Welcome to Poetry Friday, this week hosted hosted by poet Rose Capelli HERE. Thank you, Rose, for hosting. I look forward to what you share. Also I wish all teachers and librarians the best as they begin a new year of teaching. And so are students.
Last week on my neighborhood walk, I passed our local high school and found messages in chalk on the sidewalk. School started this week. These words expresses the hope that beginnings are about, that anyone who has ever begun something, or loved a clean slate, understands. I thought it would be a good phrase for a golden shovel poem.
A NEW SCHOOL YEAR
Everyone hopes for this:
that we might will
this year to be
an unusual one. The
year when the best
of us is revealed and seen. A year
that we might remember forever.
©Janice Scully 2025
As I wrote this I thought of my fifth grade teacher, Mr. Belsten, who saw, I believed, the best in me and encouraged me to read and read.
We could all use a boost of hope given all the worries adults and kids might be sharing this September.
I missed Poetry Friday last week. I’ve catching up with routine appointments that I put off all summer and attending a family wedding, etc. . But I have taken the time here and there to practice painting watercolor birds. I am a total beginner but I have enjoyed these simple exercises. It does give my mind a mini-vacation when I sit and think only of a bird, or the color of feathers.
Chicken, of course.
This hummingbird illustrated what can happen if you paint close to a flower I didn’t let dry enough. I love the colors. Is there a hummingbird that looks like this? I have no idea.
Have a great weekend and I hope you have some lovely fall weather to enjoy, like I do here in Upstate NY. Thank you, Rose, for hosting!
Thank you, Janice, for your lovely poem and for being brave enough to share your paintings and what you are learning. I love your use of color! The teacher in me still resets in September. Here’s hoping for the best in all of us to be revealed.
Your post is a breath of fresh air — a nice respite from all the madness. Enjoyed your hopeful poem and lovely watercolors!
I love how the chalked sidewalk message became the striking line for a poem. The new school year always comes with these high hopes. Your watercolor birds are wonderful. I want to get back to watercolor. You inspire me.
You are kind, Margaret. Actually you inspire me. 🙂
Janice, your art work is lovely with its soft colors. I am glad that you are enjoying watercoloring. The strike line you used is a good mantra for this school year. Positivity is important.
PS: Are you going to NCTE this year? I am looking for a roommate.
Thank you, Carol. NCTE. Where and when is it?
Janice, you provide compelling evidence of your creative processes in this post. The poet as observer is most evident in harnessing an image captured and then incorporated into your writing process. This is a great example of the influence of ‘sparks.’ A stimulus igniting the writing process. Love it! Thank you for also sharing your artistic project. I admire the bravery it takes to venture into new territory. Such a great example to set for others.
How cool that you’re embracing a new creative outlet! Your watercolors are wonderful. Thanks also for crafting a hopeful message for the start of the school year. It’s interesting how you and Tabatha have both written about sidewalk chalk in different yet complimentary contexts.