As kids head back to the classroom, either in person or remotely, one of the best things they can do this fall is spend some time outdoors with a writer’s notebook. If they have phones or other cameras available, challenge them to take a photograph and write a poem about it. Here’s a short poem I wrote in a drizzle of rain on my dock this morning that can be shared as a mentor text.
An Inch of Sunrise
by Kate Messner
There was only an inch of sunrise today.
The murky purple sky turned pink,
And a thin ribbon of gold stretched over the mountains.
It lasted two minutes, maybe three,
Before the sun set backwards into the clouds.
By then it was raining, fat drops falling on my knees
But I stayed until the pink faded again to grey.
I took a photo
Because you never know when you’ll need a sunrise
And even an inch is enough to light a day.
© Kate Messner, 2020
