Author: Jean S Kahler

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Night Spider’s Advice

by Joyce Sidman, from her book of night poems, Dark Emperor

Build a frame
and stick to it,
I always say.
Life’s a circle.
Just keep going around.
Do your work, then
sit back and see
what falls in your lap.
Eat your triumphs,
eat your mistakes:
that way your belly
will always be full.
Use what you have.
Rest when you need to.
Dawn will come soon enough.
Someone has to remake
the world each night.
It might as well be you.

Photo credit Andy Langager

As we discussed in class:
Please post a comment explaining your favorite part of the poem and what you like about it. Read your classmates’ posts and comment on at least 2-3 of them before class next Thursday.

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First Day Questionnaire

Copy and paste these questions into your comment on this post. Write your answers below each question. See my answers for an example.

After you have submitted your comment, read your classmates’ and comment on at least TWO of their posts. Make sense? Good.

  1. What is your name? What would you like to be called? What pronoun would you like us to use when we refer to you? (For example, common choices include she/her/hers; he/him/his; they/them/theirs.) 
  1. Where are you from?  Where do you live now?
  1. What are you majoring in OR what academic subject do you like best?  What do you like about it?
  1. What do you like to do outside of schoolwork?  What do you like about that?
  1. What do you like about online classes?  What do you hate?
  1. What do you like about writing/English classes?  What do you hate?
  1. What is your favorite book or the best book you’ve read recently?  What do you like about it?
  1. What are your strengths as a writer?  What are your weaknesses?
  1. What are you hoping to learn or get better at this semester? 
  2. Lagniappe <– this is my favorite word.  It means a little extra thing that you get for free when you buy something else.  The thirteenth donut in a baker’s dozen, for instance.  It comes into English from Louisiana Creole French.  It got there from Spanish Creole, and it got to Spanish from Quechua — I love a well-twisted etymology.  (You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagniappe .) So.  Give us a little something extra about you.  Tell us something I didn’t ask.