Poetry Friday - With Sympathy

         Poetry Friday is hosted by Jone MacCulloch at Check It Out! Today Jone is sharing lots of love! Thanks, Jone.

         We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.

- Pema Chodron

          And a lovely piece of Valentine news! On Valentine's Day, winners of the Cybil's awards were announced.  Congratulations to Laura Shovan for being honored with the poetry award for her novel, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary. 

         I'm again writing a poem each day in response to a challenge to celebrate Laura Shovan's February birthday,  this time with ten words and a current news article as prompt. This is the fifth year doing, is quite a challenge, but also a joy to have a time when it's quiet and focused on words and creating. Because of these recent chaotic times, some of the poems, mine, and others have turned into political responses. No surprise, right? There are numerous changes happening, some hot in the news, others less so. And sometimes we've learned that the rumors heard are not true, yet. 

         Before February 1st, the start of the challenge, the group wrote a few practice poems. And I wrote four of those, now have written twenty altogether. I like some of what I've written, others need a lot of work, or are on their way to the file of forgotten lines. Yet there is one that I still love. The thought of what will happen now to women all over the world who have lost health care saddens me a lot. A former student at my school who, with her spouse who grew up in the biggest slum in Kenya, has started and expanded a school for girls in Kibera, that slum. They have added another school on the other side of Kenya, and also built community centers. They are building a world with strong women who will make it out of poverty. That is one personal story I know. But I am aware of many workers in health and education in our world who dedicate their lives to help the communities. To lose funding is a blow.

Sneaking In A Celebration

  Celebrating with Ruth Ayres at Discover Play Build.  and linking with others who share their celebrations, too. I am grateful to Ruth for helping us celebrate together!  

      Among all the wonderfully usual, but very good things in my life, like museums and ice cream with the granddaughters, this week I celebrate two special things, both connected. One is the used bookstore where I am the volunteer coordinator. I haven't shared an Instagram pic all week because it has been closed for the past eight days. This old building with crannies and creaks needed a facelift, and while the plan was for many fewer days in which to be done, it is looking more wonderful each time I go in. The background is off-white, and all the accent colors are a bright, kind of ship's blue. I'm celebrating the volunteers, including me, today, because this non-profit store, in business for over forty years, is run entirely by volunteers. And during this past week, different volunteers have arrived to dust down the books and shelves, clean  the broad surfaces and the floors, re-label areas, and unpack those books that had to be entirely removed. We still aren't finished, but almost, and it is with a thankful heart, that I applaud those volunteers. I'll share more pics next week when it's really complete. 

All these shelves were emptied in order to paint them
a beautiful blue.

The view from the front window. All around the
window and its shelf, also blue.

        As for volunteers, I, and many others in all the categories, have been reading in every spare moment for the first round of Cybils' judging. It is a joy to read and celebrate all the gorgeous words. But it does take time, and focus, and a lot of love, I think. I celebrate poetry and other books, the writers, and this time the readers, too. As you've seen me share before, if you'd like to check the Cybils' lists in all the categories here. There have been numerous lists shared recently of the best of 2016, and the Nerdy Award nominations are happening right now! Go here! Guess what, all those are volunteers too, who are working hard to bring you grand literature for reading and sharing. 

Celebrating Good Endings

   Thanks to Ruth  at Discover.Play.Build, Ruth Ayres Writes for reminding us to celebrate every chance we get. Tweet at #Celebratelu

    It was a week of celebrating endings. Thursday, our school held our wonderful Exposition (Expo), something like a science fair where each student shares the accumulation of his unit topic learning for the year, yes, for the year!  It is an amazing evening, with many visitors including families, neighbors, former students and parents all returning to see what students have been doing all year. We have about 250 students, thirteen classrooms, and every single students has a display. With everyone's help, but especially the core teachers, which I was for many years, we celebrate the learning. It is an evening extraordinaire. Then a half day Friday, and we're on vacation for a week! Here are a few pictures of projects that caught my eye, arranged from youngest to oldest. I didn't do a slide show this time, but just took a few pictures to offer a taste!

Enjoying Cybil's Nominees

     Find out what Diane Mayr at Random Noodling writes that she's finally learned when you visit her as our Poetry Friday host.  Thanks for hosting, Diane, and for telling about the 'aha' moment!  

     Special Note:  My friend and colleague at school, Suparna Kudesia, is Amy L-V's guest today on The Poem Farm.  Please welcome her and her class to Poetry Friday!  They are crazy about poetry!

       I have the honor of being a round two Cybil’s judge in poetry again this year, and have been reviewing the poetry books I already own, and ordering others that I haven’t read yet.  I don’t really have to participate yet, but am enjoying reading the nominees.  What an array of wonderful ones on the list, including those written by some of you who share on Poetry Friday!  Congratulations!

            I recently found Cat Talk at my library.  It is co-authored by Patricia MacLachlan and her daughter, Emily MacLachlan Charest, and illustrated by Barry Moser. Each page shows a lovely image of a particular cat and poetic text that describes its special personality. For those who love cats, this would make a wonderful gift, and for those who teach, I can imagine having students use this example to spark their own poems about a particular favorite pet, not necessarily a cat.