I also took time to wander about and take photos. If my illustrating skills were better, maybe I could have indulged in some drawing as well. I had an idea... Maybe the photographs could spark some short little poetry pieces.
That way I could share with others, how the place we find ourselves located, can be quite an inspiration -if we sit still and observe closely. If we make a mindful effort to look around at what's in our immediate view. Ideas are all around us waiting to be discovered.
‘Sometimes the easiest way to start writing is not to try to think something up, but simply to write something down- and what better place to begin than with what’s is right in front of your eyes.’
Andy Griffiths, 'Once Upon A Slime'
So, posted below are the first four poems and some of the photographs I captured in my brief tour of the garden. I urge everyone to give it a try and if it works for you, share it with the kids in your care.
Writers share, and open ended ideas are what we need right now. Feel free to share this if you think it might contribute to your writing realm. It certainly helped to lighten the mood for me.
Appreciating the space you’re in is important.
Hope you are all finding some peace in the spaces you are currently inhabiting.
Your frame
Rust covered
Holds a mirror
Rectangular
Against the side fence
Behind a tree
In our garden
-Don't think
For a moment
We can't see you
back there
Among the shadows.
Here is the latest poem from my garden home...
Rust covered
Holds a mirror
Rectangular
Against the side fence
Behind a tree
In our garden
-Don't think
For a moment
We can't see you
back there
Among the shadows.
Great advice to write from where you sit. I especially like your gnome named Reg who 'lives on the edge' (living in Switzerland gives me an exceptional appreciation for gnomes). I appreciate the smile today. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Bridget. Glad you appreciated my garden gatherings- and Reg, who lives on the edge. Be safe.
DeleteTruly I love them all, Alan, & seeing your notebook & the special things in the garden. That little gnome caught my eye, love the 'lives on the edge' & the 'markers on the wall". Having a space, even a small one, is to be appreciated mightily these days. Thanks also for the good advice from Andy Griffiths: "is not to try to think something up, but simply to write something down-" Thanks & best wishes to you & family!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you like the gatherings from my garden Linda. It gave me immense pleasure to share a little of that space with the world. Andy's advice is indeed important and we certainly have an opportunity to practice it. Wishing you and your family all the best in these days of distance.
DeleteAll these poems are delightful, but I am partial to Reg, sitting on the edge. I need a Reg to protect my garden from insect crime!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like my garden gatherings Cheriee. Reg seems to be a hit. Be well. Stay safe.
DeleteWhat a captivating garden and the poems are delightful. Just looking--really seeing--at what's around me is a rich source of inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kay. It is indeed inspiring when we provide ourselves to see more clearly what is right in front of us
DeleteIt's fortunate we needn't go far to find poetry! I especially love that you have a mirror in your garden, and also the poem you paired with it.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, it is indeed fortunate we needn't go far for inspiration - certainly at present. But, it has always been possible to find inspiration close at hand. We just have to work on our close observation skills. Glad you liked the mirror and its associated poem.
DeleteThese are lovely! Thank you for sharing them. And what beautiful handwriting you have!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ruth. I am left handed and my hand writing has been a life long quest ever since my very first teacher told me that I should change the pencil to my right hand because, as she said it- 'You will never be a neat writer unless you do.' I have worked all my life to prove her statement wrong.
DeleteThanks for sharing the glimpses of your garden, and your poetic responses. A wonderful reminder that inspiration is all around us.
ReplyDeleteSally, it was my pleasure to take readers into our garden. It was a timely opportunity to highlight the potential of settings close by as inspiration for our poetic lives.
DeleteHow lucky so many of us are to have an interesting garden to retreat to and time to write there! I've been a little stymied in my writing by all the online distance learning gear-up that classroom teachers have had to do...but things are settling into a rhythm that I will never call the "new normal." Love your fish, love your lemon, but Reg is my favorite. Where do you live, Alan?
ReplyDeleteHeidi, you are spot on! Those of us who have a garden retreat are indeed most fortunate. By valuing those places close at hand, hopefully it helps teachers to alert young poets to the infinite ideas that exist within their reach. I live in Mornington, on the coast, about one hour from Melbourne, Australia.
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