Summer Daze – in poetry, prose and photos

Any photo can inspire a memory

Any memory can inspire a story

 

 

 

     With each passing day of spring, days grow a little longer, the sun shines a little brighter and gardens bloom in gay profusion.  Birdsong wakes me every morning, and soft breezes beckon me outdoors.  The gardenia-perfumed air kisses my face with cool, fragrant delight.  Oh my!  I could stay out here forever!

     But instead, I think I’ll go a’wandering down some new lane and create memories to warm me through my winters.  Or provide refreshing coolness in the coming summer heat.  I love to walk through neighborhoods I’ve never visited before, or discover hidden paths through a leafy bit of woods.  And if the day’s too hot to walk, just climb into the car and go exploring.

     I remember that day years ago when my husband and I, newly met, rode out together on a lovely spring morning to discover new places and create our own memories—and we happened upon a picturesque little village.

      Soda Shop Stop

                                                                            

It was a small soda shop

in a small little town

where we’d stopped to watch a fair—

a festival scene

on a grassy green—

a party in ginger-ale air.

In that small soda shop

with its bent iron chairs

sitting outside by the door

we stopped

in the heat of the moment

to rest a moment or more.

In the heat of the moment

we stopped

to share a cone

of chocolate ice cream

mounded round as a dream

and dripping its own

tongue-licking cool cream.

Which I licked with you

making swirls of my own

with my tongue glistening pink on that coldness—

for to lick your skin would be a sin                                                    

in public—

condemned for boldness.

                        ~ Elizabeth Guy

 

“Ice-cream is exquisite.  What a pity it isn’t illegal.”

~Voltaire

 

     Don’t you love to conjure up old favorite memories?  I certainly do!  And when I couple them with photos taken on along the many journeys I have made, the experiences seem all too new again.  Exciting with their promise, bittersweet with their completion.  Satisfying, nonetheless.

     All this and springtime too!

Every photo I have brings back a story.

What stories do your photos tell?

Next week…..            

I’ll be on vacation—and eating ice cream!  And making new memories.

Back in two weeks...

                      

 Mouthful of ice cream

Cool green grass beneath bare feet

Smiling summer days

Also, visit my co-author's blog at http://hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com

See his ten-part series on photo prompts to inspire writing at http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/

And Don’t Miss…

            English teacher Mara Dukats and writer-photographer Cynthia Staples’ poems “white on white” and “The Absence of Color.” They’re in Part Four of Hank Kellner’s  twelve-part series THE POWER OF PHOTOS TO INSPIRE WRITING at the Creativity Portal  website http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/hank-kellner/using-poems-and-photos-to-inspire-writing-part-4/,  as well as Anna J. Small’s writing assignment in "Viewing and Writing about Photos from Around the World"

            Also, read more about Reflect and Write in the SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL http://www.slj.com/2013/03/curriculum-connections/meeting-the-ccss-through-poetry-professional-shelf/

Another Helpful Source for Inspiration

For more photos and information not included in this blog, please visit http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013), 153 pages, $24.95.

Longing for the Riviera - Memories inspired by a painting

Any picture can tell a story

And any story can create a picture

 

     On the wall of my guest room hangs a framed poster of a tranquil and romantic work executed by Pierre Bonnard—Table Set in a Garden.  Bonnard painted it circa 1908.  But the setting is timeless. 

     One can almost feel the delicate warmth of sunlight filtering through the greenery, nearly inhale the fragrant freshness of the air.  It makes me want to take a deep breath and slowly let it out, releasing all my tensions and relaxing in the perfect moment. 

     And it recalls to me some wonderfully similar settings I found in various ports of call several years ago while cruising the western Mediterranean—Monte Carlo, Italy’s ports of Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, and Sorrento, as well as Palma and Valldemossa on the Isle of Mallorca.  What a fabulous trip that was.  The sunshine, the air, the flowers – bellisimo!

   

     Unfortunately, back home here there aren’t nearly so many lovely casual outdoor cafes where one can enjoy a brief respite and a cup of coffee.  We have very few such charming retreats in which to spend a refreshing pause while out shopping. Well, at least that’s true if one tends to do one’s shopping at the mall!

“No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee’s frothy goodness.”

~Sheik Abd-al-Kadir

 

Photo by Hank Kellner

Longing for the Riviera

  

Coffee in the food court

amid plastic potted palms         

fast food and flashing neon

in the air conditioned mall

lacks the carefree charm of

Pierre Bonnard painting - Table Set in a Garden, c.1908

latte at an open air café  
in the dappled shade of trees
on cobbled streets
lined with cottage shops.


There's really no comparison.

                                                          

                              ~Elizabeth Guy

                                                                               

     No comparison indeed.  And the food!  The Mediterranean cuisine suited me to a tee.  Pasta, roasted summer vegetables, fresh fruits, cheeses, crusty Italian breads—and the wine!  Let us not forget the wine. 

     I dined like a pincipessa on that cruise.  Scrumptious!  And the best part was that I actually lost a few pounds on that vacation.  Mediterranean magic! 

What pictures do you have that recall a fabulous experience?

                                            

                                    

 Coming next week...

Summer daze

Also, visit my co-author's blog at http://hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com

See his ten-part series on photo prompts to inspire writing at http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/

And Don’t Miss…

            English teacher Mara Dukats and writer-photographer Cynthia Staples’ poems “white on white” and “The Absence of Color.” They’re in Part Four of Hank Kellner’s  twelve-part series THE POWER OF PHOTOS TO INSPIRE WRITING at the Creativity Portal  website http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/hank-kellner/using-poems-and-photos-to-inspire-writing-part-4/,  as well as Anna J. Small’s writing assignment in "Viewing and Writing about Photos from Around the World"

            Also, read more about Reflect and Write in the SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL http://www.slj.com/2013/03/curriculum-connections/meeting-the-ccss-through-poetry-professional-shelf/

Another Helpful Source for Inspiration

For more photos and information not included in this blog, please visit http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013), 153 pages, $24.95.

Childhood Dreams and Growing Up - in photos, prose & poetry

If one picture is worth a thousand words,

can one picture inspire a thousand words?

     Well, this photo by Hank Kellner inspired at least forty words in poem form that tumbled out like the rippling tresses cascading down this little girl’s back.

     Little Girls

Temper tantrums

Goofy grins

Ballet shoes and hairbows

Pom-poms

Books

and Barbie dolls

That’s what girls are made of

Riding lessons

Dancing classes

Swimming lessons, too

Cheerleading sessions

Girl Scouts                              

That’s what some girls do

Then they discover boys

The end

                                ~ Elizabeth Guy

“If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!”
― J.M. Barrie

     Childhood is all too brief, at least from the standpoint of parents.  But I remember as a child it seemed to stretch all too long, and I was always anxious for it to end.  I wanted to grow up.  I wanted to be tall, not small.  I wanted to know everything, like grownups did.  Boy!  Was I in for a surprise! 

     One of life’s great discoveries upon achieving “adulthood” was that we not only didn’t have all the answers, we didn’t even seem adequately prepared for the “test.”  There was so much more to be learned – a whole lifetime of learning ahead.  What could be more exciting? 

     And even though I’m in my eighth decade, I’m still not quite finished growing up.  There are many more trees for me climb.  You really can’t beat the view from up there.

What trees have you climbed lately?

  Coming next week...

Table Set in a Garden - painting by Pierre Bonnard, c.1908

 

Also, visit my co-author's blog at http://hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com

See his ten-part series on photo prompts to inspire writing at http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/

And Don’t Miss…

            English teacher Mara Dukats and writer-photographer Cynthia Staples’ poems “white on white” and “The Absence of Color.” They’re in Part Four of Hank Kellner’s  twelve-part series THE POWER OF PHOTOS TO INSPIRE WRITING at the Creativity Portal  website http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/hank-kellner/using-poems-and-photos-to-inspire-writing-part-4/,  as well as Anna J. Small’s writing assignment in "Viewing and Writing about Photos from Around the World"

            Also, read more about Reflect and Write in the SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL http://www.slj.com/2013/03/curriculum-connections/meeting-the-ccss-through-poetry-professional-shelf/

Another Helpful Source for Inspiration

For more photos and information not included in this blog, please visit http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013), 153 pages, $24.95.

Pictures & Paintings to inspire writing - a Monet-inspired memoir

Any picture can inspire a story

 

I have long been a lover of Monet’s art.  I cannot see his paintings without my mind wandering down lanes of discovery.  Sometimes they lead me to research the specific painting, sometimes they provoke questions about Monet himself.  But almost always they inspire me to write about my own responses to them.  For me, Monet’s paintings are always lyrical, and seem to lend themselves to poetry. 

Consider the painting below. The Magpie was painted in the winter of 1868-1869 while Monet and his family were residing on the coast of Normandy in Etretat.  I think of Monet alone, out braving the snowy winter cold, capturing the light and shadow on his canvas, rapt in a fever of creativity.  I can nearly feel the crisp edge of frosted air that bites his fingers.  And my mind drifts back to memories of my own.

Monet painting - The Magpie

 

Reflections on a Winter Painting

I saw a winter painting and I smiled.

Then once again my brother lived—

tall and strong, he pulled the sled

when I was just a little child.

           

Trees black laced against                                                                                    

an orange smear of sunset,                                                                  

the evening star a diamond in the dusk.

Below, the crunch of snow beneath the runners,

toes numb in buckled boots,

frozen misted breath, and mittens caked with ice,

riding like a small princess across a frozen tundra.

Home at last!

Stomping, laughing, pulling off our coats,

breathing in the kitchen’s fragrant warmth,

fingers tingling underneath the tap.

Winter memories of my brother.

Rest in peace my childhood knight,

and angels guard your soul.

Now the rising pearl of moon

casts its ghostly pale

upon my withered lawn.

Frost lies everywhere—

like fairy dust turned cold.

                         ~Elizabeth Guy

“Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.”  - John Boswell

So, my thanks to Claude Monet for a sentimental journey and a bittersweet memory that has me smiling through some tears—perhaps more precious for all of that.
 

Do you have pictures that inspire your memories?

Coming next week...                                         

Men don't understand women!

Also, visit my co-author's blog at http://hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com.  See his ten-part series on photo prompts to inspire writing at http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/

 And Don’t Miss…

             English teacher Mara Dukats and writer-photographer Cynthia Staples’ poems “white on white” and “The Absence of Color.” They’re in Part Four of Hank Kellner’s  twelve-part series THE POWER OF PHOTOS TO INSPIRE WRITING at the Creativity Portal  website http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/hank-kellner/using-poems-and-photos-to-inspire-writing-part-4/,  as well as Anna J. Small’s writing assignment in "Viewing and Writing about Photos from Around the World."

            Also, read more about Reflect and Write in the SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL http://www.slj.com/2013/03/curriculum-connections/meeting-the-ccss-through-poetry-professional-shelf/

 

                A Helpful Source for Inspiration

For more photos and information not included in this blog, please visit http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013), 153 pages, $24.95.

A Photo, a Poem ~ and a happy chair!

If one picture is worth a thousand words,

can one picture inspire a thousand words?

Oh, easily!  In fact, I think a picture could inspire a thousand words more readily than a question would.  Pictures by their very nature stimulate the imagination.  They provoke a response in any language.  They provide an instant connection.  They pop!

When I’m searching for inspiration for a poem, I often find it in photographs.  In fact when I’m not searching for inspiration, but am trying instead to sort my boxes of family photos which stretch back for generations, so many writing ideas begin swirling into my head I could never put them all down on paper.  My own photos have volumes to tell.  It’s exhausting.

Sometimes it’s simpler to focus on someone else’s photos and pick one that “speaks” to me—like this one from Hank Kellner’s collection.  I came upon it unexpectedly there among so many other street scenes.  As if by magic then, the photo just spoke a poem right onto the page.

Imagine walking down a city street, people passing by without eye contact, everyone intent upon their own business.  One could feel almost invisible on a busy city street.  And then you come across something as whimsical and charming as this chair.  It smiles at you as if it were a friend.  How could I possibly resist it?  Why would I want to?

"A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin: what else does a man need to be happy?"            ~Albert Einstein

A Happy Chair 

Behold, a happy chair!

Were I to rest upon it

Surely warmth would fill me.

Surely all my cares

Would disappear

Dissolve into the smile

That seeped right through me.

I could be a little child

Again

If only for little while

And then,

Restored, renewed, refreshed

I could continue on.

            ~Elizabeth Guy

When I’m feeling down, or tired, or worried – or just plain old – I think about that happy chair.  And the smile does indeed seep right through me. 

Do you have a picture that always brings a smile to your face?

Coming next week...                                   

“The Magpie” by Monet inspires a poem

Also, visit my co-author's blog at http://hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com.  See his ten-part series on photo prompts to inspire writing at http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/

  

And Don’t Miss…

             English teacher Mara Dukats and writer-photographer Cynthia Staples’ poems “white on white” and “The Absence of Color.” They’re in Part Four of Hank Kellner’s  twelve-part series THE POWER OF PHOTOS TO INSPIRE WRITING at the Creativity Portal  website http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/hank-kellner/using-poems-and-photos-to-inspire-writing-part-4/,  as well as Anna J. Small’s writing assignment in "Viewing and Writing about Photos from Around the World"

            

           Read more about Reflect and Write in the SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL http://www.slj.com/2013/03/curriculum-connections/meeting-the-ccss-through-poetry-professional-shelf/

                        A Helpful Source for Inspiration

For more photos and information not included in this blog, please visit http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013), 153 pages, $24.95.

Why Him? In photos, poetry and prose

Every photo tells a story...

...and here's one of mine.

 

More and more in my travels here and abroad, I see young couples entangled in a romantic embrace, lip-locked like barnacles to the hull of a ship.  It’s sometimes quite bemusing.  Often I wonder, “What does she see in him?”

My co-author, Hank Kellner, who frequently travels with me, loves to do street photography and has amassed albums of his work.  I enjoy leafing through those images and choosing one or another to inspire a poem or a story.

Take for instance this couple, caught by Hank Kellner’s lens, exchanging a kiss along one of the river walks that edge the shores of New York City.  The following photo and poem combination appears in our book, Reflect & Write (Prufrock Press, 2013).  And, for anyone not familiar with the name Zac Efron, feel free to substitute the name of any man whose mere physical countenance makes women sigh with longing and get all starry-eyed and tingle-toed.

“Anyone who’s a kisser I’m always interested in.”  - Cher

No Zac Efron

He’s no Zac Efron

I’m sure you’d agree,

But he’s kind of cute I think.

With a slow easy smile

That’s part of his style

And a little “come here” wink.

His tattoos cover much that’s not seen

But at least there’s no ring in his nose.

‘Though his brain’s not too keen,

If you know what I mean,

And he favors the oddest of clothes,

Yet, he’s the one I chose.

I don’t understand it myself.

I guess the answer is this—

‘Though he belches and scratches and snores,                                                  

Often sucks his teeth with a hiss,

When he takes me in his arms

I simply cannot resist,

As he lowers his lips to mine—

Oh my!  He can certainly kiss!

                        ~Elizabeth Guy

Ah yes, Spring is in the air, the pheromones flying everywhere!  Even old codgers are not immune. 

I remember several years ago when a widowed friend became romantically involved with a gentleman, and their relationship turned serious.  Her son asked her, “Why him, Mom?”  She told me afterwards in confidence, “I really couldn’t explain it at the time.  I mean, you can’t tell your son something like, ‘Well, when he kisses me I melt like an ice cream pop in a steam room!’”

Do you have any photos that inspire you to write?

Coming next week~                   

What is this boy thinking?

 

Also, visit my co-author's blog at http://hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com

See his ten-part series on photo prompts to inspire writing at http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/

And Don’t Miss…

            English teacher Mara Dukats and writer-photographer Cynthia Staples’ poems “white on white” and “The Absence of Color.” They’re in Part Four of Hank Kellner’s  twelve-part series THE POWER OF PHOTOS TO INSPIRE WRITING at the Creativity Portal  website http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/hank-kellner/using-poems-and-photos-to-inspire-writing-part-4/,  as well as Anna J. Small’s writing assignment in "Viewing and Writing about Photos from Around the World"

            Also, read more about Reflect and Write in the SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL http://www.slj.com/2013/03/curriculum-connections/meeting-the-ccss-through-poetry-professional-shelf/

                          A Helpful Source for Inspiration

For more photos and information not included in this blog, please visit http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013), 153 pages, $24.95.

Pictures, Poems, Prose and Picket Fences

If one picture is worth a thousand words, can one picture inspire a thousand words?

Photo by Hank Kellner

“I can't give you the white picket fence, and if I did, you'd set it on fire.”
― Ilona Andrews, Magic Bleeds

Who would?  Not me.

Something in me loves a white picket fence!  Oh, I know the white picket fence is seen by some as symbolic of the ideal American middle-class life—a family and children, a comfortable house and peaceful living.  What’s not to love?

But for me, it’s something more.  I cannot pass a white picket fence without getting a kind of quiet thrill.  It’s a personal enthusiasm, a sort of excitement. 

It all began when I was quite young—perhaps eight or nine years old.  Up the street from our house there was a little cottage.  In front, a white picket fence that held back a profusion of colorful blooms.  The daughter of the house was perhaps six years older than I, and very beautiful—like a delicate flower fairy.  I was enchanted. She treated me fondly, like an adoring older sister.  (My own did not!) 

As these things go, time passed, and of course we went our separate paths.  But for me, that white picket fence that surrounded Laura’s yard became a symbol of enchantment, a promise of wonderful things to come. 

Years later, I discovered that my husband shared my fondness for picket fences and the dreams they conjured.  When he read the poem “Warning” by Jenny Joseph—the one which starts, “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple / With a red hat….”, my husband said to me, “I want to grow old with you, so we can run our sticks along a picket fence.”  And so it was that this picture of a white picket fence called to my poet’s muse.

Along a picket fence

We ran our sticks along a picket fence

I dreamt of growing old along with you

But fate surprised us both and changed the path

Along which both of us had gaily run.

Now that fence grows older dear than you

Since you were torn untimely from the world

And so I travel lonely down this path

That echoes faintly with your well-loved laugh

Three score of years have passed since we were wed

A score since I have traveled here alone

Who knows how many years I may have left

Before our paths again become as one

                                                ~ Elizabeth Guy

In my book Reflect & Write (Prufrock Press, 2013), another writer’s inspiration produced an entirely different poem coupled with the same picket fence photo.  The poem “picket fences” by Laurel Guido, a 17-year-old student contributor from Lake Bluff, Illinois, uses the unexpected image of a picket fence to which she compares her young love. 

What do picket fences mean to you?

 Coming next week ~                    

Why him?

Also, visit my co-author's blog at http://hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com

See his ten-part series on photo prompts to inspire writing at http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/

                     Another Helpful Source for Inspiration

For more photos and information not included in this blog, please visit http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013), 153 pages, $24.95.

A Photo and a Poem - One woman's recipe

"Words and pictures can work together to communicate more powerfully than either alone."

~William Albert Allard, American Photographer

Oh, I agree!  Combinations of pictures and words are designed to communicate ideas.  Those ideas can inspire your writing.  Consider the following example.  You could probably sit right down and produce a volume of writing about this combination of a photo, a poem, and a couple of quotes.  Consider it a triple whammy!

“Ah, yes, divorce... from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man's genitals through his wallet.” ~ Robin Williams

 Celebration

“It was a friendly divorce,”

she said.

She raised her glass

and laughed,

“I got  –  the house

               the money     

               the car

               and the kids

He got – the marmalade cat

               and the shaft.”

 

                       

 

”He taught me housekeeping — when I divorce I keep the house.”

~ Zsa Zsa Gabor

     Let’s face it. Sometimes life gets so bad, you just have to laugh.  Or kill yourself.  Personally, I recommend the former.  Divorce, of course, has been around for a long time.  Voltaire, the French writer, philosopher and playwright known for his wit, opined over two hundred years ago, "Divorce is probably of nearly the same date as marriage.  I believe, however, that marriage is some weeks the more ancient."

     Of course, back in Voltaire’s day divorce was not so common.  Nowadays, divorce seems to be the norm.  But anyone going through it probably feels like a walking cliché.  How appalling.

     I hate to admit it, but it’s all grist for the writer’s mill.  So, here's my recipe:  Take one divorce, add a cupful of humor, and a cupful of belief in a better tomorrow.  Voila!  Lemonade!  (This is actually my mother's recipe.  She kept it in a lidded box along with some doilies.)

Have you ever used artistic expression to deal with tragic loss?

Coming next week ~

Run a stick along a picket fence

Be sure to visit my co-author's blogs at hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com
See his ten-part series on photo prompts to inspire writing at http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/

Another Helpful Source for Inspiration

For more photos and information not included in this blog, please visit http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013), 153 pages, $24.95.