Howdy, Poetry Friday friends! Thanks for stopping by and visiting me at the ridge where I am writing up a storm about birds while I wait for my favorite spring birds, the Purple Martins, to arrive. While I'm rounding up poems about birds, our friend Karen Edmisten is rounding up words for our round up today. Thanks for hosting, Karen!

Waiting sure is hard sometimes, especially when you want something really bad. For the past couple of weeks, I have been patiently waiting for my Purple Martin bird friends to return. With each passing day, my mind becomes and more consumed with worry that they might not return. Lucky for me, I know what to do while I'm waiting. I write! I write about other bird friends and animal friends that I love. I write about hopes, fears, and things I hold dear. I write about lots of things. Words can be great friends that help to pass the time away through all that waiting.

I have hope that the Martins will arrive, but until they do, I keep writing! After all, I have so many words that want to sprout wings and fly out into the world each day.   

There are times and even places where we tend to spend a lot of time waiting. You might wait in line at a grocery store or at a drive through restaurant. You might even spend time waiting at an airport, subway station, or a doctor's office. So what do you do while you are waiting? Perhaps you read a book or spend time on your phone. Do you write? Writers, my hope for you today and everyday is that you find those spaces in the seams of your life to write. Think of all the words that are waiting to be written!  

Happy Poetry Friday! This week I am full of hope as I wait for my bird friends, the Purple Martins, to return to the ridge for the nesting season. I do hope that you enjoy your visit and that you will mosey over to Check it Out where Jone is hosting today's round-up. 

Every year in late February, I sit on my front porch with my eyes to the sky. I listen, and I wait for the Purple Martins to return to their summer home here on the ridge. These magnificent birds return to North America each year from their winter homes in South America. They are brilliant acrobats in flight who often depend on humans to provide housing throughout the nesting season.

As a bird enthusiast, I have always had a fascination with these enchanting birds. My grandfather always put up houses for them, and after he passed away, I decided to become a Martin landlord myself. Something about their song and general presence gives me hope. The kind of hope that returns again and again without fail. The kind of hope that endures.

I think that this poem by Emily Dickinson speaks of such hope. I just love the way this poem immediately pulls me in because of its reference to a bird, which is a recurring magnet topic for me as writer, and then within those first few lines, totally flips the way I typically think about writing about the birds I love. There is much that we can learn as writers when we flip our magnet topics over and write from the other side.     

Hope is the thing with feathers
by Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb from me.

Here are a few poems that I have written about the Purple Martins. I will continue to write about them in hopes of their swift return. 

Writers write a lot about the magnet topics they feel drawn to. Once these topics find their way into a writer's heart, they tend to stick around in the writer's thoughts for safe keeping. Then, just when a writer needs them the most, they flip themselves over to reveal another side or another way of thinking about the topic. Take a moment to think about a magnet topic that sticks with you always. What might be on the other side of this magnet? Now flip your magnet topic over. What do you see? Are there other sides of this topic to explore?

Oh, happy day! It's Poetry Friday! Find more Poetry Friday goodies at Katie's space The Logonauts. Thanks for hosting, Katie!

This week I am sharing a poem about a topic that I am drawn to and write often about. Having a list of magnet topics can be a great tool to help you jump start your writing. It can also serve as a sounding board to help you figure out what you really want to say.

​Birds are a magnet topic for me because I find myself writing about them over and over again in different ways. All sorts of birds live in my notebook, but one of my very favorites is the chickadee.

Writers often return to topics they care about again and again. Topics are never used up. We can always find something new to say about our magnet topics. Often times, we can count on these go-to topics whenever we feel stuck and can't decide what to write about. Try using one of your magnet topics as a spring board to get your writing flowing today. Stretch yourself to write about your topic in a way you have not done before. Magnet topics can help you attract all kinds of new words and ideas down on paper!

Welcome, Poetry Friday readers! Thanks for visiting me today on the ridge, where I share a wonder poem about how rocks came to be. You can find more poetry wonders this week over at A Penny and Her Jots. Thanks for hosting, Penny!

Friends, have you ever wondered how something came to be? I think about this all the time! It's fun to think of all the possibilities for what makes things the way they are and perhaps even more fun to consider what they could be.

A few weeks ago, my dear friend and fellow teacher Mrs. Mann, posed this statement to her fourth grade students "Every rock has a story. What could it be?" I could see all the wheels turning in her students' heads as they pondered over this idea. What a great thing to wonder about! After that, she proceeded to read them this amazing book A Rock Can Be... by Laura Purdie Salas. Through the book's vivid images and poetically written lines, the students entered a world where they could engage in the wonderment of what a rock can be. This book then served as an anchor text for students as they were each given a rock to observe and create a story or a poem about.

The students were not the only ones eager to take on the exploration of this idea. I couldn't help but join in! I became a rock hunter, searching for rocks all along the ridge. Below are a few of them that I found along with a wonder poem that was inspired by Mrs. Mann's simple truth, "Every rock has a story."   

Writers often think scientifically and creatively about the things they wonder about. What are some things you have observed or noticed lately that you are curious about? Start a list in your notebook. You can use your observations and notes to create stories or wonder poems. You might even choose yourself as your subject of wonder. Don't we all have a story? So what's yours?