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Sail On! [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. At Duluth Harbor last week, we got to watch a TON of sailboats come through the canal (as well as my favorites, some 1000-footers). This image makes me

City Hall [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 is the City Hall clock tower in downtown Minneapolis. I took this pic from the roof of a parking garage when Maddie and I went down to

How to Make a Dog Live Forever [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) A couple of years ago, an anthologist invited me to submit poems for a how-to anthology. None of my poems were accepted, but this one, which I wrote just to submit to the anthology, has been on my mind recently. Our beagle, Jack, has not

Balcony Cat [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 walking Jack one evening, my husband and I saw this fearless kitty marching along a balcony outside the railing. This image makes me think of several things:

If You Are a Macaroni Noodle [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) My wheels have been spinning since Tabatha proposed a mac and cheese Poetry Friday. Why? Because macaroni and cheese is my favorite food. In my childhood, bbq chicken and macaroni and cheese was my birthday dinner every year. Shortly into our marriage, when Randy and

Globe [15 Words or Less]
[Apologies! I don’t know why this didn’t publish on schedule!] 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. That’s the globe that used to be on top of the old Minneapolis Star Tribune building decades ago.

She Walks in Glitter (Which Is a Lot Like Beauty) [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Well, it has been a chaotic, joyful, and sad summer so far. So when this month’s Poetry Princess challenge was a poem in the style of Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty,” I just couldn’t still my mind long enough to write something all

Egg [15 Words or Less]
Hello, poets, writers, noodlers–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. Thank you for keeping this community going while I’ve been on a semi-hiatus. Can’t believe how far behind I am, but your kind words and fun

Flames of Gratitude [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) This weekend, my daughter and I were supposed to be on a poetry retreat, working on a collaborative project. 48 hours. 1 hotel room. It would have been intense, but we had to cancel. Health issues that form the basis of the story have intervened

Eyebrows [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. At that chalk festival, there were a few large-scale works on boards, so I made Randy stand by one. Life imitates art:>) This image makes me think of

Book Spine Poems with Kids [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Last week, I went to Plainview Library in Plainview, Minnesota, for a poetry event. My sister Patty (up from Florida) and daughter Maddie (home briefly from Scotland) came with me on this mini-road trip. It was a small group of kids (always so hard to

Mary Poppins [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 took this pic at the Maple Grove Chalk Art Festival two weekends ago. We went on Saturday morning, when the art was in the beginning stages. The

Bee Cookie [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 my sister Patty was up this past week, we indulged in way too many sweet treats. Like this scrummy cookie from Byerly’s. This image makes me think

“The Genre Chant” [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) The Journal of Children’s Literature has one of my poems in it in the spring 2017 edition. I initially wrote this poem to open a chapter on children’s literature genres in Terrell Young’s book, Children’s Literature, Briefly. Well, not JUST his book, but he’s the

Freeway Treeway [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. Saw this on the road the other day. 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