Souvenirs

Open Write is here for you every month. We are teachers writing poetry in community–mending our souls and bringing the joy of writing in community back to our classrooms. Today is our last day for the June Open Write, but we’ll see you again next month beginning on July18.

Our Host

Leilya lives in Ponchatoula, LA, a small town celebrated for its strawberries. She teaches and coordinates the English Education Program at Southeastern Louisiana University. Preparing future English teachers, she hopes they become caring, competent, and effective educators. She is an editor and contributing author of Where Stars Meet People: Teaching and Writing Poetry in Conversation. Her other books are devoted to teaching young adult literature in high school. Leilya loves people, cultures, and their rich traditions. She reads, writes, listens to music, visits her children and grandchildren, and enjoys traveling with her husband.

Inspiration

Trips do not end when we unpack our bags. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t bring at least something from a trip. As for us, we bring photographs, ticket stubs, sand in our shoes (if we came from Florida), maybe a couple new phrases. Sometimes, the most meaningful souvenirs cannot fit inside a suitcase.

Process

Write a poem about a souvenir, whether it is real or imagined. It may be something you bought, something you remember, something emotional or invisible, or something unexpectedly small but meaningful.

You might:

• describe an object and the story attached to it
• write about what you carried home emotionally
• focus on one sensory memory
• create an imaginary souvenir from a dream trip

As always, you may ignore the prompt completely and write about anything you would like to share with us.

Leilya’s Poem

What I’ll Bring Back

Not just postcards
or little cups painted with lemons.

I’ll bring back
the bitter comfort of espresso,
sunsets stretched over tiled roofs,
train rides between unfamiliar towns,
and the sound of our laughter,
unburdened of daily worries.

I’ll carry home
a few Italian words,
a stranger’s smile somewhere
in the hills of San Gimignano,
pictures I may never print.

I’ll keep a handful
of special moments,
newfound connection,
and saying yes
to la dolce vita
for a little while.

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.