(This was one of my first writing prompt reponses this summer. I know these are supposed to be new, but when I reread tonight, I see how much this has summarized/influenced my direction in classroom writing and thinking. Any ideas how to turn this into something? What do you think about Photo Story -- pictures with little or no text?)

"Don't limit the definition of writing," he said. SO...

skywriting, carving words/initials/dates into tables, graffiti on train cars, "Call ____ for a good time"… Continue

It would be easy if life could really be contained in regular, aligned boxes.

50 minutes dedicated to just one purpose

starting and ending on time

focusing on one subject

planned...scheduled.

But that world exists only on paper.

Each day the lines blur

and the boxes merge

overlap

overtake each other

We are complete people

with layers (onion, not parfait!)

parts that make up the whole.

Boxes are for lesson plans,

not living.

This still needs a beginning...



They trickle in fast, They slither in slow
and then there's the ones that shout
"Look out below!"

Sometimes they whisper in voices so quiet
you'd think they were weakened by too small a diet.

They come in the car, at the store, in the shower.
They're prompted by snow, a new job, a small flower.

They grow in the night while you're lying in bed.
They speak,sit, and stay. Sometimes they play dead.
And that one raced by--right out of my head.

So when they ask y… Continue

I hear the voice of the ancient one most frequently. I miss the child. Having three teenage children has made me cautious for they through concerns to the wind. I am not sure if this serious ancient voice reins them in or sets them free.
I miss the voice of the child. I need to hear her voice more often. She allows me to laugh and take everything so seriously. When she is free to speak so is everyone else. They find comfort in her voice.

I am sorry you were angry with me.
I didn’t know you needed my help.
The couch was soft and my book was great.
I am sure your family won’t mind the mess!