Slice of Life #23: Day 22/31: Alone

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 22/31: 

Alone

Yesterday's post really got me thinking about lists. In my writer's notebook, I frequently write lists. I realized that I process so many things in list format. 

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's, Poems Are Teachers, provides an abundance of mentor texts and suggestions for how to craft different poems. It's a wonderful resource. When writing a list poem, VanDerwater reminds readers that lists do not need to be ordered by time. She suggested to first list a group of related words, topics, people, questions. She also reminds writers that often list poems end with some sort of change. 

A mentor poem by Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander's poem is a list poem mentor text in Poems Are Teachers. The repetition of the word alone stuck with me all day. It made me think about when I was a young mother with two small children. Although I cherished spending time with my children, I was often exhausted and barely got a break. Periodically, I fantasized of time on my own. When I first separated from my then husband and had to get used to seeing my kids only 50% of the time, I had to quickly adjust to spending time on my own - something that I had once yearned for. Those first few months were so challenging. After three and a half years, I still have many moments of feeling sad when I am without my kids, but I manage it much better now. 

Here's a list poem to describe my time when I am alone:  

When I'm Alone

I read,

crochet,

linger on walks,

dance while doing dishes,

make dinners with black olives and mushrooms,

watch edgy shows and dramas,

spend time with my boyfriend,

blast my music,

go thrifting,

and miss my 

children

deeply.