X is for XENOPHOBIA

X is for XENOPHOBIA

Photo by Amy LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

In my dictionary, there is only one page for the letter X.  When I pointed to today's word, XENOPHOBIA, I looked above and saw XENOPHILIA.  I wanted to write from both words, and so I did.

Students - Today's poem plays on the suffixes of these two words.  -Phobia means fear of.  -Philia means attraction to.  Xeno-  means having to do with foreigeners. As I began jotting notes, the first two lines just popped in my head. And honestly, the rest of  the poem mostly just came out as is. I would say that today's poem was rhythm-driven.  The meter felt like water bubbling over rocks, and the words just followed.

You might wish to play with suffixes and prefixes for a poem, or you might want to try to write a poem about opposites.  I found that these two very different feelings gave me a lot to push against in my writing.  You might also just want to listen to rhythms in music, in your mother's speech, in the hum of your home.  Let these seep into your poetry.  Rhythm can drive words.

If you are new to The Poem Farm, welcome!  This month I have been walking, letter-by-letter, through the dictionary (closed-eyed), pointing to a letter each day, and writing from it. You can read poems A-W by checking the sidebar, and you can visit Lisa Vihos and read her accompanying daily haiku at, Lisa's Poem of the Week. In today's comments, watch for Lisa's Haiku and also Christophe's haiku.  It is lovely to poetryhike with new friends.

Over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, there are two new peekable notebooks.  So if you are a notebook-keeper, a notebook-keeper-hopeful, or a teacher who uses notebooks in your classroom, please don't miss Suz Blackaby's post about her process and word tickets or Allan Wolf's post about wall writing and butt books.

Monday is the first chalking celebration over at Teaching Young Writers.  Join organizer-Betsy, Linda from TeacherDance, many others, and me as we chalk, photograph, and share our poems.  April 30!

The winner of Suz's NEST, NOOK, AND CRANNY is Janet F.!  Please send an e-mail to amy at amylv dot com with your snail mail address.  The winner of Allan's ZANE'S TRACE will be selected on Monday evening, April 30 and announced on Tuesday Morning, May 1.

Tabatha is hosting this week's Poetry Friday Roundup over at The Opposite of Indifference. Visit her warm and wonderful space, and let yourself sink deeply into the poetic offerings of this week.

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Poem #289 Speaks to Children Who Bully

This poem is dedicated to Hannah, for her strong heart and kindness in the face of a difficult day.  

Students - we have spoken before about how writers take on topics which trouble them.  When I read the story over at Two Writing Teachers about Hannah's experience at recess, immediately I knew that I wanted to write a poem about this feeling.  I certainly know how it feels to be left out.  It has happened to me...it happens to each of us.  But what will we do?  I hope my children, and I, will react as Hannah did.  I hope to react not by running away, not by acting out of my own mean places, but rather by creating a new solution and inviting others to be a part of it.

If you read what Hannah's mom (Ruth Ayres) wrote over at Two Writing Teachers, you may have noticed that the words, "...don't know what's in my heart..." are directly repeated in today's poem.  That is because they are perfect words, and I felt grateful to hear them and pass them along in another shape.  Sometimes beautiful words come to us when we listen to wise people of any age.  Thank you, Hannah.

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