Pulling on a Line: A Celebration of Mary Lee Hahn

 

 

I once told Mary Lee Hahn that I loved how she managed to live her life as one long poem. (I still consider her a role model in that regard.) Now, in celebration of her retirement from 37 years of teaching and the beginning of a new "stanza" in her life, I am delighted to be able to pay tribute to her publicly. 

 

No doubt there are hundreds of former fourth and fifth graders who are better human beings for having experienced Ms. Hahn's benevolent guidance in the classroom, but I'd like to speak to the impact Mary Lee has had on me and the TLD community. The first time I sang her praises was in 2014 when she was a featured guest in the Haiku Garden. Since then, she's become a friend as well as a dependable presence on Today's Little Ditty. She's contributed to numerous DMC challenges (with six poems selected for The Best of Today's Little Ditty anthologies) and has inspired readers not only with her words, but with her drive to stretch limits and make her voice heard—creatively and otherwise.

 

There's a song called "Pulling on a Line" that reminds me of Mary Lee whenever I hear it. It makes me think of her passion for fly fishing and her association with Casting for Recovery, but it also brings to mind the creative process that is a constant presence in her life. For me, it represents the thread of that lifelong poem that stays with Mary Lee from day to day, month to month, and year to year. 

 

 

"Pulling on a Line" by Great Lake Swimmers 

from the album Lost Channels

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-0HgSHYu2Y

 

 

Pulling on a Line

 

The line runs through like a train in a book

Or metres underwater, ending with a hook

It sways in the air when there's wind enough to lift

The fine ones are boundaries when there is a rift

 

I'm just pulling on a line, on a line

Oh I'm just pulling on a line
I'm just pulling on a line, on a line
But sometimes it pulls on me

The line, it inks across the freshly fallen snow
Where only those embracing coldness would go
In whistles and in whispers and sometimes in howls
It sings to me sweetly from trees and in vowels

I'm just pulling on a line, on a line
Oh I'm just pulling on a line
I'm just pulling on a line, on a line
But sometimes it pulls on me

The line, it writes itself across the dark sky
In the air, electric flashes ending with a sigh
It weaves itself into a fabric so true
And flows just like the river, graceful and blue

I'm just pulling on a line, on a line
Oh I'm just pulling on a line
I'm just pulling on a line, on a line
But sometimes it pulls on me

 

© Anthony Dekker and Great Lake Swimmers (Nettwerk Records)
 

 

Pulling a few lines from Mary Lee's reservoir of poems on Today's Little Ditty, here are three of my favorites. 

 

 

Annette Meyer

rain again last night

temperatures above freezing

two cocoons wait

 

it's been a long, dark winter

the right moment is coming

 

– Mary Lee Hahn 

 

From Margarita Engle's tanka challenge (March 2015), featured in The Best of Today's Little Ditty (2014-2015).

 

 

 

Alexas_Fotos

Peony Poem

 

an idea

sudden, surprising

like red peony shoots

the first color in a spring garden

 

a draft

leafy, bushy

too much green, but with buds

sweet enough to attract ants

 

a poem 

lopsided, fragrant

overly showy, flamboyant, glorious

cut for a vase or for a grave

 

– Mary Lee Hahn

   

From Melissa Manlove's comparison poem challenge (May 2017), featured in The Best of Today's Little Ditty (2017-2018).

 

 

 

Carl T. Bergstrom

comet of crow
streaks across dark cloudy sky
contrail of bluejays

 

– Mary Lee Hahn

     

From Margaret Simon's #PoemsofPresence challenge (May 2020).

 

Best wishes for your retirement, Mary Lee, 

and for many more fruitful years 

of discovery, wonder, and poeming!

 

 

Many thanks to Michelle Schaub for featuring my poem "Look for the Helpers" on Poetry Boost this past week! Click HERE to read her wonderful blog post about using poetry in the classroom to encourage empathy and spread kindness.

 

Christie Wyman hosts this week's Poetry Friday roundup with an abundance of heartfelt tributes to #MarvellousMaryLee. You'll find the festivities at Wondering and Wandering.