One of my favorite writing lessons from back when I was still teaching was introducing students to George Ella Lyon’s “Where I’m From” poem and then getting to know my students by reading theirs. Then I would collect a line from each student and create a collaborative Where I’m From poem for each class–both written and video.

After reading about George Ella Lyon’s Where I’m From project from Heidi and Tabatha (and their Where’ I’m From poems, too), I wanted to dig out my poem and share it, too. In doing so, I realized that while I had shared it with multiple classes of students, I’ve never shared it on my blog (at least not that I could find). Here it is. If you would like to create and share your own art (poetry and more is welcome) to be gathered and presented in Washington, DC, later this year in October, check out the project’s website and Facebook page. I would love to learn more about where you are from.

A Place of My Own

I’m from
fields of tobacco,
laid out in yellow–green rows of four
under the sweltering summer sun,
collecting pine cones and picking blueberries
two hours from the beach.
I’m from slapping cards around the kitchen table
for side my side games of solitaire
and endless rounds of rummy,
paddling out to stump city
in a wood canoe,
shucking corn on the Fourth of July
before the fireworks rain,
going to Grandma’s on Labor Day.
I’m from
visits to the library,
leaving with the books stacked higher than my head,
early summer mornings
racing barefoot to the swings,
grass clippings clinging to my feet.
I’m from the land of
moon pies, Bill’s Barbecue,
corn pudding, homemade ice cream,
eating shrimp and oysters by the peck,
spooning sugared cereal
out of recycled margarine tubs
before watching Saturday morning cartoons,
pretending Superman was my brother.
I’m from
the perch nestled in the top of the pine tree
overseeing The Place,
and you wanted your place, too.
Now I have a different place
of my own
to call home.

Each Friday, I am excited to take part in Poetry Friday, where writers share their love of all things poetry. Robyn Hood Black hosts the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Life on the Deckle Edge She celebrates spiders with the publication of a spider poem and shares more from GREAT MORNING.  Hurry over and check out all the poetry morsels offered up today. 

I’m continuing with the bird theme from last week–at least with the chickens. It’s been an adventure to visit the hens the past few weeks as it is time for them to regrow a new set of feathers for the year. Let’s just say it is not a pretty process. If you ever think you’re having a bad hair day, let me reassure you, the hens have got you beat. The worst part is they don’t lay nearly as many eggs while they are going through the molting process. Enjoy the picture and a short haiku.

feathers fly about
scattering from molting hens
few eggs for me

Each Friday, I am excited to take part in Poetry Friday, where writers share their love of all things poetry. Margaret Simon hosts the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Reflections on the Teche. She offers up zenos and zines and more poetry swap goodness. I think I have something new (to me) to try! Hurry over and check out all the poetry morsels offered up today. 

A couple of weeks ago, Christie Wyman–today’s  Poetry Friday host–invited any and all to join in her fascination with birds and share a bird-related poem of some sort. I’ve been wanting to write about my chickens for awhile so that fits right in. Then last week Diana Mayr issued a  challenge to write a poem inspired by an image of an animal from the LIbrary of Congress collection. I’ve also been wanting to explore the images in their collection. So I took up both challenges (and DIane’s suggestion to combine them.

First, I headed over to the Library of Congress Digital Collections to search for images of chickens. Let’s just say there were more than a few to choose from, but how could I resist these adorable chicks? The print has a US Copyright of 1777 and is associated with L. Prang and Co. (unverified according to the description). You can find the image here.

Since I’m meeting two challenges, I wrote two poems. First, a haiku:

chicks gather round
a beetle crawling past
tug of war ensues

Next, a cherita:

chicks wander out

scratch and peck
in a grassy field

an unsuspecting beetle
trapped between beaks
becomes a tasty treat

Thank you, Christie and Diane, for inspiring me to take on this challenge!

Each Friday, I am excited to take part in Poetry Friday, where writers share their love of all things poetry. Christie Wyman hosts the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Wondering and Wandering. She gathers a flock of poetry with a challenge to write about bird this week. Don’t worry if you’re off-topic–all poems and subjects are welcome!. 

Most of my poetry this week has come from my morning devotional time. I’ve been reading the letters of Paul–those to Timothy this week. Even though the cultural contexts between that time and ours are very different, I’ve been struck by how much some things–especially human nature–has not changed. Here are a few haiku responses from my readings this week.

lift your hearts to God
pray for everyone you know
pray for peace

professional liars
lost capacity for truth
twisted reality

ignorant windbags
lust after money and power
bring nothing but trouble

a devout life brings wealth–
being yourself before God
is enough

pursue a righteous life
full of wonder, faith, love, courtesy
live in God’s kingdom

pious talk
not backed by a godly life
poisons the soul

Each Friday, I am excited to take part in Poetry Friday, where writers share their love of all things poetry. Molly Hogan hosts the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Nix the Comfort Zone. . She shares a beautiful sonnet that refused to let her give up. Drop by and see what poetry morsels are offered this week. Remember to flay along with Christie Wyman next week as she hosts Poetry Friday and invites us to share a bird poem. 

I first visited New Orleans when I was a teenager on family vacation. As a dedicated band nerd, the one thing I wanted to do most of all was to take in a concert at Preservation Hall. The rest of my family did not share my fascination with jazz (and due to factors such as not wanting to take children to Bourbon Street area at night and having other activities scheduled with the conference), so my parents did not take me to a concert. I’ve been waiting over 30 years, but I finally made it back to New Orleans.

This time, we stood in line outside the door of Preservation Hall long enough to insure we would get inside the small concert room. Not only did we get  in, but my daughter and I were able to find floor seats on the first row. We were close enough to reach out and touch the band. It was well worth the wait to hear this legendary jazz band that has played for over 50 years.

It is impossible to fully translate the experience to words–even poetry–but here is one attempt.

Jazz @Preservation Hall

Music shimmies through the streets,
spills out of doorways,
echoes through the generations.
Trumpet blares and blasts the melody
as it dances up and down the scales.
Trombone slides underneath
as it moans the blues.
Bass thumps and twants
as it beats a steady rhythm.
Clarinet sings and trills
as it twists around an old tune.
Keyboard pounds a cascade of notes
as it tickles the ivories one more time.
Drums rat-a-tat-tat the beat
as it sizzles in syncopation.
Voices blend and shake in harmonies,
echo and answer one another,
shimmy through the ages.

If you want to explore more about jazz through poetry, check out JAZZ by Walter Dean Myers and illustrated by Christopher Myers. The poems and pictures dance across the pages. The poems are such fun to read aloud. They play with sound and rhythm in a way that mimics how jazz plays with melodies and harmonies. The vibrant illustrations and playful typefaces turn up the heat even more. Not only do you have all this fun on every page, but you learn much about the history of jazz. I dare you to read it and not want to get up and dance!

Each Friday, I am excited to take part in Poetry Friday, where writers share their love of all things poetry. Mary Lee Hahn hosts the Poetry Friday Roundup today at A Year of Reading. She introduces (to me at least) a new form–a blitz poem. It looks like it could be fun to try even if a bit challenging. Drop by and see what poetry morsels are offered this week.

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