Jan
2023
Poetry Friday: Wandering through Notebooks
As I begin a writing habit again, I keep reminding myself of things I used to know (and share with my students). For example:
- a blank page can be inviting or intimidating
- first drafts aren’t pretty–they don’t look like finished poems
- just start writing words or doodling on the page, and more words will come
- once you have some words on the page, you can play with them–rearrange, take them them out, add more
- it’s hard to work with a blank page–just start writing something
I also spent some time browsing through an old writer’s notebook that I still keep stashed in my purse. Not only did it bring back memories of small moment’s I had forgotten, I found inspiration (some of those words already on the page to play with). This entry comes from when my daughter was about 5 or 6 (she’s now all grown up).
And here is a poem I found in the memory
a single daffodil
blooms bright against winter’s sludge
spring’s first gift
Marcie is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Marcie Flinchum Atkins. She shares some companion books to her picture book Wait, Rest, Pause along with a winter haiku. If you would like to learn more about Poetry Friday, check out this.
Laura Shovan
January 25, 2023 at 5:54 pm (2 years ago)Your poem makes me long for spring, Kay. Here in Maryland, the Lenten roses are budding. I’m waiting for the camelias.
Mrs. McGriff
January 26, 2023 at 8:59 pm (2 years ago)Me, too. Laura. We don’t have much blooming outside yet–and more snow this week!
Michelle Kogan
January 25, 2023 at 2:05 am (2 years ago)Lovely to dream about that “single daffodil” I’m ready for it now. I’m never quite ready to give up my last notebook that’s filled, so for a while I carry around 2… thanks Kay!
Mrs. McGriff
January 26, 2023 at 8:58 pm (2 years ago)Thanks, Michelle. I may have to carry around a couple of notebooks for a while (and maybe jot down ideas a little more frequently)
PATRICIA J FRANZ
January 21, 2023 at 4:36 pm (2 years ago)Kay, I’ve read a number of poets and authors who recommend perusing those old notebooks. What a treasure! Even your opening notes read like a poem.
Mrs. McGriff
January 21, 2023 at 9:37 pm (2 years ago)Thanks, Patricia. It was such fun to travel back in time through its pages.
Robyn Hood Black
January 21, 2023 at 3:40 pm (2 years ago)What a beautiful image, Kay! And I love that you have kept the wonderful ideas you jotted down decades ago; I’ve kept old notebooks and scraps of papers, too – coming across many with all this packing. I love this tip: “just start writing words or doodling on the page, and more words will come” – it’s the truth, and it holds such promise!
Mrs. McGriff
January 21, 2023 at 9:37 pm (2 years ago)Thanks, Robyn. It is the truth and hopeful, and I still have a hard time remembering it for myself!
Marcie Atkins
January 21, 2023 at 1:05 pm (2 years ago)Oh “winter’s sludge.” I saw some daffodil stems poking up this week.
Mrs. McGriff
January 21, 2023 at 9:36 pm (2 years ago)Marcie–that is a welcome sign! I think it’s too early here, but someone close by shared some crocus blooms.
Karen Edmisten
January 21, 2023 at 12:27 pm (2 years ago)I love a process post! And I love the way the words and notebooks we keep come back to serve us. 🙂 This poem is lovely. Here’s to the passing of winter’s sludge! (Though I know we have a long way to .) 🙂
Karen Edmisten
January 21, 2023 at 12:28 pm (2 years ago)Oops:
“…long way to GO.” 😀
Mrs. McGriff
January 21, 2023 at 9:36 pm (2 years ago)THank you, Karen. Even though we have snow forecast for tomorrow, spring is coming.
Laura Purdie Salas
January 21, 2023 at 9:30 am (2 years ago)Ooh, Kay, that’s such a lovely photo/poem–and thank you for honoring the lengthy process it sometimes takes to get to that one bloom of a poem!
Mrs. McGriff
January 21, 2023 at 9:35 pm (2 years ago)Thanks, Laura.
Rose Cappelli
January 21, 2023 at 9:03 am (2 years ago)Old notebooks are full of tiny treasures, aren’t they? I can get lost in them, remembering and rethinking. Thanks for the lovely breath of spring on this gray winter morning.
Mrs. McGriff
January 21, 2023 at 9:35 pm (2 years ago)Rose, they are full of treasures. It inspires me to be more consistent at writing those moments down.
Susan T.
January 19, 2023 at 11:12 pm (2 years ago)Both the journal memory and the poem are lovely. I so look forward to daffodil days.
Mrs. McGriff
January 20, 2023 at 9:32 am (2 years ago)Thanks, Susan. I am looking forward to those early spring blooms!