Whispers from the Ridge
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Peek inside my notebook
  • Teaching the Writer

New Year's Tidings: Meander while writing

12/29/2017

12 Comments

 
Picture
Happy last few days of the year Poetry Friday friends! It has been a year filled with unexpected twists and turns. I wish you all a marvelous new year filled with much laughter and writing! Don't miss stopping over at Heidi's space My Juicy Little Universe, for the last round-up of the year.

For me, this year has been filled with lingering happiness and unexpected sadness. As I look back on a year gone by, I remember all the opportunities and changes that were brought into my life. I think about what was gained and what was lost. I let go and let it pass. I say goodbye to all that must fall away, and hello to a year brimming with new hope on the rise. May the dawning of this new year bring you blessings of health and good cheer! 

New Year’s Tidings
The smell from the kitchen of fresh baked bread and black-eyed peas to ring in the new
year, a celebration of the old one as it passes, never to bring back the hours, those soon
to be forgotten. January winds will blow; now come the days by the fireplace glow and
days with the promise of snow. So tonight, tuck the memories away. Say goodbye to the
old year passing. Raise a glass and make a toast to all your dreams and hopes. Listen as
the chimes ring out: Here’s to a new year without any doubt and all the good things it
brings about.
© Kiesha Shepard

Picture
Dawn on a frosty morning-photo by Kiesha Shepard
And because I follow the moon in all its glorious phases, I had to share this photo of a Wolf Moon over the ridge. A January full moon is known as a Wolf Moon for obvious reasons. Stand outside on some cold January night, and you can hear the wolves howling at the moon. This year, we're in for a real treat as we will see not one, but two full moons in January. When you have two full moons in one month, it's called a Blue Moon. That means the full moon on January 1st and January 31st will be both a Wolf Moon and a Blue Moon. You can bet I'll be writing a super-duper blue wolf moon poem in honor of this momentous occasion!
Picture
January Wolf Moon on The Ridge- photo by Kiesha Shepard

Invitation to Write:

Spend some time thinking about the events in the past year. Reread some of your notebook entries across the span of the year. What do you notice? Write whatever thoughts come to my mind. Allow your thoughts to meander through the past and drift into the future. Many realizations can come to us when we write in this way. May you find the answers to many of your dreams and aspirations in your writing this year!
12 Comments

Pony: A Resolution Poem

12/22/2017

8 Comments

 
Picture
Happy Poetry Friday! Thanks for stopping by the ridge this holiday weekend. For more of the poetry festivities, visit Buffy's space HERE. I wish all of you a joyful holiday!
​
This week, I am sharing a poem of resolution. When we make a resolution, we make a firm decision to do something or not to do something. In my experience, it is much easier for me to make a resolution than it is to keep it. I tend to be wishy-washy when it comes to making definitive decisions sometimes. I find myself resolving to do things that may be too far off in the distance to settle on so intently. Instead, I resolve to do better at setting my sights on doing and caring for things that are already in my current reality. Our sweet pony reminded me of this, each time I failed to acknowledge him when he stuck out his nose for me to give him a touch or a tickle. He made me realize, I must do better. Time must stand still for all the good in my life; all that is waiting to be seen.
Picture

Invitation to Write:

Have you ever made a resolution? If so, take some time to write them down in your notebook or write down a new one. Writing poems of resolution can help you stay focused and committed to what's important to you. 
8 Comments

The Snow-Unexpected Invitations

12/7/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
Welcome, Poetry Friday friends! For more invitations to read and write poetry, visit Lisa at Steps and Staircases. She's hosting the round-up party today.
​
The snow we got here on the ridge last night certainly offered an enchanting yet unexpected invitation to write. In my part of Texas, a snowfall is a rare and blissful experience. It was a delightful invitation to change this poem's original repetitive refrain from "The cold is coming" to "The snow is coming."
Picture

Invitation to Write:

Sometimes, invitations to write can surprise us by showing up in the most unlikely places or at times when we least expect it. Where do you find unexpected invitations to write? Take some time to make a list in your notebook. Pull it out some snowy day (if only in your imagination) and let its gentle invitation guide you to all kinds of unexpected writing possibilities.  
1 Comment

    Author

    Welcome! I'm Kiesha Shepard, and I have a love for writing and the teaching of writing. Whispers From the Ridge is a place where I can share my words and ideas for teaching writing. It's also a place for you to find inspiration for writing the words inside of you. I invite you into my world of writing as I capture the whispers from the ridge.

    Picture
    Picture

    Follow by Email

    Subscribe to Whispers from the Ridge - Blog by Email
    Subscribe to Newsletter

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    February 2023
    November 2021
    September 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

    Categories

    All
    Animal Poems
    Autumn Poems
    Bird Poems
    Collecting Around A Topic
    Color Poems
    Concrete Poems
    Conversations With Nature
    Craft
    CSISD Writing Project
    Drafts
    Found Poems
    Friendship Poems
    Haiku
    Insect Poems
    Invitations To Write
    Line Breaks
    List Poems
    Magnet Topics
    National Poetry Month
    Observations To Consider
    Poem In Your Pocket Day
    Poems
    Poems About Flowers
    Poems About Hope
    Poems About Objects
    Poems About Places
    Poems About Science
    Poems About Serious Topics
    Poems About Sounds
    Poems About The Moon
    Poems About The Ocean
    Poem Songs
    Poems With Alliteration
    Poems With A Resolution
    Poems With Expressive Emotions
    Poems With Magic
    Poems With Repetition
    Poetry Challenges
    Poetry Friday
    Power Of Three Poem
    Progressive Poem
    Response Poems
    Revision
    Rhyming Poems
    Sensory Poems
    Spring Poems
    Summer Poems
    White Space
    Winter Poems
    Wonder Poems
    Writer's Notebook
    Writer's Tools
    Writing Life
    Writing Process
    Writing Spaces
    Writing Times

    Picture
    Click to learn about Poetry Friday!

    Schedule of Round Up:

    July
    2    Laura at Laura Shovan
    9    Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
    16  Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
    23  Kat at Kathryn Apel
    30  Becky at Sloth Reads
    August
    6   Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
    13 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
    20 Carol at The Apples in My Orchard
    27 Elisabeth at Unexpected Intersections
    September
    3   Heidi at my juicy little universe
    10 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
    17 Denise at Dare to Care
    24 Laura at Laura Purdie Salas
    October
    1   Catherine at Reading to the Core
    8   Irene at Live Your Poem
    15 Bridget at wee words for wee ones
    22 Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup
    29 Linda at TeacherDance
    November
    5   Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
    12 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
    19 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
    26 Ruth at there is no such thing as a God-forsaken town
    December
    3   Michelle at Michelle Kogan
    10 Cathy at Merely Day by Day
    17 Jone at Jone Rush MacCulloch
    24 Buffy at Buffy Silverman
    31 Carol at Carol's Corner

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Kristine Paulus, Ryan Hodnett, Marie Hale, gurdonark, btrentler, Kelly Colgan Azar, jeffreyw, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Peek inside my notebook
  • Teaching the Writer