A grocery cart turned upside down
Leftovers of a life gone wrong
Scattered all around
Bags of clothes, odd and ends,
A five gallon bucket, an old broom handle,
Traffic cones
Necessities of life on the street
Now abandoned
A picture of despair
On a city sidewalk
Friday afternoon I checked my phone right after dismissal time, and surprise! There was a text from my sister… did I want to drive out to her place (little over an hour away) and go to a movie and maybe stay overnight? Yes, I did! We met at the Pizza Shack and had their buffet, which included spaghetti and meat sauce (hers no mushrooms, mine mushrooms, please), salad, pizza, of course, and a Pepsi with crushed ice- for just $10! Then over to the Diana Theater (90 years young) for I Can Only Imagine (my second time to see it, my sister’s first)- admission only $5, candy bars only $1 at the concession stand. Such a great movie- go see it if you can. Then we we headed to my sister’s house out in the country, where the horsey smell greets you as you open the car door in her driveway. Since it was an impromptu get-together, I slept in my clothes on the couch after we talked til we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer (earlier than it used to be).
The next morning as I was heading home, I got a text from my brother (I was in the drive-through getting a coffee for the road, not driving and texting)… what are you doing today? Sarah (my niece) and Joshua (my great nephew) were there if I wanted to drop by. Yes, I did! His home is halfway between my sister’s and my house. I got to visit for a few hours. My nephew (2) is starting to talk and kept us smiling. My niece says the family pets are messing up his language acquisition, with one dog named Tiger and another named Blue- both his animals and colors are confused!
Then I made a quick pit stop at home before going to meet my second sister to go to her baby’s 35th birthday dinner. Fourteen family and friends gathered around a noisy table at Red Lobster (sorry to the other diners).
Today I was with them again for another birthday cake with 93 year old granny who couldn’t make it to Red Lobster.
What a great weekend, mostly unexpected! Celebrating that time with my sibs (and some other family members). Life is good.
Little life so sad
She wanted it to end
She told a friend…
Wise young friend
Told a teacher…
Now there is help
And hope
This happened at our school today. Thankfully a second grader knew what to do. A teacher (my colleague) had a listening heart and knew what to do, too.
I get thirty minutes twice a week with a second grade class. This month I want to fill the minutes with poetry. Yesterday we read Flutter and Hum, Aleteo y Zumbido:Animal Poems/Poemas de Animales by Julie Paschkis. It is a truly beautiful book… the poems and the illustrations with more lovely words embedded in them to inspire new poems. And bilingual- perfect at my school and maybe yours, too. They loved it! They enthusiastically named an animal they might write a poem about. A lot of them said dogs- their teacher is a dog lover. A few said cats- with sly side glances at their teacher.
Today we read Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw and some excerpts from Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (the shape poem and the title poem). Then we started talking about words we could use to write poems about cats or dogs. Bet you can guess what happened…
“Bat, hat, rat, mat…”
MARCH SLICES POEM
Ready! Make Way
Seeds, Growing Things…
I Can Only Imagine
The Greeter, Sensory Morning, Smells
Fun with Third Graders (and Fifth Graders, too)
Silly Moment, The Arithmetic Dog, Poetry Joy
Dessert is Waiting
Putting Things in Perspective
Celebrating a Life Well-Lived:
A Hero is Laid to Rest
Shoes (on the Capitol Lawn)
The Blankenship Bunch, Family Love
Wedding Bubbles, Happy Anniversary
Celebrating a Little Book Lover
Celebrating a Friend
Two Days, Shopping Day, Party Day
Celebrating Changing Plans
6 Words for Tonight
After March Snow
Sunset at the Lake
Always Remember
This poem uses all the titles of my March 2018 slices. The italicized titles are poems. They are not in order- I grouped them partly for the way they sound together and partly by putting together slices that have a similar theme. Mostly the slices are inspired by something that was going on each day and are like first drafts. Some went through a little revision. The last one is something I have had in my heart and mind a very long time and just finally got it to come together in words.
Thanks to all who have visited newtreemom during this month.
Thanks to the Two Writing Teachers team for organizing the challenge.
Thanks to everyone for writing every day. I have enjoyed so many slices-
I’m full! Let’s all keep writing!
I sat vigil through the night
You woke so many times
“Always remember,”
You said,
“I love you.”
Treasured words that
Have carried me through
All these years.
In the morning
There was so much pain.
“Stay with me,”
You said.
And I did.
But we had to say
Goodbye.
You held on
As long as you could
As if you were leading
One last Good Friday service.
And you were.
Family gathered.
We sang Amazing Grace
Even as we grieved.
And you went Home.
“Always remember,
I love you, too.”
In memory, JWA…1952-2000
Today I’m joining Leigh Anne’s party over at her A Day in the Life blog.
Here’s what I’m bringing to the party:
A Favorite Book: A kind of impossible choice, there are so many books to love. One that I’ve enjoyed recently is the picture book After the Fall by Dan Santat. Everyone (well, almost) has heard of Humpty Dumpty and will enjoy the surprise twist at the end- and the fun illustrations and play on words along the way.
A Favorite Person: I will bring my fellow ESL Teacher, Myrna. She was my “roomie” when we traveled from Indy to Tampa for the WIDA conference last fall. We had a great time together, especially on our cruise along the bay on the Pirate Taxi. We found a great local restaurant, had a long, leisurely dinner, followed by the most heavenly cup of coffee (Cuban coffee with cream)I have ever had.
A Favorite Food: I’ll bring good old chocolate chip cookies- home-baked, of course. And peanut butter cookies, too. That’s what my family always asks for. Forget the fancy food.
A Favorite Song: Not a song, but I will bring the mariachi band, Sol Jalisciense, who came to our school this year. They will bring a mix of traditional Mexican music and Tex-Mex hits everyone will recognize. They will surely get us dancing. They are fun and lively!
A Surprise: Mini-posters with a positive quote from the Daily Wonder app. I’ll pick some that have been illustrated by students. They are so great!
I think we will all have a good time!
