Repetition in a Summer Mystery

Hello Friends!

If you are just back to school, welcome back to school! I wish you and your new teacher and new friends a joyful and meaningful year ahead, and I look forward to writing together and perhaps meeting some of you and reading your work.

You will notice that The Poem Farm has a new search feature. Thank you so much to Marisa Saelzler who helped me so perfectly with this. You may search by topic, poetic technique, or type of poem. To learn more about this, click the FIND A POEM tab above.

A Visit from the Tomato Fairy
Photo by Amy LV

Students - Today's poem is about a small, surprise event that happened just this week at The Poem Farm. I went to get my mail from the big blue mailbox, and the small newspaper box next to it held one big tomato, two small cherry tomatoes, and a few flowers. It seemed they may have been left the day before, and the whole scene in my newspaper box made me so happy. Right away I knew that I would write about the generosity of this mystery-giver.

As you write this week, you might wish to look out for kindnesses - surprise or not - or to remember past kindnesses you have given or received. Somehow just thinking and writing about such memories makes our todays better.

One thing you may notice about this poem is that I repeat a lot of words. This repetetion just seemed to happen on its own at first, but then, I so enjoyed the feeling of the poem's words rolling over on themselves that I just kept at it, repeating words on purpose. Which repeated words do you find?

If you want to try this with your own writing, just begin writing with an ear for repetition. You might begin a line with the last word of the line before. You might repeat a whole line or thread up words from earlier in your poem. There are many ways to repeat, and repetition adds a song-like quality to your poem. 

September 19, 2024 Update - My talented friend, English Professor and Musican Gart Westerhout is once again back with a song version of a poem. Please enjoy "Summer Mystery," sung by Gart. Thank you, friend!

Buffy is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup over at Buffy Silverman with an early book celebration for her forthcoming beautiful STARLIGHT SYMPHONY and a poem about a walking stick. Each Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community.

Happy Septembering!

xo,

Amy

ps - Yes...I did find out who the mystery tomato-giver was. It was two wonderful girls who live on our road...so many thank yous to them. The tomatoes were deee-licious!

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A Repeating Line

Hearts

by Amy LV

Students - Today's poem is about something I am thinking about: how important it is for me - and for each of us - to be present and kind in the face of another's struggles and sorrows. We cannot do everything, but each of us can do something...every day...to bring more peace and hope to our world. We can each pay attention to the people around us, noticing if they may be hurt (inside or out) and if they might need a bit of our care.

You will see that this poem has a repeating line that turns at the end. I did not plan that. The poem made it happen. Allow your poems to lead you, young friends.

Linda is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup at A Word Edgewise with thoughtful words and a golden shovel poem about her work as a school librarian this week. Please know that all are welcome each Friday as folks share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship.

I offer my deepest respect and appreciation for all teachers and staff in schools over this past year and days. Thank you for all that you do to love, teach, and protect our students every day. For those of you heading into summer now, I offer you my love and wishes for joy and rest.

xo,

Amy

Please share a comment below if you wish. 

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

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

Kindness - Poems About What We Have Learned

 

Helping

by Amy LV

Students - I am a dropper, a spiller, a tripper...and so there have been many times that people have helped me pick up my crayons, my boots, my silverware. Whenever someone else drops something, I know how he or she feels. I have learned to stop and help that person as others have helped me.

Today's poemstory represents just a snip of time - the first six lines could take place in maybe one minute. The last two lines are a reflection on what the speaker has learned from this experience - to be kind, to help.

What lesson have you learned from an experience? Might this find its way into a notebook entry or poem? What is a trait you admire? Can you think of a tiny story which illustrates this trait?  I always feel a twinge of worry and sadness when someone makes a big spill, and somehow that twinge came into my mind last night.

Teachers - one poem I mention in this space over and over, is Naomi Shihab Nye's Kindness. It has changed my life.

Over at Mentoring Monday, Lisa Dabbs has a post about kindness in the classroom and information about the movie, FINDING KIND.

And today, on the same kindness wavelength, is Mary Lee Hahn over at A Year of Reading.  Do not miss her list of books that evoke empathy.

Ruth Ayres has been kind enough to share her notebooks and fierce wonderings over at Sharing Our Notebooks this week.  If you're a notebook peeker, you will not want to miss it!

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London Dreaming, Umbrella Path, & SPARK 14

,

London Dreaming

(oil on canvas , "40 x 30")

by Alixandra Martin

Students - sometimes I find that my writing is best when I am inspired by someone else's idea. This may sound funny since I often write about the many different ways that I try to find topics on my own. But there is something neat about writing from someone else's work, writing to deadline, writing about something that first grew in someone else's mind. That's the work of SPARK, connecting writers, artists, and musicians...allowing each to inspire the other.

This is the third time that I've participated in SPARK, founded by Amy Souza and described below in her own words -

Open to writers, musicians, and visual artists of all kinds, SPARK is a participatory creativity event that takes place four times each year.

During each 10-day project round, participants create a new piece of work using someone else's art, writing, or music as inspiration. All resulting work is then displayed online, alongside the piece that inspired it.

For this round, I connected with artist Alix Martin, my talented friend who painted all of the images you see on my website and blogs. Honestly, I was a little bit nervous to write from "London Dreaming" because Alix is my friend, and I wanted her to feel that my words met her image well. So day after day in the 10 days of SPARK, I went back to my notebook -- writing the poem, writing the poem again, circling the poem, stalking the poem. I even used a prose writing exercise from Ursula K. Le Guin's book, STEERING THE CRAFT, to help me with the sounds in "Umbrella Path."

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Exercise from p. 26 - BEING GORGEOUS - Write a paragraph to a page (150 - 300 words) of narrative that's meant to be read aloud.  Use onomatopoeia, alliteration, repetition, rhythmic effects, made-up words or names, dialect -- any kind of sound-effect you like -- but NOT rhyme or meter.Doing this exercise gave me some snips and snaps that helped to build the foundation for my finished poem

I feel very lucky to have written from Alix's work in this round, and early next week I will post the inspiration poem I sent to Alix along the artwork she created in response.

It is exciting to write from someone else's art and to wonder what an artist will do with your words. These are the pieces I've written for previous SPARK rounds along with the images.

SPARK 15 will take place in February, and this time there will hopefully be an experimental Kids' SPARK too. SPARK founder Amy Souza, Webster teacher Jamie Palmer, and I are putting our heads together about how we will do this, so please stay posted for details at SPARK and here as well.

This week was marvelous in more ways than one. Last Friday, I had the good fortune to hear Naomi Shihab Nye speak at Kleinhans Music Hall. Her great soul and words have stayed with me all week. When she read "Kindness," I looked at my friend Nancy. It's one of our favorite poems ever. And when Naomi closed with "Gate 4-A," I felt forever new. Should you ever have the chance to hear Naomi speak (she will be back in the Buffalo area this spring) -- go. You will be renewed.

Robyn Hood Black is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Read, Write, Howl. Thank you, Robyn, for weaving such a lovely post for us today!

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