Silent Thunder

Your silence
thunder in my heart
drawing words in my head
thoughts confused by dread
I silence myself
constrict my heart
erase the words
letters scatter apart.


I started a new blog to save all my poetry and poetry lessons. I will still use teachingyoungwriters.blogspot.com for all other things writing when it comes to young children, but it was time to get a space for my own words. Glad you stopped by.


Poetry Friday is hosted by Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup!

Contrails and the Light

Bright white beams

stripe the sky 

contrails wisp

and climb up high.

Yellowed light beams

stripe the grass

coming then going

in daylight's pass.

I am excited to be visiting Amy at The Poem Farm today with my students. We celebrated poetry month with our Chalk-A-Bration on April 30th and Amy is featuring it there on her blog today. You too can join the Chalk-A-Bration on May 31st to share your original poem, a favorite or an illustration--or get really ambitious and do all three with chalk! See you there.

What did you say? You want to know the history of Chalk-A-Bration? Here is the link.

Poetry Friday is hosted by Ed at Think Kid, Think! Be sure to drop in and comment on the many wonderful poetic offerings. 

Think...Snail

Kind of feeling like everyone might be feeling a little like this...or maybe at some point in your life you have. Such a busy time, busy thoughts, busy...busy. What more is there to say.

Two Writing Teachers Stacey and Ruth host the Slice of Life!

Slowing down my thinking

as words swirl in and pool

I drown in thoughts and feel their drag

as under currents pull

I will them to surrender

I wish them not to stay

I fight against erosion

but words don’t wash away

Their waves roll in like thunder

Though silent unto you

Like beating drums inside me

Vibration can’t undo

No fibers can divide them

No sun to dry them out

No better way to spite them

than better words to sprout

Winter Memories

Elizabeth Steinglass is our Poetry Friday host on this early day in May. 

I attempted to write a poem using the starter, "wanting memories." It is from a song that my husband sings around the house and constantly has in his head (therefore it is in my head as well).

However, wanting memories soon became winter memories.

Winter memories 

replaced with blooms

puddles pinked

with sunset hues

~Betsy

As you can see my poem has been chalked in celebration of a very fun week with fellow chalkers. If you have a moment you can check out the other chalk poets who contributed to CHALK-A-BRATION 2013. If you have a hankering for dusty palms join in on May 31st!

CHALK-A-BRATION 2013

Today is CHALK-A-BRATION and Slice of Life! Two things that put an instant grin on my face. :)

 If you can't chalk today and want to link later this week I will still add you to the post. On Poetry Friday, unless the weather is uncooperative, I will be chalking again and link back to this post for blogosphere friends to see.

 My students will be doing their chalking during the day so I will update this post as the day goes on, comment on other chalkers and add their links.

Here are my a-brations to chalk about:

 I love the shadow on this one. Below the chalk is the typed version of this quote from Osho's book, Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously. There were no line breaks in the text of the book but I broke it up to fit my canvas.

"A poet lives through the heart and, by and by, in the heart he starts listening to the sounds of the unknown." ~Osho



Here is a notebook peek into my chalk poem:

 Wet pavement put a damper, literally, on my chalking all of April. It was a clear beautiful weekend until it started raining AGAIN! But, got my chalk done and only had to endure a little sprinkle.

I wipe my head clean

erase the stain

paint the moment

and write the day

~Betsy Hubbard

MY STUDENT'S CHALKING

Drum roll...finally...here is my class and their chalk-a-bration poem with pictures and words!

BLOG LINK CHALKING

Linda from TeacherDance improvised her chalk today using an app (smart idea). Here is her poem about the appreciation of bees.

All the way from Singapore some first graders from The Learning Adventures of Grade 1AC chalked some Haikus. Check out their hard work and beautiful chalky words.

Mary Lee joined in to share a poem about Oak Pollen, quite clever she is. Take a peek here.

Robin, at Teaching Tomorrow's Leaders chalked with her students today...with a very nice improvisation on the canvas! She also added her own poetic words, that are well, chalk-tastic, you'll see what I mean. 

Cathy at  Merely Day by Day also had a chalky share about capturing moments, it is a beauty.

AND...now Ms. Mere's students add their poems to the mix and there is a lot to celebrate when it comes to their poems! 

Mrs. Frazier's first graders from Ohio got their hands dusty with some great chalketry. Check out their awesome work here!

Ms. Mac's emerging writers share their experience and their chalk. You have to see these little ones working and writing, great stuff.

Slice of Life is hosted by Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers.

I Think in Poems

Two Writing Teachers
Go get some inspiration.








I almost always get ideas when I am in the car for slices, poems, school work, student next steps all those things that swirl in our heads. Maybe it is the scenary. I have a beautiful drive. Maybe it is me trying to block out the, "he's touching me...she's poking me" that is inevitable in my tiny Matrix.

My point. I realized today that when I am in writing mode I begin to think in poems. I was asked what I was thinking the other day and I wrote what I was thinking...it was a poem. Unintentional. I am now writing poems without intention, hmmm, I think that might be the best kind.
People (not a lot mind you), in the blog world have said, "you should publish your poems." I can't say I have no desire to do this but my poems are for me and obviously the people I share them with here. However the idea of publishing is sort of exotic isn't it? It is like that thing that you can't touch because it might go extinct or get damaged if you mess with it. I wonder if I got published if I would feel my poems like I feel them when I just write them for me. I wonder.
Then as I pondered this thought, I wondered, what would the name of my book be? Immediate answer, I THINK IN POEMS. I love the title of my non-existent book. It is me.
Then I realized that every title has to have a poem that goes with it, well, at least I think it should.
So, I wrote two versions of my title poem.

I think in poems

They swirl

They spring

I think in poems

Words brought

Words bring

A sense of wonder

Will, I weep

I think in poems

In slumber deep

I think in poems

In slumber deep

I think in poems

They swirl

And bring

A sense of wonder

Will

I weep

I think in poems

Words to keep.

I kind of think there is a better version somewhere out there that combines these two sets of words in a better way. But for now, this is what I got. Happy poetry month. 

We have had so much rain I haven't been able to chalk. Maybe this week...fingers crossed. However, I do hope you will chalk a poem with me on April 30th here and link it so others may enjoy your CHALK-A-BRATION too.

What, what did you say, you want to know what CHALK-A-BRATION is...click here!

A Cold Poetry Friday

Don't forget...CHALK-A-BRATION on April 30th

Original post here!

 Some love poems on a cold and snowy (really?) day in Michigan.

      Love Whispers

Our dust it wisps and waves

We will fall together in a snowflake

And gather in the drifts

 

     Lost and Found

Love was wearing a mask

For fear of revealing itself

Love blanketed the wanting and feeling

Passing the places of strangled hearts

Love crossed the moat

Trudging through depths of happiness

Love boxed itself up and resided on a shelf

Trapped in the lost and found

Love imagined what might have been

If only it had taken off the mask.

The above poem was inspired by the Wordle below. It was made up of many lines and unused parts of poems that I have in one of my notebooks. I didn't require myself to only use those words but I let it inspire some new ones with a personified dark contrast to the idea of love.