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Friday, February 2, 2024

pssssstt...wanna know a secret?

Greetings, all, and Happy February.  The Inklings are writing about secrets today, which may be the original double-edged sword, invented long before any tempered metal blade. I would love to watch a little home movie of the first moment some humans realized they could, for good or ill, know things that no one else knew, keeping their knowledge to themselves or between themselves and selected others without revealing them to the general public.

And oh, wait--it's occuring to me that THIS may be the real story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and possibly the point of God, to read your mind when your fellow humans can't!  Is it cynical to suggest that God is the original Elf on the Shelf? (Surely that's only one edge of the double-edged sword of the Lord, even so.)

But I digress.  Catherine offered us this challenge which she found in a series of prompts from the Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center in Modesto, CA.

Prompt # 6 (for December 20): Our Lips are Sealed…Or Not

Write a poem about secrets——family, community/societal, governmental, personal, etc.  This could be a narrative (how the secret(s) started, where it or they led, the along-the-way and final (if any) consequences.  For inspiration or starting blocks for your poem, here’s this poem, “Family Secret” by Nancy Kuhl.

I received this brilliant poem in my inbox through Poem-A-Day, so I was thrilled to go in this direction, and did so writing after another Poem-A-Day offering I was taken with: "The Lord's Corner" by Tyree Daye.  Here's mine.




I also got excited about Nancy Kuhl's commentary on her "Family Secret" poem and used it for a blackout poem:


And now, before I point you to the other Inklings and their secrets, I need to share this one by Desi, a 3rd-grader I'm having the deep delight of working with regularly.  Here's her poem from the current issue of WHISPERshout Magazine, which you can find here.




Check out the secrets of the other Inklings below, and thanks to our own Mary Lee (well, YOUR Mary Lee, too--she's very generous with her participation!) for hosting today at A(nother) Year of Reading!

Catherine @ Reading to the Core

Molly Hogan @ Nix the Comfort Zone

Linda Mitchell @ A Word Edgewise

Margaret Simon @ Reflections on the Teche


AND LASTLY!  I must say a resounding THANK YOU to all who sent me such mantel full of lovely New Year's postcards, and to Jone for organizing us!

12 comments:

  1. Your digression made me shake my head and giggle!

    You know how much I love your poem, but the addition of the blackout from her commentary adds so much. Wow.

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  2. Elf on the Shelf, Sword of the Lord! : ) Secret Behind Blueberries is captivating. I wanted to read it again and again to let it roll around in my brain.

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  3. Ha! Adam & Eve...not so great secret keepers. I still love that secret of snow so much.

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  4. Heidi, how you took this prompt to town! I appreciate reading all the connections and reasons for writing and your clever thinking. I laughed at God as the Elf on the Shelf. Desi's poem is precious!

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  5. Heidi, your secret poem and the blackout are in powerful conversation together. Oof. Thank you.

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  6. I love all of these poems! Secrets really brought out all kinds of good poems. I really love the phrase "raindrops easing into the air."

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  7. Oh, the turn in that poem is so powerful and your word choice resonates throughout. The contrast between the first and second half of your poem is so compelling. I also love the poem you excavated from Nancy Kuhl's commentary. It's perfect! And then you toss in the lovely bonus of that snow poem. You're goin' on all cylinders here! PS I'm not sure your God as Elf on the Shelf thinking works, as I frequently thank God that Elf on the Shelf was NOT around when my kids were young!

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  8. I guess the 'secret' of secrets is there are no boundaries around which we can keep those we choose & discard others, maybe for the sake of sanity? I love each one, Heidi, & the personal connections you've made. Tell Desi I loved her observations!

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  9. Your poems are powerful, Heidi. And thanks for including your student's. 3rd grade wisdom - wow.

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  10. Your poem packs a punch, Heidi! That snake, the fear, the contrast with Daye's poem. I'm in awe. Desi's poem is very sweet. She's lucky to have you as a teacher!

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  11. These lines in particular really resonated with me: "you would never know with the words / falling from my hands / that the brightness was all fear."

    Thank you for sharing your inspiration and your poem with us.

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  12. Wow, Daye's poem is so powerful, and so is yours, Heidi. And I love Desi's vision — she sees, as poets do, things that others don't perceive.

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Thanks for joining in the wild rumpus!