Monday, May 18, 2020

The Sleepover

I'm participating in a 5-day "Open Write" on Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA.  
Today,  Kimberly Johnson introduced us to Jason Reynolds who shares about a death in his verse, The Way I Felt...we were encouraged to write one, as well. Jason Reynolds' poem was so powerful, I simply could not go deep. I decided to go light and happy.


The Sleepover


The way I felt
when you invited me
to a sleepover
was
     lighter,
     lifted by
     laughter.

You are four years old,
irrepressible, and
imaginative,
including me,
your teacher.

How did you say it?
"When this 'kona-viwus' is gone,
I want you to come to
my sleepover.
We'll play hide-and-seek, and
Guess Who? and
eat fruit snacks.
I miss you."

Yes,
in this time of isolation,
I felt
     lighter,
     lifted,
     loved.


3 comments:

  1. gayle sands, from Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA website:
    Maureen—the first line had me going in a very different direction, because I hadn’t read your intro. And then I began to smile as the story developed. “We’ll play hide and seek and eat fruit snacks. “ I would definitely go to that sleepover. Want to come to my house? I’ll get my Guess Who game out and we will play. 🙂

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  2. glenda funk, from Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA website:
    Maureen,
    This is do precious. I’d love to hear mom’s and dad’s reaction to that invitation. Well done w/ the dialect of a four-year-old. I’m smiling and feeling “lighter and lifted.” Thank you.
    —Glenda

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  3. Heidi Mordhorst, from Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA website:
    Well, lighter indeed–to feel that we have maintained that crucial face-to-face connection with little ones through screens. Everything with them is heartfelt, instant and now. Thanks for this, my neighbor and mutual friend of Jill Ortman-Fouse! I teach PreK at Rock View in Kensington…and this is my very first day ever visiting Ethical ELA and the Open Write.

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