Imagine the Possibilities

I woke today to the sad news that a favorite poet of mine, Mary Oliver, passed away yesterday. I have several collections of her poetry and would often sit down to read just one poem. But quickly it became one more, then one more, then one more. Like potato chips, I just couldn’t seem to get enough.

Here is one of my favorite Mary Oliver poems:

Freshen the Flowers, She Said

So I put them in the sink, for the cool porcelain
was tender,
and took out the tattered and cut each stem
on a slant,
trimmed the black and raggy leaves, and set them all –
roses, delphiniums, daisies, iris, lilies,
and more whose names I don’t know, in bright new water –
gave them

a bounce upward at the end to let them take
their own choice of position, the wheels, the spurs,
the little sheds of the buds. It took, to do this,
perhaps fifteen minutes.
Fifteen minutes of music
with nothing playing.

Thank you, Mary, for your thoughtful musings and for showing me how to slow down and appreciate everything about my world.

It took a little while for me to find my One Little Word for 2019. Actually, I don’t think I put the same amount of effort into it this year. In past years I would ponder it for several weeks. Sometimes it would pop up immediately and sometimes I would just wait for it to find me. Today I realized it was January Ist and I didn’t have my One Little Word yet. And then something else happened…

I didn’t follow my tradition of starting to put away the Christmas decorations on New Year’s Day. Instead, I sat in the glow of the tree lights and read Michelle Obama’s Becoming. I thought about how much of what I am learning about her is told through story. I drank my coffee, gazed at the tree, and thought about all the stories told through its ornaments – a new one for each year of our marriage that says something about the year. Our trip to the Grand Canyon, the bike ride down Pike’s Peak, the year we purchased a piano, our son’s engagement, and so much more.

It’s in the stories of our lives that we reach understanding. It’s through story that we teach as well as learn. It’s through story that we reach out to others.

I want to find the stories that are yet to be told, the ones only I can tell. I want to look at a picture and wonder about the story behind it. I want to touch the lives of young readers through the power of story.

So here it is, my OLW for 2019…Story.

I’m participating in Susanna Leonard Hill’s Holiday Story Contest. The task – tell a holiday story in 250 words or less about a holiday hero. Here goes!

Nobody But Timmy (238 words)

     ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all the creatures in Timmy’s house were stirring.

Nobody noticed Jasper (Grandma’s cat) eyeing the twinkling ornaments.

Nobody but Timmy.

He rescued the glass ball just before it shattered on the ground.

Nobody noticed Percy (Aunt Rosie’s parrot) squawking and swooping ‘round the tree top.

Nobody but Timmy.

He spread his arms over the angel’s wings just before Percy pecked them off.

When Grandma gathered everyone around the piano for carol singing, nobody noticed Fred and Ginger (Uncle Mike’s two golden Labs) sneaking into the kitchen.

Nobody but Timmy.

Timmy tried his best to get the family’s attention.

He jumped and bumped.

He yammered and yelled.

He even sang off key!

But he just couldn’t compete with “Deck the Halls” and “Jingle Bells.”

Until…

Crash! 

Everybody dashed to the kitchen. And there, right in the middle of the floor, was the Christmas ham…

…with a bite missing from both ends!

“Oh, no! Our guests will be arriving for dinner and we have no ham!” exclaimed Mom.

Nobody offered any ideas.

Nobody but Timmy.

“I know! We can cover the holes with strips of bacon. No one will even notice,” he said.

“Hmmm. That just might work,” said Mom.

“A splendid idea!” squawked Aunt Rosie and Percy.

“Ham and bacon –a perfect pair!  Just like Fred and Ginger,” added Uncle Mike.

“Timmy, you’re our holiday hero!” said Grandma.

And this time everybody noticed.

On Friday at NCTE I attended a workshop titled “Writing Poetry in the Wild” with Heidi Mordhorst, Irene Latham, Margaret Simon, Laura Purdie Salas, and May Lee Hahn. One of the ideas Laura shared was to think about our connections to the world. She encouraged us to look around, especially when we are someplace new, write a poem that shows that place, then make a connection to a feeling or perhaps a memory. She passed out post-it notes and challenged everyone to write a poem at some point during the convention.

On Saturday morning I found myself in a quiet room, waiting for the next session. I opened my notebook and found that post-it. It was the perfect time to write. I started by listing words that came to mind about NCTE – things I saw or heard, feelings I had, what I noticed. I hope this list poem captures the excitement of the first day:

Friday at NCTE

Scurry down the hall

Quick embrace

So good to see you

Can we catch up later?

Treasured friends

New ideas

Listen

Learn

Love

And here’s a haiku for the whole experience:

Opening minds to

Fresh ideas and discourse

React and renew

Thanks to all the authors, friends, speakers, participants, and volunteers who inspired me at NCTE.