Tag: commonplace marvels

Poetry Friday: Commonplace Marvels

Catherine Flynn10 Comments

Several years ago, a group of Poetry Friday friends began writing a haiku a day as a distraction from the chaos swirling around us. Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t know then just how chaotic the world would become. I’m still seeking solace in small wonders, what Natalie Babbitt, in The Search for Delicious, described as “those commonplace marvels which [the world] spreads so carelessly before us every day.” Here are two haiku celebrating some marvels I noticed this week.

notes of moonsong stream
crickets hum in harmony
lost summer’s lament

bountiful harvest
a pair of sky blue eggs
gleaming suns inside

Draft © Catherine Flynn, 2021

It’s hard to tell from this photo what a lovely shade of blue these eggs were.

Please be sure to visit Laura Purdie Salas for the Poetry Friday Roundup.

Slice of Life: Frost Petals

Catherine Flynn10 Comments

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My OLW for 2016 was present. Part of my rationale for that choice was to not procrastinate. I have gotten better about this, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. Another reason I chose present was to be more aware of my surroundings in the moment, to be open to the gifts waiting there.

I have been much more successful with this connotation of the word. Finding “commonplace marvels” and writing #haikuforhealing along with Mary Lee Hahn and other bloggers during the month of December was a perfect way to end the year. But I’ve found that once I started really noticing, marvels were everywhere and being present to them is not something that I could stop. 

Although I have a pretty good idea of why my OLW will be for 2017, I haven’t completely decided. In the meantime, here is today’s commonplace marvel, which I found on my windshield this morning.

in dawn’s rosy glow,
a bouquet of frost petals
blooms

© Catherine Flynn, 2017

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 Thank you to Stacey, Dana, Betsy, Beth, Kathleen, Deb, Melanie, and Lisa for creating this community and providing this space for teachers and others to share their stories each Tuesday. Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts.