I took an old poem that was sitting there in a pile minding its own business, doing nothing. I grabbed it, shook it up, and turned it into something new. My advice is never throw out anything you’ve written. You never know what it could turn into. It could be in its chrysalis stage waiting to fly free. This past month of writing a poem every day has taught me to take risks, to play with possibility, and to be unafraid with the outcome. Playing with poetry was just what I needed. It was necessary.
Category: mindfulness
April Poem #28: When I’m by Myself
I enjoy the childlike qualities of poetry. Playing with rhythm and rhyme often spark the imagination. With this poem, I did have to ponder deep questions, I could just play with the language and imagery. It was fun to do, and poetry most definitely should be fun. Once I wrote the first stanza, I felt it wasn’t quite complete, so I decided to reverse it and make a second stanza. When I’m by myself, I write poetry and make myself happy.
April Poem #27: Forgiveness
It was hard to choose just one thing to re-encounter. However, this memory of my Grandpa Antonio is so vivid to me. It was about forty years ago, but it feels like yesterday. I wish I could go back and change every little thing.
April Poem #26: Woven Words
Many years ago, I came upon teaching annotation through the Annotated Charlotte's Web. Today, I took an old, worn copy of Charlotte's Web and found this poem lying within. Thank you, E.B. White, Wilbur, and Charlotte!
April Poem #25: Everything has a Purpose
Linda’s prompt involved writing a poem using the scientific method for inspiration: make an observation, ask a question, form a hypothesis, make a prediction, test a prediction, use the results to form another hypothesis. Easy-peasy, right? Well, no. This prompt took some thinking and some reading of sample poems.
April Poem #24: My Garden of Eden
I am currently reading, French Dirt by Richard Goodman and I have been marveling at his turn of phrase, the words he chooses to describe his year as a gardener in France - how he wrangles and wrestles the earth to create something beautiful. I have re-arranged some of his words that I had underlined, wanting to hold them in my mind and heart.
April Poem #23: My Heart is an Unspoken Thunderstorm
A roll of the metaphor dice and then this poem! A great way to shake up your thinking and invigorate your poetry machine!
April Poem #21: April Remembers
© Joanne L. Emery, 2022
April Poem #20: Something’s Burning
My inspiration for “Something's Burning” came from Verse-Love, Ethical ELA, which was created by Sarah J. Donovan. Today’s prompt was from Tammy Breitwiester, who is a literacy coach in Wisconsin. She suggested to take inspiration from Naomi Shihab Nye's poem Burning the Old Year. After reading the poem, what stuck most in my head were … Continue reading April Poem #20: Something’s Burning
April Poem #19: How to be a Sand Dollar
On that visit, I made the acquaintance of a purse of sand dollars. I had never seen them as living creatures enjoying a day in the ocean surf.