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Thursday, April 2, 2020

One Million Bubbles #NationalPoetryMonth



It is April, and I am joining many others in celebrating National Poetry Month. This month many people turn to their gardens and landscapes and play in the dirt. I'd rather do a little playing with words. This month I will be creating found poems by taking words, phrases, and lines from other texts and rearranging them into a "literary collage" with a whole new meaning.

This poem is taken from a newspaper article in the Vincennes Sun-Commerical on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. The article featured a balloon artist who created a display and placed it in front of our hospital to lift spirits and support those working and taking care of those affected by COVID-19. It is part of a movement called One Million Bubbles of Joy that was organized by a Seattle-based balloon artist. More than 400 artists from 15 countries participated.

One Million Bubbles

lift spirits
spread joy
provide hope
              and happiness

heroes
putting themselves in danger 
every day
the new realities of COVID-19

bit of brightness
simply by blowing up a balloon

Leigh Anne Eck, 2020



This week also marks the beginning of 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. For the first time, I am participating and will be adding line 15 (yes, that scares me just a little!). You find the poem's trail below.

1.   Donna Smith at Mainely Write

2.   Irene Latham at Live Your Poem
3.   Jone McCulloch at deowriter
4.   Liz Steinglass
5.   Buffy Silverman
6.   Kay McGriff at A Journey Through the Pages
7.   Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
8.   Tara Smith at Going to Walden
9.   Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
10. Matt Forrest Esenwine at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
11. Janet Fagel hosted at Reflections on the Teche
12. Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
13. Kat Apel at Kat Whiskers
14. Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche
15. Leigh Anne Eck at A Day in the Life
16. Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
17. Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
18. Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading
19. Tabitha at Opposite of Indifference
20. Rose Capelli at Imagine the Possibilities
21. Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
22. Julieanne Harmatz at To Read, To Write, To Be
23. Ruth at There is no such thing at a God-forsaken town.
24. Christie Wyman at Wondering and Wandering
25. Amy at The Poet Farm
26. Dani Burtsfield at Doing the Work that Matters
27. Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
28.
29. Fran at lit bits and pieces
20. Michelle Kogan

2 comments:

  1. "Bit of brightness." I am listening to The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman. There's a scene where the sister wants to buy a balloon and once she does, she lets it go so that it can be free. Your poem reminded me of that scene.

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  2. What a great project and your poem pairs beautifully with it. One Million Bubbles of Joy!

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