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Autumn Storm

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It’s been another hit-or-miss week working with #Inktober/#Poemtober. I’ve really liked knowing the prompts are there, but sometimes the inspiration hasn’t been. Isn’t it weird how some words can feel “dead” while others seem to brim with possibility? And those same “dead” words might easily reanimate at a different time or place, when seen through a different lens?

At any rate, this past weekend, my daughter mentioned that she’d been participating in #Inktober. Yesterday, she shared her entry for “wild” with me:

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It, together with the arrival of a fierce storm, inspired this poem.

Autumn Storm

outside the wild wind roars
leaves swirl in tornado torrents
the storm prowls like a lion
lashing the earth with mighty paws

Molly Hogan ©2019

Now that the storm has passed, there are far more leaves on the ground than in the trees, but to date, this fall has been particularly spectacular. Time and again, I’ve been stopped in my tracks by the beauty of autumn in New England.

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brilliant baubles
leaves ornament the trees
fall’s parting gift

Molly Hogan © 2019

I hope your days are also filled with beauty.

 

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Jama Rattigan at her amazing blog, Jama’s Alphabet Soup. Make sure to stop by and see what Jama’s serving up this week. It’s sure to be delicious!

 

 

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Moon Mission

slice-of-life_individual“I’ve got a mission tonight!” I announced.

“A mission?” Kurt asked.

“Yes! It’s a full moon and I’m gonna try to take pictures. I’m determined to figure out how to take a good moon photo.”

To date, all my moon shots with my “new” camera have been tremendously disappointing. Just a big white blob in the sky. I knew it was operator error, and tonight I was determined to succeed or at least improve. I also had new tools in this endeavor–a tremendous zoom lens and a tripod–recent gifts from Kurt. 

 “Do you know when it rises?” he asked.

I googled away quickly.

“7:23 pm!” I announced.

Looking at the clock, I realized I’d better get on it. I started leafing through my camera manual and googling on line: “best setting for a moon picture.” I barely noticed when, a few minutes later, Kurt left to go to a meeting.

I was deep in confusion when my phone rang, only a few minutes later.

It was Kurt.

Huh?

“The moon’s already rising, Molly.” I looked at my watch.

“What!?! But it’s only 6:30 pm!!!” (Clearly I do NOT know how to read a moon chart!)

He continued, “You should check it out down on Brown’s Point Road. It’s huge!”

“But…but… I thought it wasn’t rising til after 7! Ahhhh! I’m still figuring out settings!”

I hung up quickly and scrambled madly trying to at least address the basics. Umm….ISO 100, aperture f/11-f/16 and shutter speed 1/60-1/125. I fumbled with knobs and buttons.

I have very limited experience with manual settings, and I should have begun preparing earlier. I was paying the price now. Try as I might, I could not get the iso to change. Over and over, I pushed the sequence of buttons, but it kept reverting to the original setting.  Oh, well, I finally decided, I’d just drive down to the river and give it a try. I grabbed my camera bags and tripod and set out.

Down at the water, the moon was a huge glowing orb with wisps of clouds drifting across it. Stunning! I unloaded my gear and set up, happy that the tripod was pretty user friendly and that I was able, more or less, to manipulate it in the dark. Then I turned on my camera and swiveled to find that gorgeous moon. Ahhhhh….Perfect shot. With my zoom, I was so close that the details popped.

Click!

I looked at the picture displayed on my camera.

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Oh.

This was not the stunningly detailed moon that I had seen in my view finder. Despite my tinkering, I was still firmly at white celestial blob. This was very disappointing, but I rallied.

Cell phone flashlight in hand, I fiddled around with a few settings and tried again. The clouds were cooperating nicely, but…

Click!

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This was not encouraging. I took shot after shot on different settings.

Click! Click! Clickety click click!

Blob! Blob! Blobbity blob blob!

One time, I got desperate and tried some effect setting and, much to my surprise, wound up with this:

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Maybe the moon is actually made of a fried egg, not cheese…

Eventually, I packed up my equipment and headed back home, temporarily defeated, but determined to view it all as a process. A very messy one. Clearly, I needed to do some more research.

Once home, I dug into the manual and Google again. The more I played around, the more I realized how little I really knew about  my camera! After much reading, experimenting and head scratching, I discovered that there was an automatic iso setting that was confounding my iso adjustment efforts. I then figured out how to override that. Finally, the suggested settings were programmed, and  it was time to wait for the moon to rise above the trees at home. Every 15 minutes or so, I dashed outside to assess its location.

At about 8:30, Kurt came home.

“How’d it go?” he asked.

“Utter failure,” I replied, “but I did learn how to use the tripod and I think I’ve reset it so I can try again. I’m just waiting for the moon to rise over the trees.”

“Well, I could see it when I drove up the driveway,” he said.

I grabbed all the gear again and set up outside. Looking up at the moon, I shook aside the lingering frustration of missing the earlier much-more-magnificent version.  Process!  I reminded myself. It’s still beautiful!

I set up and found the moon in the viewfinder. All those glowing details. Vivid. Clear. I took a deep breath and…

Click!

I looked at the camera and…

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Woohoo! Yes! I did it!

I know I need to practice it a few more (hundred!) times to try to retain it. And I’m sure there’s still fine-tuning to be done. I’m having all sorts of thoughts about learning curves, process vs. product, frustration, and persistence. But mostly, for now, I’m simply celebrating!

Mission accomplished! 

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#Poemtober Day 12: Dragon

 

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Autumnal Conflagration

flicker, flutter
fire, flame
autumn embers
kindle bright
as if a roaring rush
of dragon’s breath
has brushed the landscape
igniting, brightening
lighting with flares
of crimson maple and golden oak
leaves crackling with color
piercing smoky grey skies
until even the river
is ablaze

©Molly Hogan, 2019 (draft)

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#Poemtober

downloadImage result for inktober 2019Once again, most of the writing I’ve been doing lately has been quick responses to prompts. Among other things,  I’ve been semi-participating in this month’s Poemtober. That means that I’ve tried to write to the word prompt each day, with wildly varying results. Here are my responses for the prompts “swing” and “husky.”

In October
the balance swings
from “on top of it”
to “overwhelmed”
in the blink
of an eye

©Molly Hogan, 2019

In the shadowed field
beneath glowing hunter’s moon
corn stalks rustle
a haunting, husky tune
winter’s coming…
coming soon…

©Molly Hogan, 2019

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Catherine Flynn, at her blog, Reading to the Core. Catherine reminds us of the power of gratitude and shares, among other things, a wonderful poem “Let’s Remake the World with Words.”

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Writing Club

slice-of-life_individualI finally decided to do it. I had hemmed and hawed for a long time before committing,  but finally I did it. I signed up to become…the Writing Club Advisor. Eek! I wasn’t at all sure that I wanted another school-related thing on my plate, yet I wanted to share my love of writing with students in a “freer” zone. Sure, the kids in my classroom know I write and I share that process and my enthusiasm on an ongoing basis. However, I can’t say I’m in love with essay writing and it seems to have a bit of a strangle hold on the fourth grade writing curriculum. 

Ok, I feel guilty even writing that. I need to work harder to feel the essay love!  There really are parts of essay writing I love…the feeling of finding just the right compelling evidence, the perfect quote, the stirring lead or satisfying conclusion. There’s a lot to love. But overall the genre is not what stirs me to write, and we do a lot of it. Maybe it’s the fact that my own life isn’t spiced with strong opinions. I’m more inclined to find a common ground than to take a divisive or rebellious stance. Is personality trait something that influences genre preference?

At any rate, I took the plunge and created and posted flyers for Writing Club. I deliberately did not send notices home with students. I didn’t want parents to sign up their children. I wanted students to self-select to be in this club–Students who are motivated to come and write.

Then I sat back and waited to see if there would be any response. And there was!  Ultimately, 23 kids from 4th-7th grade signed up! Wow! I debated about capping the group as the forms trickled in, but just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Last Tuesday was our first meeting. After a truly impressive amount of after school snacking (writing is hungry work! Well, pre-writing really…), we formed a circle on the carpet. I gave a brief introduction and then said, “So, let’s start by getting to know each. Can you introduce yourself and say why you signed up for Writing Club?”

If you ever need a cure for teacher burnout, sit in a circle of motivated student writers and listen to them all state some variation of “I’m here because I love to write.” My personal favorite was, “I want to write stories to inspire other people.”  Or maybe it was, “I’m here because I really want to write, and…..(very long pause)…and yeah, I really want to write!”

We started with a prompt. For ten minutes, the room was silent other than the scratch of pen and pencil and the shuffle of notebook pages.  Another antidote for burnout–Capture that sound and sell it on Teachers Pay Teachers!

I’m so glad I finally decided to do this.

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Swagger Challenge: Write a Zeno

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Last month we began posing monthly challenges for our writing group, named The Sunday Night Swaggers. The plan is for a different one of us to pose a challenge each month, and for all of us to share our poems at the first Poetry Friday of the month. This month Margaret Simon (Reflections on the Teche) posed our second challenge: Write a Zeno.

A quick intro to Zenos: J. Patrick Lewis created the form. In an interview with Michelle Heidenrich Barnes of Today’s Little Ditty  he explained, ” The zeno was inspired by the “hailstone  sequence” in mathematics. I define a zeno as a 10-line poem with 8,4,2,1,4,2,1,4,2,1 syllables that rhyme abcdefdghd.” (If you’d like to find out more about the “hailstone sequence”, click here. It’s actually kind of cool!)

I’ve written Zenos before, and was looking forward to writing some more. But this time around I was stymied. Flummoxed. Confounded. I wrote page after page after page. Lists of rhyming words. False starts. Half starts. I wrote about Halloween vampires, black crows, crimson maple trees, snowy egret carnage, the marsh, mornings, my cat, and more. Yikes! Nothing fell into place. The tyranny of a 1-syllable rhyme has been grossly underrated! 

It’s been one of those weeks…

Some mornings, words fall into line
gather neatly
on the
page
some days they fight,
wrangle,
rage
twist and kick, then
storm off-
stage

© Molly Hogan, 2019

The Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Cheriee at Library Matters. She’s sharing an interview with Canadian poet Robert Heidbreder and some wonderful examples of his poems. If you’re interested in checking out some other Zenos, you can find my fellow Swaggers’ Zenos at their blogs.

Margaret Simon (Reflections on the Teche)
Heidi Mordhorst (My Juicy Universe)
Linda Mitchell (A Word Edgewise)
Catherine Flynn (Reading to the Core)

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Next Time, Engage Filter

slice-of-life_individualTired of doing the cobra dance from behind students, trying to see their writing in that elusive middle distance through my bifocals, I’d finally decided to opt for progressive lens. After helping me pick out my new frames, the woman at the eye doctor’s outlined my options, detailing what my insurance would pay and what it wouldn’t. She managed to convince me pretty easily that I should go with the newest technology. (Yes, of course, the one with the skimpy insurance coverage. Ouch!)

“Do you want transitionals?” she asked, then elaborated at my blank look, “You know, the ones that change into sunglasses when you go outside?”

“Oh,” I said. “Oh, no, I don’t want those.”

“Well,” she said, “if you do choose those, there’s a package deal available. If you have three options selected –and you already have two–and add transitionals for only $25, you can get a free set of lenses and pay only 75% of the frame price. It’s a great deal!”

“But I really don’t want transitionals,” I said.

“So,” she confided, leaning closer over the table, “here’s what you do. You just say you want transitionals now. Then, when they come in, you tell me that you don’t like them, and I send them back and they’ll make you a new pair!”

“Oh,” I said. “I don’t know about that.”

“It’s no big deal,” she said, “I do it all the time!”

She looked at me  expectantly, hand poised over the mouse. I sat there feeling uncomfortable. Squirmy.  Should I? Shouldn’t I?

“You’ll save hundreds of dollars,” she reminded me as I hesitated, trying to organize my thinking and my response. I really did need a new pair of sunglasses, and that was a huge savings, but it just didn’t feel right.

“No,” I said, “I’m sorry, but there’s something about that that just hitches up against something ethical inside me. I just don’t like playing games or playing the system and am really not comfortable doing that.”

Then I heard my words in my head again. And cringed.

Oh.

Silently, I rebuked myself, Oh, Molly, why did you say that? You could just have said, “No, thanks!” Did you have to use the word ethical? Didn’t you just essentially tell her that she was being unethical? Ugh.

“I appreciate your telling me about the option, though,” I said aloud, quickly, smiling, hoping to make amends.

“Oh, that’s fine,” she said, coolly. “I just wanted to let you know.”

I bobbed my head up and down, vigorously. “Yes,” I said, “and I really appreciate it! It really sounds like a way to save a lot of money! Quite a deal! ” Stop babbling now, Molly…

After another year or two   fifteen minutes or so, we’d finally finished ordering my glasses (sans transitionals!), and I left the store, still inwardly shaking my head about my ill-advised comments. Why, oh, why did I say that?

Two weeks later, I’m still waiting to hear that my glasses are in. I’m beginning to wonder if perhaps the order was sabotaged…

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PF: Pulse

downloadA recent Poetry Friday post by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater inspired me to revisit a moment I’d written about (here) and try to create a poem from it. I was further intrigued by her idea of  “smoosh-ing” two words together to make new ones.

Pulse

Face the ocean
Stand still
with both feet sandplanted
Close your eyes
Feel the sunwarmth brush your cheeks
Breath the fresh, salty air
In
Out
In
Out
Listen to the whisper of the breeze
the rhythmic rush of surf
In
Out
In
Out
Tune in
to your own
steady
pulse

©Molly Hogan, 2019

Carol Varsalona is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup this week at her blog, Beyond Literacy Link. She’s sharing a fabulous travel log celebrating summer adventures. Be sure to stop by and check it out!

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Kids Write the Darndest Things!

slice-of-life_individual“Can you drive on the way back so I can get some school work done?” I asked my husband (and heard a faint echoing chorus of too many teachers saying similar things on a Sunday afternoon after a busy fall weekend.)

Kurt nodded and changed direction, heading to the driver’s side of the car. I climbed in and organized my papers around me in the passenger seat. Moments later we were on our way.

What to start with first?

I shifted through papers and sighed, wishing I were merely admiring the passing scenery, but knowing I simply had to get some work done. Finally, I pulled out the Habits of Work reflection my students had completed on Thursday. I needed to look through them and give feedback. Not too mentally demanding, but it had to be done. A good place to start.

With our Habits of Work, we have each student assess  himself/herself as “Not Yet” “Sometimes” or “Yes!” on four categories: Respect, Preparedness, Engagement, and Determination. Students who score themselves a “Yes!” in a category have to note evidence of how they show that particular strand. After reflecting on all four habits, students create individual goals.

As I read and marked, I was impressed by the detailed responses. Overall, my feedback was in synch with how students were rating themselves. The kids were giving thoughtful evidence and often noting specific areas to work on. For example, one student, explaining why she scored herself a “Yes!” on engagement, focused on partner work, writing, “I ask questions to try to understand what they are thinking.” Another wrote, “I raise my hand and share ideas.” A different student, commenting on determination, wrote, “I ask for help when I need it and try when things are hard. I need to take feedback.” I read through, enjoying the insight into their thinking and appreciating their efforts, getting to know them just a little bit more.

After a while, I looked up, taking a break to check out the rolling hills and sun-dappled landscapes. It was a picture perfect day–stunning New England early autumn in all its glory.

Taking a deep breath and gathering up my will power once again, I turned away from the window and back to my work. I was happy to see I’d made good headway through this particular pile and had only a few papers left. Turning to the next one, I glanced to see who’d written it, then began to review it.

“What!” I yelped and then burst out laughing.

My husband glanced over. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

I looked down at the paper again, shaking my head, laughing even harder.

“OMG!” I said, “I can not believe what my student wrote!”

“What is it?” he said.

So I read it to him, and he laughed just as hard as I did.

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Oh, my! I don’t think it’s going to be a boring year!

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PF: To Prepare for Winter…

downloadIt’s that time of the year when finding time for writing is harder than ever. The demands of school leak into other parts of the day, and my reserved writing time can easily slip slide away before I even notice. These days I am especially grateful when a prompt or challenge sparks a response. I wrote this one to Laura Purdie Salas’s prompt for her “Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle!” give-away. I didn’t win the give-away, but having written something was a welcome consolation prize. 🙂

To prepare for winter…

I snap some photos
of blazing maples,
then sweep the leaves
from my mind,
wipe away dew-laden webs,
prepare to focus on lacy frost,
misty clouds of breath,
the glory of the first
snowfall.

©Molly Hogan, 2019

The Poetry Friday Roundup this week is hosted by the ever-gracious Linda B. at her blog, Teacher Dance. She’s revealing the cover of a new book by Irene Latham and Charles Waters that will be coming out in February. Take a peek! It looks wonderful!