Explore a Question or Concern

My Phone and the Real World

Photo by Amy LV

Students - This morning, on such a gorgeous snowy day, I woke up to write and to see what would show up on the page. When I approach the page, sometimes I know where I'll begin. Sometimes not. Today I found myself noticing my own mind and how distracted I can become sometimes, too often thinking that I need or want to check something on my phone. Even though I do this, I am not happiest with myself or my mind or spirit when I do so. So I started to write about it. Writing, I was reminded me of Mike Teavee from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and then line by line today's poem appeared.

Appearing poems don't usually look pretty. For me they're full of inky scribbles and cross outs, two things that feel much better for me on paper than at a screen. As do most things, to be honest.

Notebook in the Morning

Photo by Amy LV

Today you may consider taking a question or concern from your own life and writing from that. You might even fictionalize it as I did here, taking your original question or concern and then building a made-up story around it. Sometimes, fictionalized concerns will bring up new truths and ideas. Stoeytelling can also make writing less personal and even easier to explore. As a writer, this is your right. The pages are your freedom. They are also mine.

And remember - you can always end a poem with a question. You may also title your poem after you write it. This one took a bit. I kept reading and reading the poem, knowing that the title would show itself. It did. No One Knows is a line in the poem. And well, it also answers the final question.

Tabatha is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at The Opposite of Indifference with some wise "random bits." Each Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community.

Take good care of your mind. It is you, and what you shape now will be with you for your whole life.

xo,

Amy

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Answer an Unasked Question

Ms. Moon at Tea

by Amy LV

Students - This week found me writing a lot in my notebook, yesterday outside. And as I sat and wrote on that windy day, I wondered what it would be like if the moon came down from the sky to play kickball or drink tea. Tea won as my poem topic because I did not want to share Moon's visit with a whole lot of imaginary kickball players. I wanted her all to myself.

Today's poem addresses the reader directly, the first two lines reading, "Last night/if you didn't see the moon..." It can be fun to do this, to pretend that you are writing a poem to a real, certain someone. After acknowledging this imaginary reader's question, "Why was it so dark last night?" my poem answers the question, explaining that the moon was enjoying a spot of tea with the writer.

You might choose to try this. Think of something someone might wonder, real or pretend...and then write a poem answering this question. As you know from my poem, your answer may be completely curious and magical. Feel free to title you poem "Answer" too. Or not!

Try writing a poem with the word you in it. This kind of writing is called writing in the second person. What will you say to your reader?

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

xo,

Amy

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Look First. Wonder Next.

Shaggy Parasols in Our Yard

Photo by Amy LV

Students - This is a very small poem. Perhaps it is a haiku. Maybe it is just a little nature poem. Whatever it is, it is a bit of writing about one thought I had this week. 

My husband Mark and I were walking through our yard looking at the mushrooms of the day. These shaggy parasols (Isn't the name great? Mark always teaches me the names.) were hanging out underneath some spruces in our yard. Sometimes they grow in rings, and people call these "fairy rings." It is thought that fairies or elves or pixies dance in such places. The ones in our yard were all lined up. My first thought was that they looked like they were waiting together, like children at school, or adults at the grocery store.

I kept thinking and wondering about those mushrooms all week.

My friend, poet, artist, and blogger Robyn Hood Black is a haiku expert, and she generously shares a lot about haiku here at her website and blog. I wanted to write a small haiku-ish poem about these mushrooms, and so I turned to Robyn. One resource she shares that I read and found very helpful and inspiring is The Bare Bones School of Haiku by the late Jane Reichhold.

At times, it feels good to write with just a few words. At these times, the tricky part is choosing just the right ones. Considering the mushrooms, what I have learned about poetry, and what I have learned from Robyn and Jane, here are a few things took into my brain as I wrote these few lines:

• A poem can be short.
• A poem does not need to rhyme.
• A poem does not need capital letters.
• A poem does not need punctuation.
• A poem can include an observation.
• A poem can include a thought or question.
• A poem/haiku can have two parts. (This poem includes a statement and a question.)
• A poem's title can give extra information. (If a reader doesn't know what shaggy parasols are, the title will help.)]
• A poem can play with sound in small ways. (The short 'u' sound in the title repeats.)

I welome you to play with any of these ideas this week. For starters, you might do these three things:

Go outside.

Look at something.

Think and wonder about it.

Write a poem with those two parts - your observation and your thinking/wondering.

Be free in your writing!

And remember: do not eat mushrooms that you find. Only mycologists (mushroom experts) can do this without getting sick...or even dying.

Close Up of Shaggy Parasols

Photo by Amy LV

Catherine is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup at Reading to the Core with an abecedarian about writing poetry. Please know that all are welcome each Friday as folks share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship.

xo,

Amy

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If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.

Something Small (& A Sonnet)

A Little Friend

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Isn't this snail I found this week so cute? Earlier in the week, I was making concord grape juice (easiest recipe ever, see HERE), and as I washed the grapes, we met. I did exactly what the poem says the speaker did: I brought the snail outside, set her (him?) in the weeds by the shed, and said goodbye. Then, I kept thinking about the experience.

This Week's Concord Grape Juice

Photo by Amy LV

One thing about writing is that when you do so regularly, you see your life in new ways. When something interesting happens to you, you think, "Oh! I might write about that!" You might not aways write about it at that moment, but it's like you put a bookmark in your mind, remembering that you have an idea to write about later.

Later, I went to my trusty Ron Padgett book, THE TEACHERS & WRITERS HANDBOOK OF POETIC FORMS, and once again I fell in love with sonnets. Some of you may know that I have shared many sonnets here.

An Old Favorite

Photo by Amy LV

There are different kinds of sonnets. Often sonnets are written in iambic pentameter, which is a meter that sounds like DaDUM DaDUM DaDUM DaDUM DaDUM (10 syllables, accents on every other syllable). A Shakespearean sonnet rhymes like this:

a

b

a

b

c

d

c

d

e

f

e

f

g

g

Each letter above stands for one line (14 lines), and each letter stands for one rhyme. So, line 1 (a) rhymes with line 3 (a), line 2 (b) lines with line 4 (b), line 5 (c) rhymes with line 7 (c), line 6 (d) rhymes with line 8 (d), line 9 (e) rhymes with line 11 (e), line 10 (f) rhymes with line 12 (f), and line 13 and 14 rhyme with each other (g). Go ahead and check my poem above!

You should notice that two lines of my poem break the traditional sonnet pattern - lines 9 and 11 (e) do not rhyme, and this is aok. Poets get to decide these things about their own poems. Feel free to play with a form and then when it does not work for you...free yourself from it!

Drafting

Photo by Amy LV

One thing I most like about sonnets is how the last two lines often give the meaning, or the big thought. And I do wonder...how can something as tiny as the snail I met feel at the same time so big and magestic and important?

This week, consider paying attention to the small things that cross your path. These may be living creatures or they may be small objects or they may be a mix of both. What do you wonder about them? What does what you notice mean? What meaning might you make?

Laura is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup at Small Reads for Brighter Days with her poems in response to the Poetry Princesses Challenge. Please know that all are welcome each Friday as folks share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship.

xo,

Amy

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Playing with Rhyme

Imagined Ghost and Pie
by Amy LV

Students - I am having a fine time carving and stamping erasers again, making Halloween cards for family. Last week's poem about Little Vampire Girl is still on my mind, and as Halloween is next Thursday, it's pumpkin carving time around here. So yesterday, a poem about a ghost began to float through my mind.

Our Kitchen Table Right Now

Photo by Amy LV

As I jotted Halloween-y things, found myself wondering if any words rhyme with invisible...and I found one on RhymeZone: divisible. I was so happy that I started to play with these two words until this poem emerged.

Sometimes a poem can spring from wordplay. If you want to try this out yourself, make some lists of rhyming words in your notebook. Choose a couple and just play around with them until you find something surprising. Follow the thread...see where it leads you.

Karen is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at at Karen Edmisten with a beautiful poem for October by Helen Hunt Jackson. We welcome everybody to join us each Friday as we share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship. Check out my left sidebar to learn where to find this poetry fellowship roundup every week.

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Ask Your Cat, Ask Your Art, Ask.

Peace Dove

by Amy LV

Students - This year I made some peace cards by carving and printing my own rubber stamp.  Today I decided to write about this stamp, but I was not sure where to begin.

I remembered talking with a wise boy who said,  "I'm not a cat whisperer or anything, but once when I didn't know what to write, I asked my cat.  And then I knew."

So I decided to ask the dove of my stamp what it wanted to say. And then I knew.

I was also helped by this quote from Picasso, about his famous Dove painting. Picasso's father had taught him to paint doves, and addressing the 1950 Peace Congress, Picasso said, "I stand for life against death; I stand for peace against war."

May we listen to our doves, our hearts, our cats, and our inner voices as these will point toward kindness.  And they will give us writing ideas too!

Stamp and Cards

by Amy LV

At Sharing Our Notebooks, my other online home,  I am tickled to welcome third grade teacher Dina Bolan and her third grade writers from Alexander Hamilton Elementary School in Glen Rock, New Jersey.  Take a peek at their nonfiction notebook entries, and leave a comment to be entered into a drawing for a snazzy new notebook selected by me! 

Jan is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup at Bookseedstudio. Her post honors the memory and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and you will be grateful to find the resources she shares. Please visit! 

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If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

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