Precious you

It's Saturday morning. The school year ended yesterday. Yes, I am fresh off a school year, my last year of teaching full-time, stepping into my 'surprise retirement' [see my previous post!], not sure what awaits, tiptoeing into my future...and I find an early morning invite from Ethical ELA to participate in the 5-day June OpenWrite. What could be more fortuitous for me at this time?

Fortuitous

Unexpected

Synchronistic

Serendipitous

Coincidental

Delightful

Perfect for me, right now.

Just what the doctor ordered.

The doctor believes in the healing powers of poetry ;-)

Anyhow, 

today's inspirational prompt was to find a list in a notebook, try to hone in on one word of the list, and just take a leap, with that word at the heart of my poetry. 

I found myself thinking about my granddaughter's acquisition of language, the ever-growing list of words that she is discovering and trying out. Here's my poem, and the comments I received on the Ethical ELA blog where my poem was first posted:

Precious you

Love you

well, layoo,

bubbles,

well, buhb.

step up

well, sepah.

Precious you,

so true,

not quite two

years old,

trying

two syllables

two words

together

to talk

to the world.

Layoo!

Marilyn G. Miner

I can hear the two-year old voice with so much love and life. Your list captures so much of a mother’s heart.

Linda Mitchell

Oh, what a loving capture of your grand daughter at this stage of her life. Wouldn’t it be great if all of us had such a loving Grandma to write us a poem like this? “Precious you…is the title! I just know it.” Please make this her birthday card this year. It’s so personal and lovely.

Jolie HicksI can almost hear the “precious” little one, trying out her new language and enjoying the celebrations! This piece will surely be a nostalgic reminder of this season in her life. I appreciate your crafty alliteration, reinforcing her “two-ness.” Thanks!

Glenda Funk

Maureen,
There’s a poem I taught in AP Lit about a child learning to speak. I can see the name but not spell it. 😂 It is unusual. I’ll find an share ASAP! Your poem takes me to that place of innocence, and I am thinking about the inclusive language your grandchild will learn from you. Love the invented words: layoo, buhb, sepah. These make me think about how our world needs new ways of speaking. ❤️ Thank you.
—Glenda

Emily Yamasaki

So beautiful! I wish we could all hear her sweet voice. What a beautiful thing – speaking words. Thank you for sharing this!