Elisabeth Ellington from The Dirigible Plum, introduced me to a form of poetry called Kimo. Writer's Digest explains the Israeli Kimo poem as a variation of Haiku. Like Haiku, it uses three lines without rhyming. However, it uses ten syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and six syllables in the third line. I found this syllable challenge to be inviting.
As I mentioned in this post, we recently had a stunning April snowstorm. It was a record-breaking blizzard, shutting down our city for a few days. Although my children spent a significant amount of time playing in the snow, when they were inside they brought out their Playmobil toys, creating little cities, intricate dialog, and emotion. I was delighted to see their imagination flourish. As I wrote in my writer's notebook mid-Monday morning, my kids played with Playmobil a few feet away, inspiring me to try a Kimo poem:
Indoor Play
Blizzard encouraged indoor sibling play:
Playmobil cities emerge,
Tales animate our home.
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I also wrote another Kimo poem, this one about school. Currently, I am involved in some upcoming programing changes in my high school, directly impacting a course I will teach next year. Although I strongly believe that these changes are necessary for student growth (and something I strongly advocated for), I am reminded that change is not easy.
Change
Program changes prompt discussion, questions.
Unknown challenges ahead.
My anxiety looms.
I like both poems. I haven’t tried Kimo yet. I think I’ve made huge changes every year of my career, which helps explain my exhaustion!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have made changes every single year, but this one will be a big one... however, I do think that it will be best for kids and it will push me to grow to be a better teacher for students, too
DeleteSo glad you tried this form! I really enjoyed it--"inviting" is a good word for it. I have been trying to decide what it's better for than other poems, and I think an intellectual engagement that haiku actually makes fairly difficult, at least for me. There is a little more space for observation AND reflection as well. I also find change anxiety-producing, but I also love to experiment and try totally new things in the classroom. I find that change gives me a lot of energy. I hope that your school's changes will work out for the best for the students and for you!
ReplyDeleteI agree...I think that intellectual engagement is what hooks me to poems like this.
DeleteYou are right, change brings me energy too, and it is how we grow, right?
Enticed by the challenge of a new form
ReplyDeleteThis is not a masterpiece
But it is a Kimo!
Love this response!
DeleteI had never heard of Kimo. I enjoyed reading your creations. I hope the change you are currently in will be easier than you anticipate.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I need to remind myself that change doesn't always come easy or fast...
DeleteBetween you & Elisabeth I'm going to end up trying a kimo. These are both interesting. It seems like the extra syllables give just a little more chance to tie things together after an observation. "Tales animate our home" is a great line to have a general family motto. :)
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I hope that you do AND share it! I would love to see it!
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