A Goodbye to Gloria

Goodbye, Gloria!
Video by Amy LV

Students - Many times I have heard this quote by Italian writer Cesare Pavese: "We do not remember days, we remember moments." I will always remember a moment from this week...the moment when our first monarch butterfly walked up my arm and flew away.

Earlier this summer, I popped in from summer with a post about the milkweed plants in our front garden.  It was Welcome to monarchs.  Today, almost two months later, I say Goodbye.  

Yesterday, I was writing about the week and about Gloria in my notebook. It was at the top of my third page of writing that I wrote the sentence below.

August 30, 2018 Notebook Snip

Photo by Amy LV

Immediately, I placed asteriks around the four words and moved to a new page to begin a poem.

One of my favorite parts of notebook keeping is the not-knowing.  Which words will arrive?  Which words will those words next invite?

Rereading today's poem, I now realize that both this one and my poem from two weeks ago refer to actions not taken rather than actions taken.  It is curious to me how various themes and patterns emerge and repeat within a short writing time span.  Once again I find myself thankful that through writing, I come to understand and see.  You might consider trying this yourself.  Rather than writing about something that DID happen or IS happening, write about what DID NOT happen or WILL NEVER happen.  It's an upside down way of looking at things and often reveals a new thought.

I wish you had all experienced Gloria's glorious flight with me and am happy to offer you these pictures.

The Ghost of Gloria

Photo by Amy LV

Why, Hello, Girl!

Photo by Amy LV

Friendly Butterfly

Photo by Amy LV

A Monarch on Her Own

Photo by Amy LV

If you ever feel at a loss for what to write about - or at a loss for joy - spend some time with plants and animals and weather and sky.  The natural world is evergiving.

Robyn is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Life on the Deckle Edge. Each week we gather together, sharing poems, books, and poetry ideas all at one blog.  All are always welcome to visit, comment, and post.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

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

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

Repetition in a Poem of Home

I am not really here.

But.

I am dipping back today to welcome the writers from Jennifer Serravallo's Reading and Writing Book Strategies Summer Camp Community to Poetry Friday! Today visited writing summer camp for the last day of Poetry Week, and I feel so lucky to do have done so.  If you do not know about this camp, please feel free to visit here to see all of Jen's poetry lesson videos for this week.

All new visitors, please know that I post poems and poemthinking for students each Friday during the school year, and you may also search for poems here by both topic and technique.

Our Front Garden Full of Milkweed

Photo by Amy LV

A Monarch Visitor!

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Today's poem idea is about a place I see every single day - our front garden.  I have been thinking a lot about gardens lately because I am not very good at keeping them, but gardening is something I wish to do better.  My front garden, however, is no longer mine.

I have turned it over to monarch butterflies.

See, monarchs need milkweed, and monarch numbers have been down due to pesticides and habitat loss.  So when milkweed began growing in our garden voluntarily, I chose to let it stay.  And as you can see in the picture above, monarchs are visiting!

Today in my notebook, I wrote about this place, and my commitment to monarch butterflies.

Notebook Drafting 

Click to Enlarge

You will notice some repetition in today's poem. Often when I read or write a poem, I think about which words or lines might be wise to repeat.  I play around with these words and lines, allowing them to weave in and out and curl around each other.

In Welcome, you will find a few repeated words or phrases. Notice which lines and words repeat.  Notice where they repeat too, as there are many ways to use repetition. And remember, the more we notice as writers, the more techniques we have to try on our own as writers.

Tricia is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at The Miss Rumphius Effect. Each week many of us gather together, sharing poems, books, and poetry ideas all at one blog.  All are always welcome to visit, comment, and post, and you can always find the host of the week in the left sidebar here or at any participating blog.

Now...back to summer, back to watching the monarchs!

xo,

Amy

One Milkweed Leaf

Photo by Amy LV

Please share a comment below if you wish.

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

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