Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the tag “Spring”

09 Apr 2015
4 Comments

NPM: #9–Wordsworth praises snow drops


On Seeing a Tuft of Snowdrops in a Storm

William Wordsworth, 1770 – 1850

When haughty expectations prostrate lie,
And grandeur crouches like a guilty thing,
Oft shall the lowly weak, till nature bring
Mature release, in fair society
Survive, and Fortune’s utmost anger try;
Like these frail snow-drops that together cling,
And nod their helmets smitten by the wing
Of many a furious whirlblast sweeping by.
Observe the faithful flowers! if small to great
May lead the thoughts, thus struggling used to stand
The Emathian phalanx, nobly obstinate;
And so the bright immortal Theban band,
Whom onset, fiercely urged at Jove’s command,
Might overwhelm, but could not separate!

We all know Wordsworth penchant for daffodils. They are the poster child for spring in my book. Then again, this poem of his extolling the strength of snow-drops has me thinking of how fragile something can appear, yet have a rooted strength unseen. I will have to pay more attention to my snow-drops. I also need to scamper to my allusions dictionary and look up Emathian and Jove. That Wordsworth–he tends to keep me on my toes.

image: OldGreySeaWolf/MorgueFile

Posted in Americans, creativity, Nature, Poetry, Reflections, Seasons, writers and tagged , , ,
28 Mar 2014
2 Comments

Marching into April’s Muse


It’s lovely that spring has basically sprung. There is no subtlety of seasons in my neck of the States.  One weekend eight inches floated down with the grace of a freight train, causing school to shut down (oh goodness was I bummed). The next the rain came in, melting all that amassed snowflakiness and suddenly I’m owner of lakefront property. I hope the assessor doesn’t drive by.

One of the nicer aspects of March of how it promenades in so roaringly, only to meekly usher in April and all her flowers.  Mixed in flowers are sunny days, longer days, taxes *cough*, and while these are sporadic occurrences of sweet sorrow (unless you like taxes), it’s an celebrating poetry.

Yes, this is a heads up that April is National Poetry Month.  This year I arranged a guest poet to appear about every other post. In between the celebrity verse readings there will be poetical bits like forms, clips, and images.  Ooh, I can’t wait. I’ve been working on April since last December.

Until April and the official start-up, here are some links to help you prepare:

Got questions about National Poetry Month?

Looking for ways to celebrate NPP?

Poet-to-Poet Project

And one of my absolute favorites: Poem-in-your-Pocket Day

Walt Whitman graces the poster this year. Find absolutely tons of great poetry info at http://www.poets.org.

See you around the corner!

Posted in America, Blogging, celebrations, creativity, education, Poetry, Reflections, writers and tagged , , ,
22 Apr 2013

Shaping Up Poetry: Metaphor Thirds


 

joyous heart

joyous heart (Photo credit: Leonard John Matthews)

 

 

I’ve made this a part of our sophomore poetry curriculum and I am always taken by surprise at the superlative poems students produce with this format.  I found this form in  the book Risking Intensity by Judith Rowe Michaels.

Metaphor Thirds

1. Fold a piece of paper into vertical thirds

2. In the first third write five emotions, then fold back the paper

3. In the second column write five colors—these can be basic ones like red, blue, yellow or a bit more imaginative like periwinkle, chartreuse, silver-gray—then fold over this section

4. In the last column write objects or animals

5. Open out all the sections and read directly across

anger                    red                            door

sad                        periwinkle              mirror

 joyful                  chartreuse              star

loneliness         indigo                       blanket

nervous             brown                      rabbit

6. Read each line across to make five metaphorical statements. For example: Anger is a red door, sad is like a periwinkle mirror, joyful as a chartreuse star, loneliness is like an indigo blanket, nervous like a brown rabbit

7. Choose a metaphor statement and begin to think about the feeling, the color, and the object. What associations come to mind? Brainstorm some of what comes to mind with the image.

8. Begin to work the metaphor statement into a poem, either placing the statement as it is written or work the image into a conceptual piece. The metaphor thirds poem actually works best in a free verse form, although internal rhyme works well.

Chartreuse Leaf

Chartreuse Leaf (Photo credit: teresia)

multicolored splendor
that’s just how my day
has been
confetti bits of happiness
round about me
dancing
bright lights
of promise
like spring after
a tedious winter
A happy day filled
with greens, and light
Joyous like a chartreuse star
-(first draft of the poem found on the Triptych of Daffodils post)

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14 Apr 2013
3 Comments

A Triptych of Daffodils


The Poem

The Daffodils (I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud)

by William Wordsworth

Portrait of William Wordsworth, by William Shu...

Portrait of William Wordsworth, by William Shuter, 1798. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A Poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

The Parody

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv1L-8f2erg

 

The Possibility*

       JOY

Multicolored splendor
that’s just how my day has been
Confetti bits of happiness
round about me swirling
filled with
Dancing Bright Lights
of promise
Like spring after
a tedious winter–
a golden day filled
with pristine greens
The release of dark days
and the renewing
of earth’s
bounty
Liberating–
like the  spangle sparkle
of firecracker flickers punctuating
the night sky
Free–
grass blades shimmer emerald
tree leaves bud pink
robin song chuckle eloquent
Bright light points of promise
that dance out from the earth
tingling and jingling
into
smile
eyes
all in reach
catch that feeling
of delicious buoyant
bounce of new
and they, too
will become
Joyous like a chartreuse star
Confetti

Confetti (Photo credit: DuracellDirect)

*from the collection The Dance of Color (an exploration of synesthesia)

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Posted in Blogging, celebrations, creativity, Poetry, Reflections, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , , , , ,
02 Apr 2013
6 Comments

Frost Covered Spring


Robert Frost. My first meaningful encounter with poetry occurred in fifth grade when Mr. C (still my favorite teacher) had us memorize “Stopping By Woods” and then we chalked our impressions of the poem onto dark blue construction paper. These were then pinned all around the classroom as the border above the chalkboard. As I teach this poem to my students I learn more and more from it. Frost does that with his poetry. It appears so deceptively simple at first and then there is a realization of its depth. It can be almost embarrassing at times once the analytical epiphany hits.

But I can’t imagine Frost laughing at my denseness–no, he would probably only chuckle. I imagine he might even be amused at the fuss we make analyzing his commentaries on birches, walls, and the snowy woods.

Frost is one of my faves and thought it very appropriate to feature him first among the many poets I hope to spotlight this month.

Here are a smattering of favorite poems:
“Mending Walls”
“Acquainted With The Night”
“The Road Not Taken”
“Fire and Ice”
“Nothing Gold Can Stay”

What are your favorite Frost verses? For some reason whenever spring arrives I tend to think of Robert Frost. Maybe this is fitting–a bit of Frost helps us appreciate the warmth of spring. I think he realized that as well.

Happy Poetry Month!

20130401-215741.jpg

Posted in creativity, Poetry, Reading, Reflections, Teachers, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , , ,
26 Feb 2013
12 Comments

The Language of Snow


Snow balls

Snow balls (Photo credit: blmiers2)

Just when I thought winter was truly on the way out that dratted phenomenon known as spring snow arrived.  It’s the “ha ha gotcha” of winter.  Not nice.  I had visions of puttering out in the yard, placing my yard ornaments and maybe even putting out the hammock.  After all, the temps had reached a searing 50 degrees.  The natives were donning shorts in anticipation.

While I have one word for snow: “yuck” the Inuits apparently have over a hundred.  Then again it could be a hoax.   If you are in need of describing snow maybe you can find one off this list:

The Eskimos’ *edited*Hundred Words for Snow

by Phil James

Fresh powder snow, snow crystals.

Fresh powder snow, snow crystals. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

tlapa           powder snow
tlacringit      snow that is crusted on the surface
kayi            drifting snow
tlapat          still snow
klin            remembered snow
naklin          forgotten snow
tlamo           snow that falls in large wet flakes
tlatim          snow that falls in small flakes
tlaslo          snow that falls slowly
tlapinti        snow that falls quickly
kripya          snow that has melted and refrozen
tliyel          snow that has been marked by wolves
tliyelin        snow that has been marked by Eskimos
blotla          blowing snow
pactla          snow that has been packed down
hiryla          snow in beards
wa-ter          melted snow
tlayinq         snow mixed with mud
slimtla         snow that is crusted on top but soft underneath
kriplyana       snow that looks blue in the early morning
puntla          a mouthful of snow because you fibbed
allatla         baked snow
fritla          fried snow
gristla         deep fried snow
tidtla          snow used for cleaning
ertla           snow used by Eskimo teenagers for exquisite erotic rituals
kriyantli       snow bricks
hahatla         small packages of snow given as gag gifts
semtla          partially melted snow
ontla           snow on objects
intla           snow that has drifted indoors
nootlin         snow that doesn't stick
rotlana         quickly accumulating snow
skriniya        snow that never reaches the ground
bluwid          snow that's shaken down from objects in the wind
tlanid          snow that's shaken down and then mixes with sky-falling snow
talini          snow angels
blontla         snow that's shaken off in the mudroom
tlalman         snow sold to German tourists
tlalam          snow sold to American tourists
tlanip          snow sold to Japanese tourists
protla          snow packed around caribou meat
attla           snow that as it falls seems to create nice pictures
		in the air
sotla           snow sparkling with sunlight
tlun            snow sparkling with moonlight
astrila         snow sparkling with starlight
clim            snow sparkling with flashlight or headlight
tlapi           summer snow
krikaya         snow mixed with breath
ashtla          expected snow that's wagered on (depth, size of flakes)
tla-na-na       snow mixed with the sound of old rock and roll
		from a portable radio
trinkyi         first snow of the year
tronkyin        last snow of the year
shiya           snow at dawn
katiyana        night snow
tlinro          snow vapor
nyik            snow with flakes of widely varying size
ragnitla        two snowfalls at once, creating moire patterns
akitla          snow falling on water
privtla         snow melting in the spring rain
chahatlin       snow that makes a sizzling sound as it falls on water
hootlin         snow that makes a hissing sound as the
		individual flakes brush
geltla          snow dollars
briktla         good building snow
striktla        snow that's no good for building
erolinyat       snow drifts containing the imprint of crazy lovers
chachat         swirling snow that drives you nuts
krotla          snow that blinds you
tlarin          snow that can be sculpted into the delicate corsages
		Eskimo girls pin to their whale parkas at prom time
maxtla          snow that hides the whole village
tlayopi         snow drifts you fall into and die
truyi           avalanche of snow
tlapripta       snow that burns your scalp and eyelids
carpitla        snow glazed with ice
tla             ordinary snow

Since we, as in Anglo-Saxons (hope that isn’t offensive to anyone), lack the same depth of expressives, I’ve come up with my own:

In my region there are three recognizable seasons:

  • no snow

  • snow

  • mud

Snow terms to consider adopting into the English language:

  • lookitsnow:  first snow of the season–Nov/Dec

  • itzsnowing: comment of the day until January

  • ucksnow:  bridge between Jan/Feb when people begin getting weary of shoveling, scraping, and slipping around in the stuff

  • snizzle: the on off dance of snow and rain found in Jan/Feb

  • snain: a more serious form of snizzle

  • smush: slushy snow of Feb/Mar

  • smud: ground showing with snow patches, squashy walking usually around Feb/Mar

  • ohnosnow: snow when daffs coming up and flakes coming down in Mar/April

  • nomohsnow: snowfall and meltaway tease of April/May

I’m hoping the smush will quickly melt and we can get Spring back on track soon. Until then–

Wishing for Blue Skies
Cricket Muse

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