A Memory & A Guest

Hello, friends! I have just returned from a long trip away from home, visiting a few schools and feeling very lucky. Thank you to all at Sicomac Elementary School and Washington Elementary School in Wyckoff, NJ for your warm welcome this week as I had the opportunity to visit and write with first and second graders. It was wonderful to be in your schools again. Now, though, I am back home for the summer, gardening, making jam, reading, knitting, writing in my shed named Gratitude and planning school visits for next year.

Florence Conolly Dreyer

Students - Today's poem sprouted from the beginning of a poem I wrote a few weeks ago while visiting a school. Again and again I am reminded of the helpfulness of a notebook for the gathering of ideas. Just as we gather ingredients in cupboard and refrigerator before preparing a meal, we can gather words and memories, wonderings and facts into our notebooks before preparing a piece of writing. Every piece of writing need not be a finished piece of writing. Rather, any piece of writing can inspire another. So those little jottings count and matter!

It is interesting to write about food and the memories that come with food. HERE you can watch an old video I made in Betsy the Writing Camper. It teaches how to make a food timeline to inspire memories. There are 71 other such videos at my YouTube channel.

The picture you see above of my grama was likely taken around 1920. I did not know her then but am fortunate to have an old family scrapbook with many treasured photographs like this one. The lemon memory comes from around 60 years after this photograph was taken.

And now for our special guest!

Earlier this month, I mentioned my happy visit to Cayuga Heights Elementary School in Depew, NY. Librarian Tonya Bulas introduced her students to my books in so many beautiful ways, and I will share those soon. But today it is an honor to highlight one special poet, nine-year-old Angelina, who I was fortunate enough to meet during a grade two and three writing workshop. She had brought her notebook to our session, allowed me to read some of her fine poems, and was willing to share them with you here. Thank you to Poet Angelina! And thank you to Librarian Tonya Bulas. Such educators make the good world go round. 

Please enjoy Angelina's poems below, and take inspiration for your own!

Angelina and Amy

Cayuga Heights Elementary, Depew, NY

May 2023

Photo by Librarian Tonya Bulas

All About Me: I am Angelina. I am deaf, Puerto Rican, Italian, but we'll talk about that later. My hobbies are: playing on the new swing my dad got for me, playing soccer, monkey in the middle, etc. I am 9 years old and I will be a future poet. I am Puerto Rican and Italian. I almost always get good grades in school. I have lots of friends. My mom is a teacher for disabled kids like me! (She does not teach me.) I go to Cayuga Heights Elementary School. My dad is a person who used to be a guy who made movies but now he talks to college kids. That is all about me!

Angelina's Notebook

Photo by Librarian Tonya Bulas

Puffball by Angelina

Photo by Librarian Tonya Bulas

Puffball

by Angelina

Little little puffball.

So big, so small.

It's cute.

What is it?

It's a little puffball.

So big.

So small.

What is it?

It's a little puffball!

Snakes by Angelina

Photo by Librarian Tonya Bulas

Snakes

by Angelina

They're slippery, slimy,

slithering around, and

when they hiss they

make a horrible sound.

Often found in the

desert, they eat bugs

for dessert! They can 

be 3 feet long,

and when it hisses,

it sings its deadly song.

Waves by Angelina

Photo by Librarian Tonya Bulas

Waves

by Angelina

Watching the waves wash away

it is beautiful

Always calming me down when

I'm angry

Very relaxing when I dip my toes

in the water

Escaping reality and life when

I go and watch the water

So...perfect...

Angelina is a poet today, and I agree that she is likely to be a poet in the future as well. Thank you again, Angelina, for generously joining us all today at The Poem Farm. 

Patricia is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Reverie with a most loving anniversary cento celebrating 40 years of marraige with her husband. Each Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community.

xo,

Amy

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Kind Strangers

Memory Sketch

by Amy LV

Students - This morning, I read through my notebook entries from the week and found this sketch and beginning of a poem I worked on earlier this week, both alone and in front of 150 fourth grade poets. I decided to continue that work as it is very true that this waving man (who I often see while teaching in Wyckoff, NJ) is still in my mind and heart.

Have you ever been surprised by the kindness of a stranger? Perhaps someone you did not know was kind to you. Or perhaps you witnessed a kindness to someone else? We can write these stories, and when we do, I believe that we make the world a little kinder by spreading the goodness of strangers.

You will notice that my poem does not rhyme. It includes a little bit of repetition, and it falls down the page as a poem but also tells a tiny story. As for the title, my original title was "Never Really Gone" but the feeling of wind in a heart came to me upon revision, and for now, I like that best. It brings up the sense of touch, and I, like you, am working to include more sensory description in my poems.

Pay attention to the people around you. Watch what they do. You may find inspiration in their actions and words.

Speaking of inspiration, what a wonderful week! I feel grateful and have a few thank yous for generous people:

Thank you to the grade K-4 students and teachers of Brook Park Elementary School in Berea, Ohio for warmly welcoming me this Monday and Tuesday. I loved our assembly day and our writing workshop day, and I am still thinking about your fine poems and beautiful smiles.

Thank you to the grade 4-6 students and teachers of Tioughnioga Riverside Academy in Whitney Point, NY for such a joyful day yesterday. Your thoughtful introductions and beautiful words and artistic displays truly wowed me.

And lastly, thank you to the Binghamton Area Reading Council. It was delightful to speak to your group again last evening, and to be in my own hometown with such wise, kind educators.

I look forward to featuring some of the poets and artists I met this week in future posts.

Now I am off to Wyckoff, NJ again for my final two days working with students and teachers for this school year. I hope to see the waving man again, and then I will drive home again to write and plan some travels for next school year.

Janice is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Salt City Verse with a celebration of weather through poems. Each Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community.

xo,

Amy

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Hidden Beauty - Let's Find It!

Baby Cardinal Outside the Marriott Hotel

Photo by Amy LV

Students - The other week, I was staying at a hotel in New Jersey, and each time I left, a mama cardinal flew away from the door. I imagined that there was a nest in that holly tree....and there was! Above you can see the baby bird with its wide open mouth. Don't baby birds look like mouths with legs?

Today's poem celebrates this new life that I felt so happy to see just because I happened to be at the right place at the right time. It is easy to walk around talking and thinking and stuck in our heads and to miss what is right around us. This weekend I promise myself that I will pay more attention to everything around me, jotting down what I notice. Would you like to join me?

If so, go outside to a parking lot or driveway or a grassy patch or woods or anywhere outside near you. Quiet yourself and look around. Find something that surprises you, and write or draw about it. If you are unable to go outside, close your eyes. Imagine being outdoors anywhere you wish. Look around in your imagination. What do you see? Hear? Feel? Taste? Smell?

Beauty hides everywhere. We can each be a beauty detective.

I was so lucky to spend the past two days with the students and teachers of Cayuga Heights Elementary School in Depew, NY. Thank you to Librarian Tonya Bulas who organized such a delightful visit with all kinds of book preparation beforehand. I will be sharing more of her work at my website and also look forward to hosting a couple of Cayuga Heights poets and teachers here at The Poem Farm in the near future. 

Placemat with Book Love by Librarian Tonya Bulas

Photo by Amy LV

Next week I look forward to working with the students and teachers of Brook Park Elementary School in Brook Park, Ohio, the students and teachers of Tioughnioga Riverside Academy in Whitney Point, NY, and the Binghamton Area Reading Council in Binghamton, NY. 

Robyn is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Life on the Deckle Edge with love for mothers and a lovely haiku she wrote after her own son was born. Each Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community.

xo,

Amy

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A Guest & a Project on NPM Eve!

Hello Readers! If you are looking for the 2023 National Poetry Month 24 HOURS poems, they have been taken down from The Poem Farm as they are out on submission for hopeful publication. xo, Amy

Happy National Poetry Month Eve!

From The Poem Farm, 2017

I returned home late last night from two days of writing workshops with the young poets of Greenwich Academy in Greenwich, CT, and this morning I am still thinking about those poets. I was moved and touched by their words and ways of seeing and responding to the world and am grateful for the time we spent together. Thank you Lower School girls and teachers for such a delightful visit!

Today's poem comes to us from a special guest. Today I am excited to welcome Adam C., a fourth          grade poet from Mrs. Jenny Hershberger's class at Washington School in Wyckoff, NJ. Recently I was leading an assembly at Washington, and Adam asked if he could share his poem with me. I was fascinated by how he compared the learning of facts to rain. Now, whenever I read facts on my own - regardless of the weather - I will think of his words and the way that we each grow our own learning puddle. Thank you, Adam, for joining and inspiring us today. 

Poem by Adam C. 

Mrs. Jenny Hershberger's Class

Washington School, Wyckoff, NJ

Process Notes by Adam C.

Mrs. Jenny Hershberger's Class

Washington School, Wyckoff, NJ

Students - Adam reminds us of something important about writing - we can write at any time in any place. Lying in bed, Adam connected his reading life to the weather, and this connection led him to his thoughtful poem. This week I recommend learning from Adam's writerly habit. Think about your life as you lie in your bed. Allow your thoughts to roll through the ocean of your mind, and allow them to bump into each other, creating new ideas and connections. Consider keeping a notebook or a piece of paper with a pencil by your bedside...just in case. Brains are amazing places, places where rain can change a brain. 

And now...

                  ...it is March 31st.

Tomorrow begins National Poetry Month and with it, my annual National Poetry Month Project. Each year, for the past twelve of thirteen years, along with many other writers, I choose to write and share a daily poem. I like to write these collections around themes, and during the weeks before April, I toss many ideas around inside of my head. Here is a list of my past projects:

2010 - Birth of The Poem Farm -  I wrote a poem each day for a month, beginning actually, on March 29, 2010. This blog just to be a one month project, just for me, to get me writing again as I awaited the publication of FOREST HAS A SONG.  At the end of April 2010, I was having too much fun to stop, decided to go for one whole year, publishing a poem at The Poem Farm each day.  And I stayed to post on Fridays.

2011 - Daily Poems Again - For each day of April 2011, I continued to write and share daily poems. However, I had no theme as the blog was just entering its second year.

2012 - A-Z Dictionary Hike - Here's where the themes began.  Each day of April 2012, I opened my children's dictionary to a different letter, starting with A, ending with Z.  Eyes closed, I pointed to a word and this word became the title of that day's poem.

2013 - Drawing into Poems - For each day of April 2013, I slowed myself down and looked closely at an object, drawing it with black pen into my notebook. On some days, I wrote poems from these drawings, but on many days, I simply allowed the looking-drawing practice to practice becoming a closer observer.

2014 - Thrift Store - For each day of April 2014, I wrote a poem from a photograph of an item I found in a thrift store.  These poems are no longer at The Poem Farm.

2015 - Sing That Poem - For each day of April 2015, I wrote a poem to the meter of a well-known tune and challenged readers to match the poem to the tune by seeing if it was singable to the same meter. One of these singable poems ended up in my book WITH MY HANDS: POEMS ABOUT MAKING THINGS.

2016 - Wallow in Wonder - For my 2016 National Poetry Month project, I celebrated learning and writing from learning, writing poems from each daily Wonder at Wonderopolis.  I have not yet collected these posts into one post, but I may one day.

2017 - Writing the Rainbow - Each day of April 2017, I randomly selected a different Crayola crayon from a new box of 64.  Each day, I wrote a poem inspired by the color I chose.  These poems all ended up telling the story of a young city girl and the moments of her daily life and are no longer here at the blog.

2018 - 1 Subject *** 30 Ways - Each day of April 2018, I wrote daily poems focused on the constellation Orion.  Each poem played with a different poetic technique, and I used the lessons in my own book, POEMS ARE TEACHERS: HOW STUDYING POETRY STRENGTHENS WRITING IN ALL GENRES, to stretch my writing.  These poems are not currently online.

2019 - Tell a Poemstory - Three years ago, I shared a series of 30 free verse poems that told a story about a boy named John and a dog named Betsy and a lady named Betsy. I am so happy to report that these will be one day published by Eerdmans.

2020 - Roll the Dice - Three years ago, for my most recent April project, I rolled three word dice daily (from inside my vintage camper Betsy) and wrote daily poems inspired by one, two, or three of the rolled words. You can watch the videos that went with these on my YouTube channel, Keeping a Notebook Videos #13 - #42.

2021 - Two years ago, I returned to the classroom as a fourth grade teacher after 22 years away and did not share a public poetry project in this space.

2022 - Pick a Proverb - Last year, for each day of April, I wrote a new poem inspired by a popular saying such as "The grass is always greener on the other side" or "One person's trash is another person's treasure." These poems are out on submission in the hope that they will one day grow up into a book.

And this year, I welcome you to...

This year, for each day of April, I will share a new poem about 1 hour in 1 day in the life of an old barn. I will write 24 hourly poems, 1 for each hour of a spring day, beginning with midnight and ending right before the following midnight. Because April has 30 days, I will write and tuck 6 additional poems into the month, likely 2 at the beginning, 2 in the middle somewhere, and 2 at the end.

I invite you to join me in this project! 

To do so, simply:

1. Choose a place or a person, an animal or an object you could imagine writing 30 poems about, someone or something you could imagine following and writing about through an imaginary day.

2. If you wish, download the hourly log and note page below to keep track of poem ideas as you have them through the month. You may do this project on your own, with a friend or two, or with your whole class, each person selecting different hours.

HOURLY LOG FOR 24 HOURS

NOTE PAGE FOR 24 HOURS

(Teachers - Please print or make a copy so students can access these.)

3. Write a new poem each day of April 2023. You might write in order of the hours (I probably will), or you might choose to write your hourly poems in a mixed-up order and place them in order at month's end. If you miss a day, do not worry. Just come on back to your project when you can. And know that I will share some poem writing ideas along the way. 

4. Teachers and writers, if you wish to share your 24 HOURS subjects or poems, please do so on social media with the hashtag #24Hours. Teachers, if you have permission from parents and only first names on student poems, I will share their topics and poems here in a Google Slides presentation.

Well, here we go....I look forward to spending 30 days - and 24 hours - with you. 

Mary Lee is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Another Year of Reading with a patient and hopeful springy etheree and an announcement of her National Poetry Month Project...a month of cheritas! Please know that all are welcome each Friday as folks share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship.

To learn about more National Poetry Month projects and all kinds of April goodness, visit Jama Rattigan at Jama's Alphabet Soup where Jama has generously gathered this coming month's happenings. Happy National Poetry Month 2023 Eve!

xo,

Amy

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One Word Can Inspire a Poem

Twilight in My Pocket

Photo by Amy LV

Students - I collect words. In most every notebook that I keep, I save a page at the end for some favorite words. I love words for many reasons - sound, memories, meaning. Below you can see the list from my now-notebook. (The criss cross lines are from a writing game that I like to play with myself.) I copy words from books and words from poems, words people write to me and words I hear people speak. When I need to find a writing idea, I can always choose a word from my list. 

This is what I did today - I chose the word twilight from my notebook list below and wrote it on top of my notebook page. Then I wrote a poem from that one word. (Of course this is only ONE of my favorite words!)

Can you find twilight on the list?

Current Notebook Word List

Photo by Amy LV

I think the word twilight is magical and beautiful. You can read its definition and see a photo of a twilight sky below.

Definition of "Twilight"

Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

Photograph of Twilight

International Cloud Atlas, World Meteorlogical Association

Consider making your own list of favorite words in a notebook or on a piece of paper. This will not only give you possible writing ideas, but keeping a list will also direct your mind to pay attention to interesting and lovely, fascinating and fun words. See, once we begin paying attention to something, we see it and notice it more and more. 

Becoming a word-noticer is worth it. If your class of friends celebrates words together, you can even make a bulletin board or keep a FAVORITE WORDS notebook together. Then...see what stories and poems grow from your words.

And remember...you can always repeat words and lines in your poems, just as I did above.

This week has found me away from home, on a four day writing residency with the first and second graders of the Edgemont School District in Scarsdale, NY. Whenever I write with young people, I learn from them, and on my long drive home to Western New York this afternoon, I will hold these students' poems in my heart. Thank you to the PTA, teachers, administrators, and children of Edgemont for hosting me with such open hearts.

School Visit - Greenville Elementary

Photo by PTA

Rose is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Imagine the Possibilities with a joyful welcome to spring. Please know that all are welcome each Friday as folks share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship.

Next Friday I will announce my 2023 National Poetry Month Project - for yet another poem each day of April. Past projects have included poems that can be sung (Sing That Poem), poems matched to crayon colors (Writing the Rainbow), and poems about thrifted objects (Thrift Store). I still have no idea what I will do this year, but we'll all know next week!

I hope that you find lots of neat words as you go through your next days. And I hope that neat words find you too!

xo,

Amy

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Another Beet, Another Triolet

 

Beets and Pink Fingers

Photo by Amy LV

The Same Beets, Roasted

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Well....

It took over a year (see my post from February 22, 2022), but I like beets now! In that post, I promised that I would report back by that weekend's end on how it went with eating the beet in my photo. I never did report back and never did eat that beet. It ended up on the compost pile along with my good intentions.

But a few weeks ago, we visited our good friends Katie and Dave for dinner. Part of dinner was boiled beets with butter. And being a polite guest, I ate some. 

They were yummy! So yummy, in fact, that (never to do a thing moderation), I bought a 25 pound bag of beets and have been roasting them and making beet fries. I find myself wishing that I could eat last year's beet today,

25 Pounds of Beets

Photo by Amy LV

Since this is a follow-up poem to a triolet, I responded with a triolet. A triolet - you may remember - is an eight-line poem with a special rhyming pattern that goes like this: ABaAabAB. This means that lines 1, 4, and 7 are the same exact words so of course they rhyme with each other. Lines 2 and 8 are the same exact words, so of course they rhyme with each other, and line 6 rhymes with them. Lines 3 and 5 rhyme with lines 1, 4, and 7. Go ahead and check, and while you're at it, see what you notice about the syllable counts in each line. It's fun to do that.

I like the way that triolets circle around with repeating lines. Not only are they cool to write, I find them interesting to read, almost musical.

This week consider playing with repetition in your poems. If you don't want to tackle a triolet, perhaps choose a line or two to repeat a time or two. Or play with counting syllables. To me, this is a challenging and rewarding puzzle.

Claude, My Assistant

(Our son says he looks like a cat who would wear "little round glasses.")

Photo by Amy LV

Laura is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Small Reads for Brighter Days with wonderful book news (three books out this spring - congratulations, Laura!) and also an announcement about her 2023 National Poetry Month Project, "Digging for Poems." Please know that all are welcome each Friday as folks share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship.

Oh! Want to hear a crazy thing? Last February when I posted the first beet triolet...Laura was hosting that day too. Perhaps I will write a beet triolet each time she hosts - hee hee!

I hope for you that you will be happy to be wrong about something in the near future, just as I am happy to have been wrong about the goodness of beets.

xo,

Amy

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A New Place...A New Voice

Snow Freckles

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Here in Western New York, the weather is jumping back and forth between cold and warm, snowy and clear, dark and sunny. But I can hear Winter packing her bags, heading off to visit others. Daffodils are nudging up, and robins will all be back soon. If you do not live in a snowy place, know that we snowfolks consider the sighting of a robin as an important sign of spring. While not all robins migrate, this is still an important moment for me....first robin!

Today I offer you two ideas to consider with your own writing:

1. Write in a different place. I am not saying that we need to take vacations to write; we can simply walk a few steps in a direction away from where we usually write to find a new perspective. Try writing outside. Try writing under your desk. Try moving to a different room. New impressions, sights, sounds, and smells give us new ideas. The more we feed our senses, the more ideas we will have. Today I walked around outside and wrote a bit in the chilly air after taking the photo above and the one below.

Nudging Daffodils

Photo by Amy LV

2. Write in the voice of another. Today I share a poem in the voice of Winter. This means that I pretended to BE Winter as I wrote. I imagined which images Winter might wish to press into her suitcase, and I thought about my different senses when I did so...this is how I thought of the "cocoa breath" line, probably my favorite.

Heidi is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at my juicy little universe with a whole birthday party of fabulous poems. Please know that all are welcome each Friday as folks share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship.

May you find a couple of interesting new places and voices this week. Your writing can take you anywhere.

xo,

Amy

ps - It really isn't spring here quite yet. Snow is coming back this weekend!

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