National Poetry Month Issue 2

I'm glad that April is National Poetry month. In Maryland, this  month marks the transition between winter (we're still getting occasional flurries) and spring (the forsythia have bloomed).

All month, I'll be featuring Maryland poets. They are among the 50 contributors to the anthology Life in Me Like Grass on Fire: Love Poems.

Here is Life in Me like Grass on Fire contributor Carlee Hallman's spring poem. You won't be surprised that Carlee's contribution to Life in Me falls in the section, Love of Nature.

This is a focused image poem. It has color, movement, setting, and the feel of cold in a few short lines. Try the writing prompt below with elementary schoolers up through high school. High schoolers might like to look at some of William Carlos Williams' focused image poems as well.

Crocus

by Carlee Hallman

Little green buds,

bunches of leaves

cuddled together

so they won't freeze,

while snowflakes of spring

hover, enfold,

bedding them down

to keep out the cold.

Posted with permission of Carlee Hallman.

Maryland poet Carlee Hallman is widely published. Her book, Abide with Me: Prayer's for Life's Eventide, was published in 2006. Carlee is a retired United Methodist Minister.

Writing Prompt (Elementary school and up):
Write a focused image poem.

Choose one image that says spring to you. Make it a REAL picture. Something you have seen.

Rather than showing something symbolic like a robin building a nest, I  might write about the two cardinals (Brenda and Bob) who return to our back yard every spring.

In a short poem, describe what you see.