Skip to main content

Poetry Friday: Full Circle




I've always viewed scrapbooking as a form of storytelling. It's how we preserve the stories of the people and experiences in our lives. One of the first scrapbook pages I ever made was called "I is for Immigrant." 

My poem today is a poetic interpretation of that page. It's a shape poem - a poetic form where the words on the page form a shape related to the content of the poem.

This week's Poetry Friday is hosted by Matt Forrest at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme.
Hop over here to find links to the other writers participating this week.

Labels:

Comments

  1. Matt Forrest EsenwineApril 30, 2021 at 3:47 PM

    If more folks thought this way, our world would be a better place. We all travel full circle, in some way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElisabethMay 6, 2021 at 10:08 AM

      I agree completely! Thanks for hosting Poetry Friday, Matt.

      Delete
  2. Bridget MageeApril 30, 2021 at 4:52 PM

    'A is for awesome' shape poem, Elisabeth. Your students are lucky to have your unique language-learner perspective. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElisabethMay 6, 2021 at 10:08 AM

      A perspective I know you share! Thanks for stopping by and for introducing me to the wonderful world of Poetry Friday :-).

      Delete
  3. Buffy SilvermanApril 30, 2021 at 10:24 PM

    Great shape for your poem!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElisabethMay 6, 2021 at 10:11 AM

      Thanks Buffy! I appreciate you stopping by.

      Delete
  4. Sally MurphyMay 1, 2021 at 1:57 AM

    Elisabeth, this such a perfect use of shape poetry! I love the story it conveys in just a few words and that perfect circle. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElisabethMay 6, 2021 at 10:09 AM

      Thank you Sally! It feels like the words need the shape in order to fully express themselves, the same way a picture book isn't complete without the illustrations.

      Delete
  5. RuthMay 2, 2021 at 2:59 AM

    Here's to teaching English! And especially to immigrants!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElisabethMay 6, 2021 at 10:11 AM

      Thank you Ruth! I feel like my writing makes me a better teacher, and being a language teacher makes me a better writer. Another full circle!

      Delete
  6. TabathaMay 2, 2021 at 11:04 AM

    I remember these as "concrete poems," and I do love them! Wish I saw more of them. Yours is wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElisabethMay 6, 2021 at 10:10 AM

      Thank you Tabatha! I'm inspired to see if I can come up with more poems like this.

      Delete
  7. Carol VarsalonaMay 5, 2021 at 4:58 PM

    What a delightful full circle story poem you created!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElisabethMay 6, 2021 at 10:12 AM

      Thank you Carol! It's fun to try to convey a sense of story in as few words as possible - almost like flash fiction.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Friday: Welcome to the Party!

There is so much happening in our world right now, it can be hard to take it all in. In these times, more than ever, I am grateful for poetry.  Sometimes I write it.  Sometimes I have no words of my own, so I read and reflect on the poetic words of others.  Either way, poetry helps me process my thoughts and feelings about the world and my experiences in it. My poetic offering today is a poem I wrote earlier this spring, on a rare day when my husband had to go to the office for an in-person meeting and I took our usual lunchtime walk alone.  I am a creature of habit, but on that day I challenged myself to break routine and change direction, and this poem was the result. Today I go against the grain, turn left  Instead of right, Let the path take me away from home Instead of towards it. Today I go against the grain, go up the slope I usually walk down. Climbing uses different muscles Than descent. Today I go with the grain, walk downstream Instead of up, Walk with the flow, Instead of a
21 comments
Read more

Poetry Friday: The Party is Here!

 Welcome everyone to Poetry Friday! If you're new to Poetry Friday, you can read more about it here . I've been chasing deadlines all week, but poetry always provides a welcome pause in the busiest of schedules. Perhaps because of the kind of writing I've been doing (which is not related to poetry at all) it was a bit hard to get started on a poem this week. I looked at a few of the poetic forms I've bookmarked over the past months, but in the end, turned to one of my favorite forms, the acrostic .  Thanks for joining the Poetry Friday party today! Add your link to the party below. You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter
24 comments
Read more

Poetry Friday: The Trouble at Turtle Pond

Let's talk about turtles! Last month I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of the wonderful new middle-grade novel, Trouble at Turtle Pond , by Diana Renn, which is out in the world this month!  If you took all the things I care about and rolled them up into one book, it would be The Trouble at Turtle Pond : nature, mysteries, and authentic, inclusive portrayals of neurodiverse characters (in this case, ADHD). This book is full of humor, heart, adventure - and lots of interesting facts about turtles!  When eleven-year-old Miles moves to Marsh Hollow, he’s desperate for a fresh start. At his last school, his ADHD-related challenges earned him a reputation as a troublemaker and cost him his friends, especially after he lost a beloved class pet. With just one chance to make a first impression, “Mayhem Miles” is determined to do something great in this town. Like solving a mystery. After witnessing people burying something in his neighbor’s backyard one night, he’s sure there’s tro
9 comments
Read more