The Schoolhouse Blizzard hit on January 12, 1888. It struck the Midwestern United States, with an estimate of 235 deaths, some say as much as 1000. Within a few hours, the temperature dropped to minus - 40 - F The blizzard came unexpectedly on a warm day, and many people were caught unaware, including children in one-room schoolhouses, in The fast-moving storm.


The classrooms were poorly built and not made to withstand extreme weather. When the blizzard hit, teachers had to decide whether to keep the kids in school or send them to their home in the storm.


One story from Nebraska was about a young teacher, Minnie Freeman, who safely led 13 children from her schoolhouse to her home, one and a half miles away. She said the powdery snow blew into their mouths, making it too hard to breathe; also, some of the children's eyelids were shut closed. The snow and wind made it hard to see. One rumor is that she used a rope to keep the children together during the blinding storm. That year, a song was written in her honor. "Song of the Great Blizzard: Thirteen Were Saved" or "Nebraska's Fearless Maid".- wikipedia


Gogyohka is a five-line Japanese poetic form with no strict rules on syllable count but as brief as possible. You may use any theme. Lines are grammatically connected. Alliteration, personification, and metaphor are okay. It usually doesn't rhyme, but natural not forced rhymes are okay. Japanese poets have written Gogyohka since the 1910s. However, they did not name the form until 1983 by poet Enta Kusakabe. * source = writers digest * source=wikipedia

Thank you for reading and reviewing my poem.

Gypsy

Picture from the 'Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper'. The presentation and poem by Gypsy Blue Rose (c) copyright 2/7/25

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