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Oh My Darling Clementine [National Poetry Month]
For today’s #wonderbreak [Want to learn more or join in?], I’m sharing some love for the delicious clementine. I don’t really eat oranges, but when it’s clementine season, I am there! This tiny gem that fits in my hand makes me feel like I’m already holding sunny days. Save
Fire on a Windy Day [National Poetry Month]
I’m a bit of a pyromaniac. I don’t start fires, but I do love them, and having a fireplace is one of the things I’ve loved most about moving this past year! I was warming up by the fire while the winds howled outside yesterday, and that led to this #wonderbreak. [Want to learn more
Talking Back to Rilke with the Poetry Princesses [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) So, this month, our Poetry Princess challenge was to talk back to a Rilke poem. I love the idea of poems in response to other poems. But Rilke? Sheesh. Talking back seems so impertinent! But that’s the beauty of poetry. There is
A Treat at Dairy Queen [National Poetry Month]
I do love me a good Mini Salted Caramel Truffle Blizzard. While savoring one, I started thinking about Dairy Queen and how it was the place to go after the girls’ soccer games, orchestra concerts, etc. Or, every once in a while, Annabelle and I would walk Jack around the lake to the DQ. I
Northern Lights [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. One thing–OK, THE thing I most wanted to see on our February trip was the Northern Lights. And we did! The filtering on this image gives the lights
My Pen [National Poetry Month]
I write most things on my laptop or phone (using a bluetooth foldable keyboard). But I am always jotting notes to myself–and occasional poems–in longhand, with a pen. I have two favorite kinds. Today, I’m celebrating pens in my #wonderbreak. [Want to learn more or join in?] Save
Decorations [National Poetry Month]
Here’s today’s #wonderbreak. [Want to learn more or join in by sharing your own poems about joyful things using the #wonderbreak hashtag?] Two days ago, I got a mug in the mail, a gift from Read Aloud Revival. The cardboard box it came in had the cutest burlap ribbon around it with a cheery
A Dog on My Lap [National Poetry Month]
Today’s #wonderbreak [Want to learn more or join in?] celebrates the joy of petting a dog. Our beagle, Jack, is kind of barrel-chested. His ribs rise and fall excessively (it seems) when he is sleeping or very relaxed. I couldn’t get a pic that would work of him actually on my lap, but he was
Conker [National Poetry Month]
Happy National Poetry Month! Today’s #wonderbreak [Want to learn more or join in?] is about conkers, those big, round seeds that fall from horse chestnuts and conk you on the head. Seeds always amaze me, how they have everything they need inside to make…whatever they are going to make. For this little poem, I was
Single Serving Size [National Poetry Month]
Happy National Poetry Month! Here’s today’s #wonderbreak. [Want to learn more or join in?] I told you guys this month’s poems would celebrate little things I love. They might not always be literally this little, but I figured I’d start out with this small item. I love little packets of sauces and jellies. They’re just
Tectonic Rift [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. A favorite site in Iceland was the rift in Thingvellir National Park, where two tectonic plates meet. The earth is oh-so-slowly bubbling up between those plates, molten lava
A Novel in Verse–Still Writing After All These Years
Today, I am revising some poems that are part of a novel in verse. I first started this project 16 years ago as a picture book cycle of poems (a la Ralph Fletcher’s Moving Day). (Freewriting about the project started even 2 years before that!) It swelled to 100 poems with one editor’s input and
OLW update–CLEAR on What I Want [Slice of Life]
[Head over to Two Writing Teachers for links to more Slice of Life posts!] During the past couple of months, I’ve worked on being verbally clear about what I want. I sometimes expect others to be mind readers, which is not fair. When my husband and I went to Iceland recently, I got better at
National Poetry Month Plans: #wonderbreak [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Holy moley. Where has March gone? I know I have one more Poetry Friday post before National Poetry Month starts, but I thought I’d share my plans here a bit early in case anyone else has not planned ahead and would like to join in:>)
Moonglow [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! I’m interrupting the normal broadcast to let you know that Tina Cho has an interview with me today, which you can read here. Thanks, Tina! It’s all moon, all week long, since my launch party is tonight for If You Were the Moon. (And that means today is the last day to
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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