The Miss Rumphius Effect: 2024

Thursday, December 12, 2024

Poetry Friday - Holiday Poetry Swap and a Poem

For years, Tabatha Yeatts, who blogs at The Opposite of Indifference, has coordinated both a summer and winter (holiday) poetry swap. I appreciate what a labor of love this is and am always happy to participate. This year my swap partner was Linda Mitchell of A Word Edgewise, who just happens to be hosting Poetry Friday at her blog today! Linda lives only about 90 minutes from me, but we haven't crossed paths here in Virginia. Here's hoping we do one day.

Linda sent me the most wonderful swap package. It contained a beautiful bag (a teacher can NEVER have too many totes), a gorgeous handmade card that was collaged and stitched, a cool pencil holder that was folded and handmade (I love papercraft), and, of course, an original poem.

I was thrilled to see that Linda wrote a poem in the 4×4 form. Denise Krebs at Dare to Care invented this form. Here are the rules.

4 syllables in each line
4 lines in each stanza
4 stanzas
4 times repeating a refrain line–line 1 in the first stanza, line 2 in the second stanza, line 3 in the third stanza, and line 4 in the fourth stanza.
Bonus: 4 syllables in the title
No restrictions on subject, rhyme, or meter.

Here is the poem Linda sent me.

And here's a closeup of the beautiful card she made.

Thanks, Linda! And thanks to Tabatha for arranging the swap.

Today, I'm sharing a favorite poem by Ted Kooser, which feels like a lovely companion for this poetry swap goodness.

Christmas Mail

by Ted Kooser

Cards in each mailbox,

angel, manger, star and lamb,

as the rural carrier,

driving the snowy roads,

hears from her bundles

Read the poem in its entirety.

I do hope you'll take some time to check out all the poetic things Linda is sharing today at A Word Edgewise. Happy Poetry Friday, friends!

Friday, November 29, 2024

Poetry Sisters Write to Jane Hirshfield's Two Versions

I missed our Zoom this week, so I went into this challenge blind. Mary Lee set this back in January when she was enamored of a new-ish poem by Jane Hirshfield. If you have access to The Threepenny Review, you can find it in the Summer 2023 edition.

I used Hirshfield's poem as a mentor text and followed her structure very closely. I tried writing about several different topics, but I've been a bit melancholy lately, so when every poem came back to the same subject, I ran with it.

Two Versions
(after Jane Hirshfield's Two Versions)

In the first version, I held my mother’s hand.

Hospital staff traveled in and out of her room.

One no-nonsense nurse nodded after checking her respiration.
Another patted my shoulder with empathy after wetting her lips.

What was my hand doing, I now wonder
gripping hers so tightly
as it once did in childhood while crossing the street?

Was it disbelieving? fearful?

And why, when I conjure a lifetime of whispered moments,
over Scrabble boards, in the kitchen, on the phone,
do I think, after all our glorious days together, of this?

In the second version, there is only guilt,
of which I know everything.

Except to have been there in her final days.

So much time, so many tears. In darkness
and in light, I am still begging pardon.

You can find the poems shared by my Poetry Sisters at the links below.

Would you like to try the next challenge? In December we are writing Haibun (prose + haiku) or Haiga (art + haiku). Are you with us? Good! You have a month to craft your creation and share it on December 27th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems!

This week, my poetry sister Tanita Davis is hosting Poetry Friday. I hope you'll take some time to check out all the poetic things being shared today. Happy Poetry Friday, friends!

Friday, September 27, 2024

Poetry Sisters and Seven Ways of Looking

This month's challenge was to write in the style of Wallace Stevens' poem Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. Since 13 stanzas is a lot, we gave ourselves some grace and decided to go for only seven ways of looking at something.

A small group of us met on Zoom Sunday to write and discuss the prompt. I left that session thoroughly confused about what my topic should be. I tried writing poems on the Statue of Liberty, sunflowers, the color blue, and clouds. None of those got me more than a few stanzas, and they weren't pretty. I wondered if following the mentor poem more closely might set me on the right track. I chose the bird I regularly see on my walk to work as my subject and ultimately found my way through the poem. I will return to this one because I may just have six more stanzas in me to get this poem to the magic number of thirteen.

Seven Ways of Looking at a Heron

I
The lake hosts a gaggle of geese
a paddling of ducks
and one unmoving heron

II
I relish the empty house
Like the pond
claimed by a solitary heron

III
In the gray light of dawn, heron waits
a fixture in the daily ebb and flow

IV
Heron knows
all things are difficult before they are easy

V
A wader and the water
are one
A wader, the water, and a fish
become one

VI
Heron glides across the water
breakfast in her belly
bloodstain on her neck

VII
I prefer the quiet of the heron
Ducks quack, geese honk
breaking the morning stillness
I understand the heron

You can find the poems shared by my Poetry Sisters at the links below.

Would you like to try the next challenge? In October, we are writing to a prompt from the book The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach, edited by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell.

Are you with us? Good! You have a month to craft your creation and share it on October 25th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems!

This week, Irene Latham of Live Your Poem is hosting Poetry Friday. I hope you'll take some time to check out all the poetic things being shared today. Happy Poetry Friday, friends!

Friday, August 30, 2024

Poetry Sisters Write Ekphrastic Poems

At least once yearly, we challenge ourselves to write poems to photographs or works of art. I love writing to the shared images and rarely choose my own, but this time, I did.

In early August, I spent time at the National D-Day Memorial and was struck by the replica of the sculpture “Le Monument aux Morts.” The original stands in Trevieres, France. Erected in 1921, it was intended as a memorial to men from the town who died in WWI. In 1944, it was damaged during the battle for Normandy. The town decided not to repair it as a reminder of the damages of war and the fragility of peace.

I chose 6 words from the plaque describing the statue. Those words are: second, history, memory, soil, face, and war. I wrote the first stanza using them in the order I found them and then rearranged them to write this sestina.

Echoes of War

Standing at her feet, I think for a second
of the tragedies of modern history
hiding in our collective memory
we know horrors are buried in the soil
it’s a past we cannot face
yet we’re still a world at war

We are burdened by weapons of war
firearms the leading cause of death in youth, seconds
change lives, scars etched upon their faces
mass shootings not just history
but present on our soil
Columbine, Sandy Hook, Uvalde—names burned in our memory

Their epitaph reads “in memoriam”
we lose in peace and war
on home and foreign soil
our first sons and daughters, our second,
and third, changing family histories
sorrow written on every mourner’s face

On its face
loss becomes a memory
a blip in our history
not a game this tug of war
we have no time to lose, not one second
we must nurture our fertile soil

From this earth, this very soil,
we rise to comfort every weary face
time’s healing touch felt with each passing second
old wounds begin to fade from memory
planting hope in bodies ravaged by war
softening the edges of this cancerous history

Pages turned in the book of human history,
hold lessons learned, deeply buried in the soil
when Earth shook under the weight of war
its narrative shaping humanity’s face
we hold the lost in our memory
honor them each passing second

We make history as we face the future
fragile peace holding on our soil, the memory
of war fading for the briefest of seconds

You can find the poems shared by my Poetry Sisters at the links below.

Tanita Davis
Mary Lee Hahn
Sara Lewis Holmes
Kelly Ramsdell
Laura Purdie Salas
Liz Garton Scanlon

Would you like to try the next challenge? In September, we’re using Wallace Stevens Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird as a model for looking at something in different ways. We might settle on 7 or 4 or 12 ways. Looking deeply and differently are the keys here. Are you with us? Good! You have a month to craft your creation and share it on September 27th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems!

This week, Susan Thomsen of Chicken Spaghetti is hosting Poetry Friday. I hope you'll take some time to check out all the poetic things being shared today. Happy Poetry Friday, friends!

Friday, July 26, 2024

Poetry Sisters Write Want-Ad Haiku

The challenge this month was to write haiku in the form of classified ads. It's been a doozy of a month for me for too many reasons to recount. Suffice it to say I missed our monthly Zoom and I dashed these off early this morning before a walk with the dog. We did promise ourselves that these prompts weren't about perfection, but drafts and sharing. In that spirit, I share these little insights into my state of mind these days. I know haiku don't traditionally have titles, but I really needed those extra syllables!

Wanted
one perfect poem
ordered up like a taco
drive-thru preferred

Wanted
one more day with mom
skilled time traveler needed
no fee too great

Wanted
one doppelgänger
for household chores, work meetings
signed, desperate for sleep

You can find the poems shared by my Poetry Sisters at the links below.

Would you like to try the next challenge? In August, we’re writing ekphrastic poems to photographs. Find an image that inspires you and write away. Are you with us? Good! You have a month to craft your creation and share it on August 30th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems!

This week, Marcie Flinchum Atkins is hosting Poetry Friday. I hope you'll take some time to check out all the poetic things being shared today. Happy Poetry Friday, friends!

Friday, June 28, 2024

Poetry Friday is Here!

Welcome to Poetry Friday! I'm so happy to be hosting you here today, especially on this last Friday of the month when my poetry sisters and I share the poems we've written to a new challenge. This month we wrote poems about wabi-sabi, with wabi-sabi as the title. In Andrew Juniper's book Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence, wabi-sabi is defined this way.

Wabi-sabi is an aesthetic that finds beauty in things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. Taken from the Japanese words wabi, which translates to less is more, and sabi, which means attentive melancholy, wabi-sabi refers to an awareness of the transient nature of earthly things and a corresponding pleasure in the things that bear the mark of this impermanence.

We had a wonderful Zoom call on Sunday, during which we had a wide-ranging conversation about wabi-sabi. I really wanted to write in a form, so I decided to experiment with the tritina. The tritina is composed of 3 tercets and a final line (envoi) that stands alone. Similar to a sestina, though shorter, it uses a set of 3 alternating end words instead of six. The form is: ABC / CAB / BCA / A, B, and C (final line/envoi). As I was writing, it felt like I didn't have enough room to play, so I tried a sestina. That was disastrous, so the tritina is what I stuck with.

Wabi-Sabi
art and architecture value
the golden ratio, the perfection
of divine proportion, its pleasing beauty

but what is beauty?
what do our choices say about what we value?
does the circular bell tower lack perfection

because it leans? is perfection
solid, straight, and tall? beauty
lives in a cracked bell—liberty has value

why value perfection when there is beauty in what is broken?

You can find the poems shared by my Poetry Sisters at the links below.

Would you like to try the next challenge? In July we’re writing haiku that resemble classified ads or Buy Nothing group posts. Are you in? Good! You have a month to craft your creation and share it on July 26th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems!

Please join the Poetry Friday party by leaving your link below, and don't forget to leave a comment to let us know you're here. Happy poetry Friday, friends!

**NOTE**
Denise Krebs was kind enough to point out that Inlinkz doesn't work for everyone. If you click on a link and Inlinkz won't connect, go to the upper right-hand corner of the "refused to connect" page and click on the X. That should take you to the site. If that doesn't work, leave me a comment and I'll link those pages here.

Friday, May 31, 2024

Poetry Sisters in Homage to Body Parts and Lucille Clifton

This month's challenge was to write in the style of Lucille Clifton while paying homage to a body part, as she does in the poem homage to my hips. Our Zoom call was a week early this month, allowing for time off for Memorial Day weekend. We all bumped up against body image and body weariness (a much better word than age) issues. Considering our bodies in this way was deeply humbling.

After many stops and starts on poems about various body parts (feet, calves, ears), I have two drafts to share. I haven't mastered Clifton's tone, but it was fun to try.

homage to my brain

this brain is a big brain
not genius big, but
packed with Jeopardy categories'
useless facts big.
this brain is a science brain
a nerdy brain
that muses on temperature and pressure
and the solubility of carbon dioxide in water
when soda goes flat.
this brain is a pessimistic brain
sometimes apocalyptic brain
filled with existential what-ifs
prompted by social media
and doom scrolling.
this brain is a noisy brain
a disobedient brain
refusing to quiet
standing in the way of
a good night’s sleep.

homage to my feet

these feet are powerful feet
they have marched
in formation and run
hilly miles. these feet
are expressive feet
oozing with joy in
going barefoot in the grass
dipping into tepid pools
soaking in a warm, salty tub.
these feet are pilgrim’s feet
climbing mountains in Tibet
or walking the serpentine
path of a labyrinth
every step a meditation
and prayer. these feet are
political feet, walking miles
in communion, standing
up for people and
the planet.

You can find the poems shared by my Poetry Sisters at the links below.

Tanita Davis
Mary Lee Hahn
Sara Lewis Holmes (on vacation this month!)
Kelly Ramsdell
Laura Purdie Salas
Liz Garton Scanlon

Would you like to try the next challenge? In June, we’re writing poems about wabi-sabi, with Wabi-sabi as the title. In Andrew Juniper's book Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence, wabi sabi is defined this way.

Wabi-sabi is an aesthetic that finds beauty in things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. Taken from the Japanese words wabi, which translates to less is more, and sabi, which means attentive melancholy, wabi-sabi refers to an awareness of the transient nature of earthly things and a corresponding pleasure in the things that bear the mark of this impermanence.

In his book Wabi-Sabi Simple, Richard Powell described wabi-sabi as a philosophy that acknowledges a lifestyle that appreciates and accepts three simple truths: "Nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect." Will you write with us? Good! You have a month to craft your creation and share it on May 31st in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems!

This week, Janice Scully at Salt City Verse is hosting Poetry Friday. I hope you'll take some time to check out all the poetic things being shared today. Happy Poetry Friday, friends!

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 30

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems. Since someone pointed out I'd written poems about spring, summer, and fall, I knew I couldn't leave out winter.

Zero is the leaves on the tree

How do you know it's winter?

Animals

snack, snooze, skedaddle

snowflakes fall

Old bear

time to sleep

wait, rest, pause

Footprints in the snow

bear snores on

Time flies

On a snow-melting day

snowman - cold = puddle

Wake up world!

Spring is here

Sources

Zero Is the Leaves on the Tree by Betsy Franco, illustrations by Sino Arihara
How Do You Know It's Winter? by Ruth Owen
Picture This: Animals by Margaret Hynes, illustrations by Andy Crisp
Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle: How Animals Get Ready For Winter by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrations by Claudine Gévry
Snowflakes Fall by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrations by Steven Kellogg
Old Bear by Kevin Henkes
Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming
Wait, Rest, Pause: Dormancy in Nature by Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Footprints in the Snow by Mei Matsuoka
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, illustrations by Jane Chapman
Time Flies by Eric Rohmann
On a Snow-Melting Day: Seeking Signs of Spring by Buffy Silverman
Snowman - Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrations by Micha Archer
Wake Up, World!: A Day In the Life of Children Around the World by Beatrice Hollyer
Spring is Here: A Bear and Mole Story by Will Hillenbrand

It's hard to believe this is the last day of April and the last book spine poem for a while. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page. I can't thank you enough for joining me on this journey.

Monday, April 29, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 29

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

Stichin' and Pullin' a Gee's Bend Quilt

Eight hands round

growing patterns

inch by inch

stitch by stitch

the seasons sewn

Sources

Stitchin' and Pullin' A Gee's Bend Quilt by Patricia C. McKissack, illustrations by Cozbi A. Cabrera
Eight Hands Round: A Patchwork Alphabet by Ann Whitford Paul, illustrations by Jeanette Winter
Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature by Sarah C. Campbell, photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell
Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni
Stitch by Stitch: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly Sews Her Way to Freedom by Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrations by Elizabeth Zunon
The Seasons Sewn: A Year in Patchwork by Ann Whitford Paul, illustrations by Michael McCurdy

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

Sunday, April 28, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 28

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

Climb into my lap

here’s a little poem

you read to me, I’ll read to you

books day by day

love in the library

Sources

Climb Into My Lap: First Poems to Read Together, selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrations by Kathryn Brown
Here's a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry, collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, illustrations by Polly Dunbar
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrations by Michael Emberley
Books Day By Day: Anniversaries, Anecdotes, and Activities by Susan Ohanian
Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrations by Yas Imamura

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

Saturday, April 27, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 27

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

Count Down to Fall

Shrinking days, frosty nights

summer green to autumn gold

goodbye summer, hello autumn

leaf by leaf

leaves fall down

in November

a chill in the air

every autumn comes the bear

Sources

Count Down to Fall by Fran Hawk, illustrations by Sherry Neidigh
Shrinking Days, Frosty Nights: Poems About Fall by Laura Purdie Salas
Summer Green to Autumn Gold: Uncovering Leaves' Hidden Colors by Mia Posada
Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
Leaf by Leaf: Autumn Poems, selected by Barbara Rogasky, photographs by Marc Tauss
Leaves Fall Down: Learning About Autumn Leaves by Lisa Bullard, illustrations by Nadine Takvorian
In November by Cynthia Rylant, illustrations by Jill Kastner
A Chill in the Air: Nature Poems for Fall and Winter by John Frank, illustrations by Mike Reed
Every Autumn Comes the Bear by Jim Arnosky

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

Friday, April 26, 2024

Poetry Sisters Write Poems to Unanswerable Questions

This month the Poetry Sisters' challenge was to dream up an unanswerable question and answer it in a poem. For example, in the poem "How Many How Much," Shel Silverstein asked, "How many slams in an old screen door?"

On our Zoom call Sunday, we spent 5 minutes generating questions on our own, and then we shared them. It gave us a lot of ideas to work with! I tried writing to a couple of different prompts but found that every poem I started wound its way to an answer, which was not the point. Ultimately, I ended up with lots of questions and no answers.

Ode to Wonder

How many ticks in a grandfather clock?
How many rings in a bell?
How many days in a rotating Earth?
How many pails from a well?

How many songs in 88 keys?
How many drops in the rain?
How many spins on a merry-go-round
How many thoughts in a brain?

Who made the stars?
What makes them shine?
Is there life beyond Earth in space?
Where are lost souls?
When are they found?
Why have they fallen from grace?

The why of the world
is a curious thing
with so many questions to ponder.
Sit down for a bit
and think big things
there's so much for us to wonder.

You can find the poems shared by my Poetry Sisters at the links below.

Would you like to try the next challenge? In May we’re writing in the style of Lucille Clifton and are writing poem about body parts ala "Homage to My Hips." Are you in? Good! You have a month to craft your creation and share it on May 31st in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems!

In addition to this poem, I have been building a book spine poem each day to celebrate National Poetry Month. I hope you'll pop over to my April 26 post to check it out and explore some of the other poems I've written. If you've been following the Progressive Poem, you might like my April 25 poem, which was inspired by the unfolding plight of the poem's characters.

This week, Poetry Friday is hosted by Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town. I hope you'll take some time to check out all the poetic things being shared today. Happy poetry Friday, friends!

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 26

Happy Poetry Friday! For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

Up in the garden and down in the dirt

a seed is the start

When green becomes tomatoes

my father’s hands

Pick! Pull! Snap!

Tops and bottoms

first, peas to the table

corn

rah, rah, radishes

fresh, delicious

Let’s eat!

Sources

Up In the Garden and Down In the Dirt by Kate Messner, art by Christopher Silas Neal
A Seed Is the Start by Melissa Stewart
When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons by Julie Fogliano, pictures by Julie Morstad
My Father's Hands by Joanne Ryder, illustrations by Mark Graham
Pick, Pull, Snap!: Where Once a Flower Bloomed by Lola Schaefer, illustrations by Lindsay Barrett George
Tops & Bottoms, adapted and illustrated by Janet Stevens
First Peas to the Table by Susan Grigsby, illustrations by Nicole Tadgell
Corn by Gail Gibbons
Rah, Rah, Radishes!: A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre
Fresh Delicious: Poems From the Farmer's Market by Irene Latham, illustrations by Mique Moriuchi
Let's Eat!: What Children Eat Around the World by Beatrice Hollyer

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

This week, Poetry Friday is hosted by Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town. I hope you'll take some time to check out all the poetic things being shared today.

Thursday, April 25, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 25

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems. Today's poem was inspired by this year's Progressive Poem. (See the list of participants to follow the poem. It began with Patricia Franze at Reverie.)

The journey

out of the dust

dreamers

the undefeated

illegal

chasing freedom

unspoken

unsettling truths

This child, every child

now and then

an American story

Sources

The Journey by Sarah Stewart, illustrations by David Small
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illustrations by Kadir Nelson
Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illustrations by Giovanni Rigano
Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, Inspired by Historical Facts by Nikki Grimes, illustrations by Michele Wood
Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole
Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah
This Child, Every Child: A Book About the World's Children by David J. Smith, illustrations by Shelagh Armstrong
Now and Then by Claire Philip, illustrations by Greg Paprocki
An American Story by Kwame Alexander, art by Dare Coulter

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 24

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

wonder

the shape of the world

gravity

spiders and their webs

dinosaur bones

bubble homes and fish farts

how the sea came to be

the stunning science of everything

Sources

We by Alice Schertle, illustrations by Kenneth Addison
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
The Shape of the World by K.L. Going, illustrated Lauren Stringer
Gravity by Jason Chin
Spiders and Their Webs by Darlyne A. Murawski
Dinosaur Bones by Bob Barner
Bubble Homes and Fish Farts by Fiona Bayrock, illustrations by Carolyn Conahan
How the Sea Came to Be: And All the Creatures In It by Jennifer Berne, illustrations by Amanda Hall
The Stunning Science of Everything: Science With the Squishy Bits Left In! by Nick Arnold, illustrations by Tony De Saulles

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 23

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

Poem-Making

Look to the stars

listen to the wind

How do you feel?

Reflect and write

a river of words

Fearless writing

the arrow finds its mark

Sources

Poem-Making: Ways to Begin Writing Poetry by Myra Cohn Livingston
Look to the Stars by Buzz Aldrin, paintings by Wendell Minor
Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg & Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth, collages by Susan L. Roth
How Do You Feel? by Anthony Browne
Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photographs to Inspire Writing, compiled by Elizabeth Guy and Hank Kellner
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant, illustrations by Melissa Sweet
Fearless Writing: Multigenre to Motivate and Inspire by Tom Romano
The Arrow Finds Its Mark: A Book of Found Poems, edited by Georgia Heard, illustrations by Antoine Guilloppé

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

Monday, April 22, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 22

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

Ten flashing fireflies

light up the night

counting the stars

dark on light

Small wonders

flip, float, fly

a sky full of poems

signals in the sky

Sources

Ten Flashing Fireflies by Philemon Sturges, illustrations by Anna Vojtech
Light Up the Night by Jean Reidy, illustrations by Margaret Chodos-Irvine
Counting the Stars: The Story of Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrations by Raúl Colón
Dark on Light by Dianne White, illustrations by Felicita Sala
Small Wonders: Jean-Henri Fabre & His World of Insects by Matthew Clark Smith, illustrations by Giuliano Ferri
Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move by JoAnn Early Macken, illustrations by Pam Paparone
A Sky Full of Poems by Eve Merriam, illustrations by Walter Gaffney-Kessell
Signals in the Sky by Candice Ransom

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

Sunday, April 21, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 21

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

Firefly July

Marshmallow clouds

enchanted air

Yellow umbrella

one white sail

Ice cream summer

lemonade sun

Summer beat

see me run!

Sources

Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems, selected by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Marshmallow Clouds: Two Poets at Play Among Figures of Speech by Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek, illustrations by Richard Jones
Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Margarita Engle
Yellow Umbrella by Jae Soo Liu
One White Sail by S.T. Garne, pictures by Lisa Etre
Ice Cream Summer by Peter Sís
Lemonade Sun and Other Poems by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, illustrations by Jan Spivey Gilchrist
Summer Beat by Besty Franco, illustrations by Charlotte Middleton
See Me Run by Paul Meisel

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

Saturday, April 20, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 20

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

A Writing Kind of Day

When rain falls

Splish! Splash!

The sky stirs up trouble

Tap, tap! Boom, boom!

When thunder comes

Flash! Crash! Rumble and Roll!

This is the rain

Drip! Drop!

What’s the weather inside?

Cloudy, with a chance of meatballs.

Sources

A Writing Kind of Day: Poems For Young Poets by Ralph Fletcher, illustrations by April Ward
When Rain Falls by Melissa Stewart, illustrations by Constance Rummel Bergum
Splish Splash by Joan Bransfield Graham, illustrations by Steve Scott
The Sky Stirs Up Trouble: Tornadoes by Belinda Jensen, illustrations by Renée Kurilla
Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle, illustrations by G. Brian Karas
When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrations by Jim Burke, R. Gregory Christie, Tonya Engel, John Parra, Meilo So
Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll by Franklyn Branley, illustrations by True Kelley
This Is the Rain by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrations by Jane Wattenberg
Drip! Drop!: How Water Gets to Your Tap by Barbara Seuling, illustrations by Nancy Tobin
What's the Weather Inside?: Poems by Karma Wilson, illustrations by Barry Blitt
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett, drawn by Ron Barrett

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

Progressive Poem is Here!

Have you been following the progressive poem progress? I hope so! I'm happy to be number 20 in line for this growing tale. My couplet is at the boom and in bold.

cradled in stars, our planet sleeps,

clinging to tender dreams of peace

sister moon watches from afar,

singing lunar lullabies of hope.

almost dawn, I walk with others,

keeping close, my little brother.

hand in hand, we carry courage

escaping closer to the border

My feet are lightning;

My heart is thunder.

Our pace draws us closer

to a new land of wonder.

I bristle against rough brush—

poppies ahead brighten the browns.

Morning light won’t stay away—

hearts jump at every sound.

I hum my own little song

like ripples in a stream

Humming Mami’s lullaby

reminds me I have her letter

My fingers linger on well-worn creases,

shielding an address, a name, a promise–

Sister Moon will find always us

surrounding us with beams of kindness

But last night as we rested in the dusty field,

worries crept in about matters back home.

I huddled close to my brother. Tears revealed

the no-choice need to escape. I feel grown.

Leaving all I’ve ever known

the tender, heavy, harsh of home.

On to maybes, on to dreams,

on to whispers we hope could be.

But I don't want to whisper! I squeeze Manu's hand.

"¡Más cerca ahora!" Our feet pound the sand.

We race, we pant, we lean on each other

I open my canteen and drink gratefully

Thirst is slaked, but I know we’ll need

more than water to achieve our dreams.

Nights pass slowly, but days call for speed

through the highs and the lows, we live with extremes

Janet, hosted at Reflections on the Teche has the next couplet!

For the full schedule of participants, see the list below.

April 1 Patricia Franz at Reverie
April 2 Jone MacCulloch
April 3 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
April 4 Leigh Anne Eck at A Day in the Life
April 5 Irene at Live Your Poem
April 6 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
April 7 Marcie Atkins
April 8 Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town
April 9 Karen Eastlund
April 10 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 11 Buffy Silverman
April 12 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
April 13 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care
April 14 Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
April 15 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
April 16 Sarah Grace Tuttle
April 17 Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe
April 18 Tabatha at Opposite of Indifference
April 19 Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
April 20 Tricia Stohr-Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect
April 21 Janet, hosted here at Reflections on the Teche
April 22 Mary Lee Hahn at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 23 Tanita Davis at (fiction, instead of lies)
April 24 Molly Hogan at Nix the Comfort Zone
April 25 Joanne Emery at Word Dancer
April 26 Karin Fisher-Golton at Still in Awe
April 27 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
April 28 Dave at Leap of Dave
April 29 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 30 Michelle Kogan at More Art for All

Friday, April 19, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 19

Happy Poetry Friday! For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

This is just to say

poetry matters

Today and today

just people and paper, pen, poem

tiny dreams sprouting tall

Wonderful words

falling down the page

A lucky thing

Sources

This is Just to Say by Joyce Sidman, illustrations by Pamela Zagarenski
Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem From the Inside Out by Ralph Fletcher
Today and Today, haiku by Issa, pictures by G. Brian Karas
Just People and Other Poems for Young Readers & Paper/Pen/Poem: A Young Writer's Way to Begin, poems by Kathi Appelt, photographs by Kenneth Appelt
Tiny Dreams Sprounting Tall: Poems About the United States by Laura Purdie Salas
Wonderful Words: Poems About Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening, selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrations by Karen Barbour
Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems, edited by Georgia Heard
A Lucky Thing by Alice Schertle, paintings by Wendell Minor

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

This week, Poetry Friday is hosted by Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe. I hope you'll take some time to check out all things poetic being shared today.

Thursday, April 18, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 18

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

Subway sparrow

city hawk

honk, honk, goose

bird talk

Chatter, sing, roar, buzz

song of the wild

where I live

Sources

Subway Sparrow by Leyla Torres
City Hawk: The Story of Pale Male by Meghan McCarthy
Honk, Honk, Goose!: Canada Geese Start a Family by April Pulley Sayre, illustrations by Huy Voun Lee
Bird Talk: What Birds Are Saying and Why by Lita Judge
Chatter, Sing, Roar, Buzz: Poems About the Rain Forest by Laura Purdie Salas
Song of the Wild: A First Book of Animals by Nicola Davies, illustrations by Petr Horacek
Where I Live by Eileen Spinelli, illustrations by Matt Phelan

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 17

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

I’m trying to love math

Marvelous math

the numbers

millions, billions, and trillions

this plus that

Mesmerizing math

when a line bends, a shape begins

shapes, shapes, shapes

seeing symmetry

Mystery math

How many?

Why Pi?

Which one doesn’t belong?

Grasping mysteries

in the moment

learning to love math

Sources

I'm Trying to Love Math by Bethany Barton
Marvelous Math: A Book of Poems, selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrations by Karen Barbour
The Numbers (Mouse Books) by Monique Felix
Millions, Billions, & Trillions: Understanding Big Numbers by David A. Adler, illustrations by Edward Miller
This Plus That: Life's Little Equations by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrations by Jen Corace
Mesmerizing Math by Jonathan Litton, illustrations by Thomas Flintham
When a Line Bends . . . A Shape Begins by Rhonda Gowler Greene, illustrations by James Kaczman
Shapes, Shapes, Shapes by Tana Hoban
Seeing Symmetry by Loreen Leedy
Mystery Math: A First Book of Algebra by David A. Adler, illustrations by Edward Miller
How Many? (Talking Math) by Christopher Danielson
Why Pi? by Johnny Ball
Which One Doesn't Belong?: A Shapes Book by Christopher Danielson
Grasping Mysteries: Girls Who Loved Math by Jeannine Atkins
In the Moment: Conferring in the Elementary Math Classroom by Jen Munson
Learning to Love Math: Teaching Strategies That Change Student Attitudes and Get Results by Judy Willis

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 16

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

The year comes round

a new school year

Let's go!

The song shoots out of my mouth

O Frabjous day!

Hello school!

Sources

The Year Comes Round: Haiku through the Seasons by Sid Farrar, illustrations by Ilse Plume
A New School Year: Stories in Six Voices by Sally Derby, illustrations by Mika Song
Let's Go!: The Story of Getting from There to Here by Lizann Flatt, illustrations by Scot Ritchie
The Song Shoots Out of My Mouth by Jaime Adoff, illustrations by Martin French
O Frabjous Day!: Poetry for Holidays and Special Occasions, edited by Myra Cohn Livingston
Hello School! by Dee Lillegard, illustrations by Don Carter

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.

Monday, April 15, 2024

NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 15

For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems.

Leaf by leaf
swirl by swirl
down ... down ... down
Wonder fall
Roots and blues
Forest has a song

Sources

Leaf by Leaf: Autumn Poems selected by Barbara Rogasky, photographs by Marc Tauss
Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman, pictures by Beth Krommes
Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by Steve Jenkins
Wonderfall by Michael Hall
Roots and Blues: A Celebration by Arnold Adoff, paintings by R. Gregory Christie
Forest Has a Song by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, illustrations by Robbin Gourley

I hope you'll come back again to see what new poem I've cobbled together. You can find all the poems I've written this month on the Book Spine Poems page.