Making an Orange Pomander
Photo by Amy LV
Cuddling Claude
Photo by Amy LV
Photo by Amy LV
Students - When we think of home, we often think about a structure: an apartment, a house, a building of some sort. But home can also be a feeling, and for me, it is often a quiet feeling. Home is the feeling of making something slowly with my hands. Home is the feeling of touching the soft fur of our poofy friend Claude. Home is the feeling of staring at my favorite twinkly lights on this cold winter morning.
Today's poem is simply a pause to appreciate the home of quiet that I try (and often fail) to carry inside of my own pocketheart. I wrote this poem in all lowercase letters because it felt quieter to me that way, and as always, I read it aloud over and over as I wrote each line. A beautiful example of a poem in all lowercase letters and with no punctuation is Nikki Giovanni's "Winter Poem." Nikki passed away this month and will remain forever a shining star forever in the hearts of poem readers.
Allow yourself to play with your writing. Try something new, like rhyming...or not rhyming...or writing long lines instead of short ones...or letting go of capital letters...or writing funny instead of serious. Trust yourself to know that writing is exploration. And know, too, that writing is about your own mind; it not about patching together something written by computers.
When you write or make art this week, you may choose to begin with the question, "What feels like home for me right now?"
Thank you to Jone for hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup over at Jone MacCulloch. Each Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community.
May you gratefully notice the moments of home in your life as we bring 2024 to a close...
xo,
Amy
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Thanks for your inspiration today. I've never made a pomander, but I can smell yours through this image. I collected words from you and Nikki and wrote this poem with glitter pens my student just gave me.
ReplyDeleteBits of glitter green sparkles
fleck this notebook page,
a quiet reminder
creativity lives here,
a peaceful rest
from noisybusy that engulfs
these last days
before Christmas.
Once i embrace this moment,
i can be glittery green
and sparkle
like a flower.
This delights, Margaret. I love that the three of us are somehow sharing words... And love, too, how well your students know their creative glittery green flower of a teacher. xo on this last Christmas break (my husband Mark too!)
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