Elizabeth Steinglass

Earth Day

I’m done with this desk
and tapping on keys,
looking through windows,
watching the breeze.

Today is a day
for dancing with trees,
singing to clouds,
and following bees.

April 22, 2015/5 Comments/by lsteinglass

Today our classroom is the Chesapeake.
The dock is our desk.
We read the water,
combing the pages
for blue crabs, grass shrimp, and plankton.
We stand on the map
we studied at school.
Diagrams we labeled
wriggle in our hands.
Our socks are wet.
Our hands are red and chapped.
We shiver in the wind
that blows across the bay
as memories nestle in our heads
like mud crabs among oysters.
Today our classroom is the Chesapeake.
Our teacher is the world.

We had a great day at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. We combed oyster bars for mud crabs and grass shrimp. We checked the turbidity, salinity, and pH of the water. We seined and checked crab pots and looked at plankton under microscopes. It was a great day of learning and we weren’t near any desks.

April 21, 2015/1 Comment/by lsteinglass

younger kids

Far Away Friends

When I see the stars,
you see the sun,
but we both remember
our long days of fun.

When I see the sun,
you see the stars,
but distance can’t end
a friendship like ours.

I may live here,
and you may live there,
but we will be friends
no matter the where.

I’m stepping away from my desk for a moment. A friend asked me for a poem for her son because his best friend is moving to Shanghai. I couldn’t easily find one (suggestions welcome!) so I wrote this for them.

April 20, 2015/8 Comments/by lsteinglass

Uncategorized

Desk Clock

61Xj9NP3DNL._SY355_

Desk Clock

Tick, tock, tick, tock
Chatter the teeth of the big yellow clock,

Tick, tock, tick, tock
Or the spines of a porcupine knitting a sock,

Tick, tock, tick, tock
Or the nails of a grizzly bear picking a lock,

Tick, tock, tick, tock
Or the claws of a lobster repairing the dock,

Tick, tock, tick, tock
Or the feet of an ant highway transporting stock.

Tick, tock, tick, tock
My new teacher gave me this big yellow clock,

Tick, tock, tick, tock
To help me work faster, but I think it might not.

Maybe this works for some kids, but it didn’t help mine.

April 19, 2015/4 Comments/by lsteinglass

Uncategorized

Compass

This one pirouettes on pointe, tracing a graceful circle,
until my hand wobbles, wrecking its penciled orbit.

Where’s the one that will take me straight home—without going in circles?

This is my first sijo, a Korean form consisting of three lines of 14-16 syllables. The first line introduces a concept, the second develops it, and the third incorporates a twist. In some ways it is like a haiku but it allows the use of metaphor and other literary devices. The longer lines also give the writer more room to breathe. Tricia of The Miss Rumphius Effect featured sijo earlier in the month in her National Poetry Month series Jumping into Form.

April 18, 2015/2 Comments/by lsteinglass

Uncategorized

Note

He left me a note.
It only says “Hi,”
but I don’t care.
My heart hugs the sky!

April 17, 2015/4 Comments/by lsteinglass

all ages

Stolen

It wasn’t mine.
It isn’t.
I didn’t mean to steal it.
It was so soft
and small enough
to fit in the bed
of my hand.
I hid it
in my desk,
but now I wish
I hadn’t.
What used to be
my secret prize
feels like a hole
in my stomach.

For more poetry visit Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge for this week’s Poetry Friday round up.

April 16, 2015/14 Comments/by lsteinglass

Uncategorized

Sitting Down to Write

I can’t find
my thoughts–
cluttered desk

sparkling surfaces–
nothing left to do
but write

These two are for anyone who’s sat down to write and then cleaned their room, or the whole house, instead.

April 15, 2015/7 Comments/by lsteinglass

Uncategorized

Scissors

photo-344

Scissors

I try to follow
the model black lines.
I try to trace
their shape.
But what can I do
with my fingers tied,
roped together
like we’ve done
something wrong,
my acrobat hands
crammed into claws
that pinch and gnaw
the paper?
Everyone else
makes a smooth-edged
masterpiece.
All I get is a ruffled, crumpled mess.