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In a Salt Shaker Far, Far Away [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. My older daughter Annabelle is moving to Wisconsin. I am going to miss her funny, loud, energetic, dramatic self SO much! One thing she wanted to do before


Day 17: Haiku: Library beehive
Just got home from picking up a lovely pile of poetry books from my neighborhood library! I love the buzzing hum of activity that’s always there.


Day 15: Haiku: Before the news breaks,
Just thinking about the moments when something terrible has happened but we don’t know it yet…

Day 14: Haiku: sky yells, “Pillow fight!”
A little blizzarding, anyone? I remember a pillow fight when I was a kid, and the pillow ripped and the whole room just filled with white feathers. That’s what it looks like out our windows right now!

Day 13: Haiku: focus ripped into…
Not that this describes me, or anything… Too funny. I was so scatter-brained that I didn’t publish this on April 13 but left it in draft form. Oops.

Recipe for a Poetry Book–Happy Birthday, Lee Bennett Hopkins! [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Without Lee Bennett Hopkins and his books, I don’t think I’d be writing poetry for children today. When I first got the tiniest of inklings that I might like to dip a toe into the waters of poetry, Lee’s beautiful anthologies were some of the

Day 12: Haiku: headlights slice darkness
I was driving to the gym this morning when a beautiful white bunny zipped across the road in front of me. So glad the roads weren’t icy today!

Blur [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. Sometimes I think I have more accidental images on my phone than I do intentional ones! This image makes me think of several things:



Ready for Earth Day? #ClassroomConnections
It’s almost Earth Day! It’s a great time to pull out my Can Be… books, which all celebrate our planet. And if you want some book-related activities, go here to find links to teaching guides, activity sheets and more! The focus this year is on plastic pollution, so you might also look for Loree Griffin

Day 9: Haiku: spin-out’s finished, but
I love winter. Winter driving? Not so much.

Day 8: Haiku: white-haired man tries to
It’s hard watching people you love age…
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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