This week’s photo challenge on Kim Douillard’s site is Overlooked. I had this word in mind as I drove to exercise on Friday morning. The full moon was still out while the sun was rising. The road to the gym was blocked. I was already late, so I decided to take some photos instead. I made them into an Animoto video.
Then I read Michelle Hendrick Barnes’ post on Poetry Friday. An interview with one of my favorite authors, Margarita Engle. Margarita’s ditty challenge was tied to her new book Orangutanka, a story of orangutans in tanka poems. The challenge: write a tanka, a form with a syllable count of 5,7,5,7,7. Then I looked at Heidi Mordhorst’s March poetry project and today’s word is preaCH. Could I work the two challenges together?
Sun overlooks
blessing a lonely smoke stack.
Coulee wildflowers
preach yellow sonnets
while moon graces morning clouds.–Margaret Simon
I sent my tanka to Michelle and Heidi, so they are posting it today. Three times lucky!
Love your poem and the inspiration for it. I’m starting a poetry unit w/seniors today and think I’ll include both your post and poem in a lesson this week in how we find writing ideas. Also think I’ll assign tanka writing. Glad I found this.
Thanks, Glenda. Please share your students’ work with me. I’d love to see what I inspire.
Hi Glenda. I’d love to see your students’ work as well and maybe share some on my blog this month as part of Margarita’s tanka challenge. More details here at the end of the interview: http://michellehbarnes.blogspot.com/2015/03/spotlight-on-margarita-engle-dmc.html
Well done, Margaret! I love that ‘preach yellow sonnets’!
Amazing, lovely and oh, so creative!
First of all, well done tackling three challenges in one go, Margaret– VERY impressive! Your video of photographs is perfect for showing how inspiration strikes when all the right ingredients coalesce in the right place at the right time. It’s a beautiful process, isn’t it? Your tanka transported me.
Your poetry prowess amazes me. I’m so ready to read your professional teaching book on writing someday… 😉
You’re so creative, Margaret! Your word choice is just beautiful.
Wildflowers preaching sonnets – that’s sublime, Margaret!
Such high praise! Thanks. I am humbled.
I’m struck by how you captured nature’s strength and perfection. Beautiful.
Like others, I’m in awe of this line, Margaret: “…wildflowers/preach yellow sonnets” Stunning!
So great! If you can’t work out…you should take some gorgeous photos, put them to words and create a stunning slideshow. Well done!