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Vietnam Veterans Memorial [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. I’ve been to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC several times, and I’m moved by it every time. Like many things that lend themselves to poetry, it feels
Dreamy #PoetryFriday
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I want to share one more poem from In the Middle of the Night, plus ask y’all a favor. Here’s the poem, one of the few unrhyming ones in the collection. I just love acrostics, and I wrote this poem after my editor, Rebecca Davis,
Space Module [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. Here’s a space module in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. This image makes me think of several things:
Student Equation Poems for Poetry Friday #PoetryFriday
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I am at the Denver Children’s Festival of Stories today and tomorrow, so I might not get to read your comments until Monday. I got the BEST surprise in my Facebook Inbox last week. A Twin Cities educator told me she had lent her copy
Coast Guard Monument [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. While in DC, Randy and I admired these gorgeous bas relief (maybe?) sculptures for the various branches of the military. They featured fabulous dramatic scenes, including this Coast
Dirty Clothes Do-Si-Do [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) My newest poetry collection, In the Middle of the Night: Poems from a Wide-Awake House! (click the title to see my post last week introducing the book) is here! Thank you to all of the fabulous bloggers and educators and kidlit lovers who have hosted
Frosted Snowflake [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. You know I can’t resist a beautiful cookie, and while in DC I got this sparkling, lovely, iced snowflake cookie. I can’t remember which bakery, but it’s probably
Leatherback [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. I love the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History! I only had a couple of hours in it on our trip to DC, but this skeleton of a leatherback
Floor Lamp Waits [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Well, I dropped the ball on this one. This month, we Poetry Princesses wrote a mask poem. This one was MY choice! And yet, I didn’t get to it until this week. It’s funny how we schedule things in the future, picturing them
Metal Tree [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. I adore real trees, but I am drawn to sculptures of trees, too, like this metal one on the mall in Washington, DC. That’s me standing beside it,
Moose Topiary, Sort Of [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. This moose topiary/sculpture charmed me at the Botanical Garden in DC. This image makes me think of several things:
Olmec Head [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. Even though I’m not! I’m at a family wedding in Atlanta and won’t be able to reply today! But I hope you still participate. This is such a
Bird on a Branch [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. Here’s an itty-bitty birdie I spied while walking around the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. This image makes me think of several things:
Lunch in a Refugee Reception Centre [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) This month, Tanita came up with our challenge: a poem in the style of Marilyn Nelson’s “Minor Miracle,” about a small, miraculous thing you have seen or known. I’ll wait here while you read Marilyn’s stunning poem. All finished? So, although I’ve tried
Eyeborg [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. Here’s another photo from my wanderings of the Smithsonian Gardens. This image makes me think of several things:
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Are You Looking For?
Go to my Poetry page for:
- National Poetry Month projects through the years
- Small Reads Roundups (poems grouped by topic)
- Introductions to several favorite poetry forms