Training

Posted on April 3, 2017 by The Read-e-ologist

(NaPoWriMo2017 – Day 2)

5 years friendship
12 miles bike path
4 gym shoes, slightly worn
2 caps baseball
3000 milliliters water

Locate 6-mile bike path, and confirm that at least one end has parking. Fill 2 water bottles for each person, set aside. Dress comfortably. Be sure to use baseball caps to protect eyes and face from the sun.

Walk together. Share funny stories. Ponder aloud. Reveal fears and worries. Discuss emotions. All of them. Listen. Provide pep-talks.

Pause

Notice the breeze. See the color of each leave, noting the differences since the last walk. Celebrate the slivers of sunshine that drip through the canopy of trees above. Pay attention to the beauty around you. Declare the metaphor among long walks and important friendships.

Continue walking to the end of the path. Drink more water. Turn around and make 6-mile return hike.

Prompt for 4/2/2017

Today, I’d like you to write a poem inspired by, or in the form of, a recipe! It can be a recipe for something real, like your grandmother’s lemon chiffon cake, or for something imaginary, like a love potion or a spell. NaPoWriMo.com

Arlington Heights (NaPoWriMo – Day 29)

Posted on April 30, 2016 by The Read-e-ologist

I remember days on bicycles
Riding from edge to edge
Of town.

I remember pool passes
The smell of chlorine on our towels
And in our hair.

I remember legendary rounds of
Capture the flag, with every kid
In the neighborhood.

I remember Banbury Road
The one street allowed to angle and curve
Through Scarsdale.

I remember the Frontier Days
Parade, Carnival, music
Then fireworks at the track.

I remember hide-and-seek
In the stacks of books at the
Public library.

I remember Green River sodas
And onion rings at the best restaurant
Eros.

I remember the friendships
That have continued through decades
Real and timeless.

Bye-Bye Binaries (for Annika)

Posted on April 27, 2016 by The Read-e-ologist

We are coming up to the crossroads,
But they look like borders.

What should we do when we get to the crossroads?
They can’t separate us if we’re holding hands!

I know your life ain’t been no crystal stair,
And mine has had tacks in it.

What should we do when we get to the crossroads?
They can’t separate us if we’re holding hands!

We came through,
Seeing past
My privileged poverty
and
Your oppressed opulence.

What should we do when we get to the crossroads?
They can’t separate us if we’re holding hands!

The two of us?
We are:
Clover and Anna
Marlee and Liz
T.J. and Andy
Ella and Z
Wren and Darra
Gabby and David

What should we do when we get to the crossroads?
They can’t separate us if we’re holding hands!

They directed you into a police state,
Leaving me devastated, needing to make a statement.

What should we do when we get to the crossroads?
They can’t separate us if we’re holding hands!

We are coming up to the crossroads,
But they look like borders.

What should we do when we get to the crossroads?
They can’t separate us if we’re holding hands!

We will stand up tall
State our case
Hold our heads up high
Lift our voices
Raise our fists

What should we do when we get to the crossroads?
They can’t separate us if we’re holding hands!

Now they understand
Just why our head’s are not bowed.

What should we do when we get to the crossroads?
They can’t separate us if we’re holding hands!

Into a daybreak that is wondrously clear,
We rise!

What should we do when we get to the crossroads?
They can’t separate us if we’re holding hands!

We have come to realize that my destiny is tied up with your destiny.
My freedom is inextricably bound to your freedom.
We cannot walk alone.

What should we do when we get to the crossroads?
They can’t separate us if we’re holding hands!

We are friends, comrades,
Unapologetically.

What should we do when we get to the crossroads?
They can’t separate us if we’re holding hands!

We rise!

NaPoWriMo – Day 26 prompt

“Write a poem that incorporates a call and response. Calls-and-responses are used in many sermons and hymns (and also in sea chanties!), in which the preacher or singer asks a question or makes an exclamation, and the audience responds with a specific, pre-determined response.”

NaPoWriMo – Day 17

Posted on April 18, 2016 by The Read-e-ologist

Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was “Today, I challenge you to find, either on your shelves or online, a specialized dictionary. This could be, for example, a dictionary of nautical terms, or woodworking terms, or geology terms. Anything, really, so long as it’s not a standard dictionary! Now write a poem that incorporates at least ten words from your specialized source. Happy writing!” My poem is based on the Pedagogy of the Oppressed dictionary of critical theory terms (No, it doesn’t really exist, but I have definitely incorporated at least ten words form my specialized source).

Screen Shot 2016-04-17 at 9.24.05 PM

Notes from Pedagogy of the Oppressed: Chapter One

To become fully human
is to risk an act of love.

The oppressed,
in freeing himself,
fights . . .

NOW PUBLISHED IN this book.

. . .

Minha vida.
Minha luta.
Strive towards plentitude!

NaPoWriMo – Day 3

Posted on April 4, 2016 by The Read-e-ologist

Usually I try a variety of poetry styles during National Poetry Writing Month, so I feel kind of bad that I have two blackout poems in a row. I couldn’t help it. They are such fun. Moreover, I have made everyone near and dear to me read Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Letting such a beautiful book evoke a poem was inevitable.

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Paper Things (Read Along)

Posted on March 7, 2016 by The Read-e-ologist

Before you read, let it be known that we were inspired in two ways. First of all, we were inspired by the book Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson. It is an incredible book!

Our second inspiration came from Brian Wilhorn @HelpReaders, who put together a similar visual guide for the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio. We decided to compose our own version for Paper Things, which is another must-read.

Thank you to Michael, Bella, Trey, Emma, Jezlyn, Shae, and Rowan for doing the research and the hard work to put this together.

Chapters 1 through 5

Chapters 6 through 10
Chapters 11 through 15
Chapters 16 through 20

Chapters 21 through 25
Chapters 26 through 30

Chapters 31 through 35
Chapters 36 through 43

Poetry Month – Day 16

Posted on April 17, 2014 by The Read-e-ologist

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (Acrostic)

Wallowing in the pain of

Awkward adolescence,

Learning to

Love others and to become

Free enough to

Love yourself,

Outcast, and casting out the

Wailing of an

Earlier you –

Redeemable with truth.

Poetry Month – Day 15 (Cinquain)

Posted on April 16, 2014 by The Read-e-ologist

This one is a cinquain (5 lines, syllables 2-4-6-8-2).

Auggie,

With heart of gold,

Face-to-face with bullies –

Being himself for his own sake

And theirs.

Poetry Month – Day 13

Posted on April 13, 2014 by The Read-e-ologist

For this new trilogy, I have written a Triolet…

Genius appliances and friends,

Treasures found in Tesla’s Attic,

Are they magic or mathematic?

Genius appliances, and friends,

Are drawn to the new kid Nick.

One who might know how it ends-

Genius appliances and friends-

Treasures found in Tesla’s attic.

Poetry Month – Day 10

Posted on April 10, 2014 by The Read-e-ologist

Today’s Poem is a Tanka. (Syllable pattern 5-7-5-7-7).

Coffee nut latte?

Maybe that makes Cam perfect

For Em (or does it?)

Espressology’s a hit.

People want love and lattes.