Video

Sensory Detail Walkabout

-Spark-

La Primavera

Pablo Neruda


El pájaro ha venido a dar la luz: de cada trino suyo nace el agua.

Y entre agua y luz que el aire desarrollan ya está la primavera inaugurada, ya sabe la semilla que ha crecido, la raíz se retrata en la corola, se abren por fin los párpados del polen.

Todo lo hizo un pájaro sencillo desde una rama verde.


The Spring

The bird has come to give us light: from each of its trills water is born.

Between water and light, air unfolds. Now the spring’s inaugurated. The seed knows that it has grown the root pictures the flower and the pollen’s eyelids finally open.

All this done by a simple bird on a green branch.


-Prompt-

Take 5-10 minutes to walk around outside. Take notes on everything you see, smell, touch, and hear. Do you smell fresh grass, or wet dirt, or maybe the rose bush nearby? Do you hear birds chirping, kids playing, or maybe even a car zooming by? What colors, textures, and shapes do you note?

Once you’ve gathered your notes, write a poem or story about your experience.

The Sentence Thief

-Spark-

I Opened a Book

Julia Donaldson

I opened a book and in I strode.
Now nobody can find me.
I’ve left my chair, my house, my road,
My town and my world behind me.
I’m wearing the cloak, I’ve slipped on the ring,
I’ve swallowed the magic potion.
I’ve fought with a dragon, dined with a king
And dived in a bottomless ocean.
I opened a book and made some friends.
I shared their tears and laughter
And followed their road with its bumps and bends
To the happily ever after.
I finished my book and out I came.
The cloak can no longer hide me.
My chair and my house are just the same,
But I have a book inside me.”

-Prompt-

Give students 1-2 minutes to select a book at random in the room (there must be text in this book). Once they have chosen their book, have students either

A) Open the book up at random, somewhere in the middle               

OR

B) Open it to the first sentence in the book (which is often amongst the strongest sentences in the book).

Allow students to use this sentence as their prompt. Allow writers to incorporate the sentence into their work; utilize only a phrase, word, or theme from the sentence; or maybe they write what happens next.

Seashells

- SPARK -

I Want to Age Like Sea Glass

Bernadette Noll


I want to age like sea glass.

Smoothed by tides, not broken.

I want to ride the waves, go with the flow and feel the impact of the surging tides.

When I am caught between the rocks and a hard place, I will rest.

And when I am ready, I will catch a wave and let it carry me where I belong.

I want to be picked up and held gently by those who delight in my well-earned patina,

And appreciate the changes I went through to achieve this luster.

I want to enjoy the journey and let my preciousness be, not in spite of the impacts,

But because of them.

I want to age like sea glass.

- PROMPT -