Far Away

Today I wrote to a Teach Write Academy prompt--"far away." Mom continues to slip farther away, much like this rowboat on the water. I chose to write a skinny poem.

Words with Wings {3}

  

It is April, and I am joining many others in celebrating National Poetry Month by reading, writing, sharing, and celebrating poetry each day this month. I have chosen to combine my love of reading with my love of writing. I will be writing poems using all things bookish--from titles to quotes to characters. So, come turn the page and write a little poetry with me.

I read the book Words with Wings, by Nikki Grimes, several years ago. It is a favorite of many of my students, especially those who like to daydream. It is a favorite of mine because I strive to be the kind of teacher who helps students realize that finding your words can lead to finding your wings.

I wrote a skinny poem for this book title. The Skinny Poem is short poem form that consists of eleven lines. The first and eleventh lines can be any length (although shorter lines are favored). The eleventh and last line must be repeated using the same words from the first and opening line (however, they can be rearranged). The second, sixth, and tenth lines must be identical. The Skinny was created by Truth Thomas in the Tony Medina Poetry Workshop at Howard University in 2005.

words with wings

on 

blank

pages

landing 

on 

open

hearts

daydreaming

on

words with wings.

Check out the Kidlit Progressive Poem, which is being organized by Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche. A different poet adds a line each day for the month of April. You can find the poem's trail below.

April 1 Mary Lee Hahn, Another Year of Reading
April 2 Heidi Mordhorst, My Juicy Little Universe
April 3 Tabatha, The Opposite of Indifference
April 4 Buffy Silverman
April 5 Rose Cappelli, Imagine the Possibilities
April 6 Donna Smith, Mainely Write
April 7 Margaret Simon, Reflections on the Teche
April 8 Leigh Anne, A Day in the Life
April 9 Linda Mitchell, A Word Edgewise
April 10 Denise Krebs, Dare to Care
April 11 Emma Roller, Penguins and Poems
April 12 Dave Roller, Leap Of Dave 
April 13 Irene Latham Live You Poem 
April 14 Janice Scully, Salt City Verse
April 15 Jone Rush MacCulloch
April 16 Linda Baie TeacherDance
April 17 Carol Varsalona, Beyond Literacy Link
April 18 Marcie Atkins
April 19 Carol Labuzzetta at The Apples in My Orchard 
April 20 Cathy Hutter, Poeturescapes
April 21 Sarah Grace Tuttle at Sarah Grace Tuttle’s Blog, 
April 22 Marilyn Garcia
April 23 Catherine at Reading to the Core
April 24 Janet Fagal, hosted by Tabatha, The Opposite of Indifference
April 25 Ruth, There is no Such Thing as a God-Forsaken Town
April 26 Patricia J. Franz, Reverie
April 27 Theresa Gaughan, Theresa’s Teaching Tidbits
April 28 Karin Fisher-Golton, Still in Awe Blog
April 29 Karen Eastlund, Karen’s Got a Blog
April 30 Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting, and Writing

Secrets Whispered

This month in the Teach Write Academy, we have a list of November prompts that are words and phrases created to inspire writing. What I love about these prompts is that I never know where they are going to take me. What words are going to come. What memories I am going to find.

One of the prompts last week was "whispered secrets." These two words begged for a poem, and after trying out several forms, a skinny was created. 

The Skinny Poem is short poem form that consists of eleven lines. The first and eleventh lines can be any length (although shorter lines are favored). The eleventh and last line must be repeated using the same words from the first and opening line (however, they can be rearranged). The second, sixth, and tenth lines must be identical. All the lines in this form, except for the first and last lines, must be comprised of ONLY one word. The Skinny was created by Truth Thomas in the Tony Medina Poetry Workshop at Howard University in 2005.

Whispered secrets
from 
me
to
you
from 
confidential
to
betrayal
from
secrets whispered.