The Universe in Verse: 15 Portals to Wonder through Science & Poetry

Poetry Friday,

This new book is wonder-smitten, a term I'm borrowing from poet-author-anthologist Maria Popova. I highly recommend requesting your local public library purchase a copy so that you and your community can check it out. 

Storey Publishing. October 2024

After listening to an interview of Maria Popova on NPR (I believe it was with Krista Tippet on, On Being, but I cannot find what I heard as I write this post), I asked my local library to purchase this book and checked yes to the question: Would you like to be the first to check it out?

As I perused the poems and pages I kept an eye out for my 2024 OLW. I found WORLD in lots of paragraphs and lines.  I found WORLD in, The Octopus and the Unknown, by Maria Papova who is the brain child and anthologist of Universe in Verse.

Popova begins her piece, "To live wonder-smitten." I found striking lines all through her prose and poem. These words from, Impossible Blue, (64) grew into this golden shovel in my journal:

Impossible/this blue world
Maria Popova

Acorns tell us this;

Sky is its bluest blue above trees giving up ghosts of this world.

Linda Mitchell 11/22/24

Thank you, Ruth, for hosting this week's poetry round-up at There's No Such Thing as a God Forsaken Town. Every time I hear news of Haiti I think of you, am thankful that you are safe where you are. I pray for mercy for those still suffering there.

Butternut Sun

Hello Friday, Hello Poets,

I am back from a wonderful conference of School Librarians. We met in Williamsburg, one of my favorite places to be in autumn.

Lit by a butternut sun. Photo by Linda Mitchell 2024

Haibun and Aubade

At the end of our conference we heard that route 64 was shut down. There would be no happy winding east and north toward home for for a couple of hours. My friend bought a book of Williamsburg Ghost Stories and we strolled from asphalt to cobblestones of the old capitol. 

Though a November day, it was warm for walking. The autumn sun down-sliding and friendly as I huh-ed! to readings of ghost sightings and hauntings in the taverns and houses of Duke of Gloucester Street. 

Shops began closing for the day. A milliner took in ribboned bergeres from an outside display, The fife and drum corps lined up to play taps. Shadows stretched into long stockings. 

At the backdoor of a blacksmith I watched a modern family listen to the smithy holding a red hot piece of iron with his tongs on the anvil. A smith assistant listened too. Was she taking a fresh breath of air? Cleaning tools? She glowed beside a window open to eighteenth century life caught by my iphone as I traveled time.

butternut evening
just thirty in november

save up for winter

Linda Mitchell--draft

My dear World...I worry for you. There's a new poem on World's padlet.

Thank you poet and poem curator extraordinaire, Karen Edminsten, for hosting our round up this week.

November is here. Welcome

Hello Poets, Writers, Thinkers, and Sojourners,

Today is the first day of November. I have always found the day after all the energy of Halloween to be warm and welcoming. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I enjoy the peace of coming into a quieter space and place. 

This post serves not one, not two, but three purposes.

• Spiritual Journey Thursday
• Poetry Friday
• One Little Word Reflection

Thank you in advance for your patience with all the purposes.

Spiritual Journey is a once monthly reflection. Spiritual is defined by each writer and reflected in their post. This month, I am hosting Spiritual Journey Thursday. Participating authors and poets will leave their links below. I will edit this post to include links to their work with this fabulous fall leaf show.

• Carol at Beyond Literacy Link shares thoughts of the season poetically
• Denise reflects on living with joy and her OLW, Cherish
• Margaret describes her mother's eyes and also riffs on Harjo at Reflections on the Teche
• Bob reflects on the place he chooses to live in our world here
• Fran at Little Bits and Pieces celebrates a very special three!
• Patricia offers a reflection we can relate to and a poem prayer
• Karen reflects on the state of the world and her OLW, song
• Jone reflects on Harjo and plants bulbs after voting I find beauty in her gardening
• Ruth at There is no such thing as a god-forsaken town reflects on the many worlds that exist for us today.

Poetry Friday is a weekly poetry check-in. Learn more of the details here, This week is hosted by the poet Patricia Franz. 

Many thinkers, poets and authors have taken part in the practice of choosing one-little-word for a year. They reflect on that word in all kinds of ways. According to Google's AI search results, "The One Little Word, OLW, project is a yearly tradition where participants choose a word to focus and reflect on throughout the year. The word can be a thought, feeling, action, or, emotion and can be real or imagined. The goal is to incorporate it into your life and use it to help you remember your goals for the year."

My One Little Word for 2024 is WORLD. What a year to reflect on, pray for, live in and focus on our world. There is overwhelming heartbreak. There are glimmers of joy. I continually converse with my Creator about all of it. Poetry enhances our conversations. How about you? 

Clouds

Laid out like sky vertebrae

A backbone for our world
of water and white – vapor and ice.

Delicate and susceptible to a changeable season.

Linda Mitchell--draft

I'm part of a wonderful critique group, The Inklings. They strengthen and sharpen my writing. November is my month to offer our group a writing prompt.

As we enter Native American Heritage Month I ask that you respond to Joy Harjo's Fall Song in any way that makes your heart happy.

Fall Song by Joy Harjo.

Riffing on Joy Harjo's Fall Song by Linda Mitchell

Sun has sunk into November

casting long shadows

against my world, falling asleep.

I hear the wind

gathering skirts with gloved fingers.

Are there words for a goodbye kiss?
I need a refrain in turquoise and violet 

of summer evenings.

When I hum an old tune, it’s flat.

If I make it up, it’s too sharp.

Your world plays right here, right now
between gray drones flying and refugees walking.

Moments of hope–

Devastating news.

Black and white photographs tossed into a box.
Our faith in seasons remains.
Harvest has passed.
We hang colored lights
in World's windows
summoning peace.

draft 11/1/24

For more responses to the November prompt check out the work of:

Mary Lee Hahn @ A(nother) Year of Reading

Catherine Flynn @ Reading to the Core

Molly Hogan @ Nix the Comfort Zone

Margaret Simon @ Reflections on the Teche
Heidi Mordhorst @ my juicy little universe

One of my top Happy Places!

Almost Halloween

Greetings, Poets

By this time next week we will be answering doorbells and knocks of trick-or-treaters. Are you ready? The price of chocolate has gone up but it hasn't stopped me from getting our favorites.

Halloween is such a fun topic for poetry. My notebook from this week is full of Halloweeny poems. It's even a Jack-o-lantern World on the World padlet. 

Office 365 stock photo

Thank you, Carol, at Beyond Literacy for hosting all our round-up links this week.

Delightful Fall Leaves

Hello Poets,

The leaves in my part of the world are starting to change...but it's slow going this year. We haven't had a hard frost yet. That's what really brings out the colors.

I have a scattering of autumn poems to share with you. The first is a lovely poem received from Sarah Grace Tuttle. 

Already at my craft table awaiting joining a poetry journal...makes my heart happy. Thank you!

A couple of cinquains from me to celebrate the season.

1.

Autumn’s
blushing red cheeks

showing up everywhere

Summer catches Jack Frost in her

orchards.

Linda Mitchell--draft

2.

Trying 

to rake up these

October memories

not even a wheelbarrow can hold them.

Linda Mitchell--draft

Please take visit Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme who is hosting our round up this week. Thank you, Matt!

October Artist's Date

Hello Poets,

I had a surprising artist's date last weekend. It was fabulous!

A tiny bit of backstory. In August, on vacation, I bought a 1960s era electric typewriter. I brought it home, watched Youtube videos on how to give an old machine a refresh, applied elbow grease, plugged it in and am now enjoying the typing all kinds of things for fun and for the paper crafting that I do. 

My heart's desire --what I really want is an manual typewriter. 

On Sunday, I peeked at facebook marketplace and saw that someone was selling a Royal Quiet De Luxe for $40. How could I possibly resist that? 

Sunday was one of those glorious autumn days of bright sunshine, crisp air and a hint of blush in the maple trees along the parkway. I got in my minivan, cranked up the music and drove out into the country to the home of the seller who met me at her mailbox with a darling 1940s era manual typewriter.

triolet

I'm going to try not to become a typewriter collector. I have fond memories of being able to bang away on an old manual typewriter of my parents when I was a kid and I still love them.

Now I have a new memory of meeting a vintage friend that I can't wait to clean and oil and get into tip-top typing shape. Hopefully, I'll even type out some poetry!

Pythagorean Poem

Don't miss this week's poetry round-up at Jama's Alphabet Soup. She's had some great book recs lately. I so enjoy reading her posts.

photo by retrospekt.com 

SJT: Change

 Hello Sojourners,

'Every little thing is gonna be alright'

I have started this post several times...and scrapped my drafts. I can offer drafty-draft poems on a weekly basis without batting an eye. But, a prose piece about how I really feel? Oooh, that's harder for me.

I work in a school that is full of students that are marked by change. Think about these conditions:

• all are tweens or teens
• a majority of them are not native English speakers
• many are refugees 
• many, even if they are not refugees, are first generation Americans
• a majority live below the poverty line which can impact changes in housing and overall feeling of security

Add to the above these facts about our school

• We have had three different principals (and assorted assistant principals) in the last three years
• We have a high educator turnover rate (25% is not unusual)
• Our building is over 50 years old with a "new" wing built onto it making our space a bit wacky. I kid you not, new courtyards built with stage-style half-circle cement seating were surrounded by rocks (to keep the weeds down. Reader, weeds still grew).

To say that my students and I have felt the effects of these changes would be an understatement. Life as an educator and as a student can be tough for a lot of reasons.  At the end of last year, I felt like I was at the end of my ability to be an effective educator. I was ready to quit or retire early.

However, this summer I was (and remain) determined to keep the challenges from defeating my spirit. I addressed my physical, mental and spiritual health directly. I saw trusted professionals, got back to journaling, walking, and noticing 'glimmers' in my day.

I was nervous about how this new school year will go. So far, the time and practices I've put into place are helping me manage the impact of changes beyond my control. 

Today, I have a day off of school for Rosh Hashana (Shana Tova to those celebrating) October feels like a good time to recognize that things are going OK. The change in me to manage the change around me has been good. Thanks be to God.

A Pythagorean Poem for October

 Happy Poetry Friday!

A gourd time was had by all. Linda Mitchell

The Inklings were challenged by Margaret @ Reflections on the Teche to write pythagorean poems. 

____ 

A Pythagorean Poem
created by Shari Green

The math background:
Pythagoras' theorem is a2 x b2 = c2
One possible triple is 3,4,5.

3x3 + 4x4 = 5x5

 9     +  16.  = 25

Using the triple, the poetic form works like this:
1st stanza: 3 lines of 3 words each
2nd stanza: 4 lines of 4 words each
3rd stanza: 5 lines of 5 words each*

*The third stanza must be composed of all the words found in stanzas one and two (in any order; variations okay).

The third stanza should also be a progression of sorts, a product of the first two in thought or theme or meaning.

____

Trust me kids, this is tough than it looks--just like high school Geometry!

Kudos to Shari Green for inventing this form. It is a fun challenge. I actually employed a spreadsheet to make sure I had used all the words from the first two stanzas in the third without repeats. LOL. 

October

Find a pumpkin

Is it orange?

Is it round?

Brush off the dirt

Now thump its base

How does it sound?

Like a hollow drum?

A-thumping, it is found! It is an orange pumpkin hollow-like. Brushed off bass The dirt round its drum, how does it sound, now?

 

Linda Mitchell--draft

Thank you, Tabatha @ The Opposite of Indifference,

for hosting our round-up as we welcome October.

WORLD and I have gotten back on track with poems. The little series below stem from a clunker offered by Amy LV. Flowers love the feel of rain.

Enjoy!

haiku

this hopeful world where
flowers love the feel of rain
while reaching for sun

cinquain

Summer Flowers Love

The feel 

of rain. Applaud

a hearty watering 

each stem reminded once again

of spring

4x4

Flowers Love

the feel of rain spilling, sipping
dripping, dropping

refreshed again

More Inkling takes on the Pythagorean Poem:

Mary Lee Hahn @ A(nother) Year of Reading

Catherine Flynn @ Reading to the Core

Molly Hogan @ Nix the Comfort Zone

Margaret Simon @ Reflections on the Teche
Heidi Mordhorst @ my juicy little universe

Thirteen Ways Middle Age

 The Poetry Pals are writing thirteen ways. I'm joining in.

Thirteen Ways Middle Age

moonbeam webs stray at my temples sleep escapes my nights

what doesn’t seem long ago, was…not on my phone yellowed paper files

what’s old music is new again – hey Mom listen to this, Pink Floyd!

I cannot hear of war without heartsickness children shouldn't die

my grandmothers smile at me from mirrors playing peak-a-boo 

some plans have been made burial plot purchased with my ancestors

half full not empty  by half

without rhyme, poetry has now become my first language

with pen, I hand-write letters on paper just to be old-fashioned

cursive writing is my secret code–especially F, G, Q, and S 

god has not changed, yet i see what’s sacred in more and more every day

children now look

after me making sure

mother is safe

it takes longer to scroll to the year of my birth the summer of love

Linda Mitchell -- draft


Don't miss any of the Poetry Friday round-up hosted this week by Incredible Irene Latham at Live Your Poem who is introducing her brand new anthology, The Mistakes That Made Us. Confessions from Twenty Poets, selected by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illus. by Merce Lopez (Carolrhoda/Lerner Publishing. 10/1/24).

The Mistakes that Made Us: Confessions from Twenty Poets

Poetry Friday People,

A tremendous benefit of attending a Highlights Foundation Workshop is meeting with rich learning and teaching of a cohort of poets and faculty.

I'm fortunate to have had time to spend with Tracy Kiff-Judson, Marcie Flinchum Atkins and many poets I didn't know before. The cross-pollination of ideas between us was tremendous and fun and inspirational. Getting one-on-one writing conversations with faculty Irene Latham and Charles Waters? Invaluable! 

Just me hanging out with Charles Waters at Highlights '24

While at Highlights, I saw an early version of The Mistakes That Made Us: Confessions from Twenty Poets. Poems were selected by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Carolrhoda Books. October 1, 2024).

Poets, this anthology is more than simply beautiful. Rock-star contributors: Latham, Waters, Shihab-Nye, Engle, Wolf, Florian, Park, Yolen  as well as Poetry Friday friends: Tabatha Yeatts, April Wayland, Matt Forest Essenwine made this collection a unique work of art. Illustrations by Merce Lopez brought all the mistake moments together in a bright and whimsical color palette. Her artwork makes the mistakes human and approachable for readers.

I was specifically challenged at Highlights to consider not just the poems I've been writing for years but the structure of how poems might fit into a collection. This is an art form in itself.  The Mistakes that Made Us provides a beautiful example of structure for readers (age 7 to 97). Take a look at this from the table of contents--

Oopsie-Daisy

Stuff Happens

Blessings in Disguise

What Have I Done?

I love the real-talk structure of this anthology's sections. 

As I read the book with my middle school librarian's hat, I am delighted. These poems are perfect to support kid-understanding that they are not alone. There other humans who understand how they must be feeling. This is vital to our work as educators.

Doug Florian's poem, My Favorite Mistake, is already a strong contender for Poetry Pandemonium '25 that I provide annually for my students. 

The Mistakes that Made Us. Carolrhoda Books 2024,

This Mistakes that Made Us debuts on October 1st and is available for pre-order right now. I can't wait for more members of our community get their hands on this book. It's great inspiration for future writing. I look forward to whatever anthology Irene and Charles build. I've got an order for the book in to my public library with instructions to check it out to me first!

Thanks to our Friend Linda Baie at Teacher Dance for hosting our round-up this week. 

I've added another WORLD poem to the padlet. 

a note tucked into my 2024 WORLD journal from 'Poetry & Poetry Anthologies'
Highlights June '24