A Woman in Your Family

March 2026 is Women’s History Month. When women choose to get involved in the process of community building, they typically join forces with men and collaborate in various ways. They organize events, educate people, start community projects, or just change the room’s atmosphere with their kindness and wisdom.

This month at Open Write, we will honor community building women–in our family, in our literature, and in the news, by crafting poems to express our thoughts and creativity about our chosen woman. Today, we will focus on a woman in your family.

Our Host

Anna J. Small Roseboro, a wife and mother, is a distinguished educator, mentor, and author with a career spanning more than five decades. She holds a Master of Arts in Curriculum Design, and a Bachelor’s in Speech Communications. As a National Board-Certified Teacher and National Writing Project Fellow, Anna has helped shape the lives of students and educators alike through her roles in schools, universities, and professional organizations in the five states where she has lived and worked. Anna has written extensively to support teachers and students. Her publications include our Ethical ELA team publication Assessing Students with Poetry Writing Across Content Areas (2026); Empowering Learners: Teaching Different Genres and Texts to Diverse Student Bodies (2023); and Planning and Purpose: A Handbook for New College Classroom Teachers (2021).

Inspiration

Many have family members whom they can write about with deep understanding.  Let’s honor one of your women family members in our poems today. Consider a special event where family will gather in person or online, where you could share or present this poem as part of the celebration.

Process

Let’s write an acrostic poem.  Consider the women in your family, past and present, as well as family goals for the young ones.  Choose two of that person’s names. Write those letters down the left side of your paper or page. Now add words and phrases to the lines that begin with the letters of that person’s name. To help us get to know the person, consider including answers to who, what, when, where, why, and how.

 Consider the sound of the chosen words.  In what ways will using assonance and onomatopoeia enhance the message you wish to convey in this poem about a woman in your family or family circle that you admire?   

And, please consider illustrating the poem with a photo or appropriate graphic and post it here, with the poem.  I urge you to plan and share the poem with family members at a special family gathering.  Here’s one written about our baby sister, Veronica Emerald, that we shared at a seminal birthday celebration.

Anna’s Poem

Your Turn

Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to 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. 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. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers.