Loose Leaf Notes

“Maybe 1,000’s, but definitely not millions,” I told the young Blue Mountain School students when they asked me how many poems I had written, maybe a million?

“How long does it take to write a long poem, when did you start writing and have you ever been published?” were some of the thoughtful questions these 7 – 9 year olds asked.   “I started when I was a teenager, so all of you are way ahead of me,” I answered. I asked if they knew what a muse was and spoke about alliteration, simile, rhythm and rhyme.

I read them some of my short moon poems and suggested they make a picture in their mind as I read:  Cat’s bowl of cream / spills into the night / Stars like footprints / track light.  And they shared the poems they had worked on with their teachers:  Twing goes the string / whoosh goes the arrow / Bump comes the sound from the target … which brought up a conversation about using sound, color and description in their poems.

I incorporated a game, like the one I used when I taught creative writing at the school during the years my sons were students.    It was fun to be the visiting poet of the hour.   At the end of our visit, the students proudly showed off a wall display of shape poems that they had written and made.  Thanks to teachers Virginia and Miranda for the invite!

Post note: See you at the 4th annual Mardi Gras BMS fundraiser at the Floyd EcoVillage this Saturday. More HERE.