Building an Autumn Nestling

Imagine a brisk, sunny spring day with a bit of wind. I search for the osprey nest at the nearby Marine Nature Study Area. It can be seen from far away because it's built on top of a huge pole in the preserve. A lone guardian pensively stands by the huge bird-crafted nest of twigs. While I have never seen the birth of the baby ospreys, I know that their nest is visited often and photographed by many. 

Last Thursday, as I reviewed Irene Latham's new book, This Poem Is A Nest, on Stop #8 of the Blog Tour, my thoughts returned to the osprey nest I saw during spring. Irene's poetry book takes the reader through the building of a nest (poem) in spring and its development up to the winter season. Using Irene's source poem, Autumn, I am on a hunt to find nestlings, small poems, within the original nest poem. With the help of Buncee, I captured what I saw at the nature preserve but added a touch of autumn to bring an imaginative flair to the scene. 

    With faith, ospreys fly solo in autumn.

I follow their wordless flight to build my own nestling.

- Irene Latham, 2020, "This Poem Is A Nest"

Autumn:

 crispcool air leaves clouds still,

time another wordless flight,

whisperweight faith tucked beneath memory

©CV, 2020

🍁🍂🍃

🍁🍂🍃

Thank you, Irene Latham, for your unique new book, Poem Is A Nest, that sparked my imagination and allowed me to create my own nestling from your source poem. Not only was I able write a poem but design a Buncee with a creative background.

🍁🍂🍃

And now for a Special Announcement that I saved for the end of the holiday weekend:

Winner of This Poem Is A Nest Raffle Is

Jayne Hartnett from New Jersey

Boyds Mills and Kane, publisher of Irene Latham's book, will send Jayne a copy of This Poem Is A Nest. Congratulations! I know that this teacher and her middle school students will not only enjoy reading  Irene's book but will have fun creating their own nestling poems.

🍁🍂🍃

Coming up is Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers. Join me there.

#Winterinspring Continues

Monday Morning

Sunshine meets morning. 

Weather report breaks through. 
"It may look like a spring day 
But it's really more like a
Warm February or early March day."
Out the door to yoga class-
Jacket and hat in hand. 
Brr-37 degrees-
Chill in the air!
Rush, rush to class.
Ah, studio warmth!
Leaving feeling refreshed.
See an open-top convertible
pass on by-
Man in a winter hat
Enjoying a brisk ride.
It takes all kinds
to live life to its fullest!
#Winterinspring smiles.
@CV, 2018

Poetry Slice

for

Two Writing Teachers

#NPM18

Poetry Friends

Throughout connected educators' lives, face-to-face or virtual friends will pass through, lining the chambers of our hearts. They spark conversations and weave tapestries of thought that bring us warm greetings, support, and understanding. They provide the mirror for us to look into and see who we are and how we choose to live our lives. They are kindred spirits, our community, our tribe whose lives are intertwined with ours. 

Poetry Friday is such a community of friends with positive, passionate people who embrace the love of poetry on a daily basis. Its circle of friendship is open to all who love the world of words and the craft of writing. 

My offerings today are responses to those who write alongside me:

• I opened my day to a haiku exchange started by Margaret Simon followed by Catherine Flynn. I join my friends to reply with this response. 

as nature opens its day

pen in hand glides across pages

haiku harmony 

©CV, 2016

• This week as I entered Long Island's superhighways to my destination, I saw morning unfold. The moon was full, a most unusual sight at dawn. I thought of Heidi Mordhorst's haiku about the fat full moon that I found at Mary Lee Hahn's hashtag, #haikuforhealing. The following words flowed. (mostly because I was disconcerted by the traffic flow):

weaving in and out

strange early morn urgency

fat full moon watches

©CV, 2016

• I like others in the Poetry Friday community are grateful to Michelle Heidenrich Barnes for compiling a lovely collection of poems that were showcased at her blog, Today's Little Ditty, and published into a book, The Best of Today's Little Ditty 2014-15 that came this week signed and with a special note. 

My entry

Life is a series of interactions and what better way to live it than filled with a circle of friends. 

Today is Poetry Friday's Round-up. Tabatha Yeatts is hosting so please visit her blog, The Opposite of Indifference here to read what is being offered by the community of writers.

Ho Ho Ho

Now that Christmas is officially drawing to a close, there is time for reflection. The man in the red suit must have been quite warm last night as he busied himself for all his runs. 

While we have no children in the house now, Santa still makes his debut in the neighborhood the Sunday before Christmas flanked by many fire engines. On Christmas Eve, he is seen brining good cheer. 

Happy Holidays from my house to yours!

You can see many presents under my Christmas tree but one is missing. Since I had some computer problems this week, the Autumn's Palette Gallery that was scheduled to be unveiled tonight is delayed. It will be launched this weekend with good cheer as a gift of the season.

At Live Your Poem, Irene Latham is hosting Poetry Friday and recapping her 12 Days of Kindness. Please visit Irene's site to hear her deliver a Christmas Eve poem. 

Reflecting on the Super Moon Phenomenon

Last Saturday, July 12th there was much hype about the Super Moon. As the days approached, I wondered if it would be as magnificent as news accounts depicted it would be. When I actually saw it shining so bright and full I was in awe of the universe. I stood mesmerized and started to recollect the times in my childhood when I engaged in the same act of watching the full moon at night. Riveted, I looked into the dark sky to see the crater face of Mr. Moon, all ablaze and peeking out at me between the trees. I captured its sight but I must admit the photo taken with my iPhone did not do justice to the Super Moon's beauty. What I saw was the best and clearest image of the moon's "crater-made face" that I have ever seen.

Continuing to stare intently into the sky, led me to think of the countless children around the world that were doing the exact same thing I was doing - just silently staring! Subsequent to this event, news article, photos, and tweets began to surface speaking about the wonders of the image in the sky. Although my photo of the man in the moon face pales in comparison to some on Twitter, I appreciated the beauty of what I saw and wanted to share my enthusiasm for this phenomenon. 

The found poem below was written from words lifted from news articles and quotes about the Super Moon night sky event. My goal was to create a poem that would speak to the experience of moon gazing on a dark summer night from a reflective stance.

The following are resources for children that I found about "moon poems" that can used during the school year.

By Grace Andreachhi
https://sites.google.com/site/graceandreacchi/
Also see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKi_60NLbQw

Child Moon 
By Carl Sandburg

The child's wonder 
At the old moon 
Comes back nightly. 
She points her finger 
To the far silent yellow thing
Shining through the branches 
Filtering on the leaves a golden sand, 
Crying with her little tongue, “See the moon!” 
And in her bed fading to sleep 
With babblings of the moon on her little mouth.

The Moon - A Children's poem 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSyPs8BW9EM

Today Tabatha Yeatts is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup at The Opposite of Indifference with her whimsical feathered friend, Poetry Monster. 

As the School Year Draws to an End Reflection Matters

School is nearing an end and summer is around the bend. So I decided to take a stroll down memory lane to highlight my first year of teaching when long hair and mini-skirts were in vogue. My first experience started in Albany at the Albany High School Annex with senior high, disenfranchised readers. The work was challenging but so rewarding. I started immediately after my Master's Degree was completed and that meant I only had six months to engage students whose lives were filled with social, emotional, and academic difficulties in the art of reading. I hope that this poem helps you reflect upon your early days of teaching and how you have grown as a learner and practitioner. 

Readers Take Flight

Faces of youth,

"Kotter-like" students beyond their years,

Move through the hallways of my mind.

I number each of them in my etch book of time

As I recall first words,

Backstories of solitary lives

Without maps to guide their journeys,

Tribulations, and small triumphs.

In the corners of yesterday, I see their faces

Peering behind books. I savor the memories-

Makeshift first classroom,

Third floor annex-adjacent to cafeteria,

Sweaty smells, crowded seating,

Children in adolescent frames,

Disheveled, tuned out.

Sitting before me, waiting for guidance.

Traveling together on a rocky but steady path

We grew a learner’s haven.

As trust evolved,

Content explored.

Their minds expanded,

Swaddled in words from books

That lined the walls

And cradled the learning.

Then, as quickly as I came into their lives,

I left. June brought the year to an end. 

The string that bound our learning lives unraveled.

I watched each of them take flight.

Into the summer winds, they soared

As floating balloons dancing in the sky.

I sighed, hoping that one day they would become

The readers I groomed them to be.

This poem has been submitted to the Poetry Friday Round-up found at Carols' Corner this week. In the comment section, there will be messages from a variety of writers linking you to their poems. At the top of the blog page, is a quote by Kate DiCamillo that speaks to the issue of reading as a gift. 

"Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or a duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift."

May your Friday be filled with the pleasure of reading.