women, men,
we are all damaged,
incomplete
married, single,
we are all bound
within ourselves
we might wish
to be other
than we are
but that thread
that is us
governs how we think
we might want
another way,
but not truly
and then
we find the power
within us
and we are bound
to it and it to us
and we are complete
just a single thread
each of us,
yet enough
/ / /
This poem was written in response to Wordle 80 at The Sunday Whirl.
I’m gearing up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). This will be my fifth year participating. I’ve written three novels so far; I didn’t “win” my first year by completing a 50,000-word novel. I’m writing the second in a planned five-book series that I’ve plotted with my boys, ages 8 and 11. I wrote the first book in the series last year. A proof copy of that book is currently going around my classroom; two of my students have read it in the last couple of weeks.
I’ve got a Virtual Classroom on the Young Writers Program website; come check us out. I’ve got twenty (20!) out of thirty-two students who are already signed up on the Young Writers Program website and added to my Virtual Classroom. And I’ve got a former student, one from last year, who is going to write again this year; she is also listed on our Virtual Classroom. My students, current and former, are rewarding my enthusiasm for writing in unexpected, but most joyous, ways.
And I’m fundraising for The Office of Letters and Light, the nonprofit organization that organizes NaNoWriMo and supports the Young Writers Program. I believe in this organization and what they do. I write. I encourage my students to write. My eldest son is planning to write this year. I have classroom materials from the Young Writers Program in my classroom, that I received free of charge. All teachers can order them free of charge. If you could donate a small (or large) amount to The Office of Letters and Light in my name, as part of The Night of Writing Dangerously fundraising event, I would greatly appreciate it.
My friend and colleague, Mike, and I are raising funds for The Office of Letters and Light, so that we can attend The Night of Writing Dangerously. You can find our fundraising page here. We went last year and had a blast. We both wrote novels last year, and helped our students write thousands of words.
Mike and I have both donated. And I want to extend a formal “thank you” to each person who has donated so far: Richard, James, and Paula. Thank you!
I’ll be away from home for three days. We’re taking all the fifth grade students on a three-day, two-night overnight field trip to NatureBridge in the Marin Headlands. We’ll get back on Halloween, in time to go trick-or-treating, but I will be “off the grid” for three days. And then I have to start writing my next novel. Wish me luck!
