Thursday, March 28, 2013

William Stafford Brings It All Together




Poetry Friday is hosted today by Mary Lee Hahn, at A Year of Reading, poet extraordinaire of the spare poem that says so much.  Thank you Mary Lee!






The March Slice of Life Challenge- 29 of 31 
           
      Tweet at #Slice2013

       And for two more days after this, slicers who’ve written and supported and read and commented for (now) 29 days, will stop, and return to their routines of regular life, a little weary, but very proud and thrilled at all that they learned, about themselves as writers and about others as a community.  It was a terrific month.




       Poets in the kidlitosphere are readying for two days from now when it’s APRIL, not the cruelest month, but the loveliest-POETRY MONTH!   You can see to the right of this page that Irene Latham at Live Your Poem is again hosting a progressive poem during the month.  You can read the lively and interesting poem that was created last year here.  It will be great fun to see what quirky words happen this time.

        If you’d like to see more of the spectacular happenings occurring in April, check out Jama Rattigan’s blog, Jama’s Alphabet Soup.  I think she’ll be adding to the list as she finds out more, so keep checking in.

        And, if you’ve followed along with the March Madness Poetry competition, it is coming to an end.  Right now, today, you can vote for your favorite poem of the Final Four!  Here’s a link to the site, showing the words that those four who have dazzled us all with their poetry have to write from.  Thanks to Ed DiCaria who has put this wonderful event together, and to the Final Four poets: Renee M. LaTulippe, Cheryl Lawton Malone, M.M. Socks, and Dave Crawley.

           I believe I’ve found a poem to share today that fits each group, both creative groups who write and inspire and are hopeful and kind in their lives.   One of my favorite poets is William Stafford; I have shared more than one poem from him before.  This poem talks about community, a commonality that people share and carry, even as they go their separate ways.  Read and see if it fits the Slice of Life March challenge slicers and the Poetry Friday gatherers. 

        I hope you all find pleasure in the groups you choose, and hold onto the thread that keeps you feeling like a part of something!

The Way It Is
            William Stafford

There’s a thread you follow.  It goes among
things that change.  But it doesn’t change.

                 the rest of the poem can be found here.




36 comments:

  1. Linda,
    Thanks for all of the poetry information for April. I'm looking forward to all the excitement around poetry.

    I enjoyed the poem you shared by William Stafford. I'm going to have to spend some time thinking about the thread. It seems in slice of life so many threads have crossed one another and formed something beautiful.

    Cathy

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    1. You're so welcome, Cathy. You described it well! Thank you!

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  2. You have this amazing ability to find, create and say words that fill a day, making it richer and more beautiful. I liked the poem, and I liked -creative groups who write and inspire and are hopeful and kind in their lives. Your slice is a good start for this Friday and weekend. Thank you.

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    1. You are very welcome, Terje. It is a blessing to be even a small part of these groups.

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  3. Yes, the idea of threads crossing and looping and weaving together (and probably sometimes unravelling) is very apt for your overlapping groups at this MarchendbeginningApril moment. Thanks, Linda!

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    1. You're welcome, Heidi. It's a good time of year!

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  4. Linda,
    I have to thank you for helping to lead my thread to Poetry Friday, then the progressive poem. I am excited about April. What will we do in May?

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    1. You're welcome, Margaret. I'm so happy you're participating in all the fun! In May, I guess we will rest a while after all the posts & reading, end of the year, etc. For teachers, it's usually a time of reflection, & perhaps that will be a theme! Let me know if you have any big ideas!

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  5. Those last two lines just stop me in my tracks, Linda - and how fitting to see this creative process weaving its way through our many and varied blogs....so many strands of thread.

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    1. Thanks, Tara. Isn't it just beautiful! So glad you like it!

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  6. Beautiful poem, Linda. I love Stafford too. And congrats on your productive month of slices. I'm anxious to follow the progressive poem to see what you add on the 10th. :)

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    1. The poem will be fun! Thanks Jama-glad you like the Stafford poem!

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  7. Hi, Linda. Stafford is one of my favorite poets. This poem connects for me to Blake's concept of a golden thread, our connection to heaven or the divine.

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    1. Thanks Laura. I don't know about the Blake 'golden thread'. Will need to look it up! Happy to hear you like Stafford too. There are a few that I just connect to, again and again.

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  8. Love the Stafford poem...and following all these creative threads!

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    1. Thanks, Buffy. The threads are there, aren't they?

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  9. Yes that is the way it is! Thanks so much for all you share here...

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    1. Thank you! It's fun to look forward to April!

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  10. Oh, I love this! Holding on to the thread...

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    1. Thanks Ruth! FYI-I'm still singing 'Morning Has Broken"!

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  11. A March Madness Poem competition. What fun! Thanks for linking to it. Will check it out next.

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    1. Hope you find it; voting is going on now! Thanks Stacey!

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  12. Thank you for sharing this lovely poem, Linda. I like the idea of following that "thread"...it's all about connection. =)

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    1. Yes, connections are what we're celebrating, for sure! Thank you Bridget!

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  13. So looking forward to Poetry Month - we've started a unit of poetry in WW and the students are amazing me with their talents. Thank you for sharing the poem and insight into it. So many wonderful learning communities online. We are lucky to live in such an age.

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    1. I think so too, Dana. It's been a joy to get to know people in different places, and who have different lives, including you! Thank you!

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  14. I love Stafford. Thank you for sharing that gem.

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    1. You're welcome Lee Ann. So happy you like it!

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  15. This is a beautiful poem, Linda, and I haven't read it before. For me, a very important thread is faith - something one wants to keep holding onto.

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    1. Thanks for this thought, too, Joyce. I know that we all need some kind of 'other' strength to hold us.

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  16. That poem really does speak to what it's like to be a slicer! "You have to explain it" and sometimes people don't understand because they don't know what it's like... and of course all slices have the special threads of our lives running through them. A neat reflection for the end of the month, Linda!

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    1. Thanks Jennifer. It's been a pleasure to do this in March.

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  17. I love this poem. And you, Linda, are a thread too - a kind and wise thread linking us together with your words. I wish you a beautiful April! xo, a.

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    1. Thanks Amy, for all of this, and all you do, too! Looking forward to April!

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  18. William Stafford! Thanks, Linda. I hadn't read that poem before, but it is so true. Congrats on your month of slicing!

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