For thirty one days
we have shared our slices
of success, of loss
of sacrifices.
We read and respond
to the words of peers;
shared a laugh
and shed some tears.
The month is done
but words not yet,
stay close to those
you can’t forget.

I am so grateful for the connections I have made with other slicers this month. I have followed several on their blogs and Twitter, and hope that one day we may meet in person. From past years I was blessed to meet Fran, Aileen, Kathleen, Michelle, Leigh Anne, Stacey, and so many others that I’ve been lucky enough ‘tweet up’ with.
Follow other slicers. Keep those connections. Keep living the writerly life of a slicer.

Thank you to everyone who responded to my posts and connected with me during this month. Thank you to everyone  who inspired me with their writing.
I am thankful for and humbled by this community.

I found
my place
in Tilbury Town
where
Robinson grew and
gained renown
and penned
his poems
of life and pain
of small town
folks
in
rural Maine.

I love my little town. Gardiner, Maine was the boyhood home of poet Edward Arlington Robinson who used it as the inspiration for many poems set in his fictional American “Tilbury Town“. This little community on the Kennebec River has been my home the last 25 years. I grew up in the Midwest, which I still hold near and dear…but the hardworking and caring people that make up this community have created the ideal place to raise my family and build a fulfilling life that brings me so much joy.

#micropoetry #SOL18

The
universe
in a
sound
from the
beginning
of time
at one
with others
whose
voice
joins
with
mine.

#micropoetry #SOL18

If you have ever taken a yoga class you may have joined in the chanting of “Om” at the opening and closing of your practice.  There is something truly mesmerizing the way you lose the sound of your own voice as it joins the vibration of the chant and you feel totally connected to the others in the room and beyond. There are brain researchers who are studying this phenomenon and finding support for the positive effects many people experience from chanting “ah-oo-mm”-similar to nerve stimulation treatments used to treat depression and epilepsy.  As I try to connect my mind, body, and spirit each week, it is the simplest of sounds that helps me in such a profound way.

Did you ever
have
a toy
that personified
a phase
of your childhood
you had
forgotten
until you walked
into a room
and saw
that someone else
preserved
that fading memory
and tattered toy
in a way
you wished
you had?

Last week I walked into a co-worker (and friend’s) classroom and saw Mrs. Beasley staring at me from the corner as if to say, “It sure has been awhile. What’ve you been up to?”  Her apron and granny glasses were missing and her stuffing was sticking out in places. She’d aged about as well as I had. But she still had that loving smile that soothed me as I fell asleep at night and greeted me as I woke each morning. Her big blue eyes looked right into heart and pulled me back into my own elementary school for a trip down memory lane. 

How
do we
boil down
our arguments
and get to the heart
of our positions on complex
topics? See it through
the eyes of a child
and you will
find clarity
and truth
so
simply.

As I listened to speakers and read all the signs at the MARCH FOR OUR LIVES on Saturday
I looked down at the snow and noticed this small child breaking sticks into pieces and carefully laying them on the ground. Within moments I predicted the simple, yet compelling message this child was seeking to convey. And then I looked to the right of the child and read a message scrawled on a cardboard box by a sibling…I WIS GUNS WRN REAL.

It doesn’t get much clearer than the wishes of these children.

#MicroPoetry  #SOL18

There would be no heroes
if there was no sorrow.
Think about this
if your heart breaks tomorrow.

I was in awe yesterday of the courageous students who stepped forward and spoke up in the wake of unspeakable tragedy. I know they would exchange this hero status for their normal teenage lives in a heartbeat if it meant their friends had not been gunned down and their generation had not been held hostage to the gun violence that has reached epidemic proportions.  Look for the light to emerge from the darkness and there you will find your heroes-these kids have brought a new light to these dark times.

.

SUCCESS
is achieved
IF
you are lucky enough
to love what you do
AND
the people
you do it with.

I don’t often go out with colleagues. Usually by the end of the week I’m exhausted and ready to be home. This week one of my teacher friends wanted to go out and celebrate some good news I received about some recent health concern. Another colleague joined us at a local pub and we had such a wonderful time talking about school and home.  I have always been grateful for my job. Last night I was reminded how grateful I am for the relationships my job has brought into my life.

Slice of Life Challenge 2018   #MicroPoetry

I walked into my room
dropping bags to the floor
and shedding the vesture
of an assiduous day
when the yellow petals
grasped my gaze
and your loving gesture
grabbed my heart.

I have the most wonderful husband in the world, but he has never been accused of being a romantic. He has always been more practical than poetic, more playful than pensive. He knows sunflowers are my favorite. I came home from a long day in a long week and was caught off guard with the bouquet behind me.  I stared in stunned silence at those flowers and realized that he was thinking of me when he saw them, bought them, brought them home, placed them in water, and set them upon my bureau. Each step was an act of love that will continue to  ‘blossom’ long after each petal fades.

The stone
you exported
from the far side
of the earth,
carrying the grace
of that sacred land
and the kindness
of your generous soul,
rests gratefully
in the hand
         and heart
 of your humbled friend.

My beautiful friend and yoga instructor, Kim, recently went on retreat to India. I asked if she found herself in a place where she was filled with awe, if she would reach down and gather a pebble to bring back a piece of that magic. Last night at yoga she gifted me a smooth brown stone from the other side of the world. She described the beautiful mountains and palm trees surrounding her where she gathered it. To remember me when she was immersed in such an experience was such a generous act of kindness. That stone (and my friend) will always have a special place in my heart!

There is a thirst
I cannot quench
and a hunger
not satiated.
To learn
to grow
to understand,
my soul is motivated

Sandwiched between snow days, district workshops, and parent teacher conferences I was invited to attend a conference on best practices in reading and writing instruction in Massachusetts. Though I have literally written a book focusing on best practice, I create space in my heart and mind -open to receiving new insights and learning each day. And so I leave my family, my schools, my cozy bed for two days (and two states away) to feed my soul and grow my mind so that I can better serve those children who may not even know how thirsty they are.