Claude and the Fire
Photo by Amy LV
Once again, I am thrilled to welcome my faraway friend Gart Westerhout, a musician and English professor who has composed a song for this poem. Enjoy!
Students - Today's poem focuses on one moment of gratitude for one repeated moment I love on winter days. We heat partially with wood here in snowy Western New York, and all of us cherish the warmth and beauty of a fire, big or small. Even our youngest cat, Claude. This morning I saw him just sitting there staring into the flames, and so I stared at him. And then...I wrote.
Consider trying this during the week sometime. Look around your life for a small moment that repeats itself, something so normal that you might not even notice it. Stare at the moment. Stare at it with your writing heart. Then...write.
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to have meet virtually with the thoughtful fifth grade poets taught by Tricia Pricken and Gail Cordello in Wyckoff, NJ. They have been reading and writing poetry and asked me some thoughtful am still thinking about. I asked their permision to share these questions and the way they arrived at them. Here are the questions:
1. What is your favorite poem you have written?
2.What inspires you to write your poems?
3. Where do you go to get your ideas for your nature poems?
4. Do you use a notebook to remember your writing?
5. Do you have any tips to make writing poems easier?
6. Is it easier to write a poem with or without rhyming?
This class works in table groups, and earlier in the week, after each of the students had written down a writing question, the tables met to eliminate duplicate questions and to select their table's one favorite question. Their ability to work together in this way resulted in some interesting thinking, and their curiosity made me think about how I would like to ask these same questions of others. You might wish to ask some of these - or other questions - to your writing friends. We can all learn from each other, no matter how old or young we are.
As it turns out, these fifth grade poets are also big notebook keepers...we had a lot in common. Thank you, notebookers, and thank you Tricia and Gail, for your time and generosity. I would love to be a daily writer in this room! (Thank you, too, writers, for the push to write a non-rhyming poem today. Your questions are affecting me.)
Patricia is hosting this week's Poetry Friday with an enchanting Christmas list poem. Each Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community.
Here you can see Claude sitting beside the small Christmas tree I made from my ancestors' old costume jewelry. He looks quite serious, don't you think?
Posing Claude
Photo by Amy LV
I wish you softness and moments of peace...
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