Mending Wall by Robert Frost   Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And ...

Almost a year ago, I read this post where Margaret linked us to "How Long Peace Takes," by Naomi Shihab Nye .  Margaret and her s...

I'm writing this post on Thursday night, January 12th, the seventh anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti.  The poem I'm sharing tod...

This day seven years ago was a completely normal one, until 4:53 in the afternoon, when everything changed.   I had left my classroom that a...

On New Year's Eve, we all shared our words for the year.  Mine is ROOTED .  My daughter immediately went in search of the Hopkins book, ...

In 2016, I did photo-a-day challenges in Lent and Advent, and I found that responding to those prompts each day was an experience I enjoyed....

In 2016, my One Little Word was LOVED.  2016 was a rough year for my family and me, but it was a year with many beautiful moments, anyway....

I had a great reading year.  For one thing, I read a LOT, and for another, I read some wonderful books.  I'll start this post with the l...

I've missed three weeks of Poetry Friday, and I really can't miss another one.  I just got back from the beach, where I've been ...

I'm up in the early hours of Christmas morning, listening to the loud, discordant music in my neighborhood.  It's not a silent night...

Another crazy Friday, culminating in my daughter getting home for Christmas break (hooray!), and I missed another Poetry Friday.  But once a...

My students' final writing pieces were due today, plus unexpected chaos happened.  It ended up being a not-so-good day, in fact, and I d...

The Next Poem  by Dana Gioia How much better it seems now than when it is finally done– the unforgettable first...

Book #129 of the year was Code Name Verity , by Elizabeth Wein.  This is riveting World War II spy fiction with twists you won't see co...

Endings I talk to my eighth grade students about endings.  I teach them about Deus ex machina .  In ancient drama, a god would often be ...

This morning I was working on lesson plans on this day off to celebrate the Battle of Vertières, the definitive battle in which the Haitians...

"I think all times are turbulent—it’s just that they’re turbulent in different ways, and for different people. Poets are always swirlin...

We had conferences today, and somehow I just never got my act together enough to do a Poetry Friday post.  But fortunately many other people...

Book #126 of this year was Wish , by Barbara O'Connor.  My mother sent me a copy of this book, autographed for me by O'Connor.  Get...

Recently I read the term "magnet topics" for the first time.  (It may have been in a Poetry Friday post.)  Magnet topics are the s...