Hunter's widow

His Mistress

He slips quietly from my warm bed

To meet her crisp lips

His eyes wide with anticipation

Every sense heightened when he’s with her

“It’s only on Saturdays,” he tells me

“I give you the rest of my week,” he tells me, on Wednesday afternoon

He brings her gifts, clothes, new and shiny gems

He walks to meet her, sometimes for miles

And when he returns, he’s tired, too tired for me

And cold, he must rush to the shower, to cleanse himself

But I can still smell her

I keep thinking, “so soon this will be over,”

But I know full well – hunting season will resume next year.

Draft November 2010

You ladies are so clever!  What a great prompt Barbara, I love the idea of I Am From... and will respond to it later this weekend when I'm not dealing with the mess of four newly installed windows in my living room (still under XXX), shopping for T-Day, cooking and cleaning up the mess from XXX.  In spite of all I am thankful that I am here and able to cook and host dinner for my family this year.  

I would like to say how much I enjoyed everyone's workshop on Saturday and the yummy food. We are a cohesive group and I hope that we can stay connected in some way, perhaps this blog would be a good place to start.  I am looking forward to the rest of the presentations on the 6th.

Happiness to all as you share the precious holidays with family and friends.  

Linda

Gratitude

I am grateful for the ability to read and write. Truthfully, I sometimes take this for granted. This opportunity is a ticket for many freedoms and privileges. The other day one of my First Graders wrote a piece filled with wonderful images. It was the moment that he realized he was a writer. The image of this exchange is emblazoned in my memory, yet it is difficult to capture the intensity of this moment. Broad smile, eyes filled with anticipation just doesn't do it, but suffice it to say...he understands the power of words.

I am Love

I am from love.

I am out til the streetlights come on,

Barefeet, bike riding, skinned knees summer.

I am Green Lake Big Dock, big jump.

Oldest of three sisters,

we

expect

more from you.

Score more hoops, A+ only, captain of the… and president, too.

I am from big mall hair, Madonna and Michael.

I am Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, and Hail Mary around the block.

Love.

Oreos, ice cream and chips, vegetarian.

Store bought cakes on your birthday, or the day after.

I am from love,

And divorce.

I am a Princess married to her Prince,

Blessed with the two

Most precious girls.

Angela McLaughlin (draft)

Where I Am From

I am from sand between painted red toes,
Talented toes.
I am from the smell of lobster bait and seaweed, corn on the cob for supper,
And the drip of just-picked strawberries,
Sun-warmed and juicy.
I am from mailman and secretary,
Harry and Betty.
I am from big band brass,
The slide trombone.
I am from Garside's peppermint stick ice cream
sticky and melty,
Catholic
Protestant,
Physical lives separated, divided by beliefs.
Black and white.
Happy or sad.
I am from Red Sox Nation and the Celtic Green,
I am from culinary, the well-read, the traveled,
The opinionated and the privately weak.
The strong, the proud,
The silent, the grateful,
The loved and cherished.
That's where I am from.

Barbara Keene (2010) Draft

George Ella Lyon's Poem

Georgia graciously sent me the author of this poem....fast response, huh?

Where I'm From

I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.

I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,
from Imogene and Alafair.
I'm from the know-it-alls
and the pass-it-ons,
from Perk up! and Pipe down!
I'm from He restoreth my soul
with a cottonball lamb
and ten verses I can say myself.

I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
to the auger,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.

Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.
I am from those moments--
snapped before I budded --
leaf-fall from the family tree.

Here is the link:
http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html

I recall that Georgia Heard used this as a reference to write our own poem: Where I Am From
Why don't we give it a whirl?!

The Power of Journaling

How great is it to find an old journal written several decades ago?! The following is an excerpt from my journal dated August 25, 1993 in reference to my children: Somehow 'wonderful' is not a strong enough word to capture the joyous wonder of their existence. On another note another entry began Anger is my partner. And still, speaking of my father and grandfather's anxiety and worry, "A fire hazard," my father declared. His father before him was ultra safety conscious too. It is a wonder that they were able to get out of bed without worrying themselves into some tragedy strangling themselves in the bed sheets upon rising. Presently I believe I am a bit more compassionate for those struggling with anxiety. I am a worrier. In this new-age of technology, I have long de-friended anger replacing this beast with joy, contentment and acceptance. And thank goodness, I still love and treasure my children! Without the permanence of my journal entries my thoughts, my feelings connected with that time would have been lost.

Georgia Heard

Remember the reference I made to Georgia Heard weeks ago and how I promised a reference and a poem?! I have come empty on both counts. Thumbing through Heard's books have yielded a great review of her ideas (including Heart Mapping) and a google search uncovered a unit entitled, Awakening the Heart (check it out.) So.....on the wave of a wonderful class today and new-found confidence, I e-mailed the poet directly. I await a response. Thanks for your patience.
Barbara

Dear Angie's Husband,

W is for woot woot-the feeling you get when you see one
H is for hungry-I need one for my tummy
O is for "o" shaped goodness
O is for open wide chocolate with filling inside
P is for pig out! who cares? (not me) :)
I is for I'd really like one
E is for everyone does
P is for please
I is for I was really just inspired to write because of a dessert
E is for everyone will thank you

:) Just having fun

Notebook Know-How - WOW!

First off, I am not writing on the blog just because of our jokes of it's use tonight. :) I am writing because I am so genuinely excited about writing right now! Angie lent me Notebook Know-How by Aimee Buckner this evening. Although I enjoyed listening to everyone's presentations this evening, I could not wait to get home and dive into it. I immediately heated up some leftovers, grabbed the book, and sat in my rocking chair in front of the pellet stove. I found myself talking aloud, smiling, and getting giddy. I actually wanted to drag my husband to the Dollar Tree tonight to get 13 fun notebooks for my students to begin using immediately. I only read 2 chapters but can honestly not wait to get them started using a Writer's Notebook. I am going to transform the current journal writing I am doing now. This is very out of character for me, but I am slowly learning to go with the flow. It was hard for me at first to accept that something I started the year with isn't working how I want it to and that is is perfectly okay to drop it and try something new. With taking a class, I just tell my students that I learned something new that I really want them to try out with me.

Aimee Buckner has gotten me so excited to start this new adventure in my classroom! I am just as excited to have my students do it, as I am for me to do it with them! I have convinced myself to finish out this week before Thanksgiving and allow them to finish up their current writing projects. But, let me just say, that I am so excited that I actually considered ignoring the fact that they are at the end of a project and that I am only in the classroom two more days this week and started tomorrow!!!!

Thank you Angie, for hating your book and bringing in alternative texts to share! :)

Texting

During the book talk, I knew that I had read something in Teaching Middle School Writers specifically about texting, but I couldn't retrieve it at the time. I found it when I got home and wanted to share it with you. According to Robb, researchers are currently studying texting. The findings from the studies actually dispel adults' concerns that texting creates poor spellers and diminishes writing abilities. In fact, two of the studies reported that texting improves writing skills and phonemic awareness. Another studied showed that texims, shortenings, acronyms etc. improved literacy. The studies that have been conducted indicate that texting does not erode writing skills. Obviously, many more studies need to be conducted in order to valid the current findings.
So, it is through this social literacy that we may find the key to engaging some reluctant writers.
Robb encourages teachers to ask themselves how they can integrate texting into their literacy curriculum.

A letter to a friend

I decided I would take the idea of replying to my friend to heart and I have:
Dear Kelley,
I can't believe we have been friends for over 20 years. I can't believe I am old enough to have known you that long! :) I wish we could live closer together so we could actually hang out like we used to and not just send an email to each other a couple of times a year! I have so many memories of playing at your house, and doing girls scouts, basketball and chorus with you. Your family was like my second family- you were my other sister growing up. I am glad we got to spend some time hanging out my first semester of college. You have been a very important person in my life.
I can remember going to girl scout camp with you and staying up singing corney songs. The video your mom captured of us singing that Annie song with Dollie is so funny. There was also that birthday party where we dressed up in your mom's clothes and paraded around. Then of course there was the Good Burger sketch. I wasn't embarrassed at the time but I cringe when I think about it now.
I remember going to your grandmother's to visit and eating Oreos. We played the Oreo game, who was going to marry who. I remember watching your parents volley ball games and staying up late on summer nights catching lighting bugs and letting them go in your room and sleeping over.
I remember going for walks in the woods and talking about fairies. We had great imaginations, believing in those childhood pretend worlds. Also, remember all those Baby Sitter Club books that we read? Our love of kids lead us in the same direction on our career paths. Who knew we would grow up to both teach 5 year olds?
I am so glad that we became friends in Kindergarten, and that you are my best friend forever-Hey, Hey, Hey! Love ya!!! -Heather


Thanks for letting me share with you all. I am really going to send this to my friend. :)