Iris, Rainbow, and a National Poetry Month Link Roundup

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)

Friends, if you submit your poems for grown-ups to online or print journals, would you share your favorite markets or your favorite place to find poetry markets in the Comments? My adult daughter is interested in starting to submit her poetry. Thank you!

Logo by Linda Mitchell

It’s funny how National Poetry Month makes me feel more connected to a poetry project but less connected to other poets. April is always a super busy month, and I kind of lose touch with my Poetry Friday community. I’m kinda glad things are getting back to normal!

All during April, I posted a poem draft each day made of words plucked from a pile of magnetic tiles and a topic chosen from a board game card. In the next week or two, I’ll share some thoughts–once I’ve had time to reflect a little. For now, here’s a roundup of all the poems, plus a couple of extra I haven’t shared before. First, the new poems.

In iris, the words I had available led me to writing about the eye rather than a flower.

And here’s a rainbow one. This one is based on The Wizard of Oz,  because the topic rainbow brought to mind, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which led to the movie, the tornado, the Wicked Witch, the travelers all feeling lacking, and the ambiguous ending. I personally am sure Dorothy was NOT dreaming!

And now here’s a roundup of all the magnetic poems I shared:

March 30: White and Turtle

Day 1: Hey, Baby!

Day 2: Before and After a Snail

Day 3: Batter Up!

Day 4: Take a Little Piece of My Heart

Day 5: Among Dolphins

Day 6: Sky Lessons

Day 7: Surging Across Always

Day 8: The Tentacle of Want

Day 9: Tough Trees

Day 10: The Bull

Day 11: The Cold Is Slipping Away

Day 12: Soft Secrets

Day 13: The Nature of Wolves

Day 14: Egg as a Promise

Day 15: Singing with Sea Ghosts

Day 16: Electric Rhythm

Day 17: A Driply Rain

Day 18: Night Siren

Day 19: Windy Web

Day 20: Go West. Nope!

Day 21: Day of the Pumpkins

Day 22: Out of the Smoke

Day 23: First Steps

Day 24: The Ghost, Alone

Day 25: The Nature of Leopards

Day 26: Balloon Dance

Day 27: Smaug Returns

Day 28: The Moon Is a Silent Cymbal

Day 29: A Dog Will Be a Dog

Day 30: The Problem with Monkeys

 

More links just in case:

And finally, Linda Baie has the Poetry Friday Roundup this week. Make sure to stop by for Linda’s literary adventures in Colorado, plus links to all of this week’s poems.

25 Responses

  1. Hi Laura, I didn’t see them all but always loved what you wrote when I did get by. Today, for “iris”, so fun to read “searching for a story”. I know you did a lot of work to accomplish this challenge. Congratulations and thanks for the wrap-up.

  2. Thanks for the links to all your poems, Laura! I enjoyed following along and was even inspired to write a few of my own.

    1. I love that, Rose! I get so inspired by PF posts of others. Fun to be part of the cycle!

  3. It is helpful and inspiring to look back at all that you and so many poets have done for NPM. Thanks for the wrap up, Laura. I have so much to review and think about here.

  4. I kind of eschewed poetry in April as I was participating in that a to z challenge. I also felt that disconnectedness you alluded to and am glad to be back in the land of the living again.

  5. You sure do like a good challenge and this year was a doozy. So many constrictions. I’m sure your mind is still spinning. Nevertheless, you are my hero!

  6. Laura, nice collection of all the links, and I love the iris poem, with the eye searching for a story. It was fun following along on your journey of digging for poems.

  7. I was just talking with fourth-graders about how I love those words that can carry a poem in several different ways, and I want you to know that I’m using A ROCK CAN BE and A LEAF CAN BE in my afterschool programs this go-round…https://www.whispershoutwritingworkshop.net/this-pretty-planet. You’ll be able see their gorgeous work at WHISPERshout Magazine in the next few weeks. https://whispershoutpoetry414.blogspot.com/ Happy May reconnection!

    1. Thank you, Heidi! That workshop sounds amazing! Honored to have my books used <3

  8. I loved reading your digging for words poetry this past month, Laura. I hope May brings book and poetry joy, and peace for you.

  9. Laura, this is such a cool project! Thank you for sharing the link roundup. I too was more busy than normal in April… it was a wild month. Happy to go poke through your poetry project now!

  10. You are an inspiration! Wonderful word play and prompts to follow. I’m envious of your accomplishment. Maybe next year I’ll be able to stick to a project every day!

    1. Quit being so hard on yourself, Linda! You are so creative and productive–on top of all your work!

  11. Laura, these are so clever! I love them both. Our eyes are always “searching for a story,” aren’t they? Congratulations on completing your challenging project!

  12. Laura, I admire your creativity and your productivity! Thanks for all the links. I made it to your page a couple of times and submitted my version of a poem at least once after digging for words. But, you’ve inspired me! I found something (an object) this weekend and will write a poem around it. Thanks for all you do for the world of kidlit!

    1. Hooray, Carol! I enjoyed having you stop by. Hope you have fun with your found object poem :>) And thanks for the kind words.

      1. Thanks, Laura! You really are an inspiration to me. I have to review my notes from your webinar that I took a while ago on write for hire. I still think that’s a good fit for me and I really haven’t given it any effort other than looking through publishers and their catalogs and making a list of possibilities. I have a few ideas — I seem to be hung up on writing the queries. I plan to really give it some time this week. Thanks, again!

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