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Thank you to Kathryn Apel for hosting a brilliant and joyful space for poetry in the midst of all that distracts and stresses.
Last week, Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference put out a call for submissions for poems about mistakes for a middle school collection. Pshaw....easy, I thought. I teach middle school. I can fill buckets with poems about mistakes.
Perhaps I put a little too much pressure on myself. Because, when I sat down with a blank page...those poems were being really shy. It turns out that I don't really want to write about a personal mistake.
So, I went looking for mentor poems. This one struck my fancy...and set my course.
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I searched for famous mistakes and found fun articles on how items such as the slinky and silly putty, penicillin, microwave ovens and scotch guard began as mistakes.
Now, we're cooking with gas, I thought.
I want to convey in a poem about mistakes that they have a silver lining...they are instructional. They are opportunities. So, here is the direction my foray into mistake poems is headed. Who knows where I'll end up?
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| (c) Linda Mitchell |
If you are still with me, there is a great TedEd talk, How to Learn, from Mistakes. It's ten minutes long. If you want to get to the heart of it...skip to minute number Five.
Happy Poetry Friday....I wish you lots of mistakes!
I like your thinking, Linda. It is so important to make mistakes if we want to make any sort of progress. Mayhaps that's something the internet needs to remember - because people are very quick to publicise, criticise and magnify mistakes online... And we wonder why we're scared of failure... #humanswithhearts
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
YES! I've always liked the Thomas Edison quote: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." I wish we lived in a society that allowed people to fail without tearing them apart for it. When we're afraid to fail, how can we ever take a chance or try something new?
ReplyDeleteI just checked out The Book of Mistakes from the library, a recent picture book, hoping I might be inspired, Linda, for Tabatha's challenge. Now you've inspired me to look in different directions, too! I love the opportunity you've shown in your own poem, and love the poem by Stallings. I wonder how many dandelion poems have been written, that bright plant we either hate or adore! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI was excited about the call for submissions and I had a similar experience when I sat down to come up with some ideas. thanks for sharing your process. I'll have to check out that TedTalk tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteMistakes are steppingstones to success when they are reflected upon. Thanks for the poem you provided and your original poem that ends on a high note, Linda.
ReplyDeleteLinda, such a great pairing of the mentor poem and your own creation. Mistakes are indeed opportunities to learn, but I do often wish they would float away as easily as a dandelion seed. Sometimes they stick with me way too long, causing me to fret over something already gone!
ReplyDeleteYou are 10 steps ahead of me, Linda--I intended to search for a mistake this week (one other than my own, which require no searching at all) but somehow that never happened. Thanks for the push with your mentor text and diamante (love that mistake turns into opportunity!)
ReplyDeleteI never imagined myself saying this, but what a beautiful wish for someone you care about— "I wish you lots of mistakes." The heart of a poem just waiting to be born!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding all of us about the potential power of mistakes to move us toward golden opportunities!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, in the midst of all the news this week, I forgot about Tabatha's call for poems about mistakes. Is that a mistake? Maybe I can focus more this week. I like your focus on the silver lining and the opportunities they can provide. It reminds me of a quote I saw go by my screen (maybe from Mandela, but I can't quite remember) -- something about never losing, but either winning or learning.
ReplyDeleteAlways love your perspective, Linda, and your explorations! Thanks for sharing, and here's to mistakes now and then.
ReplyDeleteI love reading about mistakes that worked! Your cinquain is terrific, and thank you for the TEDed link. Here's to golden opportunities!
ReplyDeleteYes! Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteI "stepped in it" yesterday with a student, and I'll have to wait until Tuesday to see if I can find the golden opportunity or if there will be a yard full of dandelions.
ReplyDeleteMaybe my mistake poem will be about how mistakes catch us off-guard, just when things seem to be going smooth as silk...
Oh, I know the feeling....can't promise smooth....but hoping things go well.
DeleteI love, love, love this perspective! So much healthier and more life giving than what I think is the more typical "mistakes as minefields" approach! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHey Linda! You forgot the BEST mistake ever -- peanut butter and chocolate! LOL! Love the progression in your poem from mistake to opportunity. Fabulous. Happy September and BTS! -- Christie @ https://wonderingandwondering.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteI want to write one, too. But so far, I have been wrestling with octopus-manuscripts from the Mariana Trench. A lantern fish and a manta ray stayed to watch, betting on the octopus. I think they may have won that bet.
ReplyDeleteFun exploration of mistakes Linda, I liked the light and airy poem by A.E. Stallings. Sounds like you are definitely on to something, and you've caught my ear too!
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