Searching — an Ekphrastic Poem with the Poetry Princesses [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)

This month, we returned to ekphrastic poems, and Tanita chose our image. I filtered it, but you can see the original here.  I was looking at it on my phone, and I couldn’t see what was inside that blue round thing. It just looked like a gaping hole, and the colors made it look like a globe. It was almost like this girl was trying to dive inside the earth.

Then, when I filtered it, the telephone (I think?) inside it was more noticeable. I loved the idea of this little girl stretching up, reaching into the world of technology, hoping to reach a real person. So that’s what I went with. The info provided by the photographer is in another language, and I didn’t read it or translate it, so I just wrote strictly based on how the image itself hit me.

Searching - Ekphrastic Poem - Poetry Princesses

I’m writing this post in advance, since I’m going to be off the grid for a bit. But make sure to see what everyone else has come up with, too! These links will take you to their sites/blogs.

Kelly
Liz

Sara 
Tanita 
Tricia
Andi

 

Click here to see all our previous Poetry Princesses collaborations. 

And don’t forget to visit the Poetry Friday Roundup, hosted today by teacher and poet Heidi Mordhorst. She always has something wonderful to share!

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

10 Responses

  1. The “church of numbers”!!! Y’know what I love about this? We talk so often now about the damages wrought by technology but this poem acknowledges that it can also be a way to connect, to reach one another.…

  2. Oh, the church of numbers has its own holiness — what a wonderful turn of phrase, all that encoded and real numbering — the realness of punching a number and having the line connect. Such a tangible thing, whilst reaching for the intangible… this is just lovely.

  3. I love this celebration of connection. I remember as a child how exciting it was to talk to my grandmother on the telephone — she lived on the other side of the world, but thanks to the telephone I could tell her all about my science fair project as if she lived next door. 🙂

  4. I like “Perched on a whirl of earth.” Makes me think of how we are all perched on our own places on this twirling planet.

  5. All of your “ER” sounds remind me of the sound of the rotary phones I grew up with. Tricia hears the sound as ch-ch-ch-ch, but our phone was more or an er-er-er-er. (Technical question, is what you did consonance or assonance?)

    1. Yes on the rotary phones! That wasn’t intentional, but now that you point it out…I would classify the /er/ sounds as consonance. I think assonance is JUST the vowel sound being repeated, but if the sound unit includes any consonant, like the /r/ here, then it’s consonance:>) I’ve been out of the country–hope your mom is doing ok!

  6. Wow. I’ve only looked at one other take on this photo, but wow–how different! Love how the filter changed it, how your yellow globe works. AND–it’s almost like you listed in on the conversation this week in 2nd grade about “social media”–we were reviewing the meaning of “social studies.” Together we decided it’s any technology, down to a simple old-fashioned letter, that connects two people with a message. Another person perched…

  7. Amazing how once you filtered the photo you could see the telephone. What can I say, “…church of numbers” such a perfect connection to how we worship our devices. I remember my rotary phone and the sluggish return of each number dialed. There is a clip in the movie Aliens in the Attic that capture modern day kids reaction to the rotary phone…it’s priceless, you can hear the sound perfectly. https://youtu.be/G8v4Ry2qQBI

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,499 other subscribers

Are You Looking For?

Poetry Friday posts

Classroom Connections posts

All my poetryactions

Go to my Poetry page for:

  • National Poetry Month projects through the years
  • Small Reads Roundups (poems grouped by topic)
  • Introductions to several favorite poetry forms
Tags
#waterpoemproject15 Words or Less Poems20for2030 Painless Classroom Poems50 State Poemsacrosticsactivity pagesactivity sheetALAA Leaf Can Be...Amy Ludwig VanDerwaterA Need to FeedanthologiesanthologyA Rock Can Be...art projectsaudiopoemsawardsbad newsBarbara Juster EsbensenBilly Collinsbiopoemsblog tourbookalikesbook festivalsBookSpeak!book spine poemsbook trailersbop poembyr a thoddaidcafepresscalendar poemsCamp Read-a-LotCan Be... bookscan be... poemsCapstoneCarol Varsalonacascade poemsCatherine FlynnCCRA.W.3CCRA.W.4CCRA.W.5centoschapter bookschoral compositionschristina rossetticinquainsCLAclassified ad poemsclassroom connectionclassroom connectionsClover Kittyconferences and conventionscrown sonnetscybilsdansaDare to DreamDavid Elliottdeeper wisdom poemdefinitosdiamantesdiversitydizaindodoitsuDot DayDouglas Floriandownloadablesdrum corpse.e. cummingsekphrastic poemsepistolary poemsequation poemsessentialethereeseventsexquisite corpseFairy Tale Garage Salefamilyfibonaccifiction picture booksfinding familyfirefightersforeign editionsfound poemsfree author zoomsfree versefrom studentsgeesegeorgia heardghazalGift Taggiveawaygolden shovelgoldilocksgratitudehaikuheart of aheart of a teacherHeidi MordhorstHelen FrostHighlightshow-to poemshow to make a rainbowI Am FromI Am poemsidiomsif you want to knit some mittensIf You Were the MoonILAimagepoemsinterviewin the middle of the nightIRAIrelandIrene LathamJ. Patrick LewisJanet WongJoyce SidmanKendraKerlanKidlit Comboslailaura's board booksLaura's booksLaura's poemsLaura's readingsLaura ShovanLee Bennett HopkinsLilian MoorelimericksLinda Booth SweeneyLion of the Skylist poemslittle free librarylive writingLullaby and Kisses Sweetlyricsmadness poetrymargaret simonMarilyn Singermary lee hahnmask poemsMeet My FamilyMelissa StewartMentors for Rentmentor textsmetaphorMichelle Myers LacknerMillbrookMinnesota Book Awardsmoonmy reading lifemy writing processN+7naaninarrative poemsNational Poetry Month 2012 (haiku a day)National Poetry Month 2014 (riddle-ku)National Poetry Month 2015National Poetry Month 2016National Poetry Month 2017 (#wonderbreak)national poetry month 2018 (haiku a day)National Poetry Month 2020National Poetry Month 2021 (#EquationPoem)national poetry month 2022 (sticky-note poems)National Poetry Month 2023 (Digging for Poems)ncteNerdy Book Clubnifty newsnifty stuffNikki Grimesnonfictionnonfiction booksNonfiction Writers Dig Deepnovelsnovels in verseodesOne Minute Till BedtimeoppositifyOskar's VoyagepadletpantoumsparodiesPatreonpeacepersonalpet poemsphotopoetryphrase acrosticspicture booksplagiarismpoempicspoemspoems for two voicespoemsketchpoetic pursuitsPoetry 7poetryactionspoetry activitiesPoetry Blastpoetry booksPoetry FridayPoetry Friday AnthologiesPoetry Princessespoetry promptspoetry sistersPoetry Tips for Teachersprogressive poempublishing processpuddle songPutridquotationsraccontinosRandy Salasread-aloudreadaloudreading poetry in the classroomRebecca Kai Dotlichrecipe poemsrefugeesresearchreviewsrevisionrhyming booksrhyming nonfictionrhyming picture booksRhyming Picture Books the Write Wayrhyming poemsRiddle-kuriddle poemsRock Can Be...Rock the Blogrondeau redoublesRudyard Kiplingsalas snippetsSCBWIschool visitsScotlandseasonssecrets of the loonSELsestinasshrinking daysskinnyskypeslice of lifesmall readssnack snooze skedaddlesnowman-coldsonnetsStampede!storm poemstorytimestorywalkstudent poemsstudent workSylvia VardellTanita Davistankatautogramteachableteacher resourcesteen/adult poemsterza rimasthankfulthank yous and referencesthe business sidethings to do iftracy nelson maurertrioletstunie munson-bensonvideosVikram MadanvillanellevillanellesWater Can Be...wealthy elementaryWe BelongWhat's InsideWhy-kuwinterwonderwonderbreakword of the yearwordplaywordsmithswork for hirewritingwriting bookswriting processwriting promptswriting the life poeticyoung authors conferencesYouTubeZap Clap Boomzenozentangle
Show More Show Less

Join Laura's monthly newsletter for eductators

Get three of Laura's favorite poetry activities when you subscribe to "Small Reads."