Skip to main content

Why Poetry?

Why poetry?

 I answered this question in a poem. My poem is inspired from a line in Naomi Shihib Nye's poem Valentine for Ernest Mann,"poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes,"
Poems hide...
in the bottoms of our shoes
in our basements
in our attics
inside our souls

Poems hide...
on turtle shells
on pinwheels
on ferris wheels
on the tips of our tongues

Poems hide...
with anticipation
with fear
with trepidation
with hope to be discovered

Poems hide...
We search
We write
We learn

And we find them
©Michelle Haseltine, 2014
All Rights Reserved
I'm so grateful for my fellow bloggers who share in my passion for poetry. Check out their blogs and their creative and amazing poems. They inspire me everyday...
Julieanne, Margaret, Leigh Anne, Mary Lee, Kevin and Cathy. 


I am excited to announce that I will be part of the Teacher Poets Workshop led by Chris Lehman! Please stop by his blog to get details and join us virtually on Saturdays. 
Labels:

Comments

  1. DogtraxApril 10, 2014 at 6:12 AM

    love that "hide and seek" idea.
    Kevin

    ReplyDelete
  2. Margaret SimonApril 10, 2014 at 6:21 AM

    Of course, answer Why Poetry? with a poem. Wish I had thought of that. Maybe I will piggyback. My answer hasn't come to me yet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michelle HaseltineApril 10, 2014 at 6:28 AM

      Thanks Margaret! I'd written this poem in class yesterday and I felt like it answered this question perfectly! Looking forward to your answer. :)

      Delete
  3. Linda BApril 10, 2014 at 9:43 AM

    I love the "we search, we write, we learn", Michelle. And Nye's poem is a favorite. Very creative to write your own discoveries.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Please share your thoughts. I love comments!

Popular posts from this blog

Whatever Happened To...

Sharing this post on Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Do you ever wonder whatever happened to your students after the year you spend together? I imagine how my students are finding life...are they happy? Successful? Do they still read? Write? What is going on with them?   I taught fifth grade for eight years. Fifth grade was such a fun year to teach because the students were still young enough that school was something they loved and old enough that they could show some real signs of independence. Fifth grade is the oldest grade in our elementary schools, so the students enjoyed their final year before moving onto middle school and the challenges that came with that new adventure.  2007 was a tough year for me personally. My dad collapsed in September of that year and then died in March of that same school year. He lived thousands of miles away, so my mind was definitely unfocused that year...but that year, Catie was in my class.  Catie was a quiet stude...
29 comments
Read more

Chasing My Dream

I'm doing it. I'm chasing my dream. I've always wanted to run writing retreats and workshops for people, but I've always been too scared to do anything about it...until now. I don't know what's changed...maybe I've changed. I'm not allowing the fear to stop me anymore. I've started Selah Writing Retreats.  The past couple of weeks I've been getting the business end in order. I thought I would hate that...I don't. It's scary, but I am surprising myself with how efficient I am. Yesterday I went to a bank to set up a bank account. The woman I met with was kind and helpful and so enthusiastic about my dream. My website is set up. I've done lots of work on it. I hope you stop by and let me know what you think. It's  selahwritingretreats.com . Balancing creative with business has been challenging but fun. Creating the website, getting a federal tax id, making business cards, planning dates... My favorite voxer group is called Butt Ki...
21 comments
Read more

Saying Goodbye

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, & Anna for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at  Two Writing Teachers .  Today is the last day of sixth grade. My students will leave this classroom and they will magically turn into seventh graders. I am sad. We have to say goodbye. Goodbye to our time together. It turns out...I'm not good at saying goodbye. Emotions overwhelm me and I pull back...I want to be strong for them. Today I want to BE in the moment as much as possible. I want to talk with my students and remember our good times together. I want to pay attention to the final moments of our community. We created strong communities this year and we took care of each other.  They are ready. Summer is waiting. Seventh grade is waiting. They have written and read and created and communicated and grown every single day. I'm proud of each of my students. I ...
13 comments
Read more