughter, The Tears.” It would contain poems coded for those themes.
Kim’s Poem
Your Story
your story
the who
your life
the you
the smiles
the fears
the laughter
the tears
the reading
the school
the lessons
the rules
the truths
the dares
the risks
the prayers
the seasons
the phases
the heartaches
the praises
the family
the friends
the losses
the wins
the adventures
the chases
the journeys
the places
the people
the villains
the heroes
the champions
the daybreaks
the sunsets
the victories
the regrets
the plans
the dreams
the truths
the seems
the joys
the sorrows
the yesterdays
the tomorrows
the hurdles
the grit
the drive
the quit
the tables
the meals
the loving
the feels
the mysteries
the talks
the rides
the walks
the hobbies
the fashions
the pets
the passions
the hopes
the wonders
the worries
the blunders
the questions
the choices
the answers
the voices
the moments
the chances
the music
the dances
the living
the times
the memories
the signs
your story
the who
your life
the you
Your Turn to Write & Respond
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. See the image for commenting with care. 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.
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Heirloom recipes:
Grandma F
Beans
Biscuits
Cherry pie
Chocolate gravy
Corn bread
Fried eggs at midnight
Grandma K
Scalloped potatoes
Aunt Willa
Strawberry cake
Aunt Jean
Fantasy fudge
Perfect iced tea
Aunt June
Brownies
Aunt Linda
Hamburger stew
Aunt Theresa
Tossed salad with avocado
Aunt Phyllis
Zucchini bread
Mom
Beef stroganoff
Goulash
Hello dollies
Spaghetti
Uncles
Beer
What a wonderful way to organize memories. This has me thinking of my grandmother and all the recipes we talk about wishing she had written down…how food is so often at the center of so many of our memories!
I love the idea of organizing a life around food…and the foods we inherit from our people. What a nurturing collection!
Thanks for the prompt! Tonight was parent-teacher conferences, and my brain is fried. Nevertheless, I wrote down my (tired) lines!
Years in the Life
1. Only Child Bliss
2. Brother Gives Golden Gift for Golden Birthday: Chicken Pox
3. Goodbye, Cabbage Patch Dolls! I’ve got a sister now!
4. Miss Connie Taught Me To Number
5. This is the year I learned about mortality.
6. A Dress Code Violation on the First Day of Kindergarten.
7. Catholic School: A deep dive into the root causes of guilt
8. The year I pretended to have a Southern accent
9. The year I pretended to like basketball
10. What I learned by taking popular lessons.
11. Multitudes, or, Help! My religion teacher has Hey Yah as her ringtone
12. Welcome to 6th grade: try not to cry when the teacher gives you unfair detention
13. Nurse, why does my stomach hurt so bad?
14. Atonement chapter for perpetuating the rumor that Kenzie stuffed her bra
15. Dedicated to Al, my bus driver for 10 years, and to whom I’ve spoken zero words
16. Steps to making a 1999 rusted minivan the car everyone envies
17. Surprisingly Extroverted Summer 2011
18. The one where I graduated
19. What to do when your random roommate eats YOUR Easy Mac on the first night of college
20. What do you mean not everyone has the same lived experience as me?
21. The year I discovered beer.
22. When traveling to Asia, remember these tips
23. Game: School. Level: Teacher
24. How to move cross-country without losing your mind.
25. A revisit to chapter 7, the one about guilt.
26. Pandemic, Homeownership, Wildfires. Oh my!
27. Zoom Etiquette for Beginners
If only I were young enough to do a year by year without losing my audience from exhaustion. This is fun and I like how, as a table of contents, the stories would expand on the titles. This is what would make you turn those pages. Nice job–hopefully we’ll both be less brain scorched post conferences tomorrow.
Rachelle, I’m so glad I found your poem this morning. I love how each line is specific, yet speaks to something larger: “Nurse, why does my stomach hurt so bad?” Like Cara, my own attempt at this would be 61 chapters–and I’d have several years I’d have to say “Forgot this year”! I want to encourage you to keep this poem ALIVE! Add to it on the eve of each birthday! It’s a gem. (I remember 23 so fondly!) xo
I agree with Cara! But still a fun approach to this topic. These remind me in a way of the six-word memoirs – there are clearly whole stories in each of these to be explored, but the few words can also convey whole meanings. There are so many that resonate with me, but I connected ‘snap’ with 9. The year I pretended to like basketball. Something all tall kids are supposed to love, but alas.
a month of writing
407 Victory Drive
I grew up with assassinations
magnolia trees
two sides of the candy counter
sans training wheels
salt water taffy
looks back at fifteen
closest thing to a miracle
2701 Rockingham Drive
freckles
dog honors the dog who taught him
three dogs
most mornings
Cathedral Lake
a shift in my life left an empty space
come on home
covid footwear
don’t think it’s safe
at the table
with my daughters in bed drinking coffee
I loved the prompt and the idea of containers and using verse to identify the poems.
Jamie, I really enjoy the interplay between your separate lines as separate lines but also how they connect with each other, too: “don’t think it’s safe / at the table / with my daughters in bed drinking coffee.” And there is so much packed into the line “a shift in my life left an empty space.” Thank you!
I also considered using addresses as containers, but I wasn’t sure how to do it. You did it really well, Jamie. Thanks for this piece!
I love how different ones of us used the prompt to discover containers that worked for us. I would like to steal this idea and have my students write address poems. This could also be classrooms: Room #102…Room #400…
I’m intrigued by two sides of the candy counter – Did you work there? The sweetness of Magnolia and saltwater taffy blend beautifully.
This particular list is such a roller-coaster. As quickly as I read each line, I am smiling, frowning, aww-ing, back and forth, over and over. This one in particular strikes me, “most mornings.” It seems so innocuous, yet there is something in the “most” that resonates strongly in my thinking. So many subtleties here, and how each reader responds so similarly or distinctly to each has amazed me through all these works. Sweet.
I have often organized my life around my addresses…each move represented an important shift in my life and perspective (I even played around with the idea of shaping my poem’s table of contents around place). Like others mentioned, I like that each line can stand alone as a thought/memory/idea…yet they interact with each other and tell a bigger story. Thank you for sharing your poem with us!
This was a tough one for me. I restarted several times.
Compendium
In the beginning
We know precious little
The limits of the yard
The names of our teachers
The games we like to play
Soon
Things begin to change
Friends take precedence
School becomes good and bad
Family stays complicated
Then
We approach adulthood
We know less than we think
The games have higher stakes
Choices have consequences
After
Decisions seem definitive
Distances become insurmountable
Compromises are made
Lessons are learned
Eventually
Freedom is obtained
Light returns to life
Stretching isn’t so hard
Bravery becomes instinctual
Sometime
Things find a rhythm
Children grow up
Outcomes are anticipated
Blessings are counted
One fine day
All will be understood
Acceptance will not be a trade-off
Pride will be appropriate
Self-respect will rule the day
Love your structure . . . how you have different adverbs/times for each stanza. They mirror the rhythm of life very well.
I like the final chapter that begins with “One fine day”
Cara, this is a lot like what I wanted to do today, but you’ve done it so much better than I could have. Your structure is perfect. Love the progression!
How did you whip this beauty out on parent conference day? This turned out fantastically, Cara! I love the headings, the journey, and the theme. Thank you!
Cara, Your opening words grabbed me:
“In the beginning
We know precious little
The limits” (of the yard).
You made me think about how “in the beginning” we do NOT know the limits–of anything, really. What is the limit if I…
make a gesture of friendship…
try to juggle…
go for a walk…
I’m going to think about the beauty of NOT KNOWING limits today.
Thank you for this thoughtful compendium (what a great word!)
Questions Plaguing a Middle (?) Aged Woman
By Mo Daley 3-15-21
Is it time to stop coloring my hair?
Are skinny jeans a thing of the past?
When, exactly, did I turn into my mother?
Is it too soon to retire?
What will I do if I retire?
Who the hell is Megan Thee Stallion?
Should I care?
Will I have to care for my in-laws?
How much wine is too much?
Mo — Every question is a loaded and really honest one. I chuckled with the lighthearted “hair” and “turning into my mother”… but the end line is the laugh out loud… and maybe cry a bit! Even the title… so real, so real, so real! Happy Monday, my friend! Susie
Mo, I’m laughing out loud. You are so on point with every one of those questions- though I did have to Google Megan. I’ve been wondering about that first question for about a year now – I still foil. Skinny jeans are gone for good in my Georgia closet! But…. I do have the answer to the last one! I bought it off a winemaking fortuneteller at a tasting room in North Georgia. It’s on a sign in my kitchen. It says: wine isn’t the answer, but it helps you forget the question. So i guess it’s a lot like the vacuum cleaner that vanishes cord-first of its own suction. In other words, keep pouring. I absolutely love this table of contents! Focusing on middle age is a fantastic way to sharpen the lens and make new friends!
How did you know so many of “my” thoughts?
The question mark after “middle” really spoke to me. My age may say one thing, but dang it, that’s not how I feel! I love the questions–and share SO many of them in my mind. Please tell me I haven’t turned into my mom…sigh. Thank you for letting us share in your angst.
I love your use of questions. As I looked at the task I considered using questions. And I particularly liked – Who the hell is Megan Thee Stallion? and then. you go on.
? I didn’t know who Megan Thee Stallion was until I watched the Grammys last night. Seeing her and Carli B on stage together was quite the shock to Ken’s system. I actually asked Google if Carli B has tatts on her ass to double check myself. Anyway, love the questions and have asked them all myself.
I love it! If this is any consolation, I had to ask about Megan too. In my mind I was picturing Lizzo as Megan. Not good, especially if my son or daughter found this out. LOL. I do color my hair and I say keep coloring it if you want!
The only thing we don’t have in common is caring for in-laws.
Such a fun line of questioning!
Mo, I’m glad I came back this morning and found this! My journalists are writing a story about Gen Z language. They put out a poll on Twitter asking which word kids used most:
Bet
Lit
Periodt
No Cap
The only one I thought I knew was “lit,” but I’m guessing the meaning has changed! That leaves me with
Should I care? (no)
Will I have to care for my in-laws? (yes)
and
How much wine is too much? (yet to be determined)
Hugs,
Allison
Glossary to My Poems
Amblyopoeia. My happy orb is off on a stroll.
Attendance. How here is she? How here am I? How here should we even be?
Devil’s eye. The glowing tip of a Marlboro light
Dissection. His tidy insides disrupt my thinking.
Kylie. Horatio Alger’s matriarch.
Meeting Places. In the tea-kettle whistle; between the baby’s sigh and the mother’s shoulder.
Nature. A strand of hair against my cheek, the hovering buzz of my fingertips on the keyboard.
Rustle. The magnet of sunset, October.
Sauerkraut. Diva.
Allison — Several things I love about this… the alpha glossary is a dandy structure. I love having a new word…that amblyopia is a new one and a goodie! But the meat of your images and questions… the self-made Algier and Kylie Jenner reference … fascinating connections. The “Devi’s eye” of a cigarette… your poems that have referenced those forays into sneaking cigarettes as a kid… made me smile to think back on that. I love the beauty of the “meeting places” as a moment between a baby’s sigh and mother’s shoulder… gosh, that is an exquisite moment. Each of these brings back images you’ve shared over the last many months. Right down to this week’s sassy kraut! This was fun to read. Thank you, Susie
Allison, you are even alphabetical with your glossary! This is thought provoking and fun. Attendance is my favorite. I need the attendance questions on the BACK of a t-shirt!! Your alphabetic approach makes this fun and humorous! And I love that you put the words in bold.
Oh, do I love this! Now, I need to go make glossaries. This has been the best prompt! Love your words and definitions. Sauerkraut?
The word nerd in me loves this–such juicy words and images! I think the smidgeon of detail you give after each word is just enough to sketch a picture–and then on to the next. Lovely, rich, and fun!
Wow, the alphabetizing works so well. I think I’m in love with:
The vast differences between them but the connectedness of how the bring a “meeting” of some sort. I love that.
I recognize these lines, and what lines they are! Thanks for letting us revisit your poems with you.
I’m eager to do more with this prompt. Sooo good with so many options. I think this might be a start to sections of the books with poems falling under each verb that the poems have led me to. When I went back through all of my poems, most are definitely digging back through my past and trying to process/make sense of things. And since my kids are eager to see them, I was thinking about how to structure a collection. This is nowhere near there, but I wanted to submit something on this crazy day.
Memo
To: Generations to Come
From: Susan/Mom/Granny
Date: March 15, 2021
Re: Therapy Poems
Recall
Relive
Remember
Rehash
Realize
Rehab
Rebuke
Reaffirm
Reawaken
React
Recapture
Reassure
Recover
Reconcile
~Susan Ahlbrand
15 March 2021
Oh wow! Just wow! A Table of Contents from one person with multiple relationship roles, dated in memo form to future generations. Have you ever read Brother Eagle, Sister Sky? It’s illustrated by Susan Jeffers and is a message to future generations from Chief Seattle. It’s stunning, just like this concept of the Re at the beginning of each word, the idea with RE being that all of nature circles and comes back again. Returns. Recycles. Reappears.
You have given this great thought on a busy Monday – you swam to depths and came up with a box full of treasure! You have real pearls of wisdom, and what a gift!
Oh, goodness . . . I hope I didn’t inadvertently steal from Ms. Jeffers. 🙂
No – she was the illustrator! I think it’s a great way to structure the contents. Chief Seattle didn’t have the modern day email approach to his message! ? yours is definitely an original
This is great! I love the simple structure and the repetive R. It shows so much about your being Susan/Mom/Granny and thinking about life.
Susan,
This is brilliant! Love every word!
I’m not sure what it was that caused my initial reaction, but I simply laughed out loud at this listing. I suppose it was the sense that – yup – this is what I would be saying to my future self (not pun intended) reviewing my work and reconsidering all that ‘thought process’ content. But also, to future generations in general – is there really anything “new”? That’s always the question. What does it mean to be authentic? What does it mean to be unique? Innovative? Or is it all just “re” of former generations. Even just within ourselves, we do so much of the “re” work as we go through life. Is it healthy? Not healthy? I just have so many thoughts after seeing the words in this form. Love that you felt pressed to just get something posted here – sometimes it’s the fastest with less censoring ( and revision) that draws the most raw emotion from the reader. Kudos.
You had to be there
STL
Little books
How a library smells in the summer
Cafe Manhatten
Braces and Glasses
Rhapsody in Review
Lesterville
Doc Venom
Take me to the river
Hypnotist
Belonging
Chicago
Bikes
Little Hawaii on the Prairie
Doing good?
A simple reason you didn’t love me
Bowling ball snake
Rhode Island
Squid Dissection
What not to do when a friend gets cancer
Lungs
Wonder
Keene
Antioch School of Witchcraft and Teaching
Fishbowl Angels
Like you would never believe
The Tree
You don’t have to be the best
Maine
Stevie Wonder said so
Lane’s Island
You brought a teddy bear to 6th grade
Drowning a blue lobster (misadventures in teaching)
Dandelion Clocks
Tide pools
Emily – how a library smells in the summer, hypnotist, a simple reason you didn’t love me, what not to do when a friend gets cancer, and drowning a blue lobster ……..I’m over the moon curious about these and other stories that I know will compel other readers to pick up your anthology and devour it straight off the shelf without a spoon or a napkin! These titles are intriguing, and I like your geographical categorizing. You have seen several states and have adventures to share!
Emily,
I am struck by the meaning in the italics, parentheses, question marks, and capitalization– and the prefixes and suffixes. Each is important to you and thus important to me, your reader. Some flash images other sounds but my eyes are always moving with you, along this journey of contents and the white space that remains for the stories to be told.
Peace,
Sarah
Emily, I felt like your poem invited me to peek (not live–just peek!) into your life. Each line reveals (and hides) a story. This was imagistic and intriguing! Thank you!
Em — Each one of these is a story I want to hear. Some rang familiar, which was a tickle (Manhattan Cafe, little books, glasses). But all these are stories …the poems and moments that unveil a rich life that has a strong voice of optimism and strength. The “you had to be there” and “like you would never believe” and “you don’t have to be the best” — those lessons and lead lines… Some of these are hard lessons …”what not to do…” – I have a bunch of “what not to dos” in my life. This alone is a great poetry prompt. Aren’t you amazed at how a prompt like this one from Kim today took us along on a writing jaunt that ended up being a bit of a surprise, maybe a frolic. I always think when reading a prompt, “oh geez, I can’t do that” and then ker-plunk, out comes something that was fun to write. I’m so glad you are such a poet! Susie
Place is such a great motif for organizing. When you publish you can add images – photos or water colors.
You certainly got me thinking! I wrestled with this one; thinking about my poetry. (How does one organize one’s poems?) I am really enjoying everyone’s responses. Here’s the poem that appeared for me.
Why I Write Poetry
to seek
wonder
solace
knowledge
to observe
nature
children
family
to evoke
beauty
mystery
joy
to surrender
anxiety
confusion
hurt
to share
memories
understanding
life
to reveal
surprise
desire
bravery
Maureen,
I love the way you’ve begun each verse w/ an infinitive verb. There’s something about the “to” that offers more than a purpose. It also suggests a journey. It’s the “to surrender” that’s most vulnerable and the part I need to work on most. Beautiful poem,
I responded to the list style- lots of good breathing room for your strong word choices. I especially enjoyed the reveal stanza, because what we write and how we write it is so revealing. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Maureen, I feel a strong love of life with your infinitives that serve as objectives – to reveal, to share, to surrender, to evoke, to seek, to observe. These ways of interacting with the world around us have a very Mary Oliver vibe to me – – she is one of my favorites, and you have a style that makes me think of her in your poem – – a bride married to amazement, a bridegroom taking the world into its arms. . I am in awe of the style that you used – the simplicity and sleekness of the feel, but the power of the loaded words is captivating and makes me want to read more.
Maureen,
I love every work of this! Such truth here for me, and it makes me feel good to know that I am of this community for all these reasons. The last line most sings to me because I think I take for granted the bravery in writing (period) and then in coming to this space to write. So grateful for/ to you!
Peace,
Sarah
I love how you begin each stanza with the infinitive followed by the ideas for developing. This creates a nice lens for looking at your experiences.
Thank you, Maureen, you brought great joy and depth to the prompt today. Like Kim, I can see these themes in your writing, especially in the “to evoke” and “to observe.” You are a lovely student of the universe. Often your observations take my breath away and invite a reread. Thank you for sharing.
Kim,
I so love this inspiration!! My mind is whirling and twirling as to how I want to proceed. My kids actually asked me the other day if I was ever going to share any of my poetry with them, and I told them that I would someday (when I have time) put them all in a booklet for them. Now, your prompt today has me thinking of how I would section them off. So, I went and wrote down all of the titles for all of the poems that I have created in the past year or so through this wonderful space. It’s crazy busy right now because the grading period ended and I have much to do, but all I want to do is dig in on this writing. I seldom look at the other poems before I write mine, but I scrolled through and there is SO much potential to this prompt. I might not get any grading accomplished this evening!
I love love love your poem. The rhyme REALLY makes it work. It carries the ideas forward in such an appealing way, and that last stanza is just perfect.
Thank you so much for the three great days of poetry inspiration.
Susan, thank you so much. I am glad you are feeling the excitement of thinking of all the ways to organize your poetry and what it might look like in different arrangements. I started thinking about all the ways we group ideas – file recipes, organize photographs, arrange portfolios, arrange flowers. I began the same way you did – I wrote down titles, and then I coded themes and came up with words – – then I wrote those themes into verse.
What a blessing to have children who want to read their mother’s writing and know more deeply about who you are and how you see the world! Your poetry will be a gift that will span generations!
Kim, your poem sparked my thinking in so many ways. The phrases you used helped me think about the moments I’ve lived and the person I’ve been in each place I’ve called home. I do feel like I could write a whole collection just focused on the ideas in your stanza that says, “the hopes, the worries, the wonders, the blunders.” Each could keep me busy for ages.
I’ve been thinking about this prompt all day. It pushed me to dig deep and think about the way that I would signpost my life, how I’d build the table of contents organized around a running theme in my life. For me, it has been moving, having never lived in one home for more than 10 years. The places I’ve lived have shaped so much of my story. Starting a memoir in verse is a goal of mine this year. This prompt challenged me to start to think of how and where to get started. I needed that. I’ve been struggling to find my footing as I push myself to wade through memory.
Moments Mapped
Washington Street, Castile, NY:
Neighborhood capers, shouting,
And shattered glass
Oklahoma City:
A trailer park, two dogs,
Meeting new “family”
Yukon, Oklahoma:
A new school, Space Camp dreams,
God Bless the U.S.A
Sherman Street, Tioga, TX:
New York State is not New York City,
Seeing racism in action, a teacher who
Helped me dream
Liberty Street, Castile, NY:
Standing my ground, the other one,
The threat that kept me quiet
Kasling Hall, Fredonia, NY:
Freshman foibles, freedom, and
Finding me
West Main Street, Fredonia, NY:
Keg parties, evolving friendships,
A winter on crutches
Central Avenue, Fredonia, NY:
Our own Blair Witch house, truth,
And consequences
Liberty Street, Castile, NY:
First-year teacher by day, return to
Teenage angst by night, and palpable resentment
East Street, Nunda, NY:
Two apartments, sweet freedom,
And a boxer puppy
East Avenue, Pittsford, NY:
Witnessing privilege, finding a mentor,
And blindsided by betrayal
Ogden Parma Town Line, Spencerport, NY:
A soft place to land, problems not solved,
And a mess I couldn’t manage
Route 436, Nunda, NY:
Release, relent, and recover
Route 408, Nunda, NY:
Space to breathe, growth, and revising a life
Erin, I have waited until after work today to really get in here and be able to enjoy these wonderful writings. I didn’t want the distractions of rushing through the readings, because I know these are to be savored. Your approach to geography and events, with a twist of suspense and intrigue in each section sparks such curiosity about how you would organize. Your own Blair Witch house, a betrayal, a Boxer puppy…..shattered glass and a threat that kept you quiet. Oh my! The way this is organized is creative and draws the reader to want to travel with you along this map of your life. There’s something about a map that pulls me in and makes me want to be part of the adventure. This was a prompt that took reaching deep on a Monday, and you pulled out a lot of treasure. I love this, Erin!
You have, indeed, moved a great deal! This is a very special outline, the story of your life told through all these different places. So many chapters that I would really love to know more about!
I like how you used these trios of information to distill the experience in each space. I saw themes of growing up, risks, learning and appreciation throughout this poem. I also notice some alliteration throughout, skillfully woven in. Thanks for sharing this great poem!
Erin, you have said so much, and very little at the same time with this poem. Every time I read your writing, it makes me wish we lived closer and could meet for coffee and share life stories.
I love the indexing by place! So much association of emotion with location is embedded in our experiences and you captured that perfectly. You also sprinkle in little bits of alliteration–and I’m a sucker for that. Thank you for sharing. I loved it.
Erin, I am amazed at all the places you have lived and the moving that seems to have given you new insight at every place. Nice to see that now you have time to recover, a space to breathe and revise.
(I sat with this form a while, thinking of ideas, and I guess, this is what needs to be written.)
Kindergarten and Jumbo Crayons
Multiple Elementary Schools because we moved a lot.
Loos Elementary and meeting my best friend.
Fairport Intermediate – horrible typing and horrible singing
Patterson Coop: Business Administration which translated into Clerical Skills
Delco Moraine: 2-year Internship where I applied those clerical skills
Bowling Green State University – not the one in Kentucky
Marriage #1 = Child #1
Marriage #2 = Child #2
Army Life as an Army Wife
Webster University – Human Resources Management
Western Governors University – Teaching Certification
Frank Long Elementary
McDonough Elementary
Dutchtown Elementary
Makalapa Elementary
Hobbs Williams Elementary
Roark Elementary
To Be Continued…
I like how you responded to this form!! This is how outlines look to me – the ‘bones’, the structure of the thinking – these are chapters in your life’s journey, and I absolutely love “To Be Continued…” There is so much yet to read and discover within each of these!
Donnetta, what I love about your writing is the To Be Continued…… because writing and a table of contents are always in progress. Writing focuses shift, categories shift, and just like Jill’s spice bottles, they can be grouped in such different ways. I like the way you included your schools and places where you work making the greatest difference in the world: teaching. This is thoughtful and creative. And it was written from the heart on a Monday, which means it’s full of passion and thought.
Terrible typing and terrible singing made me laugh! I like the pieces of memories that capture your life here.
Aw! Cool! “To be continued…” Love this list of your life.
Woooooowwww! I am envious of your vast experiences and journeys in life. I’ve been in 2 schools, lived in one state, one county, and had one rotten husband. This poem is a treasure trove of more poems. Army Life as an Army Wife begs to be another poem.
Kim, thank you so much for your challenging prompts. I wish I had more time to work on this today. I did go back and look through many of the poems I’ve written in the past year, which if I counted would be around 90 poems, I figure. I never saw that coming when I joined this group last April! Thank you for your beautiful poem. There are so many amazing rhymes and lists of life experiences. Here is one of my favorites:
That might just cover about everything I’ve written and lived! I can say that about several of your stanzas. They are such big ideas. When I have more time, I’m coming back to see what I’ve missed here in this prompt. But for now, I’ve written a table of contents for my poems. 😉
My Book of Poetry
A Table of Contents
One, one
Lots of Fun
Two, two
Many thank yous
Three, three
Memories
Four, four
Closing doors
Five, five
All my drives
Six, six
Getting in a fix
Seven, Seven
God’s in heaven
Eight, eight
Love and hate
Nine, nine
Joys of mine
Ten, ten
Do it again
Denise,
“Do it again” is what draws us back each month, isn’t it. As I read your intro I thought about themes in your poetry: Faith, teaching and learning, Baharain life, positivity. I’m glad you’re here and in our other space. ?
Denise, this is brilliant! Oh, such a fun and witty summation of all those poetry themes. I’m still staring at the prompt trying to figure out how to approach…love that you used this playful ‘childhood’ rhyming, as if to impart – you are indeed having joyful play as you write! Love this.
Denise, the repeating number and the focus on more positivity and love and happiness – while also including getting in a fix to keep the reality that life has its challenges – warms my heart and makes me smile. Knowing your generous spirit and your calm and appreciative and grateful personality, your faith, your devotion to your family and others, makes this so true to you! Yes, I see your poems all fitting into these categories. One of my favorite poems that you ever wrote was about the teeth that you said your girls would grow into (I still think of that and smile, by the way), and I see that poem in nine, nine – Joys of mine. I love it!
Hi Denise, I love this! The rhymes, the couplets, almost reminds me of a jumprope song. Fun!! Keep writing…
?
Oh, I love your little edit there, Stacey! Ten, then do it again! Thanks for that!
The Book of Longings
to belong
to understand
to escape
to become
for home
for adventure
for love
for knowledge
to change
to grow
to heal
to accept
for community
for connection
for relief
for peace
Betsy, this is really beautiful. The repetition works well. I’m so loving the responses to today’s prompt. This reminds me a bit of the Serenity Prayer.
Betsy, your poem is sublime. You name the things we long for and need. Thank you.
love how the stanzas bounce from simple “to” list to a “for” list, and back again; hopes and wishes, so dreamy, so lovely.
Betsy, this whole idea of longings and categorizing what you want out of life is a beautiful concept – – what you are striving to attain, goals, dreams, wishes, desires…..longings. This is a lovely idea for organizing poems. I see these almost like a recipe box – – the ingredients needed, and how to bake each of these slices of life – – peace, community, healing.
Thank you, Betsy, for this list of longings. They are all things that we as humans long for. So nice for the acknowledgement.
An Imagined Conversation with a (Possible) Book Publisher about This Imagined Book That I’ve Written
Wally, Wally, you’re not
listening. I’m an artist
here, an auteur.
I have a vision.
and you simply don’t —
What? Roger? Really?
The point, now granted,
I took your last note
under advisement, and
I see the error in my ways,
we can’t, it’s just not feasible
to sell live doves with
each copy.
I know that now. No, no
I wasn’t thinking of the
overhead or the mess
that it would make
at the stores, droppings
everywhere, I get that
now, but I still think
we could hire a person
to play a trumpet or some
kind of brass instrument,
whenever the reader opened
the book, no, not a drum roll,
not a percussion instrument,
what? do you want this guy
playing bongos, come on, why
would you even suggest
that? well, it’s not funny,
do you think poetry is
a joke? Is that what’s happening
here? No, I realize you
represent the biggest names
“in the business,” I get that
that’s why I’m here.
This is what I have to offer you,
this vision, doves soaring into
flight when the book is op –, ok,
right, scratch the doves, but you
have the regal sound, no, no,
Wally, Roger, whatever,
you’re not — , we can’t
put a little speaker in, this is
not a Hallmark card, we need
to hire a musician, someone
who can really play, to go home
with the reader, whoever purchases
the book, they get their very own –,
why am I even talking to you? Can you
get someone from accounting
in here? Someone who signs
the — oh, good, that was fast,
you’re not from accounti–
you’re from security?
Oh.
LOL! Scott…. security!!! LOL! They caught up with you… this is just too funny. This conversation is the cover letter for your book, Scott’s Truth, a collection of poems from our next laureate. Send it! Accompany it with a gift box of doves to Random House. Honest to Pete, I think they’ll publish it! Just love this! Susie
Scott, I am laughing so hard – it’s like the 4D version of having a full-scale parade come marching off of the page from a book of poetry. Which is basically what happens, right? This conversational logic with the security department of the publishing company is just too funny, and missing the name each time just adds to the fun. Yes, I’ with Susie……send it over with homing pigeons and a box of Dove chocolates and see if the Wally Roger is impressed with the creativity and pizzazz and chutzpah!
I am totally with you “to sell live doves with each copy.” Can there be a more beautiful way to accent your book of poetic wonder and laughter? I wouldn’t have called security. I like your dreams!!
Ah, I needed this bit of humor today! March and there’s snow on the ground. Disillusioned with so much right now – it’s a hilarious attitude adjuster to see someone who is even more disillusioned! While it’s ridiculous (why does Dear Committee Member come to mind?), there is some seriousness to the idea that writers have that their work is a masterpiece that should be exhausted by everyone who reads it. Okay, maybe that’s too far to push it – but not being able to take rejection well is a hard one for all of us.
1988, Burlington, VT
Four-foot snowstorms and
Sugar-clotted maple candy.
Empty apartments and
Too-young parents.
Public transportation and
Sesame Street books.
They know the Stamper name, but
They also know the Stamper shame.
1992, Virginia Beach, VA
Salt replaces sugar and
Humidity nourishes asthmatic lungs.
Dreaming of school in reading and writing and
“Ma’am everyone’s child is special these days.”
A black, mewling runt named Belle and
A hyperactive Sheltie mix named Nikki.
Reagan Avenue, an unwanted townhouse but
This becomes a home we own (finally).
2005, Natick, MA
Don Quixote in translation and
Finding new ways to play with words.
Writing into 2am to find perfect titles and
Ripping text apart for discussion.
Silence, pressure, competition, and
Therapy to stave off darkness.
Gifted with words, but
Someone will always be better than you.
2007, Madison, NJ
In the forest, squirrel screams and
Woodpeckers are our alarms.
Eight o’clock am classes and
Large coffees with cafeteria bagels.
Seven o’clock pm classes and
Energy drinks or a spiked soda.
A pearl ring at twenty years old, but
Already planning forever with “I do.”
2011, Milwaukee, WI
Brady Street bars and
Our first apartment on North Marshall.
Full-time retail jobs at odd-hours and
Side-hustles in dog-walking and pet sitting.
Lake Michigan winds and winters and
A courthouse “I do” in a frozen October.
Longs walks circling the city and local eats, but
In this economy, how can we grow our family?
2014, Houston, TX
Teaching licenses for high school and
Buried in lesson plans, papers, and essays.
Lexington Woods Dr, our first owned home and
Our daughter who followed next.
Pandemic pauses life and family and
We find solace in backyard sunshine and Instacart.
Mask mandates removed, forgotten in time already, but
We wonder what and where next?
Jordan, I love the specificity in your poem BBC and the delineation by years. I just could not go tge specific route in my own writing today. You’ve inspired me to rethink my approach. “Wondering what next” feels do universal. Thank you.
Jordan, I feel like you take my hand and say, “Come with me and see my life.” There is so much to this – so much that readers will see and flip straight to that section because we identify with therapy to stave off darkness and sugar-clotted maple candy and too young parents, side hustles of pet sitting and courthouse “I dos.” And then more therapy to stave off darkness. And more…..I love the way you let your reader in to feel the threads of intersection with your own life.
Thanks Kim for three days of wonderful prompts. I’ve enjoyed these so much. I love your poem today, how you made it flow with a rhyme scheme. Here’s my simple offering for today.
Table of Contents
By Nancy White
I walk each day and
Nature
surrounds me and protects me from
Memories that are filled with
Pain
and I find
Healing. My
Childhood seems like yesterday and writing causes me to blurt out huge chunks of
Self Disclosure
Including so many
Longings and
Frustrations.
Prayers and
Doubts and
Songs of Praise
join together with all the other verses
and somehow I’m made whole.
Nancy,
I’m feeling every word of your poem. It’s like a big hug I want to reciprocate. Yes, I too
Nancy, I’m in awe of the way you capture the process of feeling that the self disclosure and pain and buried memories blurted out in huge chunks are part of making us whole. The essence of who we are is so reachable through poetry, isn’t it? This journey through pain to find healing is renewing – – like shedding old skin and finding a new shine underneath. I love the way you conveyed those thoughts today.
Nancy, I love the idea that writing makes you whole. And the blurting out huge chunks of self disclosure is perfectly accurate. Just wonderful!
Ingredients of Life
Thoughts
Dreams
Emotions
Unknown places
Adventure
Exploration
As a child
Parents
Love letters
World War II
Family
Celebrations
Miracles
Aging
Heaven
Death
A baby
Routine
Mundane
Frustrations
Humor
Looking forward
More
What a great response…ingredients. I love the idea of an ingredient book. We all have cookbooks…but the idea of an ingredient book and that it could be a metaphor for your life is super cool. Love it.
I love the ingredients of your life that make you YOU and are made visual in your writing and art! ?
Susan,
This is a smorgasbord for life. “More,” please.
Susan, these ingredients are just the spices of life! Your spice rack is organized into a beautiful glimpse of so many parts that balance us – humor and frustration, aging and a baby, adventure and routine. For the yins, you have yangs. A well-balanced meal of life here. Delicious!
Kim, thanks for your interesting prompt today. I appreciated the challenge of finding a poem within my poetry titles.
A Slice of Life Tabled
In the Kitchen with Mother
Before
The Last Leaf of Loneliness
Before
That Girl-Long Gone
Light
A Poem Buds
Before
Looking for Signs in Spring
Before
The Quiet House
The Worst Day
I Pray for Answers No One Gives
Before
The Silent Wake
Barb Edler
March 15, 2021
Barb — There are a couple strong tones here… the melancholy of a repeated “before” that makes me feel something beloved is now gone. And the hope in the “poem buds” and “signs of spring” that upset that melancholy. The poem has a strong emotional pull with “answers no one gives” and the image of a “silent wake.” Dang… poetry has taken you to find powerful words and images… in that, I see the thread inside you that knows love and loss. I so respect the strength in this collection…. seeing the “tabled” sense in this moment. I’m sending a spring-felt hug of friendship up there to Keokuk. Hugs, hugs, hugs, Susie
Barb, this is haunting and beautiful. I especially like the plant imagery throughout. The repetition of quietness and before give a quiet reflection.
Love the repetition of “before” it’s like looking back and back and back into a life. There is sadness because of the feeling of longing in “before” as well as the prayer and the longing. Well done.
Barb,
I love the sounds in your poem, silence and /l/ repetition stand out in
And like Susie I see the melancholy, the sadness. The repetition of “before” is a palatable hardening to the past. I feel the haunting of before. Sending hugs to you.
Barb, the repetition of “before” pulses throughout the piece, a bit like a death knell. Almost as if you are waiting. I love the idea of the poem budding, looking for signs of spring. There’s beauty amongst the sadness of the worst day. What emotion here!
Barb, I love the idea of using the word Before in each section, as a prelude to the ideas in these sections that makes us want to know the aftermath of what happens – this is such a great way to drawn in the interest of readers. And it seems sequential, perhaps chronological, as a timeline of life in a sequence of signifiant events. I’m haunted by that last prayer, and it makes me want to pick up this anthology and read every story!
CONTENTS
The letters to Judy
The pages and pages of Pistol Pete’s life piloting on the Mississippi and Missouri
The journey through the journals crammed in baskets and boxes
The love letters, my love language
And long-saved love notes
And the proposals
And the newsletters, articles
And the editings
And the volumes on leadership in schools
And the reports
And the project scenarios
And the music
And the lyrics
And the pleas to politicians
And the vows, all those broken vows
And the jokes and jingles, all limericky in their rhymes
And kitchen concocted recipes
And through the leaves of this tome
a roughed sisal, a tangled twine
ties one to another
in a life of writing poetry
in and out of every parchment page
every notion and memory
that loosely threads me
into an unfinished story.
by Susie Morice, March 15, 2021©
Incredible poem, Susie. I love the metaphor in the last stanza. You bring this so cleverly to light through ” the leaves of this tome” and ” a tangled twine”. I just love that image; such a poetic touch of genius that your poetry exudes on a regular basis. I also enjoyed the cataloguing in the opening of all these personal missives that reveal all types of writing endeavors, the personal challenges, and the way these moments share a glimpse of your life, your humorous personality, and profession. I am intrigued by the reference to Pistol Pete’s life. I’d love to read more of his Mississippi adventures. Of course, the end is amazing, too! Kudos, Susie!
Thanks, Barb — Yes, years ago I interviewed for two years a wonderful old man who’d been a captain on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers for 54 years…an ol’ raconteur. I wrote an oral history of his life on the river. It’s in a drawer in the basement. You’d think I’d try to publish it…I really ought to do something with it. Someday. LOL! Hugs, Susie
Susie, I get the feeling of looking through your writings along with you, and with a strong sense of what’s important and how those stacked up. Must admit, I thought Pistol Pete was a Parks and Recreation reference, but am curious to know more. I love the image of the rough rope weaving it together to form your story. Thanks for this! Just wonderful.
Susie,
I love the repetition of “and” and the way it links your list of memories naming writing. I find the break between stanzas satisfying, like an epilogue annotating what all that comes before means. I’m right there with you when you say,
How do people who don’t write live? You’d poem leaves me asking this question.
Susie, you create the feeling of a vine or a string of Christmas lights, life events all connected, strung together into a beautiful unfinished story of love, humor, accomplishment, adventure, music, writing – – all of these parts of who you are that we know and love about you. “In a life of writing poetry” and “into an unfinished story” are the lines that most resonate with me – your gifts of writing and your gift of resilience and love of the journey with a passion for what is next. This is the uniqueness of you!
You, Susie, are a beautiful unfinished story! This is glorious!
I love your writing and your heart, it always comes through.
?
Origin stories
-only child syndrome
-school stories
-routine and structure
-high school loves
College Encounters
-academics
-lovers
Matrimony
-the good, the bad, the ugly
-perfect daughters
-scared mothering
-leaning into contentment
-routine and structure
Teaching
-fear
-myth vs reality
-standing on your own
-being a BOSS/DIVA teacher
-surrendering to assisting ALL children
-putting politics aside for their sake
-routine and structure
Forties and Fifties
-losing beloved parents
-“bought” lessons
-grace and acceptance
-embracing curves, stomachs, and natural hair
-good-bye structure yet keep and modify routine
-blissfully dancing
Seana — I liked the architecture of this list poem…the categories ring so familiar. It’s particularly interesting at the shifts and changes in perspective as you move through these…the teaching changes…the “Forties and Fifties” bringing that sense of grace. Lives are loaded! And walking in your shoes a bit this morning is a cool thing. Thank you! Susie
Seana, I love the joy at the end-“blissfully dancing”. It’s like you’ve arrived to a place of happiness, a sense of self-satisfaction, and the ability to face all challenges that come your way. I loved how you structured this poem with the various titles. Awesome poem!
Seana,
I love the section divisions in your poem. “Myth vs. Reality” has me cheering. I always think of you as so young. You look youthful in your photo. Then you bring me into your full life and its many familiar themes, such as “embracing curves, stomachs, natural hair.” Love this poem. Thank you.
Seana, your organizational structure is fascinating – – I absolutely love that you begin with origin stories. In the Beginning…… and move to embracing curves and stomachs. High five on that one, with a scoff at our thyroids! The blissfully dancing at the end is a great way to show the grace and acceptance that you have also embraced by hearing the music and responding in movement. I love your bold font also.
Yess, thank God for the Forties and Fifties! I love this poem, Seana!
This is such a cool idea! At first, I felt like I didn’t have much to put in my table of contents, as I haven’t really written much poetry, but then I started thinking more about what I could write about. This is kind of my writer’s notebook table of contents. The word “reaching” was tugging on my thoughts, so I structured around this idea.
Reaching in
Memories buried
Dreams (re)discovered
Understandings synthesized
Reaching out
Family loved
Nature admired
Beauty seen
Reaching up
Spirit felt
God adored
Soul stretched
Reaching down
Child’s hands held
Students’ hearts tugged
Dogs’ leashes grabbed
Reaching forward
Future dreamed toward
New ideas discovered
Changes embraced
Reaching back
Childhood mined
Ancestry discovered
Memories explored
Life held
in my hands
Julie — I really do like the pattern you chose…the reaching.. . I may have to steal this idea for some writing at some point. Very effective structure! Thank you! Susie
Julie, I love the beauty of this poem. The positive nature of these actions resonates. I especially enjoyed
And the last two lines add such a powerful punch to close with! Lovely!
Julie,
I LOVE your structure. Like Susie, I may just have to steal your different “reachings” for my own writing.
Julie, this whole idea of reaching causes me to envision the painting by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel – The Creation of Adam – where there is an intentional and purposeful reach toward life. So much of the spirit you describe in this poem is evident in that painting – the reaching, the holding, the spirit felt, God adored, soul stretched. Reaching is such a powerful concept of how we approach life, and this works beautifully here.
I was once in a writers group with a man who only ever wrote list poems. They would go on for ten pages or more. By the time he finished reading them, I felt like I’d run a mental marathon! It really is an artful genre that merits intention, and I have never attempted it. The idea of it being a table of contents helps frame it more concisely, so thank you, Kim! Trying lots of ‘new’ this month. Riffed and went with the book of my life and whatever came first into my thoughts today. I honestly would NOT want to write this book! Too many other fiction stories in my head I’d rather focus on, but this was a fun reflection.
Since May 1965
Duck Duck Goose
Colored Eggs
Hide-and-Seek
Bloody Murder
Out Past Curfew
Secret Cat
Fake ID
Drink and Drive
Hidden Pregnancy
Moving Out / Moving In
College Comforts
Bartending
A Year Off School
Cherry Harvest
English Major After All
Smoking, Drinking, Studying
Take Back the Night
Slinging Hash and Hotline Calls
Rally at the Capital
That Womyn’s Music Fest
A Ring Returned
Sycamore Lesbian Collective
Oregon and Back Again
Full-time Teacher – Finally
All the Broken Hearts
Married Because I Said So
My Daughter Finds Me
Teaching Chairing Teaching
Pandemic Days
Reaching for Retirement
This is amazing, Denise! I’m so intrigued by so many of your book titles–“Sycamore Lesbian Collective,” “Married Because I Said So”…what a cool way to structure the story of a life!
Denise,
I’m fascinated by your contents/titles. I’d love to read the book, the collection. Your life seems full of moments worth capturing in verse. Love it.
Denise — Each of these is really provocative! I love that! They scream…tell me more, tell me more! These would make great titles…great first lines in a lesson teaching kids how to HOOK a reader! Very cool! Thank you! Susie
Great list poem…so many items that date the life. This is fun to read through…even until “All the Broken Hearts.” Reaching for Retirement…sounds good to me.
Denise,
What awesome chapter titles you have created for different phases of your life. I want to read this book!
Denise, I’m so glad you wrote today, even though you say you wouldn’t want to write this book. You have a knack for intriguing readers – – so though you may not want to write the book, we want to read what you don’t want to write. Your titles have me wanting to open the pages and read – the hidden pregnancy and daughter who finds you, being out past curfew, fake IDs, the Sycamore Lesbian Collective…..you are a master of weaving wonder!
This is really fascinating me, Kim. I can think of so many ways of organizing my table of contents, and in each chapter there is one poem and yet multiple poems wanting their own lines and stanzas. I could go on and on, but here is my beginning. I have so loved writing with and from your inspiration these past three days, dear Kim! So much gratitude for your generosity of time and compassion for us in this space.
lines
counting off
tallest to shortest
oldest to youngest
whoever’s still here
lists
chores
appointments
permission slips
ten commandments
corners
hiding
sleeping
dreaming
watching
crosses
in the name of
for the sister who
to the side that
under the eyes of
Sarah — You really picked intriguing organizing targets… each one is loaded. I particularly loved “corners” and “crosses” — loaded ideas! Neat stuff! Thank you! Susie
PS. Oh, and YES on Kim’s prompts! I echo that… these have really worked beautifully. Thank you to Kim and you for keeping our poetry lines flowing!
Sarah, wow, what an interesting and thought-provoking poem. I love the allusions to religion and the active verbs. It’s like you’re in constant motion even when you are sleeping and dreaming, you’re still watching. “Lines” “Lists” “Corners” “Crosses”…all these opening stanza lines are thought-provoking and create an intriguing format to your poem. Absolutely loved it!
Sarah, I appreciate that the lines and lists and corners form crosses (or perhaps crosses form all the others?). I love “whoever’s still here” under lists. It’s whimsy but perhaps defeat as well. I want every one of those corners!
Fascinating chapters. I didn’t think of that….I know I’ll be writing more of these. I have to remember the chapters and the subheadings. This prompt is really fun. Crosses is a great final stanza.
Sarah,
Having seen a lot of your writing, I am so intrigued by this poem. The crosses section just has me wanting to know more . . . which is what a good table of contents does.
I’m full of admiration (with a touch of envy) and what you have created here.
Sarah, we owe you all the thanks for providing us this safe and encouraging space to write – to share with friends here what we may never share with friends next door. I am in awe of the range of creative approaches to the prompt today — I intentionally waited until I got home today so that I could enjoy each one and spend some time savoring the thoughts and creativity and uniqueness of each. What a joy! Your italicized words as categories for the way that you would organize are so reflective of the Sarah I know through your book, through conversations, through writing. What stays with me the most, I think, is in crosses: “for the sister who,” because I know the numbers and I feel the strong love!
Sarah, this shows me YOU! I see the order and organization of your busy-ness mixed with your nurturing spirit.
Brilliant final stanza!
Kim, thank you for a perfect start to the busiest day of my week! I didn’t want to wait for the evening to write because I knew I would have zero stamina. This prompt deserved fresh eyes and calm mind. I loved your rhyme pattern and the ease with which you shared your life in poetry.
A Woman’s Musings
For Mom
For friends
For teachers
And amends
For lovers
And birthdays
For fantasies
And holidays
For temptings
For break-ups
For imaginings
And make-ups
For enduring
For healing
For hiding
And feeling
For enticing
And teasing
For eroticism
And easing
For gratitude
And pleading
For praying
And reading
©Stacey L. Joy, March 15, 2021
So cool! This makes me think of those boxes of letters people give (often parents to children heading off to college) with instructions to open when… “Open when you’re sad,” “Open before your first final,” etc. it’s like the just-right words for those specific moments. This is how you’ve structured your poems…as a series of just-right moments.
Stacey — “Musings”… yes! Just wandering down this list and then thinking “musings” opens up so much… this really worked for me this morning! Thank you! I plucked “hiding” and “enticing” and “teasing” out of the poem so I could think more on those for my own writing. You inspired once again. Susie
Stacey, I love the feel of this. I find myself sitting in each line (musing along with you) in a languid way. Even though the short lines want to push me faster, the words call for lingering. Hard to pick a favorite stanza, but the fourth one keeps drawing me back.
Stacey, wow, I love the flow of this poem. The words resonate so much action and emotion. Your final three lines really hit home for me:
Beautiful!
Stacey,
Your poem has a rhythm that feels like breathing in and breathing out. I love the rhyme, and the way the prepositions work to suggest giving, as in “ for enticing” and “for eroticism.” I love the sexuality and sensuousness in that verse. Your poem exudes strength and passion. Thank you.
Stacey, I’m thrilled reading these words – – the fors and ands really play together so well here, like pairs of things for which you are grateful and paying tribute. Even the break-ups are blessings! I especially love that you started your poem with For Mom…..we’re in the Missing Our Moms (MOM) club, and we’re blessed to have loved them and had their guiding hands on us. I like that you have some eroticism and teasing and enticing and easing too – – go you!! But I do love the you end on praying and reading, the most solemn and sincere gifts we have. You dug deep on a Monday and pulled up beautiful treasure!
I love how you used the anaphora of “for” and rhyme! I’m intrigued by enticing, teasing, eroticism, and easing.
Kim,
This is a fascinating prompt, one I’m thinking about as a thought experiment. Like you, I’ve thought about how I would organize my poems, but I’ve been thinking about this not in the sense of the totality of my life but in terms of my relationship w/ my childhood. I’ve never lived close to family as an adult, and that lived reality informs much of my writing.
—Glenda
Thank you, Glenda! I love that we are all seeing the organization from such different angles – – it is so fascinating to me that our perspectives and experiences and talents and creativity are so diverse and rich in this group.
Middle Child <________
Past prolong
Present preview
Future me too
=
Late bloomer
Last in line
Right on time
Smart one
Not good enough
At first you don’t
+
Wait your turn
Crossing bridges
No turning back
Girl work
Home-work
Working it
X
Care giver
Not a quitter
Terms and conditions
Sinner repent
Losing religion
Saving myself
÷
Exit west
New moves
Rewind on repeat
Inner child
Also ran
Runner up
≠
Same mistakes
Different day
New lesson learn
—Glenda Funk
Good morning, Glenda! I love the mathematical operations included to give a new level of meaning without needing words. Brilliant! My favorite lines:
Left me feeling limitless and unstoppable! ❤️
Glenda, the cleverness in your writing is like a googolplex;). My favorite stanza is “girl work/home-work/working it.” Thank you for sharing this today.
Glenda,
I am loving the equations and, thought I am not good at math, I get the difference between adding and multiplying and certainly have learned to know about dividing and when things don’t add up. This is so clever. I love the signs that bridge the stanzas and wonder about those transitions, the poems between: “Runner up ≠ Same mistakes”! What is staying with me is the “inner child” that we carry. Why is it, at least for me, that she is so proximate that I am so distant from my self in other decades?
Thank you for this!
Peace,
Sarah
Glenda — Each one of these has such a strong sense of direction… almost like you could raise a fist or point a finger…a story/poem that has a voice that needs to march forth. What a strong voice in this poem! And the signs… how creative an idea is that!!!?!! My fave is the title! Thank you! Susie
Glenda, I love the strength and fortitude you share in this poem. The ending though sure resonates with me:
Clever use of mathematical signs, too! Loved it!
This is breathtaking. I have read through it three times already. Love that you separate the stanzas with math notations…and each stanza is this perfect little threesome of thinking, almost a standalone “number” ? I think my favorite is “Exit west/New moves/Rewind on repeat” – though, honestly, every stanza’s awesome.
Glenda, I love your twists on words to create a whole new meaning and nuance in each section, and the mathematical symbols between sections that all add up. The new lessons learned at the end carry forward with the idea that there is so much more to come – – still learning, still living and loving the journey. Oooohhh, but that title has me loving the creative genius there. This is google in the purest sense of the poetic meaning of a home-run out of the ballpark distance! Love it completely.
Glenda, you have written such a rich autobiography in such a few powerful words. My favorite verses are this:
and the ending, of which I can relate:
Foundations
God The Father – In the beginning
Mom and Dad – Learning and growing
Granny – Love and acts of service
Greg (husband) – My other parts
The Go
Success and failures
Sons – Sky and Ethan
Places- vacations and far away lands
Making Friends
Dreams
Therapies
God Talk
Pets of all kinds
The joy of food
Books and more books
Walks on a Dirt Road
Art – the tactile, escape, color
The Cherries
The fruit – joys and love
Pits of sorrow and struggles
Redemption and forgiveness
After taste- memories
Robyn, your last line ties this together so well–“after taste-memories.” It is a full bringing-memory-forward experience with your words here. Thank you for sharing.
Robyn, this categorization of foundations, the go, therapies and cherries is quite the decadent dessert. That ending – – the aftertaste memories is really a stroke of beautifully colored paint in just the right spot. I love that you have God and pets and books and walks and art and food in the therapies……this is my favorite part – – the ways we keep ourselves whole!
Kim, I just adore your idea of dormant poetry writing…the hope that it will always be there when ready and needed. Thank you for this prompt today.
The Acknowledgment
Cheers
To blood
To mom, Gigi
To dad, Pappa Ricky
To Mimi and Papa
To Oma and Opa
To Tante
Prost
To nuptials
To Geoffrey, hubby
To Fred, Grandpa
To Karen, G-ma K
To Momo and Papa
To Nana and Ampah
To Sister Stacy
Živeli
To the bonded
To the mentors
To the students
To those lost
To mistakes
To the past
Guiding Me
Here
Love how this is a toast to, toast to….this prompt is really bringing the creativity today. Those section dividers are wonderful.
Stefani,
I also love how your poem toasts life, the people in your life and the full-bodied experience of living. I love the exuberance and sense of carpe diem offering a toast brings to the poem. I’m humming that Katy Perry song, “Raise a Glass.” Your poem makes me joyful and grateful. Thank you.
This idea of toasting…it’s really gorgeous. I love the idea of toasting to the people and things that have shaped us…especially since a toast can be seen as a show of gratitude, and I am imagining a ritual of toasting to all of the things that have guided us to who we are right now.
To life! All of the cheers and the different ways of saying it in English, German, and Croatian/Serbian to add a flavor of world celebration in the sections – – (I had to look up the languages). Oh my – – I feel like I am toasting to life all around the world and loving every corner, even appreciating the mistakes along the way as divine guidance into the intended path. To blood, to nuptials, to the bonded – -we are all connected, and what a beautiful illustration you have of this in the ways we connect and the world we all live in. Bravo! Well done! Fantastique!
Oh, wow! This prompt is so cool! I love this idea so much. I want to write lots and lots of table of contents. And, I really like how your poem is “your life….” because it takes me away from one person to the universal “you.” And, the categories are great.
I was kind of stumped as to how I would start … procrastinated by popping over to twitter where I saw THIS poem: https://twitter.com/doc_som/status/1370776251045134338?s=20
about the names of a person throughout their life and combined the two ideas. I really look forward to getting back to this draft to play later. Too bad I have to go to work today!
Linda Jean
Firstborn
Infant queen
Hope adorned
Grandpa’s Girl
Keen likeness
Wisdom pearls
Words impress
Linda reads
Collects books
knot of needs
Writing hook
Miss Byrnes
History teacher
Students learn
Travel creature
Mrs. Mitchell
Baby craving
Hopes fulfilled
Chair rocking
Ms.
Life-wizened
Pandemic proofed
Writes on the side
I like how you wrap this up at the end situated with the current pandemic. My favorite lines are “life-wizened/pandemic proofed”–thank you for sharing today.
I love this! It got me to thinking about all of the different names I’ve had throughout the years. I was lamenting the fact the other day that nobody seems to know my first name anymore…I’m “Mom” or “Ms. Meiklejohn” or “Sweetie.” (Not that I mind…) But it’s gotten to the point that when someone calls me “Julie” or “Jules,” it stops me in my tracks for a second. It’s cool to think about exactly who all of those different iterations of me are. Thank you for this…you gave me ideas for my next poem!
Great idea for a spin on this prompt! This would translate to students very easily too. I want to be a “travel creature” again! I loved that as well as “pandemic proofed.”
I’m glad you loved this prompt, and I can see why – – you have such a way of defining all the yous – all your names, your interests and wants, family, and talent for writing! You just make this look so easy, so natural – – so creatively you! I love the Mrs. Mitchell in the rocking chair, arms full of love. I love that you end with writing – – and that you are pandemic proofed! I also am thrilled that you want to write more tables of contents; there are so many ways to organize the spice jars my friend Jill described – – so many ways to organize our poetry. Have fun!
So much fun! Thank you for bringing this gift to our space today. I loved this:
I love the way you turned this to names. I want to try this again.
Love the rhymes and cadences here, Linda – it’s like a chant. En-chant-ed life… I am feeling it. The way you string words is definitely enchanting!
August
Late
Mississippi sunrise
Walk to school
Purple Creek
Follow the leader
Short skirts
Reporter
Piano Lessons
Spin the Bottle
Fast cars
Football
Darkroom
Dorothy Hamill Haircut
Flood
Sorority girl
Law school boy
Handkerchief
Bonnet
Sisters
Godly Play
Empty Nest
Keeping
Letting Go
Open Door
New faces
Hold my Hand
Beauty
Beauty
Beauty
Wonderful ending….that repetition of beauty. A gorgeous response to the prompt.
Margaret — Each one of these is juicy… a really ripe peach of an idea. You have a book of poetry here. Whoohoo! Susie
Margaret, your contents help me envision a time-lapsed image of you, and I think that came to mind with the movement of follow the leader and walking to school and playing the piano and spin the bottle – – those action verbs really give a movement to the you throughout the sections. Those new faces and holding hands and beauty at the end make me think of your grandchildren and all of the future that they bring to your life – the fun, the love, the traditions. Wow! I love the way you organized your ideas in this today.
Oh Margaret, I love the way you took us through your life so beautifully. This resonates with me:
The ending. Ahhhhh. Take it all in.
Such a celebration, Margaret, start to finish. My heart swells with these lines.
Kim, this prompt deserves more time to play. But for now, here is where I am; though I promise to revisit. Thank you for this novel (verse?) idea this morning.
BeComIng
(Come Into Being)
Me
I know, right?! I’m annoyed that I have to go to work and not stay with my writing playing with this prompt. Your word play is a great beginning and complete thought. Nice.
Jennifer, wow, what a great beginning. Your poem reminds me of e.e. cummings poetry. Very cool response to begin your day!
As someone who finds herself constantly trying to cut to the bone, these lines give me so much joy. Three lines that encompass a laser-like focus on what matters while still teeming with possibility and promise.
Jennifer, the simplistic approach is loaded, multi-faceted, with the concept of becoming – – like an accordion pulling apart and revealing more between each folded section. I like that you used parentheses as a defining of BeComing and that your C is capitalized. Creative twists indicating that there is more to see than meets the eye!
I’m grateful you chose this today. I absolutely love it and need to keep it close.
There is great promise and allure here… I want to read this poem-story.
Such and intriguing invitation, Kim. So much spirit and life in those spare lines.
Mine reads more like a timeline… in fact, I used a timeline to compose. Here goes:
My Life’s Writing Anthology
Bible story plagiarized
in blocky big letters
on lined newsprint paper
All About Me
carefully rendered detail
teacher-praised
Myth of Shoeani
on the origin
of shoes
Dr. Heartbeat, Dr. Heartbeat
a play composed
around four words
heart
lion
clock
—I forget the fourth
The Poetry Years
of rainbows
friendships
love
loss
even a baby dragon
rhythms of my soul
attempting to understand
itself
A short story
a mystery
a secret
a little girl
kept safe
All-nighter
research paper
on the function of
King Claudius
in Hamlet
—still tied two of my best friends
for the highest marks in class
Oral tradition
of grandparents
put to paper
for the first time
Novel ideas
captured in notebooks
beginning to live
even if
they haven’t breathed
in a while
Critical research
on children’s fantasy lit
taking the last of my strength
and the humanities prize
Short stories
hammered out
within word counts
for competitions
Mentor texts
for students
and teachers
learning how to write
and to love
memoir
essay
story
fantasy
The blog
the archive
the scrapbook
of my writing life
my love letter
to words
and the world
I love how you structured this with writing from plagiarized bible stories to the blog, a full writing life.
Fran, this is just beautiful. “Rhythms of my soul attempting to understand itself” – wow! There’s a title in there. It captures the essence of our writing. I saw so much of myself in each of the genres and connected to each as they returned memories forgotten.
Delightful…that love letter to words. I am really impressed with this. From your “plagiarized” beginning to the scrapbook of a writing life. Wow.
Fran, right out of the gate – – the first line – – has me thinking about Bible plagiarism. What a unique concept – – that could be a sermon all by itself, a whole new poem, a whole novel. Right down with so many clever and thought provoking twists and turns to come full circle to a scrapbook of your writing life through your blog. You have a gift, my friend, of seeing the world in unique ways and celebrating it and articulating it so creatively.
I went to the end …
Just flip to the end
where the index breathes,
all cozy and forgotten,
but I’m there, words deep,
buried in ideas and
swallowed over time
I’d send a message
to the contents but
I’m running out of rhyme
So beautiful, Kevin – beginning in that index, that collation of life. Words deep.buried in ideas .. the play on words, running of rhyme (time). Magnificent.
I had fun reading this one — especially as someone guilty of flipping to the end of books. I love the brevity of this poem and the wit. My favorite part was where you describe the index as breathing and cozy — I imagine it like a curled up creature — one not meant to be disturbed but let’s see what happens when we poke it with a stick.
The metaphor of the index breathing is effective.
My mom always started at the back of magazines and browsed forward. I never understood the appeal of that. Until now. Love the idea of a breathing index.
Kevin — Your poem was the first thing I read this morning when I woke up — (I’m still adjusting to the time change) — And I was immediately smitten by the idea of the index. You really wrote a great poem here… the “index breathes,/all cozy and forgotten” — brilliant line. And the idea of connecting the index and the contents…overwhelming “buried in ideas” … and a totally fun ending. Way to go! Thank you. Susie
Kevin, I love that you bring a wit and different angle to your writing. This is so, so clever – to flip to the end “where the index wreathes, all cozy and forgotten.” You resurrected it and pulled it right to the forefront of a great place to organize thoughts and sections. I love your approach to writing.
Another incredible poem by Kevin, the first responder, literally!
Breathtaking!