I tell my students over and over again until I am blue in the face that in order to love writing, you must let yourself become a writer. One of the most effective ways I’ve found to create a community of writers within the classroom the classroom is to share your writing. Since every once and awhile I like to step out on a limb, I’ve decided on this peaceful Sunday morning after a night of soft rain (the first rain we’ve had in Wisconsin in months) that I would share a piece of my writing with all of you. I enjoy experimenting with poetry, and in my 8th grade classroom I organize a weekly Poetry Workshop which I can’t wait to tell you more about as the year goes on. But for today, my only message is that as teachers of reading and writing, our words only mean so much when we never seem to live by what they are. As teachers of writing, it’s important that we view ourselves as writers and from time to time, share something that we have written. So (deep breath) here is goes….I was in a bit of a heavy place last night ;).
Take me far away
from the confines that hold me down.
Release me from my own cage.
I am not surrounded by bars,
there is no lock that keeps me in.
If I dare to dream and travel beyond the untouchable clouds,
reality deflates me.
I fall deep beyond the depths of my misery,
and who will catch me then?
Regret is my past,
and it is my own.
Sorrow burdens my soul,
making it so dark that light flickers a dull, slow burn.
My disconnect:
Worse than my sorrow or regret
Sheer emptiness.
Why did I stay locked in the cage so long
when I always held the key?
When will I learn
to catch myself when I fall?
Why did I let regret, sorrow, and disconnect
keep me from the fire blazing inside?
Today my life is awakened to a life so beautiful
I can’t believe it’s mine.
