THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY

THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY
April 12, 2016

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Poetry Friday Round Up

Welcome, Poetry Friday Revelers. Poetry Friday is here this week!



I'm trying Linky Tools for the first time. Keep your fingers crossed and be sure to leave your link in the comments, just in case. I give up! Leave your link in the comments. I will start rounding up in the morning.

National Poetry Month is coming up soon. Many of the Poetry Friday bloggers are planning special treats and projects. Here at Author Amok, we're getting dressed up for the occasion. During the month of April, I'll be featuring poetry about clothes. Why clothes? Read more here.

Thanks to all of you who offered to guest post for this series.


Wednesday 4/1: Guest Post by J. C. Elkin
Friday 4/3: Guest Post by Tabatha Yeatts Lonske and poem round up
Monday 4/6: Guest Post by Margaret Simon
Wednesday 4/8: Guest Post by Robyn Hood Black
Friday 4/10: Guest Post TBA and poem round up
Monday 4/13: Guest Post Heidi Mordhorst
Wednesday 4/15: Guest Post by Linda Baie
Friday 4/17: Guest Post by Catherine Johnson and poem round up
Monday 4/20: Guest Post by Robyn Campbell
Wednesday 4/22; Guest Post by Donna Smith
Friday 4/24: Guest Post by  Jan Godown Annino and poem round up
Monday 4/27: Guest Post by Linda Kulp
Wednesday 4/29: Project wrap up

Clothes can be a powerful symbol for how we navigate culture and society. Here is a wonderful poem by my teacher, Maria Mazziotti Gillan

SHAME IS THE DRESS I WEAR
On the first day of school, my mother slips a dark blue
dress over my head, ties the starched sash. Zia Louisa and
Zio Guillermo have come down the back steps to our
apartment to see me setting off. They don’t have children
of their own and Zio Guillermo is my godfather, so they are
a big part of our lives. My mother has starched this cotton
dress handed down from Zia Christiana’s late in life
daughter, Zia Christiana who has enough money to buy
lots of pretty dresses for her red-headed daughter and also
throw chickens into the garbage that year when my father
was sick and couldn’t work so we lived on farina and
spaghetti. When my mother was dying, she talked about
seeing those discarded chickens and about being too
ashamed to ask for them. Anyway, I’m standing on that
wooden kitchen chair, my mother tugging at the dress,
my hair formed into sausage curls that my mother curled
by wrapping my thick dark hair in white rags, my eyes
enormous in my long, thin face. Zia Louisa stands back,
shakes her head and says, Why didn’t you get her a better
color? This dress that both my mother and I were proud of
until my aunt’s comment pointed out what should have
been obvious, that this dark blue color, perfect for a redhead
made my olive skin look jaundiced. I could almost
feel the starched skirt deflate. Sometimes I think that little
girl in her navy dress has followed me my whole life


From Old Navy
Thanks for joining the poetry party this week, everyone! 

Blogging in our jammies:

At Kurious Kitty, Diane Mayr reminds us that tomorrow is Pi Day (3/14/15), the only time this century that the date extends to four decimal points of this mathematical constant. She has a meditative math poemby Ira Sadoff for the occasion. At Random Noodling, Diane has some fun videos to accompany her responses to Heidi Mordhorst's CH words challenge.

Carmela Martino is in with a post from Teaching Authors. She says, "I want to share a link from my co-blogger April Halprin Wayland. Her post will be about how she uses the library--why she loves her library for writing in a quiet space and for audiobooks. She's included an original poem called IT'S NOT QUIET IN THE LIBRARY. (It's about listening...if you listen, there are many sounds in the library!)"

Linda Kulp at Write Time is sharing Lullaby & Kisses Sweet with her granddaughter, Evie, who was inspired to write her own poem. What a great post about how a young reader becomes immersed in a book.

Steven Withrow has a powerful original poem, "Refugee Camp," at Crackles of Speech.

The Friday Feast at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup, is Kathi Appelt's new rhyming picture book, Counting Crows. This week's recipe, Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies.

Have you been following Penny Klosterman's collaborative series, "A Great  Nephew and a Great Aunt"? Episode 11 posts today with a clever teatime poem from Penny and Landon's accompanying illustration. 


Speaking of T, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes of Today's Little Ditty says, "Today I have a bit of a hodge podge post – Tanka, TOASTS, and Total Madness. But it does include a giveaway!"

Many of our Poetry Friday regulars are participating in Ed DeCaria's March Madness, which got underway this week. Buffy Silverman is featuring her first round poem today. Buffy's word was "megolomaniacal." Ack!

Gathering Books has a beautiful poem about grief by Iphigene. Stop by and send her a virtual hug.

There's lots of news to report at Charles Waters' Poetry Time. Charles also shares two recent poems, one from the Author Amok sound poetry project (cackling lava) and another from Heidi Mordhorst's CH word daily poem challenge (strrreeetch).

Getting dressed for the day...

At Teacher Dance,  Linda Baie has an original poem in memory of her grandfather. It's a little ode to Friday the 13th and other superstitions.

Catherine at Reading to the Core has a lovely found poem from Louise Erdrich's novel The Birchbark House



Donna Smith of  Mainely Write is playing along with Heidi Mordhorst's CH word challenge. She has a clever concrete poem for the word ARCH.

Did you know it was National Cereal Day this week? Matt Forrest Esenwine blogs about that (can we have a CRUNCH day, Heidi?) and the new Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations. Visit Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme

Julie Larios tells us, "It's Neil Sedaka's birthday today, so over at the Drift Record I've got the lyrics to one of stranger hits from the 1960's, and an embedded video of him singing "Calendar Girl" that is possibly one of the worst music videos ever made. Or maybe just one of the weirdest?" The fireworks headdress is a must-see. Yikes.

If you live in Arizona, Joy reports that the Tucson Book Festival is tomorrow and Sunday. "I'm excited to be going. Lots of great workshops, panels and presentations to attend." Joy has a Friday the 13th poem at Poetry for Kids Joy.

Tabatha's post this week features excerpts by Howard Nemerov (a beautiful ekphrastic poem) and Ralph Salisbury. You'll find that at The Opposite of Indifference.

Mary Lee at A Reading Year says "Shame Is the Dress I Wear" is "a perfect fit for my Poetry Month project -- PO-EMotions -- which I am announcing today! I'm going to be writing poems about emotions." Stop by Mary Lee's blog to check out the announcement and her original poem, using the word ARCH for Heidi's MarCH CHallenge.

And Miss Juicy Universe herself, Heidi Mordhorst, is of course hosting the poem-a-day project so many of us are participating in, the Forward MarCH CHallenge. Today's word is "arCH" and Heidi already has some fine contributions!


It's that dreaded time of year: standardized testing season. Carol of Carol's Corner is in with a poem, now that her school has finished PARCC testing -- a good reminder that life (and school) is about our connections with other people, not test scores.

I've heard of Dueling Banjos, but not dueling odes! Margaret Simon of Reflections on the Teche is in a battle of the verse with her student. Who will be the winner? The ode to the sun or the ode to the moon?

At A Teaching Life, Tara Smith is featuring Poetry Friday's own Laura Purdie Salas, with a poem about coming to the end of a great book.

Thift stores are great places for finding things. Irene Latham is sharing a poem found at a thrift store: "I Love Old Things" by Wilson MacDonald.

Let's all welcome Poetry Friday newbies Darla Salay and Jen Brittin! You'll find their very first PF post, with two original poems about writing, at Two Writers

I love it when poets try and experiment with traditional forms. Tricia has a new sestina at the Miss Rumphius Effect.  The six words she selected for the poem are: sense/cents, turn, up, wind, break/brake, rays/raise/raze.

Putting on our slippers (or dancing shoes ... it IS Friday night):

Ready for spring? Becky Shillington welcomes the season with an original haiku.

Alex Baugh at Randomly Reading is getting in on the spring thing with a Wordsworth poem, "Written in March." Wordsworth compares snow to a retreating army!

At Pleasures from the Page, Ramona has a poem about the joy of discovering a new book. In this case, Paul B. Janeczko's latest: The Death of the Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects. "The Death of the Hat" sounds like a clothing poem to me.

There's a Carl Sandburg quote at Bildungsroman today.

I hope Catherine Johnson is not welcoming more snow with her limerick about a snowman! Happy St. Patrick's Day, Catherine!

Lori Ann Grover has a beautiful evening haiku "Crimson Blush" at her blog, On Point. Interested in learning more about The Death of the Hat? Lori also has a post about Janeczko's new book at Readertotz.

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater says, "Over at The Poem Farm (finally!) I have a little poem about how to become friends with a dog." How-to poems are another great form to try. Sam the Schnauzer sends you a woof of appreciation, Amy.

But enough about dogs, at All About the Books with Janet Squires, Janet is sharing the book "If Not For The Cat: Haiku" by Jack Prelutsky with paintings by Ted Rand.

Get a pre-National Poetry Month sneak peek of student poems at Jone MacCulloch's Check It Out. Jone also invites us all to sign up for an NPM poetry postcard from her talented students.

HUGE CONGRATS to PF blogger Kelly Fineman, whose book of poetry for adults launches today!! Kelly is sharing a poem from THE UNIVERSE COMES KNOCKING, entitled "Scientifically Speaking." Woo hoo, Kelly! 

At Flukeprints you'll find a link to the post "How to Host an Author at your School." Mrs. Doele's third grade class was lucky enough to have a visit with our own Amy Ludwig VanDerWater's last month.

Good morning!

For early risers and dawn-catchers, Cathy at Merely Day by Day has an original poem to greet the day: A Million Sunrises.

Loria Carter is sharing a video clip of Maya Angelou's "Life Doesn't Frighten Me At All" -- her hope for all the children of the world. 

Carol Varsalona at Beyond LiteracyLink tells us about Digital Learning Day 2015, which was March 13th. Carol also has an original, architectural poem for Heidi's word of the day "ARCH."

Friendly Fairy Tales has "Sound of Spring," an original poem by Brenda. Let's all recite Brenda's lines about the thawing snow to help bring on the warm weather.

Time to put on our jammies and dream of poetry, bloggers. Thank you for coming to the party and sharing your love of words and language with everyone.

49 comments:

Diane Mayr said...

Laura, there is no linky link. The link you posted just takes you to a "Welcome to Linky Tools" page.

Carmela Martino said...

Thanks so much for sharing this poem--I can SO relate, especially to the part you link to where the author talks about going to an Ivy League college and meeting "the President and his wife, so slim and Episcopalian, so upper class."
It reminds me of when I was teaching at a small private college and the department chair mentioned that many of the students were "first generation." i didn't know if that meant the first generation in their family to go to college, or that they were first generation immigrants, but I was BOTH.
Anyway, the linky tool doesn't appear to be working and I want to share a link from my co-blogger April Halprin Wayland. Her post will be about how she uses the library--why she loves her library for writing in a quiet space and for audiobooks. She's included an original poem called IT'S NOT QUIET IN THE LIBRARY. (It's about listening...if you listen, there are many sounds in the library!)
The post goes live in a few hours. Here's the link:
http://www.teachingauthors.com/2015/03/2-reasons-i-love-my-library-and-happy.html

Carmela Martino said...

And I forgot to say, Thanks so much for hosting!

Author Amok said...

Thanks, Diane and Carmela. The link should be working now.

Carmela -- If you don't know Maria's work, I highly recommend it. Try her book of poems "Italian Women in Black Dresses" or the anthology she edited "Unsettling America."

Diane Mayr said...

And I forgot to say how the poem reminded me of my own kindergarten experience when my mother sent me to school in a dress that I thought was embarrassingly short. I felt exposed and betrayed. Imagine holding on to that memory for 60 years!

Here are the links to Kurious Kitty http://kuriouskitty.blogspot.com/2015/03/poetry-friday-tomorrow-is-pi-day.html (a math poem for Pi day) and Random Noodling (musical connections to Heidi's Ch words challenge) http://randomnoodling.blogspot.com/2015/03/poetry-friday-ch-challenge.html.

Linda said...

Hi Laura,
Thank you for hosting. I'm looking forward to coming back later to read your post. I'm not feeling well tonight and headed to bed a little early.
I'm in this week with a post about my granddaughter's poem.
http://lindakulp.blogspot.com/
Have a great weekend!

Steven Withrow said...

Thanks for hosting, Laura! I'm enjoying the poem you featured today.

I have an original poem called "Refugee Camp" at Crackles of Speech:

http://cracklesofspeech.blogspot.com/2015/03/poem-refugee-camp.html

Carmela Martino said...

Thanks, Laura. I will definitely check out Maria's work.

jama said...

Love that poem!

At Alphabet Soup, I'm featuring Kathi Appelt's new picture book, Counting Crows:

http://wp.me/p1GE6P-3U0

(my link goes live at 6 a.m. EDT)

Thanks so much for hosting this week!

Penny Parker Klostermann said...

Laura,
The poem is beautiful and touching. I loved it.
Thanks for hosting :-)

At a penny and her jots, Landon and I are back with Episode 11 of A Great Nephew and a Great Aunt.
http://wp.me/p22d5X-175

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes said...

Thanks for hosting this week, Laura. What a poem! And what a burden to carry for so many years. I hope it was somewhat of a relief for your teacher to write it down.

Today I have a bit of a hodge podge post – Tanka, TOASTS, and Total Madness. But it does include a giveaway! http://michellehbarnes.blogspot.com/2015/03/tanka-toasts-and-total-madness.html

Buffy Silverman said...

Hi Laura,
Thanks for hosting--I'm sharing my March Madness poem on my blog: http://buffysilverman.com/blog/?p=677
Love the poem, especially this line: Sometimes I think that little girl in her navy dress has followed me my whole life through. We all have those moments we carry--and this one was so poignant.

Gathering Books said...

Thanks Laura for hosting today.
I think at any one point we all could relate to that poem. I for one at one point in my life put so much effort to how I looked only to realize it shouldn't be that way.
Anyway, at Gathering Books we share an original poem.
http://gatheringbooks.org/2015/03/13/poetry-friday-the-saddest-pace/

Charles Waters said...

Hey my poetry friend. Thanks for hosting. Busy and exciting things happenings at Poetry Time. Enjoy!

http://www.charleswaterspoetry.com/#!POETRY-TIME-BLOG-22/c23vc/E44A91FA-A22E-4D09-91B0-06FC210D66CF

Linda B said...

Thanks for hosting Laura. I'm always glad to link up at Author Amok. I guess we all carry something of that clothing thing from our childhood. I remember an aunt who was constantly straightening my collar or something, never just saying I looked nice. I'm sharing a grandfather memory today, but connecting to Friday the 13th, superstitions awake! http://www.teacherdance.org/2015/03/solc-13-poetry-friday-collide-fri-13th.html

Catherine said...

Such a heartbreaking poem. I remember my share of embarrassing dresses, handed down from older cousins.
Today I'm sharing a "found poem" from Louise Erdrich's The Birchbark House:
https://readingtothecore.wordpress.com/2015/03/13/sol-poetry-friday-finding-poetry-in-the-birchbark-house/
Thanks so much for hosting!

Donna Smith said...

Sharing a -ch poem "Arches Overhead", and my shoes...
http://mainelywrite.blogspot.com/2015/03/of-arches-and-shoes.html

It wasn't clothes for me, but I know that feeling of "not quite good enough".

Matt Forrest Esenwine said...

Thanks for hosting, Laura - and although I can't 'identify' with the poem, so to speak (must be a guy thing), I do relate to it to a certain degree as I used to go back-to-school shopping with my older daughters every single year, usually a week or two before Sept. One of the many things I miss, now, actually.

I didn't see the "Linky link" Diane referred to, so I'm leaving my link here...it's a tribute to National Cereal Day and the new PFA for Celebrations! http://wp.me/p2DEY3-1aL

Julie said...

Thanks for hosting, Laura! It's Neil Sedaka's birthday today, so over at the Drift Record I've got the lyrics to one of stranger hits from the 1960's, and an embedded video of him singing "Calendar Girl" that is possibly one of the worst music videos ever made. Or maybe just one of the weirdest? Here's the link: http://julielarios.blogspot.com/2015/03/poetry-friday-ranga-tanga-ring-ting-tong.html

Joy said...

I have a Friday the 13th poem on my blog
www.poetryforkidsjoy.blogspot.com

I hope it is a fun day for poets everywhere. The Tucson Book Festival is tomorrow and Sunday and I'm excited to be going. Lots of great workshops, panels and presentations to attend.

Thanks for hosting us, Laura.

Tabatha said...

Hi Laura! Thanks for hosting! The poem you share today points out the power of offhand comments -- if only Zia Louisa had let Maria have her moment! (And if only Zia Christiana had thought to offer them chicken).
I have excerpts by Howard Nemerov and Ralph Salisbury today: http://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/2015/03/then-he-paints-tree.html

Mary Lee said...

Your poem today would be a perfect fit for my Poetry Month project -- PO-EMotions -- which I am announcing today! I'm going to be writing poems about emotions.

Today's poem is brought to you by my inner skeptic, and uses the word ARCH for Heidi's MarCH CHallenge.

http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2015/03/poetry-friday-announcing-my-poetry.html

Heidi Mordhorst said...

I am beside myself with excitement about this project, Laura--will return to soak up the poem, but for now, here's the link to today's installment of the Forward MarCH CHallenge. Today's word is "arCH" and we already have some fine contributions!
http://myjuicylittleuniverse.blogspot.com/2015/03/forwardarch.html

Thanks for hosting, neighbor!

Carol said...

So excited to read about your April Poetry project. I will be visiting often. I love "SHAME." How well I remember starting my graduate program at the University of New Hampshire. I was A0 totally shocked that Don Graves wore tennis shoes every day, and B) totally sure that everyone was going to find out that I was wearing a costume and wasn't really a doctoral student after all. I'm in today with an original poem, after a week of PARCC testing. http://carolwscorner.blogspot.com/2015/03/slice-of-life-14-and-poetry-friday.html

Margaret Simon said...

I have had trouble with linky things in my blog as well. The comments works for me. Thanks for posting the schedule. I forgot I signed up to write.
Today I am dueling with a student with sun and moon odes. https://reflectionsontheteche.wordpress.com/2015/03/13/dueling-poems/

Tara said...

I love Maria's work, but this is a poem I had not read - thank's for sharing, Laura. Here's my link for today, our own Laura Purdie Salas' poem about coming to the end of a great book:
https://ateachinglifedotcom.wordpress.com/2015/03/13/sol15-march-13-2015-poetry-friday-the-end-by-laura-purdie-salas/

Irene Latham said...

Hi Laura! I have written quite a few poems about clothes! (Always comes up when I think about my mom and my relationship with her, as she's a seamstress.) Thank you for sharing this poem. Looking forward to all these wonderful guest voices! I'm in today with a poem I found at a thrift store -- "I Love Old Things" by Wilson MacDonald. Thanks for hosting! http://www.irenelatham.blogspot.com/2015/03/let-us-now-praise-old-things.html

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hosting! This is our first time linking up to Poetry Friday. We're also doing SOL15. Can't wait to read everyone's posts today. Our is called Two Writers...we teach them both. https://brittinandsalay.wordpress.com/2015/03/13/two-writers/

Tricia said...

Hi Laura,
Thank you for introducing me to a "new to me" poet. I must look for more of Maria's work.

I am in today with a second sestina I wrote as part of the Poetry Seven's monthly challenge.

http://missrumphiuseffect.blogspot.com/2015/03/poetry-friday-second-sestina.html

Thank you for hosting.
Best,
Tricia

Becky Shillington said...

Thanks so much for sharing Gillan's poem, Laura. I hadn't heard of this poet before, and it is always nice to read work from a poet who is new to me. I am so excited about National Poetry Month!

I have a haiku about Spring on my Poetry Friday post today!

http://beckyshillington.blogspot.com/2015/03/poetry-friday-spring-is-finally-here.html

Randomly Reading said...

Thank you for hosting Poetry Friday today. And for sharing Shame is the Dress I Wear. What a sad but moving poem.

I have a poem by William Wordsworth called Written in March today, this is the link
http://randomlyreading.blogspot.com/2015/03/poetry-friday-written-in-march-by.html

I'm looking forward to reading all the poems posted today.

Ramona said...

Thanks for hosting, Laura. I'm sharing a new book of poetry today. I'll be back later to read your post.
http://pleasuresfromthepage.blogspot.com/2015/03/2015-solsc-1331-new-book-of-poetry.html

Anonymous said...

I quoted Carl Sandburg today at my blog, Bildungsroman:
http://slayground.livejournal.com/802764.html
http://slayground.livejournal.com/

Catherine Johnson said...

That is a great poem. I have linked to a Limerick about a snowman today. Thanks for hosting, Laura.
http://www.catherinemjohnson.com/?p=8616

Lorie Ann Grover said...

Thanks for hosting in whatever format, Laura! And the poetry is so touching. Thanks for sharing and the image. At On Point, I have Crimson Blush.

Lorie Ann Grover said...

And at readertotz we are celebrating The Death of the Hat. Thanks again!

Amy LV said...

What a powerful poem, Laura, and such a great idea for a series in April. Clothing does tell so many stories.
Over at The Poem Farm (finally!) I have a little poem about how to become friends with a dog - http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/2015/03/teaching-poems-what-do-i-know.html
Thank you for hosting!
xo, a.

Amy LV said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Janet S. said...

Thanks for hosting.
My selection is "If Not For The Cat: Haiku by Jack Prelutsky with paintings by Ted Rand.

Unknown said...

Is there still room to participate in the April gig? I would love to be a guest blogger.

Here's my post for PF: https://maclibrary.wordpress.com/2015/03/13/3186/

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hosting today! And what a poem to showcase . . .

Here's mine, entitled "Scientifically Speaking", it's an original from my adult collection which launches tonight: THE UNIVERSE COMES KNOCKING. Here's the link: http://kellyrfineman.livejournal.com/857263.html

Anonymous said...

I felt myself holding my breath while reading your poem. Memories came flashing back for me. I am going to need to write to take care of some of them now! Clothing is a great idea for poetry and one I will now try with my students. I have a post today about "How to Host an Author at your School." It is specifically about Amy Ludwig VanDerWater's visit to my school in February. Thank you for hosting!
Here is my link:
https://flukeprints.wordpress.com/2015/03/13/hosting-a-poet-at-your-school/

Karin Fisher-Golton said...

Thank you for hosting. Nothing from me this week, but I'm trying to do better at remembering to stop by even when I don't. 1 for 1, so far! "Shame is the Dress I Wear" is wonderfully powerful--like a punch in the stomach at the end. The sausage curl image really stuck with me, too.

Cathy said...

Laura,
Thank you so much for hosting. My memory of the dress I wore is a bit different. My grandma had made a navy blue dress for my second grade year. I loved the dress and would have worn it every day for the year. This many years later, I still think about that dress. I've hardly worn one since. I guess there wasn't a dress that could make me feel as happy as that one always did.

I'm joining with an original poem: A Million Sunrises
http://merelydaybyday.blogspot.com/2015/03/poetry-friday-million-sunrises.html

Thanks for hosting,
Cathy

Lori Carter said...

"Life Doesn't Frighten Me At All" - my hope for all the children of the world. http://www.loriacarter.com/slice-of-life/life-doesnt-frighten-me-on-poetry-friday

Carol Varsalona said...

Laura, I am sorry that I am late to the party. My son had abdominal pains and was rushed to the doctor. Luckily, it did not turn into an emergency so he is home resting the best he can.

I am pleased to have finished my offering gfor Digital Learning Day 2015.

BTW: thank you for hosting

Anonymous said...

I'm late linking up, but my poem, Sounds of Spring, is here: http://friendlyfairytales.com/2015/03/13/sounds-of-spring/ Cheers, Brenda

jan godown annino said...

Hey there Laura,

Thank you for introducing me to Maria Mazziotti Gillan & her memory from a child-dress embarrassment. I think it's a potent poem. I remember my mother telling me about her problems with hand-me-down clothes & I also remember imagined or perhaps real scorn for what I was wearing compared to other girls at certain events.
But since Maria taught you poetry, I'm thinking good thoughts that she has soared far beyond the petty people whose attitudes would not be warm & encompassing.

Another thanks - for posting the April calendar of Author Amok. I'm thrilled to anticipate reading as many days as I can & also to see my day there. Thank you for organizing it.

Robyn Hood Black said...

Hi, Laura! Sorry I missed the party this past weekend. I was off SCBWI-ing.

Such a powerful poem to share - thank you. And thanks for rounding up; I'm hoping to make it to some of these terrific posts before Friday rolls around again. :0)