Today’s inspiration comes from Glenda Funk. Glenda is an NBCT with an MA in English literature. She taught English and speech 38 years and worked as an adjunct instructor for Idaho State University and the College of Southern Idaho before retiring in August 2019. As part of the NEA Better Lesson Master Teacher Project, Glenda developed a full-year curriculum for teaching seniors, which is free on the Better Lesson website. Glenda blogs at https://evolvingenglishteacher.blogspot.com/?m=1
Inspiration
Today I invite you to compose a Blitz poem. Created by Robert Kiem, the Blitz poem speeds along in a succession of short phrases reinforced by repetition. Although 50 lines long, the short phrases and repetition make the Blitz a snappy poem easy to compose in approximately 20 minutes. It’s also a fun poem to compose with students working in small groups or pairs. Teachers might like trying the Blitz as a speed writing exercise to explore a theme or even a character from a work of literature.
Process
- Line 1: Start with a simple phrase or image.
- Honor diverse voices
- Line 2: Add a second line consisting of a short phrase or image. Use the same first word in this line as you began the first line.
- Honor immigrant stories
- Line 3: Add a third line beginning with the last word of line 2.
- Stories of migration
- Line 4: Add another line beginning with the last word of line 2.
- Stories about students
- Lines 5-48 continue in this pattern. Each subsequent pair of lines begins with the last line of the previous even numbered line.
- Line 49 is the last word in line 48.
- Line 50 is the last word in line 47.
- Add a three word title to your Blitz poem. This should be formed from the first word of Line 3, a preposition or conjunction, and the first word of Line 47.
- The Blitz uses no punctuation.
Glenda’s Poem
“Stories to Invite”
Honor diverse voices
Honor immigrant stories
Stories of migration
Stories about students
Students who make America
Students who innovate
Innovate and lead
Innovate and create
Create a more perfect union
Create our cultural heritage
Heritage that grows
Heritage that enriches
Enriches our cities
Enriches our art
Art expressing empathy
Art transforming imagination
Imagination that celebrates
Imagination that sparks
Sparks new interests
Sparks street murals
Murals that narrate
Murals that beautify
Beautify dying towns
Beautify to infuse
Infuse neighborhoods with growth
Infuse buildings with life
Life that gives
Life that regenerates
Regenerates old growth
Regenerates past possibilities
Possibilities of promise
Possibilities for our future
Future successes
Future entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs who make
Entrepreneurs who save
Save our planet
Write
Your Turn
Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe.
Chronic and Well
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease
Cystic fibrosis is chronic
Chronic coughing is a common symptom
Chronic constipation is another
Another symptom is poor weight gain
Another symptom is a compromised immune system
System is altered on the cellular level
System degenerates over time
Over time medines have been developed
Over time procedures are improved
Improved lung function is always the goal
Improved school attendance is a result
Result of sputum culture determines treatment
Result of the x-ray can be pneumonia
Pneumonia is a bff – bad frequent friend
Pneumonia can mean a hospital stay
Stay away from anyone else with CF
Stay away from smokers
Smokers create second hand smoke
Smokers cause asthma attacks
Attacks are handled with nebulized albuterol
Attacks are prevented by nebulized saline
Saline cannot properly pass through the cell walls
Saline (a common salt) is present in sweat
Sweat tests can diagnose the presence of CF
Sweat of patients dries white on the skin
Skin can be affected by some medicines
Skin rashes like red man syndrome appear
Appear at the CF clinic on a regular basis
Appear at the gastroenterologist’s office
Office at school must keep 504 on file
Office should understand nature of the disease
Disease delays growth and puberty
Disease results in high male infertility rates
Rate per capita is highest in Ireland
Rates are higher wherever the British colonized
Colonized in the lungs can be Staphylococcus aureus Haemophilus influenzae
Pseudomonas aeruginosa Burkholderia cepacia MRSA and more
More patience is required by patients who must spend
More time than imaginable on treatments
Treatments include performing respiratory physiotherapy
Treatments must occur multiple times a day
A day will include taking enzymes with every meal
A day may include using a Mic-Key button for nutrition
Nutrition must have an extremely high calorie count
Nutrition must have a high fat count as well
Well Staying well is the goal
Well in body mind and spirit
Spirit comes from the Latin word for to breathe
Spirit breathe spirit breathe spirit just breathe
Thanks to everyone for the beautiful creations you have shared here.
Daughter
My beautiful daughter
My anchor
Anchor that centers me
Anchor that gives me strength
Strength to fight
Strength to be
Be me
Be hopeful
Hopeful that you’ll be happy
Hopeful that your life will be better
Better than mine
Better than now
Now is your time
Now is when you fly
Fly high
Fly to your dreams
Dreams are the beginning
Dreams keep us going
Going despite everything
Going not giving up
Giving up is not an option
Giving up is not you
You are strength
You are power
Power to do whatever needs to be done
Power to soar
Soar and find your happiness
Soar and conquer
Conquer your fears
Conquer the future
Future that promises
Future full of possibilities
Possibilities for success
Possibilities to grow
Grow into a woman
Grow into a leader
Leader who helps
Leader who fights
Fights relentlessly
Fights fair
Fair rules
Fair decisions
Decisions are difficult
Decisions are important
Important mistakes
Important lessons
Lessons for life
Lessons for change
Change is inevitable
Change is growth
I admire the love and respect that shines through in this poem. In particular I love the imagery of the word “soar.” I hope you shared this with your daughter.
Sorry it’s the next day already, but I really wanted to try out the Blitz poem! I recently finished the YA novel called Color Me In by Natasha Diaz and tried to write the poem from the main character, Nevaeh’s, perspective.
Color Me In
Color me black
Color me white
White Jewish father
White privilege
Privilege of wealth
Privilege of black
Black of Jamaica
Black of Harlem
Harlem the hood
Harlem’s connection
Connection to Anita
Connection to Jesus
Jesus of the church
Jesus [Hey-soos] of the hood
Hood of whiteness
Hood of depression
Depression separates
Depression suppresses
Suppresses the past
Suppresses the encounter
Encounter with Raymond
Encounter with Samuel
Samuel my father
Samuel betrayed
Betrayed my mother
Betrayed her twice
Twice he lied
Twice I run
Run from my whiteness
Run from my blackness
Blackness covers
Blackness restores
Restores my faith
Restores my voice
Voice of Sarah
Voice of the past
Past lies exposed
Past fear replaced
Replaced by power
Replaced by hope
Hope in the future
Hope embraces
Embraces my heritage
Embraces my self
Self empowerment
Self acceptance
Acceptance of truth
Acceptance colors me in
In
Truth.
This is a great piece of self-reflection. Really enjoyed reading it!
Wow, Julie, what a great way to use this (or any) poetry form. It is beautiful and helps to get an idea about the character and the book you read. What a beautiful character study or summarizing tool. So much more powerful and engaging than many other forms of book responses. I’m glad you wrote it, and I added Color Me to my Want to Read list.
This would make an outstanding spoken word poem.
“Yearner of Rising”
Chief learner
Chief yearner
Yearner of joy
Yearner of purpose
Purpose in knowing
Purpose in giving
Giving to others
Giving myself
Myself even when a mess
Myself even when incomplete
Incomplete in this life
Incomplete alone
Alone but longing to be together
Alone but able to think
Think of the future
Think of joy
Joy that we are not alone
Joy in humanity
Humanity comes out
Humanity grows in crisis
Crisis of enemies
Crisis of belief
Belief in the good of others
Belief in benevolent leaders
Leaders who can be trusted
Leaders who earn our trust
Trust in leaders
Trust only in God
God who is Bread of Life
God who is Water
Water Living
Water cleansing
Cleansing our souls
Cleansing our thoughts
Thoughts of fear
Thoughts of escape
Escape from the unknown
Escape from the solitude
Solitude has its perks
Solitude becomes old
Old as fear
Old as joy
Joy in the Garden
Joy at the empty tomb
Tomb of life
Tomb of Rising
Rising on Easter
Rising for us
Us
Easter
Thank you, Glenda. At first this looked so confusing, but I’m glad I tried. Like you said, it is snappy, fun and fast. I look forward to trying it in a group someday. Bless you!
Denise,
You rocked the Blitz! I love the Chief Yearner. Such an image – – one who yearns to learn. This part resonated with me most:
Giving to others
Giving myself
Myself even when a mess
Myself even when incomplete
That hot mess we call ourselves – – it’s us! You show us how to acknowledge that we are all a mess, all incomplete, and move on about it as “it’s who we are.” Yes, friend……the only way we’ll ever be complete rests on Easter.
Denise,
Your blitz is a lovely celebration of Easter and Christ’s resurrection. It makes me think of a hymn that starts out slow and rises in crescendo. I also love “chief yearner” and what it means to be the one who desires most and is present regardless of circumstances. Thank you.
—Glenda
Denise,
I bet you weren’t sure what would arise when you started your Blitz poem, but isn’t it interesting that God might arise to “Cleanse our thoughts, thoughts of fear.” I am glad you tried this out, too. Your poem is uplifting.
Julie
Step Into Me
Step it up
Stepp’d in so far
Far
far better thing I do
Do not go gentle
Do you feel the force of the wind
Wind in the willows
Wind at my back
Back to the white soldiers who burned down my home
Back to the future
Future tense
Future will not copy fair
Fair is foul
Fair friend, you never can be old
Old, I’m afraid of needles
Old man and the sea
Seashells by the seashore
See before my hand?
Handmaid’s Tale
Hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch
Touch the hot stove
Touch that cheek
Cheek don’t get licked on the neck
Cheek to jowl
jowl–seriously?!
jowl in a poem?
poems will save me
poems will center me
me I bore the canopy
me myself and I
canopy
I
(I think this experiment needs a lot of explanation! I began connecting this prompt to the “golden shovel” idea and got sucked into an hour of poetry searches! Most of the lines came from poems…or literature related thoughts. I hope the fact that this is NOT 50 lines is a blessing!)
Allison, fun! Thanks for the explanation. There were some familiar literature references. You spoke for all of us with your two “jowl” lines. This was a creative way to play with the prompt, and you learned a lot from it.
Allison,
It’s nice to see your creativity in this, where you blended and let your mind start squeezing ideas with lines of literature and titles. You brought a golden shovel and a bunch of books to a Blitz and had a confetti party, and the festive, colorful effects are a celebration of what writers do – – they twist ideas together and find a whole new style and voice. Love this!
Allison,
I think the smile and laughter that came to me as I read your poem makes it extremely valuable. I would have read all 50 lines had you continued! I especially appreciate “jowl – seriously?!” because it expresses your acceptance of the fact that even this fun style of poetry might trip us up. You were willing to just skip along your merry way and not get too hung up on it! Our students need to feel risk-free in their writing and skip along when it is appropriate to do so. Thanks for sharing.
Julie
Allison,
The title here is an invitation into literature, and that’s a truly wonderful thing. I love returning to beloved poems, plays, novels as I read your poem. One of the things I’m most grateful for is the intertextuality that steps the more I read. I love thinking about how Literature is in conversation w/ other literature, which I see your poem celebrating. thank you.
—Glenda
Blitz Poem
They say when it rains it pours
They say a mother is her child’s first hero
First hero I need you forever
First hero this cannot be the end
The end my heart is not ready
The end no please I have known you all my life
My life has never experienced a day without you
My life will never be the same
The same love I have for you
The same love you lived for me
For me can you please continue to live
For me and all those who treasure you
Treasure you for all eternity
Treasure you in the past now and in the future
The future will can wait
The future you can’t be my enemy
My enemy I thought I had none
My enemy I don’t claim you
Claim you let me have her there
Claim you NO this is what I fear
I fear who I will be without you
I fear not knowing how to live without you
Without you I would not be the woman I am today
Without you where would I begin
I begin with wanting to appreciate the time spent with you
I begin praising God for creating you
Creating you is one of His greatest joys
Creating you a priceless work of art
Of art I do admire
Of art you are a strong fort
Strong fort stay strong for me
Strong fort this cannot be your destiny
Your destiny is His will
Your destiny I must accept
Must I accept it now
Must I accept Your plan
Your plan is bitter sweet
Your plan makes me feel helpless at times
At times I wish I was a healer with super powers
At times I imagine you living a better life
Better life than this you would disagree
Better life no no no you lived your life
Your life not your way but as much as possible His way
Your life is a beacon for generations to come
To come to know you is to love you
To come to this realization that I need to celebrate you
Celebrate you is my continuous prayer
Celebrate you now and always
Always you remain my heroine
Prayer works I believe so I offer up for you today my forever love
Melissa,
Your Blitz poem is a beautiful tribute to your mother. I think it is amazing that you were able to keep that theme going, always with beautiful images of her. Your poems helped me relate to the back and forth and wanting to keep her, yet knowing it is time to let her go, always to be a heroine and beacon for the future. Beautiful, and God bless you. My mom died ten years ago around Easter, so your poem is even more meaningful to me today.
heard before branch
sing like its you last breath
sing like you want to be heard
heard the voices of children
heard the sounds of the day
day of two people
day for tomorrow
tomorrow dawn break
tomorrow another page will turn
turn to face the sun
turn to face new challenges
challenges lead each new step
challenges grow the skills of many
many tasks lay before me
many songs remain unsung
unsung heroes led troops forward
unsung songs wait for a listen
listen as the child speaks
listen as the father pauses
pauses before action
pauses after great ideas
ideas lead people
ideas clog airways
airways blocked by disease
airways release the wind
wind blows over the desert
wind blows through my hair
hair curls around my finger
hair drops down over my eyes
eyes search the page
eyes avoid your stare
stare deep into the light
stare into the fire
stare at the baby’s smile
smile as you hum the melody
smile as you see his face
face the music
face the fire
fire lights the room
fire ignites the branch
branch of the tree breaks
branch of the family holds tight
tight jeans restrict my eating
tight hold on my time
time reminds of us our next day
time fades away
away the wind blew the leaves
away the child left with the door open
open your eyes
blew out the candles
Jamie, lovely Blitz poem here. I enjoyed listening to the themes of music and family and hope in your poem. It brings me joy today. My favorite lines:
“many songs remain unsung
unsung heroes led troops forward
unsung songs wait for a listen”
I love the repetition in this form. It is fun to read aloud.
Nicely done.
Jamie,
Your poem holds so many beautiful images, like “turn to face the sun” and “listen as a child speaks”, and “branch of the family holds tight”. And then there was the anomaly, “tight jeans restrict my eating”! Did you really have to throw that one in there? 🙂 Nonetheless, I enjoyed the rest of the visual images!
Julie
“Sharing for Laughter”
Best friends laughing
Best friends sharing
Sharing stories
Sharing heartbreaks
Heartbreaks and tears
Heartbreaks through years
Years of being there
Years of being a sounding board
Sounding board for stress
Sounding board for which dress
Dress up and go out
Dress down and stay in
In our pajamas
In our face masks
Masks removed
Masks are not needed
Needed unconditional love
Needed someone you’re not related to
To hear you
To call you on your shit
Shit hits the fan
Shit that keeps us connected
Connected across oceans
Connected by phone
Phone calls late at night
Phone always answered
Answered a void in your life
Answered your prayers for someone who cares
Cares about your family
Cares about your kids
Kids around when you need it
Kids you not, that’s what she done
Done with all the bitches you hate
Done with another bottle of wine
Wine and complain no more
Wine, you said?
Said hurtful things
Said too many things
Things you needed to hear
Things you already know
Know deep down
Know, but won’t acknowledge
Acknowledges your whole person
Acknowledges that they’re flawed, too
Too many memories
Too much laughter
Laughter that fills your heart
Laughter that shakes the walls
Walls that could tell stories
Hearts forever bound
Lauren, this is exactly what I needed right now! One of my BFFs is in Australia and the other came by the other day to drop something in my driveway without coming in. They are my lifelines, as you’ve reminded me here. The laughter that shakes the walls is my favorite line.
I feel you. I miss my best friends so much right now. We have had NUMEROUS Zoom or Snapchat calls to keep each other sane right now.
You beautifully trace the path that a true friendship takes. I love the play on words you use with the word “kids.”
“Forever for a Cul-de-sac”
School’s out for summer
School’s out forever
Forever is a matter of perception
Forever loses it when the line starts to move
Move back home
Move back and forth like a caged animal
Animal sleeps easily
Animal instincts suppressed
Suppressed voices
Suppressed emotions
Emotions in a flour sifter
Emotions like birthday cake frosting
Frosting kills the flavor
Frosting misleads the surface
Surface scratchers busk outside of bars
Surface sea mammals float in place
Place the chessmen
Place is a sick frame of mind
Mind your manners
Mind over whatever supposedly matters
Matters of fact are overrated
Matters of circumstantial coincidence are pleasant
Pleasant views by the overpass
Pleasant memories of rewinding rented videos
Videos make winters bearable
Videos are what we make in our free time
Time is crunchy as peanut butter
Time is easily the most frustrating aspect of existence
Existence is easily the most frustrating aspect of existence
Existence lies dead on a forest floor with innocent eyes
Eyes are fake news
Eyes try to see nothing and fail constantly
Constantly fixated on forgetting failure
Constantly succumbing to jumping jack remedies
Remedies remind me of bad Benadryl mornings
Remedies are the result of bad Google searches
Searches for murdered ancestors of infamous infallible presidents
Searches for black coffee and bagels
Bagels with cream cheese
Bagels with an unfulfilled promise
Promise me we’ll stay the same forever
Promise at least the stars will live out their lives in peace
Peace is cool
Peace is easy
Easy lives with her good pal Judgement
Easy and Judgement live in a cul-de-sac
Cul-de-sac nation is safe as a congested highway
Cul-de-sac honesty speaks truth in a high-pitched white wine
Wine
Highway
Alex, your images are so vivid to me. The caged animal and animal instincts really spoke to me. I wondered how many poems today would be on a similar topic.
Alex,
I find myself deconstructing and contemplating lots of lines. “Place is a sick frame of mind” jolts me into attention. The line “Existence is easily the most frustrating aspect of existence” offers profound truth in this moment that feels like merely existing. And this line:
“Remedies are the result of bad Google searches” reminds me of where many go for answers. The ending is my favorite part:
“Easy lives with her good pal Judgement
Easy and Judgement live in a cul-de-sac
Cul-de-sac nation is safe as a congested highway
Cul-de-sac honesty speaks truth in a high-pitched white wine”
The personification of “Easy” and “Judgement” and your critique of white privilege and its vision of truth remind me of the work we must do to dismantle the cul-de-sac nation. Nothing simple or tidy about this poem, which makes me love it more. Thank you.
—Glenda
Glenda, thank you for this interesting prompt! I’m so sorry to hear of your profound loss. We are all here for you! Thank you for being here for us.
Famous without Words
By Shaun Ingalls
Why do we still love big cat prints
Why can’t I be TikTok famous
Famous famously famous fame in the flesh
Famous just for a minute everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes
Minutes tick tock as we shuffle and shake
Minutes spin into hours into days into weeks into years into centuries
Centuries will clean the slate
Centuries will press us into diamonds precious stones or fossils or dust
Dust off those old LPs and groove to the jam
Dust will fill the circuit boards and bytes and bits
Bits of you will fit inside a jar
Bits of you will float away in a cloud and sting my eyes
Eyes will weep
Eyes will judge
Judge the guilty
Judge the innocent
Innocent ones will suffer
Innocent ones will be silenced
Silenced but not forgotten
Silenced and redeemed
Redeemed by the truth-seekers
Redeemed by justice
Justice be blind
Justice tip the scales
Scales that teeter and sway
Scales resting on the fulcrum of hope
Hope is hard to come by
Hope softens you up for the blows
Blows of rage
Blows of insecurity
Insecurity is going to be our downfall
Insecurity drives Youtube videos of make-up applications
Applications to colleges cost too much
Applications only lead to rejection
Rejection spawns fear
Rejection grows stronger
Stronger people resist the urge to click and swipe
Stronger people disconnect in order to reconnect
Reconnect to your father
Reconnect to your mother
Mother I miss you
Mother I don’t want to read your texts
Texts aren’t you
Texts are empty
Empty emojis and gifs and ambiguous subtext
Empty words
Words have power
Words start revolutions
Revolutions
Power
Shaun, what a powerful commentary on today’s social media driven culture. The flow of your poem and this format work well to show the passing of time. Well done!
Shaun,
I find myself reading and retreading your poem, the tone of which I find both honest and cynical. It has a postmodern sensibility in the way you critique our search for meaning as “creators” on social media, the longing for acceptance and meaning by seeking clicks. I find myself fixated on
“Justice be blind
Justice tip the scales
Scales that teeter and sway
Scales resting on the fulcrum of hope”
which seems to me why social media has appeal for many. Earlier this evening I was thinking about Jose Saramago’s novel “Blindness,” and in a way your poem returns me to that book. Thank you.
—Glenda
Home is safe
Home is where you let down your guard
Guard for your loved ones
Guard against the uncontrollable
Uncontrollable means danger
Uncontrollable equals risk
Risk evokes fear
Risk hides behind doors
Doors invite opportunities
Doors lock if they are never opened
Opened hearts welcome relationships
Opened minds plant the seeds of wisdom
Wisdom requires experience
Wisdom needs time
Time is not guaranteed
Time is not on our side
Side by side we go through life separately
Side by side we go through life together
Together is not always better
Together restricts independence
Independence is the plan from when life begins
Independence is your destiny
Destiny always remember
Begins at home
As I read through the poems this evening, I’m struck by how many of us seem to be processing what we are going through in such creative ways. Home seems to have changed a bit for all of us. I love how you ended on such a positive note with independence, destiny, and home.
Tracie,
Home has so much power in this verse. It has become a paradoxical place indeed. There is profound truth in these lines:
“Side by side we go through life separately
Side by side we go through life together”
I find myself feeling this way more often lately. Lots to think about here. Thank you.
—Glenda
I was inspired by both Glenda’s poem and a mis-step of my own that I learned of today. I sent a surprise package to a student (a book she had asked to borrow during Spring Break, but I couldn’t loan her in person because we simply didn’t know we weren’t coming back when we left our building the last time). She told me today that she was frightened when it came because she thought it might be a bomb because she didn’t order it. She is a Rwandan refugee… I had no idea the stress finding an unknown package on her porch would cause.
Scary at Now
Unidentified package
Unidentified = scary
Scary package
Scary like a bomb
Bomb on the porch
Bomb sent to kill
Kill like in Rwanda
Kill me dead
Dead like the others
Dead in the dirt
Dirt in everything
Dirt was everywhere
Everywhere I go
Everywhere still feels
Feels like danger
Feels like fear
Fear of a package
Fear of the unknown
Unknown sender
Unknown intent
Intent to harm
Intent to be kind
Kind of wanna know
Kind of curious
Curious to find out
Curious what’s inside
Inside I stare out
Inside I’m safe
Safe in the U.S.
Safe enough to find out
Out of my hands
Out of my mind
Mind the gap
Mind how you speak
Speak a new tongue
Speak up girl
Girl plays soccer
Girl needs husband
Husband so old
Husband not here
Here is a package
Here may be safe
Safe to step out
Safe to pick up
Up I rise
Up to me now
Now I go
Now I find the gift
Gift
Go
Val, I like how this poem shares a story. The tension builds, intensely, and then the exciting climax – “Now I find the gift/gift/go” I feel as if I got insight into the stress that this Rwandan refugee lives with.
Oh my gosh, Val! Your poem is so powerful. I love when I am pushed out of my comfort zone, and girl, you did it with this one! The thought that your sweet and heartfelt gesture could be considered something so scary is heartbreaking. Thanks for sharing.
Val, your lines remind us never to assume. We don’t know all that much about our students prior experiences and may misread the joys and fears because they are sparked by something totally different than hours. At the same time, I’m so glad you sent the book. Your kindness will provide her the kind of experiences that may help neutralize the negative ones that brought on this fear! And…because she can express that to you suggests, she knows you care enough to share, so she feels free to share with you, too..
Unknown intent
Intent to harm
Intent to be kind
Kind of wanna know
Kind of curious
Curious to find out
Val,
Holy Vow! What a story. You capture the tension your student surely felt seeing the package. I can’t imagine living w/ that fear. The section “girl needs husband” fills me w/ sadness. Thank you.
—Glenda
Moves of Souls
Mississippi River blues
Mississippi River moves
Moves sky clouds
Moves sun moons
Moons over lovers
Moons under cover
Cover my heart
Cover my eyes
Eyes seeking solace
Eyes sun blinded
Blinded by diamonds
Blinded by storms
Storms of sound
Storms of silence
Silence like fog
Silence like blue
Blue jazzy blue
Blue rolling river
River rockin blues
River rages over
Over green banks
Over sandbag ranks
Ranks superior power
Ranks humble hands
Hands trembling empty
Hands wide open
Open dam gates
Open heart breaks
Breaks to pinks
Breaks to blues
Blues rolling thunder
Blues hushing crowds
Crowds singing tunes
Crowds grooving moves
Moves river currents
Moves free flowing
Flowing pink sunrise
Flowing moonlight silver
Silver spidery gowns
Silver shivering sighs
Sighs across Iowa
Sighs contentment deep
Deep river blues
Deep river woos
Woos our hearts
Woos our souls
Souls jazzin blues
Souls sweetly dreamful
Dreamful
Blues
Barb Edler
April 2, 2020
Barb, I found myself swaying my shoulders back and forth, back and forth as I continued reading your poem. It was like being rocked to sleep by a soulful Mississippi blues lullaby.
I love the musicality and rhythm – I could hear Robert Johnson strumming along on his way to the crossroads. Great images!
Barb, I enjoy how you stuck to the musical theme of your poem. It feels connected and I can picture myself in a small swampy dive bar listening to a blues band while reading it!
Barb,
This poem is ethereal. You have captured the mood of being on the river. I’ve visited the headwaters of the Mississippi in Minnesota, viewed it from Effigy Mounds in Wisconsin, crossed it from Iowa into Illinois, and experienced it in St. Louis, Memphis, and NOLA. The river you capture reminds me of Huck’s river, of a Billy Joel song. Your poem flows like a river. It’s simple exquisite. I love the way words like “blues” and “woos” whisper river sounds. I think my favorite lines might be
“Silver spidery gowns
Silver shivering sighs.”
These lines swoosh against the banks of your poem. Thank you.
—Glenda
Dining of Fools
By Donna Russ, 4/2/2020
Dirty dining
Dirty plates
Plates with patterns
Plates with stains
Stains of gravy
Stains of blood
Blood of chef
Blood and bone
Bone of chicken
Bone of Beef
Beef that’s tender
Beef you can eat
Eat in a hurry
Eat on the run
Run to the toilet
Run when you’re done
Done eating out
Done taking chances
Chances of folly
Chances of getting sick
Sick and tired of cooking
Sick of washing dishes
Dishes that reminds you of eating out
Dishes that reminds you of how tire you are
Are you really tired
Are you just tired of cooking
Cooking meat and veggies
Cooking grits and eggs
Eggs over easy
Eggs hard boiled
Boiled cabbage
Boiled corn
Corn dripping with butter
Corn salty and sweet
Sweet peas and carrots
Sweet pies and cakes
Cakes baked in oven
Cakes frosted over
Over every layer
Over all the plates
Plates in a diner
Plates full of food
Food contaminated
Food you eat when you eat out
Out in a place unclean
Out where the foolish eat
Eat
Unclean
Man, this just kept reminding me of how sick and tired I am of cooking right now! I will assume the risks just to walk into a crowded restaurant and take my chances! You describe so many great dishes that I would never make on my own. I will appreciate the places where “the foolish eat” even more when our lives get back to normal.
This feels awfully timely! My wife and I were just talking about how much we miss eating out, but it feels so risky. Your poem makes me feel like even after the pandemic is under control, we might avoid it a little longer…
Donna — I like the frenzied pace of your “blitz” poem. The sense of craziness comes through with the rhythm of the short lines. The short order sense of the food really works… “eggs over easy…hard boiled…” “stains of gravy…stains of blood…” all this is so visceral. And ending with “where the foolish eat/Eat/Unclean” – oh man! It makes me want to scream, “Stay safe!” Thanks for this piece! Susie
Donna,
As Susie notes, the fast pace of the poem furs the diner/short order cook paradigm. I waited tables as a teen, so I’m acutely aware of restaurant hygiene. And I’ve heard stories from students. One of my motivators to be kind is thinking about ways my food could be sabotaged in the restaurant kitchen. I can hear clanking plates and see crusty food as I read. These lines punched: “Run to the toilet /
Run when you’re done” I even worry about my own cooking. I’m a counter wiper and go through lots of kitchen towels daily. My husband doesn’t get it. All our restaurants are closed for dining room service, but I’ll be rethinking take-out after reading this. I don’t want to go “Out where the foolish eat.” Thank you.
—Glenda
SORRY I BROKE THE RULES AND USED PUNCTUATION, BUT THE POEM WASN’T MAKING SENSE WITHOUT IT. I WISHED IT WAS A TIGHTER MORE ELEGANT SUBJECT, BUT THIS WAS WHAT I WANTED/NEEDED TO TALK ABOUT TODAY–Traci
Reach to See
Today I miss my children
Today, the first day they feel out of reach
Reach across 122, I-10
Reach up to 77, down the turnpike—no
No, I can’t touch there, there
No, my Tantalus hands mustn’t go
Go to Moultrie, Lake Charles
Go to Charlotte, Vero Beach
Beached, a dying whale
Beached, while her pod bobs the waves
Waves from Facebook stills, past Instagram shots
Wave at screens where girl Grands grow
Grow hair-curls, sit-ups, hand-grips
Grow past infant, now toddler—all new
Knew it would happen without my presence still
New days play the other side of the glass
Glassed like a Sunday inmate, me
Glass held in hands not here
Here, a place where my numbered husband days are good
Here, the place where we loved them, grew them then shooed
Shoed to walk in independence
Shoed to tightrope, dance, march, run
Run to California, Utah
Run paired, or not, but free
Free from my apron’s hem, Dad’s eye
Free to cook, coach, teach, train
Trained by teachers, missteps, life
Trained in the art of grownup juggling how
How do I jump the broom, make the move
How do I have the kid, pay the way now
Now the silent sickness steals my trips
Now its smoke threatens to choke the world
Whirled out of our grip, invisible
World suddenly smaller and shuttered
Shutter the windows from wind, workers
Shutter the threshold from fingers, friends
Friends who filled the spaces once children flew and
Friends who– now so growny and funny– are our children
Children, those amalgams of our love
Children, a jigsaw of our x, y
Why now do I feel such a distance
Why now is the distance so felt
Felt stocking-like: itchy, unnatural wear
Felt in private, quiet places
Places so new, so scratchy
Places so deep you hope no one sees
Sees you rub it
Sees you pick til it bleeds
Bleeds into sad eyes that
Sees my children in spaces not here
Traci, I’m so glad you broke the rules today! I thought about it, but I wasn’t brave enough today. Your word play is exquisite. I wouldn’t change a thing!
Traci,
Bravo for breaking the rules. They’re not for prescription but for release. I think it’s brilliant the way you play w/ sound through homonyms and other techniques, such as y / why. This poem as immediacy that’s palpable. Thank you.
—Glenda
Traci, your poem is so powerful. I’m in tears and am having difficulty thinking of how to express how moving your poem was for me. I think it is because I totally can relate to the pain, itch, and desire to be able to be with the ones you love so deeply, yet you know that you have to let go because children take their own paths. At this time, we are reminded of how separation is a kind of love, but the pain of that distancing is difficult.
Tammi Belko
Remain True To You
Honor diverse voices, those who may whisper
Honor unique and distinctive students
Students who forge a divergent path
Students, to themselves must remain true
True happiness lies in acceptance
True to love, true to be beautiful
Beautiful in body
Beautiful in heart
Always remain true to yourself
Tammi,
I so agree: “Always be true to yourself.” Reminds me of “To thine own self be true. Thou canst not then be false to any man,” Polonius’s advice to Laertes in “Hamlet.” Thank you.
—Glenda
Tammi, this would be the perfect anthem for my group of 8th Grade advisory students. I’ve never had a group quite like them before. They are so true to themselves. I’d love to share your poem with them if you’d allow it.
Absolutely, please feel free to share. I also teach middle school students, but happened to write this poem with my own 12 year old daughter in mind.
Glenda, I read the prompt early today and it scared me a little. I finally sat down and just did it. I should have listened to you- it really wasn’t that difficult once I decided to do it!
Tense OverDue
I’m afraid I’m losing my mind
I’m perpetually tense
Tense intense pretense
Tense every minute of the day
Day turns into night
Day one day two day three are all the same
Same stress
Same house
House is a place of work
House doesn’t seem like home
Home is no longer cozy
Home is what I miss
Miss real work
Miss friends
Friends who listen
Friends who support
Support each other
Support our kids
Kids who don’t understand
Kids who don’t deserve isolation
Isolation that angers us
Isolation to save the human race
Race away from others
Race to the store
Store what we want
Store what we need
Need to walk away from technology
Need human contact
Contact old friends
Contact family
Family who I can’t hug
Family so far away
Away from here but not my heart
Away from my embrace
Embrace the luxury to work from home
Embrace this time of reflection
Reflection sends my mind racing
Reflection on the important
Important things now change
Important people stay the same
Same thing day after day
Same heart being torn apart
Apart is painful
Apart is frustrating
Frustrating is something I can live with
Frustrating is a small price to pay
Pay the devil his due
Pay it forward with love
Love
Due
Mo,
I’m framing that part about listening to me. I always loved when students said this! ?
Brilliant wordplay in your blitz:
“Race to the store
Store what we want
Store what we need”
This is our reality. Yet you find hope, and I needed to read this too. I keep thinking about feelings of closeness while apart. Thank you.
—Glenda
I love the way you were able to carry your theme all the way to the end. I struggled with that! You just kept on going and I went right along with you! Kudos
Mo, Love the mouth play of this line’s internal rhyme:”Tense intense pretense”–it elevates the previous line’s tension with so many Ss.
Mo, Are you a mind reader? I am feeling so many of the exact emotions expressed in your poem. While tech is wonderful, it is like a vacuum sucking up all of my “free” time these days of remote learning and social distancing. I love your poem’s shift to optimism in your final lines, “Frustrating is a small price to pay”. I also love your inclusion of the age-old, very effective kill them with kindness method. “Pay the devil his due Pay it forward with love” because it is truly the only way to survive this pandemic.
Mo, I really liked the “blitz-ness” of your poem. It chops at the tension with a hatchet in spots…which seems so perfect. “Tense intense pretense” has that chop-chop-chop. You’ve mapped out a pathway that is certainly resonant with me…we are running on the same hamster wheel! “store…contact…embrace…same thing…reflect…” We will help each other get through this horror. Cyber hugs, Susie
This is like a little time capsule for what is happening. I’ve had all of those feelings about working at home and separation as everyone has. Your wordplay is highlighted in this format. Thanks for sharing.
You really tapped into what it feels like during this crisis…one day blending into the next, missing the people and small things we always took for granted…well done!
Mo,
The story of my life right now and of course so many others. I loved the rushed feeling I got when reading it, almost like the new 90mph speeds on the freeways.
The ending helped me slow down and move over to the curb:
“Apart is frustrating
Frustrating is something I can live with
Frustrating is a small price to pay…”
Love
Due
Thank you!
Blitz Poem April 2, 2020
Gather your thoughts
Gather your words
Words that breathe
Words that live
Live on our pages
Live in our hearts
Hearts full of love
Hearts that overflow
Overflow into everything
Overflow everywhere
Everywhere we are
Everywhere we want to be
Be intentional
Be present
Present to see
Present to grow
Grow beyond ourselves
Grow past our thoughts
Thoughts to be pondered
Thoughts to be gathered
Gather your thoughts
Donnetta, Reading your poem helps heal my grieving heart. I love the image of gathering words and thoughts the way we wrap our arms around those we love. Thank you.
—Glenda
Your expressions are so full of feeling and every pair of phrases stand on their own merits. I loved it. Thanks.
PATH TO AGENCY
We stood ten feet apart
We walked awkward on the path
Path that wandered by the river
Path that pulled us together
Together yet at a distance
Together and between us just a breeze
Breeze that carried our voices
Breeze without the cyber world
World so changed
World so strange
Strange to deny a friendship hug
Strange to defer our touch
Touch of human connection
Touch now deemed uncertain
Uncertain with unseen villains
Uncertain perhaps tainted
Tainted with unknowns that linger
Tainted with COVID fears
Fears we lay aside
Fears too odd and foreign
Foreign quickly forgotten
Foreign lasts only moments
Moments of friendship
Moments more powerful
Powerful than aimless fears
Powerful than the shape of you
You with your strength and grit
You with your logic and easy stride
Stride that swept distance off like ashes
Stride that codified our friendship
Friendship that stretched longer
Friendship that rooted deeper
Deeper than oak roots
Deeper than dark space
Space that ran cold beyond Saturn
Space that kept us sane in the moment
Moment when all hell broke loose
Moment we knew would pass
Pass to keep us on track
Pass to a new normal
Normal recalibrated
Normal morphed
Morphed into new ways of seeing
Morphed into wider eyes
Eyes that engage our voices
Eyes that trigger agency
Agency to walk forward
Agency hand in hand
Hand of humans bonded
Bonded in shared strength.
by Susie Morice©
Oh, Susie! I love the progression of this piece and all the shifts. The pattern really invites us to spend one more line with each word, in each place before moving to the next couple. My eyes and heart lingered here:
Morphed into new ways of seeing
Morphed into wider eyes
The word is abrupt on my lip where my teeth get stuck as I say “morphed” (with my overbite). It is wild how a word does what it means in its utterance. And then at the end there is no initial coupling:
Hand of humans bonded
Bonded in shared strength.
The h and n in hand and human comforts in the image of a bond. Love it. Thank you.
Sarah
Susie,
I really connected with your poem, especially the lines “Friendship that stretched longer/Friendship that rooted deeper.” This period in our history will certainly test many of us. We will have to be stronger than we ever thought possible and rely on those friendships to see us through.
Susie,
An image of you and a friend walking among trees on Missouri paths formed in my mind as I read. This distancing feels so unnatural but of course necessary. For me the lines “Tainted with unknowns that linger / Tainted with COVID fears” rings true. The ending is my favorite part because it celebrates the power of humans to heal our world.
“Eyes that engage our voices
Eyes that trigger agency
Agency to walk forward
Agency hand in hand
Hand of humans bonded
Bonded in shared strength.”
I’m sending you a virtual hand hold. Thank you.
—Glenda
Thank you, Glenda, I’ll take that hand and love the holding. Susie
A friendship rooted deeper than oak roots- that’s the treasure, isn’t it? Everything after that line had me on the verge of tears. So many of us have these feelings recently. Thank you for this!
Susie,
Thank you for sharing your words. I like this form because it encourages us to read one word in different ways. I love your lines: Space that ran cold beyond Saturn/Space that kept us sane in the moment. And, much like these times we are in, you so eloquently capture this image that space is both small and tangible and vast and unknowable.
I kind of painted myself into a corner and didn’t make it to 50 lines. Also, I used a little punctuation and inverted my words for the title. I loved this form–although it was harder and took longer than planned–and I can’t wait to share it with teachers and students at my school.
Sun Through Window
view from my back porch
view from my kitchen window
window that frames green grass and tall pines
window that captures the remaining blooms of camellias, lilies, and azalea
azalea blossoms dried like deflated balloons
azalea blossoms in a makeship vase, a green cup
cup caked with flour and sourdough starter
cup in the sink, on the counter, by the bed
bed unmade (nothing new)
bed dark and cool, calling me to nap
nap on the couch (normally reserved for weekends or holidays)
nap denied (zoom meetings and google hangout classes)
classes for homebound students: misplaced modifiers, author’s purpose
classes for this amatuer breadmaker and misplaced teacher
teacher-dreams of unfinished lessons and unruly students
teacher without a classroom (just a dining room table)
table set with nice dishes, repurposed for online instruction
table strewn with notebooks and to-do lists
lists of student essays to read
lists of house projects and cleaning priorities
priorities reframed, units and standards re-aligned
priorities reordered, time no longer measured in semesters or periods
periods of calm and peace and gratefulness
periods of worry and anxiety and panic
panic-baking: pear and goat cheese galette, tahini chocolate chip cookies, yogurt flat bread
panic-cooking: shepherd’s pie, spinach pesto lasagna, chicken enchiladas with green sauce
sauce pans stacked high, cheese crusted on plates
sauce simmering on the stove, garlic and onions season the house
house-bound, relishing the long hours reading a book or sewing a blanket
house warming in the afternoon sun
sun casts shadows across the lawn, squirrels chitter in the trees
sun sets behind the neighbor’s house, a pink glow
glow of porch lights line the street
trees stand guard in the night
Oh, boy, Betsy! These lines linger with me today:
bed unmade (nothing new)
bed dark and cool, calling me to nap
I just want to stay there all day, but the poems, the anticipation of words waiting for me here, moved me out of be early this morning and have kept me from sleeping away the day. I silenced those calls for now as “the glow of porch lights” remind me that evening has come. I love how I am here in Oklahoma and you are in Georgia, how your poem brings me to Georgia and this virtual space brings our words and worlds together in this virtual “street.”
Peace,
Sarah
Love the imagery in this poem. I appreciate the ray of sunshine this piece conveys.
Betsy,
Your poem is lovely and alive w/ the things that make a home. I’m particularly drawn to the olfactory images and savor all the smells you’ve offered. I also love the pace of the poem. The details required me to slow down and really experience the life w/in your words. No one is counting lines. I can’t even remember my anniversary. What matters is the writing sans the rules. They’re meant to be broken. Thank you.
—Glenda
Inside to become
A little human
A soft kick from inside
Inside a miracle
Inside where it’s safe
Safe from fear and worry
Safe to grow
Grow fingers and toes
Grow a personality
Personality like your dad
Personality like me
Me hoping you’re okay
Me waiting for joy
Joy soon to come
Joy that will stay
Stay for years
Stay because of you
You will be loved
You will be adored
Adored by your grandmother
Adored by your uncles
Uncles who left
Uncles who have returned
Returned from far away
Returned home
Home together
Home where we’re ready
Ready to welcome you
Ready for your cries
Cries of hunger
Cries of uncertainty
Uncertainty that will be real
Uncertainty because of the strange and new
New things to feel
New light
Light too bright
Light to reveal
Reveal everything around you
Reveal a world
A world far from perfect
A world still good
Good for exploring
Good at pushing
Pushing your buttons
Pushing you further
Further towards your goals
Further so you can become
Become one who loves
Become someone strong
Strong
Love
Rachel,
As I moved my eyes down your poem, the pace so quick and rhythmic, I hovered here:
Adored by your grandmother
Adored by your uncles
This is so exciting to wait for this joy and for who will be there to welcome and adore — love this.
Sarah
Rachel, your title invites us to the poem and the mystery of “becoming”—isn’t it tricky and exciting and almost magical how the title grows out of this blitz poem? As other people have remarked, this form creates its own rhythm and pace…you poem unfolds layer by layer as you draw our focus from the “inside” to the outside world of future and goals and family and world.
I am struck by the lines
Adored by your uncles
Uncles who left
Uncles who have returned
There is so much more story left unsaid in those lines…a tinge of sadness, a tinge of hope.
It was a lovely piece! Thank you for sharing!
Rachel,
I adored your poem! It brought me back to how much I loved being pregnant with my daughters. I loved having them safely inside of me, but the minute I gave birth, I became terrified. This terror has not stopped for the 23 years of their lives! You capture this fear and excitement perfectly for me in these lines:
“A world far from perfect
A world still good
Good for exploring
Good at pushing
Pushing your buttons
Pushing you further
Further towards your goals
Further so you can become”
This really is our task as moms, bringing children into the world, so they can BECOME…
Rachel,
Your poem is a little bundle of joy, a miracle you birthed w/ words. The word “safe inside” has duality in this verse, for we are all safe inside now. I have a good friend, a former colleague and former student, who is expecting. I’d love to share your poem w/ her. Thank you.
—Glenda
Me and counting don’t get along. I had some false starts on this one and have finally decided it’s good enough. Based on Psalm 22.
Forsake me
Forsake my words
My words roar
My words cry
Cry in the day
Cry at night
Night is holy
Night I trust
Trust our God
Trust deliverance
Deliverance from evil
Deliverance from scorn
Scorned people
Scorned me
I am a worm
I am a child
A child in my mother’s womb
A child on my mother’s breast
My mother’s breast comforts
My mother’s breast gives hope
Hope is a garment
Hope is far from me
Far as a raging lion
Far as help
Help my soul
Help my darling
My darling hears me
My darling calls my name
My name praises
My name vows
Vows of worship
Vows of my heart
My heart loves
My heart seeks
Seeks food
Seeks a seed
A seed serves
A seed is planted
Planted in the soil
Planted in praise
Praise for a kingdom come
Praise for a will be done
Done to us
Done for us
We see salvation
We declare righteousness
Righteousness of God’s world
Righteousness to those born
Born of God’s hands
Righteous to live and love
Margaret Simon, draft
Margaret,
I want to hover on these lines for a while:
My heart loves
My heart seeks
Thank you for offering us places to be within your poem .
Sarah
Margaret, I love how this form and your syntax (“Done to, done for”) explores dichotomies, complexities, paradoxes (My words roar/My words cry/Cry in the day/Cry at night).
Margaret, what a sacred piece you’ve written. I feel the connections of comfort and hope from the mother’s breast all the way down to
A seed is planted
Planted in the soil
Planted in praise
Deeply rooted in the beautiful promises of God. Thank you!
Margaret,
First, when I read your lines about counting I thought: Math who? I’m right there w/ you. I only do Macy’s math.
Regarding your poem: I’ve thought a lot about Psalm 23 the past two weeks. My father read it to me often, and I’m always struck by its mournful yet praiseworthy tone. We can grieve and feel sorrow with grace and while praising God. I also see the Lord’s Prayer in your poem. My favorite lines are
“Hope is a garment
Hope is far from me”
These encapsulate the complicated emotions of this day.
Friends,
I received heartbreaking news a short while ago about a friend and mentor who died from COVID-19 complications.
Peggy Oliver coached speech and debate at Bonneville H.S. many years. She was a force and one of the most intelligent educators I’ve known. When we met she put her arm around me and promised to mentor me. I was new to Idaho and did not know the Idaho way. Peggy taught me so many important lessons about coaching and teaching, but she taught me about human nature, too.
We reconnected a couple years ago on FB. She often commented on my posts, and the renewed friendship meant so much to me. Last we talked in early March, Peggy was on her way to Great Britain, but today I learned she was diagnosed March 21. Peggy worried about coronavirus and our national response. News of Peggy’s death has devastated me. I find myself not knowing how to function. I am so sad.
I’ll return later to read and comment on poems. Thank you for writing. I know words give power. I am taking Brene Brown’s advice and naming what I feel. It is deep, profound loss and grief.
Glenda
Oh, no! I am so sorry to hear this news. My condolences, Glenda.
Thank you for introducing us to Peggy and her role in your life; we bear witness and celebrate her life here! And thank you for naming what you feel.
Hugs, my friend,
Sarah
Glenda, I am so sorry to hear this. We are entering a time of enormous grief, due to this pandemic. I know you are in great pain. I’m so glad that you shared your loss with us. Keeping you in my heart at this time of grief.
Glenda, I am so sorry to hear your news and for the loss of your friend and mentor. Please know many arms are around you now and many friends are here when you need them. Sending hugs to you.
Glenda, your letter is a poem because I wept. So sorry about the loss of your friend and mentor; I also mourn the loss of a great teacher from our ranks.
Glenda — You have given us a dear piece of yourself and of Peggy here, and feeling your grief I am saddened by your side. I am so so sorry. Your loss becomes a loss for all of us, and we are here to feel your words and help carry that. Love, Susie
Oh, Glenda! My heart breaks from you. I’m welling up thinking about how many people are losing such a dear person to them. Take care of yourself, dear friend!
Dearest Glenda, there are no words to comfort this kind of hurt. Praying that you feel the love and support that you need at this time. This is a hard one to swallow.
My deepest condolences. ?
I am so very, very sorry for this loss you must bear. Please, be gentle with YOU. You are in my thoughts.
I am so deeply sorry, Glenda. My heart goes out to you and Peggy’s family and educational family. May the love and prayers of strangers lift you during this difficult and painful time. Deepest condolences!
I am so sorry, Glenda. Thank you for sharing her with us along with your grief.
Oh, Glenda, I am so sorry.
I have never written a Blitz poem before today. Thank you, Glenda, for this wonderful prompt! I am taking some deep breaths before diving into ready some of the poems posted. I can’t wait to do Blitz poems with my students soon.
I’m thrilled you like the blitz. I hope your students have fun w/ it. ?
Dreams You Hold
Rock the baby
Rock him to dreams
Dreams about miracles
Dreams of kaleidoscope colors
Colors that pop
Colors that melt
Melt away any sadness
Melt into frothy waves
Waves of love
Waves of joy
Joy in his smile
Joy in his tiny fingers
Fingers holding mine
Fingers entwined
Entwined in a bond
Entwined forever
Forever a mom
Forever my baby
Baby, do you hear?
Baby, I love you
You will be loved
You will overcome
Overcome any obstacle
Overcome any adversity
Adversity will come
Adversity will go
Go with it
Go forth
Forth into your life
Forth and upward
Upward to the clouds
Upward to the stars
Stars will not keep you
Stars will not outshine you
You will dream
You will live
Live fully
Live happily
Happily taking risks
Happily being wrong
Wrong isn’t wrong
Wrong leads to learning
Learning lessons
Learning beliefs
Beliefs you will own
Beliefs only you can hold
Hold tightly
Hold in your heart of hearts
Hearts on fire
Hearts together
Together you and me
Emily, as a mother of adults, I can promise you that your lines below can come true as you continue to do what you are learning to do:
Joy in his smile
Joy in his tiny fingers
Fingers holding mine
Fingers entwined
Entwined in a bond
Entwined forever
Forever a mom
Forever my baby
This is beautiful! Little ones hold so much hope – especially in this time of so much sorrow. Moments like the one you describe remind us what’s important. I love your images: “kaleidoscope colors / colors that pop,” “melt into frothy waves.”
Emily the line “stars will not keep you/stars will not outshine you” struck me because it made me feel the power of your love and the limitless power of a child. Thanks for sharing!
The rock and roll of your two-word and three-word lines re-creates the meter and soothing sound of a lullaby. This piece reads like a prayer, like a mantra. The ending–Hearts on fire/ Hearts together /Together you and me–acts as a strong and perpetual period. So much of the wishes and hopes and dreams are unformed or still forming, but the image of those two hearts is strong and durable. I also love your description of the colors that “pop” and “melt.” Thank you for sharing your poem with us!
A bound between a mother and her children is so beautiful. I remember those days. My oldest is 21 and my youngest is 12. Some of your lines brought tears to my eyes.
Yes, this!
“Joy in his tiny fingers
Fingers holding mine
Fingers entwined
Entwined in a bond
Entwined forever
Forever a mom
Forever my baby”
Emily, this proved to be the perfect form for this subject. It begins with the specific individuality of baby (tiny fingers/Fingers holding mine/Fingers entwined) and grows into the broad complexity of human life.
Emily, this is a lovely poem that almost seems it should be a lullaby. I’m sure you know the book Love You Forever, well your lines here made me think back to that beautiful story:
Forever a mom
Forever my baby
Baby, do you hear?
Baby, I love you
You and your baby have a rich life ahead, many sweet memories to create, and a bond that you’ll always cherish.
Emily, Love resonates throughout this entire poem and the end is so powerful! I truly enjoyed the connections you established between you and your loved one as well as the lessons that are shared.
Emily, This celebration of motherhood and love hold my heart. Such profound truths in your lines. The ones that stand out for me are
“Entwined in a bond
Entwined forever”
My babies are no longer babies, yet this is still true. Thank you.
—Glenda
I struggled so much with this prompt/form. But I always write my own poem before reading others’. Now that I read yours. I am inspired by how deftly you built on thoughts/words/sounds to moe the BLITZ to such a satisfying conclusion! THANK YOU!
In This Together
A sunny day in the park
A calm day
Day filled with brightness
Day filled with joy
Joy to be with friends
Joy to be alive
Alive in a time of confusion
Alive in a time of despair
Despair for the loss of love
Despair for the loss of others
Others gone too soon
Others hurt without fair warning
Warning fell on deaf ears
Warning that chose their voice alone
Alone in a place of praise not facts
Alone, though the facts we’ve all bu known
Known facts from experts
Known experts with knowledge
Knowledge is power
Knowledge is truth
Truth matters
Truth still matters
Matters of the mind
Matters of the heart
Mind over heart
Mind of our own
Own the feelings
Own the disconnect
Disconnect from the phone
Disconnect from despair
Despair when you need
Despair, leave room to grieve
Grieve the loss
Grieve the lost
Lost are we all
Lost and afraid
Afraid of day to day
Afraid without leadership
Leadership is crucial
Leadership is action
Action to do better
Action to stay home
Home is different now
Home is stuck for some
Some of us will leave
Some of us will stay
Stay in, for all of us
Stay with love for others
Others surround us
Us, together at home
Michelle,
Thank you for your poem today. I am reading these blitz poems with such a quick pace as the pattern really creates a rhythm, and then I am looking at poems like artwork and seeing where my eyes land. Here is where my eyes landed:
Alone in a place of praise not facts
Alone, though the facts we’ve all but known
There is just something about the look of the word “alone” — maybe the space in the “o.” And I am struck by the commentary on facts and the doubt implied here. So powerful!
Sarah
Michelle, thanks for reminding us what matters most:
Knowledge is power
Knowledge is truth
Truth matters
Truth still matters
Matters of the mind
Matters of the heart
Michelle — I sure do feel the punch of your “blitz” poem. The movement from the “sunny day…” to the reality of “grieve the loss” and “disconnect” are so real! I, too, am feeling deeply the fear of “without leadership.” It is stretching my coping mechanisms to a taut snapping edge. Thank you for your honest sense of the “blitz.” Susie
Michelle,
Your poem begins w/ such a lovely image:
“ A sunny day in the park
A calm day
Day filled with brightness
Day filled with joy”
I long for these days once again and am taking your advice not to succumb to despair. Blessings to you. Thank you.
—Glenda
Michelle – I am so glad you are here to share your poem!
“Alive in a time of confusion
Alive in a time of despair” –These lines were powerful!
I loved this segue:
“Truth matters
Truth still matters
Matters of the mind
Matters of the heart
Mind over heart
Mind of our own”
and this:
“Grieve the loss
Grieve the lost”
THANK. you for this voice of this time.
Love the prompt!! I can see my students really loving it. I love how it just takes you, yet there us unity.
Compassion Between Threats
Show empathy
Show compassion
Compassion for the hurting
Compassion for the scared
Scared of losing loved ones
Scared of losing memories
Memories of people
Memories of moments
Moments you can’t get back
Moments you should have forever
Forever wanting to leave
Forever needing interaction
Interaction with friends
Interaction with strangers
Strangers who thrive on other’s friendliness
Strangers who navigate alone
Alone with wanting connection
Alone by needing connection
Connection with those who care
Connection with the outside world
The outside world is scary
The outside world holds harm
Harm of bringing home germs
Harm of spreading the disease
The disease that has shut down the world
The disease that has made us stop
Stop going going going
Stop putting ourselves first
First do no harm
First take care of others
Others who are sick
Others who might die alone
Alone without anyone
Alone with no one holding their hands
Hands need to pray
Hands need to help
Help those who can’t
Help those who struggle
Struggle to stay alive
Struggle to fight depression
Depression and its evil grip
Depression and its pal anxiety
Anxiety the monster
Anxiety the protector
Protector of the fragile psyche
Protector of unknown threats
Threats of being around others
Threats of being alone
Alone
Threats
~Susan Ahlbrand
2 April 2020
Susan,
As I move my eyes through your poem, I am struck by a word that I have seen in others today: alone.
Alone with wanting connection
Alone by needing connection
This is so powerful..alone with and alone by. The prepositions show a longing for proximity and movement.
Peace,
Sarah
Susan, your poem continues the theme that seems to run through most of the poems today….reminding us what is important. The opening line of this section is so important : DO NO HARM. Other poems are asserting that harm may be withholding what we can give during these trying times. How blessed we are to have a community of professionals who, in poetry, encourage and inspire us in this way. Because? On some days, we are the ones who are struggling. But this comradery is helping us stay alive emotionally and psychologically. Thank you.
First do no harm
First take care of others
Others who are sick
Others who might die alone
Alone without anyone
Alone with no one holding their hands
Hands need to pray
Hands need to help
Help those who can’t
Help those who struggle
Struggle to stay alive
Susan, your lines “Anxiety the monster/Anxiety the protector” struck me as I often feel my own anxiety can harm and help mask other feelings and fears. Thank you for sharing!
Susan — We are sharing threads throughout the day. It is so helpful, actually, to know that thoughts rumbling like freight cars through my mind are on the same tracks in your poem here. Your phrasings, when I read them aloud, felt like that train rumbling with that freight rhythm. The word “anxiety” (so stinking real) is the weird metal-on-metal word for me of that train…a screechy sort of word/sound… and so fitting for the tone the poem carries. The rocking back and forth of compassion and threat really works here. Thank you so much for your words today! Susie
Susan,
There’s such compassion and humanity in your poem. “First do no harm” has been a mantra for me many years. Your poem dovetails nicely with Sarah’s prompt from yesterday. The lines that jumped out at me:
“The outside world is scary
The outside world holds harm”
Yes, it is hard to stave off depression and anxiety, but writing and reading poetry helps. Thank you.
—Glenda
Joy for Humanity
By Stacey L. Joy
Honoring Life’s Complexities
Honoring grief and joy
Joy in moments
Moments of solitude
Moments of gratitude
Gratitude for life
Gratitude attitudes heal
Heal anxious doubts
Heal the broken-hearted
Broken-hearted grandparents
Broken-hearted students
Students missing school
Students who suffer
Suffer without interactions
Suffer at home
Home but lonely
Home isn’t safe
Safe is relative
Safe isn’t equitable
Equitable for whom
Equitable provisions fail
Fail education
Fail our children
Children within the gaps
Children starving for love
Love is an action
Love their teachers gave
Gave without expectations
Gave when exhausted
Exhausted is normalized
Exhausted rat-race life
Life prescribed in dosages
Life balanced on edges
Edges of insanity
Edges of faith
Faith to jump
Faith now wavering
Wavering into fear
Wavering back to God
God knows all
God sees all
All the wrong
All the grace
Grace during suffering
Grace for humanity
Humanity being tested
Humanity on hold
Hold for safety
Hold your breath
Breath is life
(exhaling and giving gratitude for this moment!) ??
Stacey,
Thank you for taking us into this space with your blitz poem. There is such movement here and, as your poem explores, complexity in what is broken and suffers and then toward what is safe and faith and God and grace. I am looking at these poems today after reading to see where my eyes land first, and here it is:
Exhausted is normalized
Exhausted rat-race life
There is just no sense of time these days, and I find the days are passing without me being able to point to moments. This time here, writing and responding, is the greatest sense of normalcy for me, I think.
Thank you for your words. Now I am looking at your last lines and see “hold your breath” — but I exhale…now.
Peace,
Sarah
Stacey, I am so glad this is a community of professionals in which we can express ourselves this way:
Life balanced on edges
Edges of insanity
Edges of faith
Faith to jump
Faith now wavering
Wavering into fear
Wavering back to God
I believe wavering back to God will provide the anchor we need to hold us in these trying times.
Thanks for the reminder that even when we wavering, there is the Rock.
My heart hurt when I read “Equitable provisions fail” and “Love their teachers gave” “Gave without expectations”…I miss my Scholars so much.
Stacey,
Oh the ache in my heart as I read these words:
“ Broken-hearted students
Students missing school
Students who suffer
Suffer without interactions
Suffer at home”
I’ve spent the day thinking about what life would have been like for myself has this moment occurred during my youth. It would have been awful for me. And I worry about the loss and absence of equity. I know in my district all students may check out a chrome book, which happened today. I do worry about internet access, especially for Native American students. “Faith, grace, humanity, hold” are the words that speak most strongly to me. Thank you.
—Glenda
drink water
drink a cup
cup in hands
cup to your lips
lips dewy gloss
lips smooth salve
salve for skin
salve for mind
mind balm
mind clarity
clarity to see
clarity to be
be present
drink water
Sarah, this oozes hydration and crystal clarity. The simplicity of form, the concise nature – – I love how you pared yours down to a simple glass. These few swigs here work so beautifully in being present. As always, rhythmic perfection.
This is healing to my soul and body! I love it. I will officially focus on being present and having clarity after my last interaction today with students. Happy Spring Break and it’s much needed.
“Mind balm
Mind clarity” that’s it!
“salve for skin
salve for mind”
Shudders! I love the clarity and simplicity of your Blitz poem. Thank you for sharing something so beautiful this morning. I’m going to sip my water now. =)
Sarah – Your blitz… really is a blitz…quick and decisive… and brings me to how elemental water and clarity are in our lives. Simply “be present/drink water” — I love that you take me to this simple sanity… it works like an empowerment. You’ve offered a lesson in the power of well chosen words to make all the difference in delivering that sensation, that meaning. So lovely! Thank you, Susie
I am reminded that I did not get my 64+ ounces in again. This is a very clearly stated poem. I like the line “salve for the mind” It makes me think about the mind and our thoughts being healed and healthy.
I love this, Sarah! I always feel like I need to drink more water- it seems so simple, yet I can’t seem to manage it!
Sarah,
Water in this lovely poem serves more than a substance to quench our thirst. It reminds me of cleansing and washing away all impurities. As I read I experience a real-time lifting of a cup to my lips. This is special. Thank you.
—Glenda
Good morning Glenda! I am so excited about today’s prompt. It feels like it will be a fun morning.
Honor diverse voices
Honor immigrant stories
Stories of migration
Stories about students
Students who make America
If we could do these things, we definitely may be able to survive as a people. Such a strong voice for the opening, I felt the momentum as I read the poem aloud. And then by the end, I was wanting to stand up and shout.
The street murals that narrate …
Art expressing empathy…
I wish I were a visual artist because these lines made me want to paint. I wish I could but I refuse to do a curbside pickup of unnecessary art supplies. LOL.
Love and appreciation for this glorious poem.
“innovation through guitar”
Our new normal
Our opportunity for innovation
Innovation is the fruit
Innovation is being suffocated
Suffocated by distance
Suffocated by distrust
Distrust is a pendulum that swings both ways
Distrust is a misleading guidepost
Guideposts offer suggestions
Guideposts represent a singular moment in time
Time will reveal the truth
Time will test our patience
Patience has been requested
Patience has been provided
Provided that we are professionals
Provided that we are enthusiastic
Enthusiastic to climb new mountains
Enthusiastic to continue serving students
Students who are the reason
Students who are deserving
Deserving of every opportunity
Deserving of equity
Equity is the quality of fairness
Equity is value
Value is earned
Value is worthiness
Worthiness to do my job
Worthiness that has been earned time and again
Again I find myself furious livid trembling
Again I remind myself of my reason
Reason requires logic validity truth
Reason guides my moves
Moves are necessary to break the stagnation
Moves transport us to the unknown
Unknown future
Unknown outcome
Outcome good
Outcome not so good
Good luck
Good riddance
Riddance clears our path
Riddance opens our paths for growth
Growth is inevitable
Growth stirs my soul
Soul-crushing silence
Soulful plucks on a guitar
Guitar chords fill the rooms of this house
Guitar tunes float from the porch at dusk
Dusk
House
Laura,
The rhythm of these blitz poems is so powerful — almost mesmerizing. The lines that stood out to me, where I felt a shift, were these:
Again I find myself furious livid trembling
Again I remind myself of my reason
The “again” is so powerful because it is something that we have to keep revisiting. This is my nemesis — that we are never done, that there is always an “again.”
Thank you,
Sarah
Laura, the messages today in your poem make us stop and think. Here is a part that resonated with me:
Reason requires logic validity truth
Reason guides my moves
Moves are necessary to break the stagnation
Moves transport us to the unknown
The intentionality of reasoning, taking calculated steps, and thinking through the situation is where we all are – – and moving into the unknown – – the world that will be ours after the impacts of the virus are fully realized and felt. The guitar brings a sense of knowing it’s all going to be okay.
Laura, these lines made me smile as I recalled a post in a group on women entrepreneurs that said, “You keep saying, said if you’d have time you could…. Now you have time. If you don’t develop your plan, you’ll see it wasn’t time, but it was discipline that was needed.” While there are other issues that make for a successful business, your lines remind us to make the best of the time we have now:
Time will reveal the truth
Time will test our patience
Patience has been requested
Patience has been provided
We now have time. Now what?
Laura,
I’m glad you end w/ music, w/ the guitar. It makes me think of the Lorca poem, which I think is called “The Guitarist Tunes Up” (I may have this wrong), and the Picasso painting from his blue period of the old man with the guitar. I’m hopeful this moment in time will produce a renaissance of innovation. Thank you.
—Glenda
Okay, so I used punctuation. And I only got 40 lines in the time I had. But I tried. This was hard! And fun!
Will For Something
I have taken our house for granted.
I never paused to consider the labor: the plan, lumber, nails, windows, doors, and will
Will to provide not only a sturdy structure and a roof
Will to offer safe harbor, to sow family seeds, to provide shelter and stories
Stories are written on the walls
Stories in the dents in the plaster, in Crayola masterpieces scribbled along baseboards
Baseboards are our easels; they skirt the canvas
Baseboards cover the joints and muscles we rarely remember; we look only at the art
The art of patience
The art of peace
Peace is a commodity
Peace is what I need now
Now when the world has turned upside down
Now when our home is so much more valuable than it was before
Before the outside world became dangerous
Before the distance we must keep is the same depth between the living & the dead
Dead dreams and celebrations for fear that
Dead is what our loved ones might become
Becoming is what we have learned to do
Becoming internal, becoming quieter, becoming careful
Careful to laugh and breathe fresh air
Careful to have a pantry stocked for days
Days that begin as they always have, sun glinting in the east window of this lovely house
Days that end as they always have, gazing at the big dipper as I pull the blinds closed
Closed for business
Closed for the safety of our employees and families
Families who are becoming reacquainted
Families finding new rhythms
New rhythms of sharing space
New rhythms of togetherness: cooking, singing, playing games, measuring time
Time, the elusive font we’d all been in search of — there was never enough
Time spilling now, cup overflowing
Overflowing with exhaustion and rest
Overflowing with opportunity
Opportunity to visit when given the chance, to embrace, once this is over
Opportunity to think of others, not only our own needs
Need versus desire
Need to fill every moment with something
Something needed to change; perhaps this is an opportunity
Something changed; it gave us perspective and reminded us of what he we have
And what we have to lose.
Haley,
As I read these blitz poems, I am allowing myself to be guided by my eyes and then hovering where they land for my own personal reflection. My eyes landed here:
Becoming is what we have learned to do
Becoming internal, becoming quieter, becoming careful
The word “becoming” resonates with me — I wrote about it a little in yesterday’s poem. This is permission to never have it figured out, to never be done. And while that can be overwhelming because of the endurance of becoming, it is comforting to know that we are all becoming as we are being.
Peace,
Sarah
Haley,
of all your beautiful words, these are the ones my eyes kept going back and revisiting:
Stories are written on the walls
Stories in the dents in the plaster, in Crayola masterpieces scribbled along baseboards
Baseboards are our easels; they skirt the canvas
What a touching tribute to the walls – the canvas of life in a home.
Home is really taking on a new meaning during this crazy time, isn’t it?? I LOVE “crayola masterpieces scribbled along baseboards / baseboards are our easels” – beautiful image! Also “Dead dreams and celebrations for fear that / dead is what our loved ones might become.” We’re all feeling this. Thanks for capturing it in your poem.
Haley, I promise no one is counting lines. Sarah actually only included 37 lines of my poem. The point isn’t the form but how the form empowers us to write. I’m not a very good rule follower at times anyway. Your poem works beautifully as a way we share how we build a home. I love the extended metaphor. My favorite part is,
“ Stories are written on the walls
Stories in the dents in the plaster, in Crayola masterpieces scribbled along baseboards
Baseboards are our easels; they skirt the canvas”
Our homes are rhetorical artifacts, and you capture the essence of this in these words. Thank you.
—Glenda
omg! Glenda this was not twenty minutes! But, I sincerely enjoyed all the minutes it took to write a blitz! How fun! I love the progression of thoughts…a kind of stream of consciousness. Your poem is perfect for the idea of stories. Thank you for this prompt. I would LOVE to work on a blitz with a partner. It would be so fun. This is my first attempt.
Fight Covid-19
Cough into your elbow
Cough into your sleeve
Sleeve to wear heart on
Sleeve ready to dry clean
Dry clean and neatly press
Dry clean a blouse and dress
Dress for work at home
Dress to impress no one
No one knows the trouble
No one knows what I see
See-saw empty playground
See doctors on TV
TV dinners on the couch
Couch potato overdone
Couch needs a therapist
Therapist in training
Therapist in session
Session for depression fifty minutes
Session for Covid-19 fifty months
Months of shedding virus
Months of spreading it
Spreading water droplets
Hand to eyes, mouth to nose
Nose—head, shoulders knees and toes
and toes—knees and toes
Toes of little piggy who stayed home
Toes and heads in the sand
Sand and heads in the sand
Sand on spring break beaches
Sand man bring me a dream
Dream of holding hands
Dream a little dream of me
Me because I’m sleepless
Me, sleepless but still tired
Tired of the worry
Tired of the curve
Curveball of new cases
Curves on a mountain trail
Trail of tears
Trailing off
Off label use of medicine
Off therapeutic ways
Ways of healing
Ways to breathe
Breathe in slowly
Breathe out in a rush
Rush to love
Love always wins
Rush to win
Linda,
These blitz poems but have such a quick pace. I am approaching my reading of these poems as a visual piece first, then textual noticing where my eyes land. My eyes landed here:
Toes of little piggy who stayed home
Toes and heads in the sand
I smiled. I remember my mother chanting “this little piggy” in one of her rare tender moments with me and my siblings in our childhood. Love how words trigger memories.
Thank you,
Sarah
Yes. I love the way you used children’s songs and stories in this poem – head, shoulders, knees and toes; three little piggies; even the sand man. The whole situation with the virus makes me feel helpless, like a child… the rhythm in your poem seems to match my thought patterns, circling back to the same fears, spiraling into insanity. But still trying to hang on to hope. Beautiful!
Linda, You are so clever. I love the touch of humor: “couch needs a therapist,” the allusions: “trail of tear,” “Dream a little dream of me.” I feel that exhaustion w/ you. *sigh* My favorite turn of phrase is,
“Cough into your sleeve
Sleeve to wear heart on”
I’m one of those people who wears my heart on my sleeve. Wonderful job. Thank you.
—Glenda
Sun and Fun
Today the sun shines bright and bold on all who head outside
Today we can’t go out how we wish the sun would shine inside
Inside it would warm our friends longing to be out having fun
Inside, not free to travel; inside with no sun or strength to run
How I wish I could be of help to those who wish to be out
Out in the bright sun, feeling bold having fun
Fun because of full bellies poking out
Fun because they have the strength to run
But we won’t give up we’ll help where we can
But we won’t give up whatever the time span
Span across days we remain sheltered inside
Span through weeks we’ll keep our smiles wide
Anna,
“Today we can’t go out” is definitely my reality. We awakened to snow. And it’s more than a skiff. I want to go up into the mountains. Yes, “we won’t give up.” I hope you find a way to enjoy the sun today.
—Glenda
Anna,
I felt like you stood at a window and recited this to your neighbors. Your words flowed as people’s desperation and cries to connect captured your mind, but your tone shifts towards the end gave a sense of unity and hope to the audience. This is lovely.
Good morning Anna,
Knowing that we are experiencing the same of excitement of this sun in W. MI makes me feel connected to you during this time;) I like the idea of it shining “bold” as this gives it so much promise.
Take care,
Stefani
Anna, I really get that, “Oh how I wish I could help.” For me, that’s the most longing line in your poem. I’m hoping we can keep our smiles wide over our screens for each other.
Anna, the determination in your poem – – we won’t give up – – is reassuring. Knowing that we are in a temporary shelter, no matter how long “temporary” becomes, and knowing that we can smile all the while is encouraging. You brought a smile to my face today.
Anna, the line “span through weeks we’ll keep our smiles wide” really struck me because I find this message so important. Support and love and positivity as a gift to others is key in this moment. Thank you for sharing!
My first ever blitz poem! I found this writing to be an invigorating mix of “planning” and “whimsy.” Here’s my poem:
Judgment or Love
Love one another
Love without judgment
Judgment is poison
Judgment is walls
Walls only stop
Walls do not grow
Grow kindness and hope
Grow seeds of caring
Caring soothes us
Caring connects people
People are all so different
People make mistakes
Mistakes are human
Mistakes are opportunities
Opportunities to learn
Opportunities to try again
Again means hope
Again means persistence
Persistence is learning
Persistence is essential
Essential to thinking
Essential to change
Change for the better
Change for the world
World that loves
World that includes
Includes the fringe
Includes the unseen
Unseen but hurting
Unseen needs voice
Voice that is heard
Voice that enlightens
Enlightens our minds
Enlightens our hearts
Hearts that grow more inclusive
Hearts that embrace the other
Other perspectives are needed
Other opinions count
Count on each other
Count on together
Together is complicated
Together is slow
Slow is meaningful
Slow is needed
Needed for hope
Needed for love
Love soothes all
Love each other
Other
All
Maureen,
I totally get what you mean about the blitz requiring planning and whimsy. I love the way your poem moves from judgment that divides us to a celebration of humanity. “Together, enlightens, includes” are my favorite words, and the last two words further illuminate these ideas. Thank you.
—Glenda
Maureen,
My favorite lines are: walls do not grow/grow kindness and hope. There is such a connection to this in our times and before. I think “walls do not grow” would be great prompt for writing and reflecting with students. Thank you for this.
Maureen,
This is so whimsical and calming! I read each line slow and deliberate and it felt so powerful. When you wrote “ Together is complicated/Together is slow/Slow is meaningful/Slow is needed,” I thought of how reflective this quarantine has made people, and you’re right—we need to slow down, and we also need to come together in spirit.
There are so many lines that build beautifully and unexpectedly. These are my favorite:
Together is complicated / Together is slow / Slow is meaningful / Slow is needed.
The lines are simple and unembellished, but the impact is so rich! Thank you for sharing this!
Maureen, I love these two spots best:
Walls only stop
Walls do not grow (Amen!)
and
World that includes
Includes the fringe
Includes the unseen
The inclusion of “the fringe” and “the unseen” is powerful here because while those very walls destroy relationships and welcomes, what they don’t do is stop pandemics. I am mesmerized by the thoughts of walls and their purpose in a time like this.
Deep!
So…I just realized that I totally didn’t follow the directions, but instead of rewriting, I’ll go with this. You will see that I misread the directions and used the last word of each line to start my next line for lines 5-48. I was writing this morning with my 2 daughters fighting over who would sit closest to me on the couch…so here goes…
“Ending among Comfort ”
Trust in the Lord
Trust that an ending
Ending is a beginning
Beginning new ways of teaching
Teaching unfamiliar ways of learning
Learning meaningful lessons
Lessons of staying still
Still is the only way to move
Move forward during this time
Time seems to be crawling
Crawling further
Further into the unknown
Unknown to humankind
Humankind finds solitude
Solitude in the stillness
Stillness in quarantine
Quarantine allows new experiences
Experiences between parents and their children
Children and their school teachers
Teachers become students
Students overnight
Overnight developing lessons
Lessons from a distance
Distance unsought
Unsought and unbearable
Unbearable to see your friends
Friends and teachers on a screen
Screen creates a barrier
A barrier that protects
Protects yet causes grief
Grief of separation
Separation from those you love
Love transforms
Transforms into enrichment
Enrichment in art, music, reading, and writing
Writing crayoned messages and friendly letters
Letters with paintings and stories
Stories read on front porches
Porches that clasp those deliveries
Deliveries of outstretched arms
Arms that carry invisible hugs
Hugs that provide strength
Strength for the journey
Journey into the unknown
Unknown we must accept
Accept and seek comfort
Comfort and grace
Grace that is necessary
Necessary
Grace
-Jenny Sykes
Jennifer,
You’ve taken the blitz into a new realm and made it unique while capturing the myriad thoughts and emotions of this moment in time. The poem zips along the way time and thought zip through days filled w/ stasis. The paradox in the middle is my favorite: “ Still is the only way to move.” This is such a profound truth. Thank you.
—Glenda
Teachers become students – truth there! I love that you made this form your own. There’s no right or wrong. It’s however the words speak to us and flow onto the page. And your words spoke beautifully to us today.
Jennifer,
I did not follow the directions after looking either, but I was squeezing in time before my two minions rose. Writing is fluid anyways! Your words were so captivating! In the lines “Children and their school teachers/Teachers become students/Students overnight,” it really resonated with me because it’s such a drastically different experience going down teaching secondary education classes to primary or vis versa. I think it also struck me because it’s hard being separated from students.
Jenny,
we value the unique words and the way we sometimes color outside the lines (intentionally or unintentionally) – – directions are merely suggestions (like stop signs in the small town where I live). This is beautiful, and you rocked it and created a beautiful poem.
Welcomed in a world
Full of mischief
It is our job
To protect the children
At all costs.
Protect their eyes:
Don’t let them see the wars
Don’t let them join the nuisance
Protect their tongues:
Don’t let them speak hate
Don’t let the power of their voice be unrecognized
Protect their ears:
Don’t let them hear the what’s on the news
Don’t let them know their possible fate
Protect their pride:
Don’t tell them it can’t be done
Don’t tell them it’s because they’re young
Protect their hearts:
Allow them to share their blessings
Allow them to love above all else
Jessica, your poem addresses the hopes and fears that I, too, have for our children. I love how you move through key senses – eyes, ears, mouths, wanting to protect their “whole” selves. The line that we should all shout – “Don’t tell them it can’t be done” – powerful!
Jessica,
As Maureen notes, your poem is full of hope and a desire to protect children. I read it both as admonition the speaker gives to others and herself. Yet I can’t help but think about the various incarnations of “protect.” I read last night the virus is now in the slums of Mumbai, and the possible horror of that reality is too much to contemplate, yet we must. Thank you for this prayerful poem.
—Glenda
Jessica, I can relate with every fear that you’ve included in your poem. I feel the exact same way as I try to help my daughters learn what is going on in the world around us, yet protect them from the scary and real situations that we are faced with daily. I love the closing lines: Allow them to share their blessings/Allow them to love above all else. This is truly the answer to all of the negativity we see. “Love above all else”. As our children and students are learning from home, let’s all strive to teach this through our remote teaching. Thanks for sharing this with us. It is beautiful.
I love the repetitive phrases with “Protect”. Your poem inspires me to go forth and write one using it as a mentor text. My favorite lines are the first stanza. “Full of mischief” brings me goosebumps.
I like how you state how to protect our children. I so agree with the last 3 lines…so important.
Glenda, I think this is the most free flowing stream of consciousness writing I’ve ever done. It was freeing and just what I needed to escape for a bit today. Thanks for bringing another (new for me) form of writing to us this morning. I loved everything from the title of your poem to the possibility and welcoming of diversity.
Sounds and Sounds
(Jennifer Guyor Jowett)
Take my words
Take the sounds
Sounds whispering lullabies
Sounds voweling blossoms
Blossoms of red queen thoughts
Blossoms of lightning scarred fantasies
Fantasies nestled within the hood of a child
Fantasies strewn along breadcrumb paths
Paths following yellowed bricks
Paths for finding cities built
Built from emerald syllables
Built from hundred acre words
Words stargazing and seasiding
Words stirred within soups of stone
Stones none left unturned
Stones word tumbled and time turned
Turned over and upon themselves
Turned by heavens and season churned
Churned within blacking pots
Churned and spurned and spinning wheel spun
Spun by straw and sticks and bricks
Spun into stars shooting ethereal
Ethereal silvery moons
Ethereal lunar lines
Lines crisscrossed and applesauced
Lines woven and wandering
Wandering between punctuation asteroids
Wandering across page populated universes
Universes Shakespeare wide
Universes Woodson dreamed
Dreamed in sea bottomed black
Dreamed in little boy blue
Blue sounds tattered and torn
Blue skied from now on
On and on and on they march
On and in and out and through
Through Frosted woods and roads long winding
Through Bradbury soared and Verne oceaned deep
Deep snow filled words with miles to go
Deep whose words these are I think I know
Know within the depths and fibers
Know within the linens and wools
Wools shorn from my being
Wools of which I have any and many
Many and much and more and most
Many stones and lines and blossoms and sounds
Sounds whispered from lullabied words
Sounds taken
Taken
Words
Jennifer, this is gorgeous! You start with “Take my words,” and then you reveal so much wonder and beauty through your words…so many extraordinary words from such a simple start (I love all the “w’s” – words, whispered, wools, Woodson, wandering, within…) Truly, this poem is an ode to poetry!
Jennifer,
I’m so happy you like the blitz form and that it produced in you such a glorious celebration of reading and writing. I think forms, paradoxically, can be freeing in that they push us to experiment and play in ways that worm their way into our creative process. The key, I think, is to free the form and allow inspiration to determine to what extent a writer sticks to it.
As I read your poem I thought my favorite lines would be “Words stargazing and seasiding /Words stirred within soups of stone.” Then i happened upon all the literary allusions that create magic flowing from your pen. Wonderful poem. Thank you.
—Glenda
Jennifer,
I absolutely love the journey that you just took me on while reading this poem. I was reminded of so many childhood favorites. You reminded me that during this time of being Mom, teacher, leader, rule maker, etc. that I need to take a step back and be a kid. I need to really embrace this time with my kids and learn from them. We need to enjoy these childhood fantasies and magical lands. This is the escape that I needed. Thanks so much for reminding me of that.
I especially like the references to well known writers and fairy tales. The lines “Know within the depths and fibers/Know within the linens and wools/Wools shorn from my being: were especially powerful. These lines really brought it home for me.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful writing with us this morning.
Jennifer,
Your words are powerful and moving! At the point when you wrote “Blossoms of red queen thoughts,” I really felt captured by your poem and how there’s a juxtaposition between the anger and beauty in the world. I enjoyed the stroll through mystical and fairy tale world settings because you captured the winding magic of the unknown.
ooooh, “red queen thoughts, yellow brick, stones for soup,” the fairy tales have come to life here. And, the poems with miles to go. What an incredible stream of consciousness. Reading your poem makes me want to try another draft!
“Hungry for Change”
Information gluttony
Information hungry
Hungry for the unknown
Hungry for truth
Truth is perspective
Truth makes us humble
Humbled by reality
Humbled by relationships
Relationships with new constraints
Relationships strained
Strained with micromanaging
Strained to find more time
Time is all we have
Time is undefined
Undefined roles in life
Undefined players in a game
Games to stimulate minds
Games to make us think
Think of nothing
Think of everything
Everything is interconnected
Everything is at a pause
Pause to acknowledge
Pause to feel gratitude
Gratitude of family
Gratitude of friends
Friends who are family
Friends reconnect
Reconnect to nature
Reconnect by disconnecting
Disconnecting to the overload
Disconnecting to the stress
Stress of the unknown
Stress of today
Today is a cliché
Today is a new day
Days blur into weeks
Days that last long minutes
Minutes to state a regret
Minutes to alter the world
World is a local connection
World is a big concept
Concepts to ponder
Concepts acts as catalysts
Catalysts make waves
Catalysts spark change
Change your state of presence
Change must be fluid
Fluid
Presence
I’ve felt a lot of these lines recently. Thank you!
Stefani, right out of the gate you capture us with what we all want most right now – –
Information hungry
Hungry for the unknown
Hungry for truth
Truth is perspective
Hungering for the truth – sitting, waiting, watching, pausing as the world stops and sends us home to think and to wonder……what are we in for? what is the truth?
This is a perfect ending – – a fluid presence. As teachers, that’s how we feel today. Present for students, but in a fluid way for certain.
information gluttony! Information hungry! The juxtaposition of these ideas perfectly explains how I feel now, how I’ve felt for quite some time. We have a desire to know, to learn, to fill informed and yet it’s never-ending and ever so hard to keep up. I love the connections you made within the lines.
Stefani, your blitz poem documents the tension of this pandemic, how slow and quiet is simultaneously stressful and demanding. “Change your state of presence” – we are all taking deep cleansing breaths, yes?
Stefani,
I sense a “will this ever end” pleading in your poem, a feeling I share. Profound truth in the lines “Today is a cliché / Today is a new day.” You’ve captured so many of my thoughts here this morning. Thank you.
—Glenda
Quarantine for Others
Confusion in the time of corona
Confusion in the time of quarantine
Quarantine got me writing
Quarantine got me thinking
Thinking about change
Thinking about time
Time to pause
Time to reflect
Reflect on work
Reflect on the world
World that separates
World that unites
Unites on common ground
Unites despite differences
Differences we have to embrace
Differences we have to overcome
Overcome death
Overcome even life
Life and limitations
Life and explorations
Explorations that educate
Explorations that harm
Harm the environment
Harm the locals
Locals who work hard
Locals who are strong
Strong in the midst of destruction
Strong in the face of fear
Fear that some will not survive
Fear that some face alone
Alone on the streets
Alone in a house
House turned into cell
House turned into home
Home that is a haven
Home that does not exist
Exist in the current situation
Exist in these moments
Moments that will shape
Moments that will determine
Determine who we are
Determine how we acted
Acted out of fear
Acted out of love
Love for our own
Love for others
Others in desperate need
Others who had no one
One
Need
Angie,
“Corona got me writing” has resulted in a blitz poem articulating many ideas about the virus. I think daily about “how we acted” and what must be done. As you say, we “exist in the current moment.” You’ve tapped into our collective psyche w/ your poem. Thank you.
—Glenda
Angie, I love this:
Quarantine got me writing
Quarantine got me thinking
You delve into the reflective world of all that is good and holy right now. A time of introspective thought, self-awareness, world-awareness, and you progress from yourself to others to the world and back down to yourself and others. It’s like a camera lens going from a closeup to a wide view and back to a closeup. I love your approach here. I also am captivated by acted out of love, acted out of fear. They are definitely two sides of the same coin. Lots of deep thought in this one!
Angie,
I enjoyed how your showed a lot of contradictions that fell together perfectly. I am sure many of us have felt those same feelings recently so it is great to read this poem that seems so relatable.
Thank you for your share,
Jess
Time to pause, time to reflect – Quarantine has certainly given us the time to do this now. Your first four lines are powerful and you lead us through all our feelings up to the care we have for others. I love how the last two lines sum it all up – one need.
“Feet to Night”
Pitter patter of paws
Pitter patter of feet
Feet bringing songs
Feet bringing dances
Dances that move us
Dances shaking the day
Day shines on a farm
Day embraces the fields
Fields filled with hunts
Fields filled with joy
Joy in kinder treasure
Joy in bird watching
Watching cardinals swoop
Watching dogs run
Run after rabbits
Run after wind
Wind spreading corn
Wind tempting deer
Deer musk and earth
Deer hiding watching
Watching the corn drop
Watching for red brass
Brass bound respectfully
Brass used humbly
Humbly from afar
Humbly with respect
Respect the animal
Respect the land
Land bigger than us
Land wiser and older
Older and gentle
Older and ornery
Ornery with stickers
Ornery with red clay
Red clay squishing
Red clay blowing dust
Dust speckling walls
Dust covering boys
Boys who run
Boys who imagine
Imagine a pirate ship
Imagine stadium lights
Lights of the future
Lights from magic bugs
Bugs that mesmerize
Bugs who signal night
Night falls quietly
Night brings them in
In to the table
Quietly like thunder
Ashley,
The nature imagery and celebration of growth sparkle throughout your poem. When I read “red clay” I thought I’d read you’re from Missouri, but Oklahoma is close! Your centering of the lines “Land bigger than us /
Land wiser and older” emphasizes your honoring nature and the land we call home. I can see those “bugs who signal night” and recall many summer nights catching fireflies as I read your poem. Lovely. Thank you.
—Glenda
Our driveway is red clay, silt, and loam. My husband is in landscaping, so I’ve learned a lot about soil!
Thank you for your poem as well! It made my heart smile 🙂
Ashley,
this is pristine and peaceful — your words are charms that are mesmerizing today. I see little boys pretending to see pirate ships, I see meadows of wildlife and plants – – nature at its finest. Your tone is tranquil and your images are calming in the midst of this Covid storm.
Thank you for your kind words! My sons pretend to hide treasure in our yard. I think my appreciation for the farm has grown since the COVID outbreak.
Ashley,
This poem had a wonderful flow to it. I agree with Glenda about the imagery of nature in the poem. I could really picture line by line.
Thank you for your share,
Jess
Thank you Jessica! I appreciate you giving my writing some of your time!
I love everything about this today – beginning with the pitter patter of sound and ending “quietly like thunder.” The dust covered boys who run and imagine. As the mother of two boys, the pirate ships and stadium lights and bugs hits home. I feel the tiny feet in the pitter patter and the growth that brings them back from hunger after a long journey.
I have two sons we well! The hard part is the thunder in our hearts as they continually get older…
Thank you! I have two small sons who chase imaginary villains, and cruise around mock pirate ships in our yard—all in their heads. They are often my inspiration.
Glenda,
your poem brings together so many beautiful images of people – their stories, their hopes, their dreams. Confluencia! is what comes to mind when I read this verse today. NCTE’s theme of the merging of cultures and sharing of our stories, like rivers meeting, mingling, merging. The power of story is moving and is what brings needed change as we seek to understand in a world that doesn’t do a very good job of listening much of the time. Sparks and possibilities, honor and heritage are my other favorite words in your poem today. Thank you for a fun Blitz challenge! I like this new format.
Hands of Tomorrow
Wash your face
Wash your hands
Hands that scold
Hands that hold
Hold each other
Hold our children
Children who write
Children who read
Read people
Read books
Books that inspire
Books that change
Change our world
Change our outlook
Outlook of reality
Outlook of hope
Hope that launches
Hope that heals
Heals broken lands
Heals broken people
People who suffer
People who pray
Pray for restoration
Pray for peace
Peace of mind
Peace of spirit
Spirit of humanity
Spirit of love
Love one
Love all
All who live
All who give
Give of your self
Give of your time
Time to talk
Time to listen
Listen to reason
Listen to hear
Hear our people
Hear their cries
Cries of sadness
Cries of joy
Joy for today
Joy for tomorrow
Tomorrow brings promise
Tomorrow brings unity
Unity of family
Unity of humankind
Humankind
Family
Kim,
The blitz is magical in your hands. Your poem brings me hope. I love the way you start w/ the ubiquitous hand washing we must all do these days and move to more hopeful possibilities. Favorite lines and images: “hands that hold, images of children reading and writing, healing land, images of peace. Looks as though Sarah snagged my FB photo, which happens to be in front of the Berlin Wall. I thought you might find that tidbit interesting. Thank you for making the blitz work so spectacularly.
—Glenda
Glenda, I sure do love that exact spot where you took your photo – I can’t think of a more fitting place for a poet’s picture to be made than in front of the artwork that now covers something once so limiting with images of beauty that give it wings – – peaceful wings like those of a dove!
Good morning Kim,
I think many of us have similar ideas this morning. I particularly like your line: hope that launches. I keep rereading and thinking about the potential of this phrase. Thank you for sharing this!
Kim,
I loved this poem. The intro was great but it unfolded into such a powerful piece. I loved when you said “Love one Love all All who love All who give”. I think this line was very powerful because it is such a needed reminder, especially in this time.
Thank you for your share,
Jess
WOW! this is beautiful….really beautiful. I had a phrase from today’s concerns come to me first too…but my blitz didn’t go beautiful. I love the positive and loving tone your blitz carries…joy for tomorrow, promise, books that inspire. Wonderful take on this prompt.