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

Poems ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2024. All rights reserved.

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 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! 

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.

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." 

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?

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2024. All rights reserved.

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

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

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.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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.

Poems ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2024. All rights reserved.

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!

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

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2024. All rights reserved.

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.

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

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2024. All rights reserved.

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. 

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

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2024. All rights reserved.

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. 

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

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2024. All rights reserved.

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.