Tag Archives: poetry

Why I Write

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(January 6th, 2026)

I’ve tried to blog countless times since school started this fall, and well, if I am honest, I’ve felt overwhelmed ever since Charlie Kirk’s tragic death.  There still are no words.  No matter what I have to say, all I could think of is that it could potentially add to the hate, and that would never be my intention.  It isn’t that I didn’t or don’t have anything to say.  No.  Quite the opposite.  I have so much to say that I didn’t know where to begin.  Sometimes, it just comes to you.  Sometimes, you just have to start again.

On rare days as a teacher you may have small wins.  Sometimes a lesson goes particularly well; it may finally “click” for that student you’ve been worried about all school year.  A small victory in the grand scheme of things, but invaluable when you truly care.  It is the same with writing.  There are times where you just have to get it down before it is gone forever.  It may not be perfect, but there is a kernel of truth in there somewhere.  On the rarest of rare occasions, both happen on the same day within the hour.  That was my day today, but first, a little background.

My dream of creating a creative writing club for my students may have started during my years teaching middle school at St. Mike’s, but I had no idea where it would lead.  At St. Mike’s, my teacher bestie Dorri and I teamed up to form a group for students grades 3-8 interested in writing.  We were small but mighty – and we even survived a pandemic.  I wish others could have witnessed the patience that my middle schoolers had with Dorri’s budding 3rd grade authors.  Dorri and I may no longer teach together, but we still bring up the magic that happened during writing club.  In fact, this fall, I learned that one of my former students, one of those patient middle schoolers now a high school senior, will soon have a short story published in an anthology.  He couldn’t be more deserving or have a brighter future.

Last year, my first year as a full-fledged teacher at Michigan Virtual Charter Academy (MVCA) teaching 10th grade high school English, I knew that I wanted to try again.  I wanted to create a creative writing club for our high school.  Throughout the school year, we became a tight knit group of writers who wholeheartedly supported one another.  I hated to see it end. This year, I didn’t know if I could create that atmosphere twice.

Fortunately, I did.  Even though I have an almost entirely new group of students this year, they are just as supportive and passionate about writing.  Above all, they are wonderful writers.  In fact, in addition to sharing what I wrote today during our session, I wish I could share some of my students’ work as well.  They are far more talented than I ever was during my high school years.  It is beautiful to see and gives me so much hope for the future.  Gen Z – and what I’ve witnessed of Gen Alpha – are far more compassionate and understanding than the Gen Xers, Xennials, and Millennials I grew up with.  They seem to grasp just how much damage mere words can do.  They also understand that there is more to life than work, image, and material things.

So, I decided to share with you what I wrote today in the span of twenty minutes.  It is not perfect, but it is a start.  There is something there.  In that same twenty minutes, one of my students created a piece so wonderful that it is begging to be shared.  I am hoping to get at least a paragraph of her work in the yearbook. Yes, 2026 is off to a great start. Today was a good day.

Why I Write …

I write to not be forgotten.

I write to calm the storm and slow down time.

I write to express and gather my thoughts and ideas.

I write to make sense of the chaos trying to drown me.

To create order out of chaos.

I write to explain the inexplicable.

I write to support and inspire others.

I write to find meaning where there is none.

I write to remember what shouldn’t be forgotten.

To capture what could be lost, what shouldn’t be lost.

I write to learn and study.

I write to make connections and share with others.

I write to expand my understanding of everything around me.

I write to learn how to teach others to write, wonder, and explore.

To create, to connect, to describe.

Deer Camp

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Written during the pandemic as an example for a poetry project I assigned my middle school students. They needed to take a line from a favorite song and then use that line to begin a poem.

There are places I remember
Places that hold memories long forgotten
Long shadows, witnesses to the past
Smells that immediately transport me back

Back to a simpler time when we could gather freely
Children could be kids
Adults accepted responsibility
A time when freedom reigned and the republic lived

A black and white portrait here,
Kerosene lanterns afixed to the wall
Polished glass overlooking the cedar swamp
The coziness of a Franklin stove

My sister and I, in curls, smocked dressed, and bows
Polished patent leather shoes and all smiles
Helping mom and grandma prepare Thanksgiving
Waiting for hunters to return and string a buck up on the pole

Living as pioneers until nightfall, the generator roaring to life
The bustle and business of extended family
Cards, laughter, and love
Cousins, forts, and leaves

Memories long buried, decades past
Rising each fall with the smoke from burning leaves

November 1st – Happy National Author’s Day!

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I just found out today is National Author’s Day. How appropriate!  The creative writing club I started at school met this afternoon at the end of the school day.  There is never a dull meeting.  They are so passionate about their interests, including but not limited to writing.  I’ve watched as members have bonded over music and other media.  It is inspiring how they support one another, too.

In the online school environment, there aren’t quite as many opportunities to strike up friendships with classmates as in brick and mortar.  Personally, I think that is why school clubs are so vital in an online school environment.  Last year, my first year teaching online, I watched as students planned for weeks and even months for the in-person prom held at the Lansing Center.  Students attended from all over Michigan. The pictures, conversations, and friendships made that evening were discussed repeatedly as the school year came to a close.  I can only hope that that same can be said when I reflect on the creative writing club at the end of the school year.

In my first year as mentor and creator of the club, I sought to find the best possible resources for aspiring high school writers.  Luckily, my online classroom set aside for our new club allowed me to do just that.  It is now a place where students can collaborate, offer one another and seek encouragement, as well as find resources and inspiration.  I can only imagine if I had had such a resource in high school.  I admit, I’ve had too much fun setting things up.  So far, my entire experience with the creative writing club has underscored the importance of community as a writer.

Face it:  Writing can be lonely work.  Over the years, I’ve always enjoyed meeting other writers.  I can’t imagine where I’d be as a writer without Mid-Michigan Writers.  I’ve learned so much from other members over the years, and I would not have discovered Delta College’s general writing certificate program if I hadn’t attended MMW’s Gateway to Writing workshop with other writers who raved about the experience.  If my students take away anything from our creative writing club, I do hope that they realize the importance of community for writers.  Brainstorming works best with others!  At some point, we could all use a second opinion.  We all have to learn from someone.  I can’t imagine not having my very own community of writers and readers. Happy National Author’s Day!

Oh, and happy first day of NaNoWriMo. IYKYK.