Currently

Today’s Slice of Life at TwoWritingTeachers.org

Today was one of those days. So many things going on, but nothing happened that motivated me to take pen to paper, or fingers to the keyboard. So, instead, I’ll just tell a few of the random activities of my day.

It’s the five-day period at Ethical ELA called Open Write. Teacher-poets write poems each of the days and post them, commenting on each others. Today’s prompt was “The ‘Re’ in Relationships.” Andy Schoenborn challenged us to write a poem about reconnecting, reprioritizing, or reinvesting in a relationship of our choice.

I was not at all taken by the prompt today, so I looked for a form to try. I found something called Ae Freislighe and tried it. I tried writing about my dear friend who was the maid-of-honor at my wedding, but with whom I have been sorely out of touch. I would love to reminisce and laugh with her again in person.

An extrovert dynamo
You were my “dating” teacher
Showing me moves apropos
Did you ask, “how’ll I reach her?”

Standing up in our fun weddings
We’ve lived in many locales
Now, four decades’ unthreading
A chance to build our morales

Let’s spend the day together
Life’s big events we’ll compare
Is it foul or fair weather?
We won’t even be aware

From morning ‘til evening prayer
We will sit in the kitchen
Love and hate from anywhere
We will stoke each other’s bitchin’

However, I am not inspired at all about this prompt or my silly attempt. It’s just been a weird day for writing.

An update on my singing lessons. A month ago I signed up for Zoom singing lessons through our church skills classes. At the time I wasn’t even sure I would have courage to go to the first class. Now, tomorrow I will have my fifth and final lesson for this session. My teacher asked us to send a video of ourselves singing the song we chose (mine was Happy Birthday, but she did have me pick a second one so I wouldn’t get bored). The second song I’m singing is “Do, Re, Mi” from Sound of Music. I thought maybe I could learn more about notes by singing that song. Go figure. I didn’t really, but today I sent her a video of myself singing. It was painful. I can hear the mistakes, but I have no way to figure out how to tell my mouth, throat, diaphragm, lungs, whatever, to sing the correct notes. I have learned some good things, though. First, I have become braver. (I sent that video of me singing!!) Second, I have definitely learned some basics and improved my singing. Third, I learned that singing is work and good singing is a skill that people work hard at.

We are starting to work on getting ready to go back to school. I will actually be the substitute for the teacher who is replacing me. She can’t come to Bahrain yet, and I can’t leave due to Covid, so we are being partners. She’ll teach the online kids and I will teach the students who choose in-person instruction. But really, who knows what will happen between now and in two weeks when school is supposed to start.

I did have one success today in the kitchen. I surprised my husband with his favorite green curry with paneer. He said it was the best I’ve made so far.

7 thoughts on “Currently

  1. I love the pastiche approach to today’s post. Frankly the poem alone would have been the sole (soul?) of any post. It is so sweet. Love the “Weddings/unthreading” rhyme and verse! Also, I was singing on the beach yesterday and after the Monkees “I Wanna Be Free” I moved to Sound of Music, “You Are Sixteen” and “Do Re Mi,” so there’s that synchronicity from a continent away.

    1. I had totally forgotten, “I Wanna Be Free!” Thanks for bringing so many memories to mind!

    2. Oh, my, Patricia, I love that you were singing on the beach! I still sing in my bathroom and at my dining room table when my husband is not around.

      I can’t believe I had not really remembered the song “I Wanna Be Free.” Yours and Marilyn’s comments made me look it up and listen to it this morning! Thank you for sharing. (Now I’m singing along to “Daydream Believer.”

  2. Denise,
    We’re on a similar wave-length today. I’ve struggled to write poetry this month. Yesterday’s prompt is the only one I felt motivated to attempt. I’m still toying w/ writing a poem this evening. My favorite line in yours is “We will stoke each other’s bitchin’” as this is an important part of friendship. I baked a cake today, which I’m sure shocked my husband since I baked cookies a few days ago. That shocked him, too. I giggled at your song choices. What does “Make a joyful noise unto the lord all ye saints” mean for those of us who struggle holding a note? Loved that anecdote.

    1. Glenda, thanks so much for your lovely thoughts. These times are surely unprecedented, aren’t they? Yes, that “joyful noise” verse has often sustained me over the years, and now even more so, I guess. Since I used to do so much lip syncing when singing at church, maybe now I will be free to belt out my noise a little more from the pews.

  3. So many things to celebrate – your new poem form, your poem, your singing, your cooking, your teaching! You got this!

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