A Powerful Photo-Poem Combination

      

        Mignon Self  created the poem shown below. When  not writing poems or creating artwork, this outstanding educator teaches art, grades 7-12, at the Round Rock Opportunity Center, Round Rock, Texas. 

       Together, Self's poem and the accompanying photograph can provide inspiration for classroom discussion that leads to the creation of imaginative written compositions. But that's not all. Considered separately, either the poem or the photo can inspire students to exchange ideas and express them in writing.

      Feel free to use this  poem and/or  photo in your classroom. You can copy and paste the poem, and you can right click on the photo to copy it. If you do so, I'd love to see the results for possible inclusion in Reflections.

    

"Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without." - Buddha

           Quiet Entities

When there are quiet times,  

Thoughts in between crowded spaces in my mind,

I think of the entities that bind the time in packages

Wrapped with colored twine.

Bubbles, spheres of rainbows floating in the air.

Laughter, sounds from happy children playing.

Butterflies, minimus drifting softly in the golden wind.

Violets, blooming vivid among the greenery lie.

Kisses, a touch of love from deep within.

Glances, eyes that sparkle to say, "I'm here!"

Wine, the soothing taste that tickles as it goes down.

Clean sheets, crisp rough smells of speckled drops of sun.

Stars, shooting through the evening skies.

Hands that hold the secrets of the brownie's past.

Sunlight drifting dots of dust giving life,

The entities of a crowded mind.

                                            Mignon Self  

Poem Copyright © 2010 by Mignon Self        Photo Copyright  2010 by Hank Kellner

         There's Still Room for More 

        At this writing, I've received poems and/or photos from thirteen students, eighteen teachers, and fourteen others for possible publication in Reflections. With a total of more than one hundred poems and almost as many photos, that just about completes the collection.

        Even so, there's always room for a few more entries before I end the project and intensify my search for a publisher. If you'd like to contribute work and haven't received the Guidelines for Submission, please contact me promptly at hankpix(at)yahoo(dot)com.

 

Write What You See

Although Cottonwood Press was acquired by Prufrock Press recently, Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing is still in print. You'll find it at Prufrock Press's website, in bookstores, at Amazon, and at many other Internet sites. This thought-provoking collection of black-and-white photography is accompanied by a wide variety of writing prompts to motivate students. Includes A CD-ROM of all photos and writing prompts. Grades 7-12 $24.95.

        "This book will launch  a thousand essays. Never again will students complain, "I don't know what to write about."

                                  Derri Scarlett, English faculty, Bismarck State College