Our Host
Sarah lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma with her partner Dan who likes to ask, “What did you write about today?” She was a teacher of readers and writers in junior high for 15 years before making her way into teacher education at Oklahoma State University. Sarah launched Ethical ELA in 2015 to share stories from her classroom, but it has since taken on new life and many more lives by becoming a space for teacher-friends to share their own classroom stories and poetry.
Some Notes
Congratulations. We’ve done it. We’ve made it to day 30 of Verselove, and I suspect some of you have many more verses yearning for their turn in this amazing space. Well, guess what? We will be back here June 15-18 and then the third Saturday of every month for our five-day Open Write. Think of it as mini Verseloves each month. If you’d like to sign up to host a day of a monthly Open Write, do so here.
Feedback. We’d love to hear your feedback on the experience. Will you share your highlights and comments here?
PD: If you’d like a certificate of completion or PD credit. Email Sarah for details, sarah.j.donovan@okstate.edu.
Inspiration and Process
A few options for today:
A. Did you have a favorite prompt (new to you, fun, meaningful, surprising, challenging) from the month that you’d like to write again? All the inspirations are gathered here: https://www.ethicalela.com/verselove/.
B. Did you have a favorite poem from one of our Verselover or featured mentor poems? Maybe you want to acknowledge and uplift that poem today and honor the poet with a response poem– perhaps in the same form or in epistolary or letter form of gratitude.
C. Is there a poem in you that didn’t find a home this month? Maybe you wanted to say something week ago but weren’t ready. Maybe you had more in you but ran out of time. Perhaps a poem on day 4 or 14 or whatever was partial, and you want to return to it and finish it — or rewrite it entirely.
D. I love a collage poem, which can also be considered a found poem. Go to any day of Verselove and pull a line from several of your favorite poems including a parenthetical citation for each to lift lines and lift your witnessing of the poems that moved you today or the day you first read them.
E. Maybe you have another idea altogether for a poem today. Post your own prompt and poem. We can reply to you there.
Sarah’s Poem
Found in Us
for the beautiful blossoms– (MM)
Splashed through the puddle – (Amber)
From the bottom of my heart, (Andrew)
a wren violin (Margaret)
I had to trust (Susan)
you turned me into a colorful soul (Katherine)
with you. I can offer (WOWilkinson)
this need to embrace the rain in hope for the flowers (Bryan)
How to blossom (Joanne)
the kind that/gaze (Kim)
symbolizing new beginnings (Fran)
these are the thoughts (Christine)
Day springs forth from dawn, whispering (Jennifer)
mending broken flowers (Kevin)
before I see it. And I’m filled with (Dave)
two needles from the bed below a pine tree (Rachel)
Magic overnight– (Jeania)
earth breathes deeply (Ona)
luminous among the cattails and reeds, (Gayle)
if you listen to the rustle (Kim)
for the shaded canopies of trees, (Tammi)
that sound over and over again, (Sarah)
From mighty sequoias to bats so wee, (Leilya)
Silent eyes apprise the skies (Wendy)
Blue on blue and endless (Emily)
Cascading, folding, lying down (Ashley)
Clover teeming with honeybees (Katrina)
skywalk view of river-carved crevasse (Glenda)
all we need because we were made/in water. (Stacey)
you rise (Barb)
seek courage to change, to repair at great length (Margaret)
As if our lives depended on it (Mo)
pay close attention to the glistening surfaces (Seana)
Note: Most of these lines were pulled from our Earth day poems. I hope I honored your phrases in this repurposing, repoeming.
Your Turn
Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming.
I wrote this today as the event came to a close.
Oh you weeping flower
Snowbell, I recall
Hunched over in the bush by my childhood tower
Your pollen facing down and yet your petals never fall
You pale delicate beauty
Your stem green with the signs of life
I now relate to your state, so puny
Your ever bent spine in strife
For I too am wilting hunched over
At my desk I am a flower
Pale in the daylight, but I am a sun loather
And my beauty fades by the hour
You live in my memory, an ever testament
To my horrid posture
The kind onlookers lament
However, in what flows from my hands, love is fostered.
I am the snow bell, wilting at my poetry desk.
My spine bent and my beauty drooping for you to see.
Magnificent poem, Nathan. Your metaphor is visually appealing and relatable. I can feel that bent spine and the beauty drooping to see you! Gorgeous poem!
Nathan,
What a beauty! I love this metaphor! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a snowbell. So gorgeous!
Thank you, Sarah, and all poets here, for welcoming this stranger into your writing community. It’s been a joy to write with you!
I’m posting part of the verse I wrote for April 14, “If ever there was a spring day so perfect” prompt.
Maybe perfect is every spring day
The bright and the gray
The flowering and wilting
The small butterflies tilting
Sideways with the bloom at stem’s end.
Perfect is in the quiet of the darkened
House at day’s end,
When it sighs in deep contentment
And the evening breeze cools bare feet.
Jeania, what a beautiful verse you have created about Springtime. I love how I your poem even the gray and wilting can be part of a perfect day. Isn’t that true? And in that darkening cool evening joy and perfection is also found.
What a wonderful description of spring days, Jeania! I, too, think any spring day is perfect in its own way. The phrase “When it sighs in deep contentment” is magical. Thank you for joining us this month! I loved to read your poems.
Wow, your ending stanza is exquisite! Love the imagery and sensory appeal. Gorgeous poem!
Hi Jeania,
Love, love, love this. There is a soft acceptance in this poem that speaks to how we all must learn to embrace change. It is all part of a perfect plan.
I loved getting to know you this month! I hope you plan to return in June.
Fall Friday nights,
standing under the lights
The town’s shut down
To watch the team win the crown
The week of practice is complete,
Now it’s time to compete
One common goal in mind
They don’t need me to remind
“Leave it all out on the field!”
Is what I squealed
National Anthem plays pregame
The team’s energy, we can no longer contain
I played football all the way through college. As well as being an educator, I’ve been very fortunate to get my “football fix” through coaching the last 8 years. This sport is a big part of who I am. There’s still so much thrill I get out of being a part of it.
Paul, I enjoyed reading your couplets about football. I like the rhyming of field and squealed. “The town’s shutdown” shows you are in a football loving place.
Paul, I can tell your heart belongs to football and you live up to the game spirit. Your poem reminds me about the Saturday game nights when we lived in Baton Rouge very close to the Tiger’s Stadium (LSU). We couldn’t get to our house because the street was blocked by the police. The rhyming is well done in every couplet. Thank you for sharing!
Hi,
Kudos to coaches who care! I was a cheerleader in high school and loved our coaches. I never loved football, but I loved coaches. They were always so fun and kind to us.
Sarah- you’ve created a beautiful poem and a beautiful community- thank you. You found some gems there!
Open Write
daily offering
to dig deep
or bring lightness
show up
bright or raggedy
just
show
up
open space
open minds
open write
I like your highlight of the open writing prompt here, I took up this workshop for a class but I ended up enjoying this a lot.
Emily, thank you for being a big part of this Open Write community!
I like your final three lines:
“open space
open minds
open write”
I read it as as a boundless possibilty to express ourselves in this place.
Emily,
Sooooo true! Some days last month I was raggedy. 😂😂
Sarah, I loved the way you borrowed lines to craft your poem. I worry about borrowing from some and not others, and leaving someone out, so I stole a line of my own. I borrowed one line from each poem we wrote until this one. Line 1 is line 1 of day, line 2 line 2 of day 2 and so forth. If a poem was too short, I counted within that poem until I reached the appropriate number. I love this time with all of you! See you next year!
An #Anxiouscrafter was handed
a journal with a maternal smile
Daydreaming of Fowler Brothers Bookstore
Whispering to friends how Zed is tall
Excited in new suede boots
To drive away
Hide online time Stolen quiet as kids sleep
Confessing My hours of sleep each night
And how I woke up fighting during my appendectomy
I wanted us to Read with character voices and drama
Hands shaking, stand up and be brave
Saving the planet from unnecessary litter
Begging sages to Save my kitchen
Musing over Lye and oils joined together drying in stacked bricks
Lamenting When saying “mommy has homework”
#VerseLove Feels like going to summer camp again
Rewarding myself with your company
It is symbiotic, growing with companions until we are done
Hold my hand, let’s run away
My roots against your hateful enemies
Dancing with prompts, Celebrating each close replica as a win
Feeling restored and connected writing Dear Mother Nature,
A warrior cry erupts
Springing out of the sky
A time to remember
Life is more than HIT paragraphs
More than fears of How do I protect my children from…
It is about A friend to my left
Two souls dance the bolero as we drift into May
Ashley, wow, what an amazing poem. I appreciate how you’ve pulled your own lines to create this beautiful piece. I especially loved the end with “Two souls dance the bolero as we drift into May.” You’ve capture striking images, sound, and sensory appeal throughout this piece, and I think this would be a fun way to review personal poems to create new ones. Here’s to the next time and hearing warrior cries!
Ashley, that was fascinating to read, and I kept remembering your process and it made me even more interested and impressed. I love the extra words you added to draw it all together, especially as you talk about this experience in #Verselove, with sweet additions like “Dancing with prompts” “connected writing” and “as we drift into May” Well done!
That’s awesome! It works so well. More ideas to try although I did skip 2 days I think. Those first two lines and the last two are magic.
Ashley, you are so thoughtful and caring! I remember most of these lines from your poems. They are distinct and beautifully crafted despite your first day “#anxious crafter.” That final line is a testament to your change and growth as a poet as well. “Two souls dance the bolero”–beautiful and elegant. Thank you for writing, sharing, reading, and commenting!
Whoa! You have accomplished a huge task and it’s beautiful! Love the visual of drifting into May!
Dave’s prompt on April 16th using the Kwansaba form gave me the freedom I needed today to give praise and honor to your phenomenal Ethical ELA family.
A Praise Poem for Us
April lures us to the poetic page
Share verses with no mic or stage
Release buried secrets from our heart’s cage
We read, reflect, and comment to engage
With care for one another, never enrage
Somber vibes fill me the 30th day
I’ll miss you next month, Ethical ELA
©Stacey L. Joy, April 30, 2024
Stacey, all I can say is ditto on your message and congratulations on finding so many words to rhyme that make sense in this context and also include metaphor and concrete nouns and sensory adjectives – all in just seven symbolic lines of carefully chosen words and even a little natural rhythm to give the poem a musical note. You get my vote! See you in June!,
You are the rhyme expert! If you think it worked then I’m 100% proud! Much love!
Stacey — April sure does “lure us to the poetic page”
This –“Release buried secrets from our heart’s cage” is beautiful and true. This space does provide a place for unburdening.
I like the graphic you chose and caged bird imagery. I love how April lures us – and the ending couplet wraps it up well.
Stacey, I love the gilded heart in a cage, and your title is perfect. The rhyme scheme you’ve employed is sensational, adding to the poem’s cadence and smooth flow. I absolutely loved the line “Release buried secrets from our heart’s cage”. I’m always amazed at how the poems here as well as the prompts trigger a memory. The best detail is “comment to engage” because that’s what is so special. Sharing a poem and being lifted by the words of others. I especially appreciated the thoughtful comments on the days when I felt I had written a pretty pathetic poem. There’s still grace from so many. I appreciate your beautiful words, and the kind support you’ve given me this month. You’re an inspiration!
Stacey, what a beauty. I can say a big AMEN to all of it. I especially love this line: “Release buried secrets from our heart’s cage” That is so true for me, and I know others too. I like your AAAAABB rhyme scheme in the Kwansaba. Not only did you follow all the 7 rules, you made up some extras of your own. It makes me want to give some rhyming a try in this form.
Stacey, this line is striking: “Release buried secrets from our heart’s cage.” Thank you for this praise poem and for being here every day after the long work day! Thank you for your kind and caring comments! Till next time 🥰
Thank everyone so much for this platform to aid in creativity. I really appreciate the judgement free zone to share my words with everyone even if I wasn’t feeling entierly confident.
My last poem is just going to be me word spilling since it’s been a long day.
In my eyes I see the end crashing down on a weighted shore
My tears fall heavy as I lay down the burden of the day off my shoulders
I sit quietly among the silenced and whisper to them, for I am as loud as they.
The effort of one million soldiers could not lighten the load that has been placed upon me
The load that I must carry for eternity.
Until I lay down to rest, I must persist.
Persist like the mighty lion, as I roar into the sunset
Because what comes down must always come up
And just like the sun I rise, stronger than before.
For my challenges are heavy but I am stronger.
We love word-spilling, Katherine.
Sending comfort for the “weighted shore” and the “burden of the day”. I find beautiful the “mighty lion” and the “roar into the sunset” in all the ways that one finds strength under the weight to rise. Yes stronger.
Sarah
Katherine —
Love these beautiful lines “I sit quietly among the silenced and whisper to them, for I am as loud as they” and “For my challenges are heavy but I am stronger.” Love the triumph in the end.
I enjoyed this, Katherine. I like how you ended a heavy-hearted poem with a vote of confidence in your strength .
Thanks Sarah and this entire community for your generosity and inspiration during this month. And thanks, too, for cheering my young students poets on as well.
Today, after a month of writing poems, I challenged my students to write a poetry comic about how to write a poem. (You can find some more details about that on. my blog here: https://thinkingthroughmylens.com/2024/04/30/how-to-write-a-poem-npm24-day-30/)
Of course I wrote with my students–and was inspired by my students. Here is my poem (although the comic portion is not yet complete)
How to Write a Poem (with first graders)
Dip into lots and lots of poems
swim in the language
play in the wonder of words
Notice the pitter patter of ideas
tap dancing like raindrops on the roof
like dew drops slipping off the leaves
Soaking into childhood’s wild fresh colors
unleashing a sky full of rainbows
Settle in the moment
and wait…
poets will bloom
Oh, that parenthetical gave me a smile. How wonderful to be “Soaking into childhood’s wild fresh colors” and the message, closing is so important to resonate in “poets will bloom.” I feel like I will always be blooming.
Peace,
Sarah
Kim,
This is so sweet and joyful. Love all the sensory imagery. Your poem makes me happy. And I’m sure you made your poets happy too, guiding them to
Love the ending.
Kim —
“Notice the pitter patter of ideas
tap dancing like raindrops on the roof
like dew drops slipping off the leaves” —
I love the way the activity of your poem feels like the children in your first grade classroom.
Ah, delightful! I love the metaphors of swimming and dancing with words and bright colors! I’m sure poets are blooming with this inspiring poem! What fun to visit this world for a minute there.
Thank you, Sarah for all the time and love you put into this space, we witness your dedication through all of this.
Poets-hosts-educators, thank you for sharing your lives this month. It has been an honor to read your work even on days when I didn’t have the words or capacity to share my own.
Thank you, Sarah! Thank you all the #VerseLove hosts, and thank you to every single one of you who read, wrote, and responded to me and each other! Today is bittersweet, and I wanted to create this final date night for all of us to remember (until we meet again in June) from the lines you crafted during the day I hosted on April 5. I attempted to show the multiple places where we could meet and things we could do, but, most importantly, how we have built relationships, lifted each other, and experienced joy from beautiful words. Thank you!
Date Night with Verse Lovers
It’s April again
Time to celebrate (Emily Martin)
Tradition in the making (Saba T.)
Excitement builds all day for Date Night (cmhutter)
Let’s escape on a perfect getaway (Barb Edler)
We Found Love in a Covid Space (Angie)
We’ve got a date
with the road. (WOWilkinson)
In the car we sit, mile accumulating like snowdrifts (Kim Douillard)
Red carpet treatment along Route 66. (Jennifer Kowaczek)
We’d meet at the
farmers market, (Carriann)
We walked the late-night
Lonely streets for hours (Leilya)
into an altitude of gods
and otherworldly revelations (Rex Muston)
We went to that park in Long Beach (Denise Krebs)
Taking an evening walk when we listen and don’t talk. (Anna J. Small ROSEBORO)
hiking through sand dunes
kayaking crystal rivers (MathSciGuy)
seeing peaks from a peak, (Rex Muston))
we rolled the dice in sin city— (Glenda Funk)
Strolling under the stars (Christine Baldiga)
A dinner date sounds good (Amber)
We settle into our seats (Kevin
… the Irish Rover for a beer in the bluegrass, (Bryan Crandall)
“You brought a book? To a bar?” (Keith Newvine)
to talk about little things (Susan)
taking a chance
see if we click (Larin Wade)
twirling, shining until our eyes meet. (Linda Mitchell)
Singing a hundred songs (Fran Haley)
and play tabletop football (Scott)
Shutting out all the background noise (Heidi Ames)
Truly seeing each other and listening (Heidi Ames)
And God winked on us forever. (Kim Johnson)
It’s always a magical time (Fran Haley)
I savor every second (Andrew H.)
Our souls in harmony (cmhutter)
Drawing oxygen from incidental touch (Allison Berryhill)
mind drifting through the past, remembering (Rachel S.)
we sigh into the morning (Allison Berryhill)
Sunrise dreams and backroad conversations (Clayton Moon)
We dread parting, the news is always aplenty (Juliette)
But I wouldn’t have it any other way (Mo Daley)
My heart was at home with you. (Leilya)
Leilya,
Two words: Road Trip! Seriously! I can imagine a few of us criss crossing the country and landing in Sin City because it’s one of the best places for fun! I adore these lines: “You brought a book? To a bar?” (Keith Newvine)
to talk about little things (Susan)”LOL!
This is a fantastic concluding poem, a perfect final date poem. I’m grateful for your kindness and support this month. You and Barb and Denise have been my steadfast companions here. There are people who never reciprocate commenting, and I find them to be demoralizing. I almost stopped posting multiple times, but then the three of you were there lifting me up and giving me reason to return. Thank you,
Leilya,
How craftful to weave together all these scenes into date night. Brilliant. The magical time and ever second and souls in harmony. Yes, there was pain in our verse this month, and there was a lot of love and joy and celebration. This poem does show the relationships we have cultivated. Sometimes I feel like I am cheating on my partner when I sneak away to write a poem or a response. I swim in so many stories and poems and lives that he does not see.
I love my dates with this community,
Sarah
Leilya,
What a beautiful tribute to our community. Thanks for letting us revisit all of these beautiful—and funny (“You brought a book? To a bar?” (Keith Newvine) date night poems.
Your ending is sublime:
Thank you for being such a generous part of this community.
Wow! How did you manage to bring so many voices together and make it make sense!
I love this most because I agree, my heart is at home HERE with all of us!
Leilya, beautiful! I love revisiting the date night prompt with this collage poem. It is lovely and fun, and I especially like to think of them as “places where we could meet” and write poetry together. So many lovely thoughts, like “sunrise dreams” “souls in harmony” and “God winked on us forever” Nice. Thank you for compiling it.
Leilya, I so enjoyed reading your poem this evening and throughout the month. You’ve captured so many interesting lines, and the way you end this one with your own perfect line “My heart was at home with you” is magnificent. What’s really fun about this one is remembering these lines like Glenda’s “we rolled the dice in sin city” and “You brought a book? To a bar?”. Excellent job of weaving a new story to show this collaborative date night. So much fun. Thank you, Leilya for all your inspiring lines this month! You’ve been a pure joy to be with!
Leilya,
This is crazy good! I couldn’t fathom grabbing things from so many different places and putting it all together. But you did it and so well.
Thanks Leilya. I love your last date night for the month. Here’s to many more 🥂
So beautifully woven, Leilya! It’s a panoramic view of poems and poets but also a celebration that leaves one more than a little breathless. The wonder, anticipation, and awe of VerseLove all live in this poem that you’ve skillfully crafted with borrowed lines. I especially love your own last ending line – our hearts HAVE found a home here in each other. Thank you for being such an integral part of this, so encouraging, so giving.
So lovely and so well crafted, Leilya! Thank you for crafting and sharing this! I so enjoyed writing alongside you this month!
I decided to go with my own prompt and poem. I recently had taken a poetry class and one of our required poems was experimental poetry. I have always found love and joy in music, so I took my opportunity to write about a song/artist that has saved me. If anyone else finds love, happiness, and joy in music, feel free to contribute below.
Heres mine. It was originally submitted one a pdf document with different formatting to exemplify the meaning more.
Mac
These are my wings The wings you gave me
Mak
I wish I could speak to you one day like your lyrics speak to me
Without them I might be where you are, but we can’t gamble with that.
Taken advantage of, a good one gone to soon…
Fent, addy, coke, the ones that always take control…
You knew better than that, c’mon we all know better than that
But the demons… the demons always speak louder than we want them too,
don’t they?
Believe me Mac; I know… The lyrics you conveyed in I now convey in.
Starting to feel a little too similar. Where am I heading?
Will never know. But I know the music will guide me.
Mac, thank you for sharing this poem. I was taken aback by this line: “But the demons… the demons always speak louder than we want them too.” This is not a new idea, but it makes me pause and think how people form some universal experiences and understandings. I appreciate this notion in your poem.
We all know better, but the demons always speak louder…you’ve said so much in these lines. You’re making me think about talent and tragedy now.
Mak,
The “you” and “me” feels so intimate here, surfacing the confession, confidence in the guide in the question “Where am I heading?” Wow.
Sarah
Mak,
This is a powerful poem, but it’s also simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful. A paradox, of sorts. I really like your wordplay: Mak, Mac. There’s ambiguity in that, and in my opinion, ambiguity strengthens poetry. I like complicated poems. Powerful line:
“But the demons… the demons always speak louder than we want them too,”
That is so true. Thanks for being here. I really appreciate your comments about the strikethrough poem prompt.
This poem was very pretty and conveyed a deep sense of loss. The last lines in particular honor Mak’s legacy.
Thank you, Sarah for bringing us all together again for another amazing month of verse-love! I decided to write about the Poet Tree growing in our library which was created by middle school students at my school.
A Poet Tree germinated from seed
an inspired dance of ideas, letters, words
soil nourished with creativity.
Verse unfolded
sprinkled with joy & pain
hope & despair
and
still the sapling sprouted
paper leaves of green
each poem a pure bright promise for tomorrow.
Whoops, tried to attach photo and it didn’t work first time. Trying again.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FMYFUcwhO5yj7st_x8P2G5YJ-mwfYdBSd5Q7eHtQJzo/edit
Gorgeous poem, Tammi. I love this idea. Please share a photo. Your words capture the ways poetry shares the human experience! Loved sprinkled with joy & pain.
Tammi, how unique and creative this is. Being a future educator myself and loving poetry I enjoyed this. This makes me happy to see that poetry is being integrated into young minds.
Thank you for sharing a poem and a photo. I, too, create poetry trees with my students. I call them Trees of Hope. Love this imagery:
“sprinkled with joy & pain
hope & despair”
First of all, the poet tree is a great idea! I love how you tied nature and hope together so nicely here. Great last line.
I love this! “…dance of ideas…nourished with creativity”. And that ending…”each poem a pure bright promise for tomorrow”. Thanks for sharing the picture too.
Tammi,
“Poet tree”! That is fantastic. I also feel such tenderness in the phrase “sapling sprouted.” Precious.
Sarah
Tammi,
Your poem is so beautiful and fitting for our last day of Verselove
Just beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Tammi, what a beautiful poem. I love the metaphor throughout of a real tree, with amazing insights and images like “dance of ideas, letters, words” “verse unfolded” Even with pain and despair (and of course joy and hope) “the sapling sprouted” And that last line, pure joy! Thanks for sharing the picture of the real Poet Tree at your school.
Sarah, I am speechless. Your poem captures all the love and beauty in our work but mostly in our unit as a writing family.
I am grateful for you and everyone here. Looking forward to writing tonight. I’ll be a latecomer due to long staff meetings.
Stacey, I thought I was late. Just posted mine after a long day too. Will look forward to reading yours later tonight.
I love your found poem, Sarah. What a beautiful way to wrap up this month. This was the first time I’ve done verselove – and I didn’t post every day (although I did write a poem every day on my blog!) and I have so loved the prompts, the inspiration, reading others’ poetry. I can’t wait to join again.
I had a lot of things I thought I’d write about, but I had to write about my epic morning. First I looked up some narrative poetry forms, tried them a bit, and finally landed on my regular old free verse. Narrative Free Verse… that’s gotta be something, right? (It’s long, but I blame the line breaks that yell at me if I don’t use them.)
An Epic Morning
This morning my son went to get us Starbucks’s.
I mean, he drove. I paid.
That’s how things work around here.
“Should I order on my phone or yours?” He said, like some sort of master negotiator
When he got back he was sorry to be late
he had seen a bear cross the street,
tried to follow it a bit,
lost sight as it sauntered into the trees
by the bus stop.
“I guess. . .
Make a lot of noise when you go to the bus,” I said
because we are not afraid of bears here
I mean, it’s not like a man was running towards the bus stop
I left my Starbucks refresher for later
carried my dry laundry upstairs
thought about how I should have taken the dog’s barks
more seriously last night
instead of telling him
okay, yelling at him
to chill out about the neighbor’s cat
oops
After my shower I
proudly started to put my clothes away in the closet
like I imagine real grown-ups do in the morning
before school
before school!
I imagine those real grown-ups might not scream for their 17 year old when a creepy crawly bazillion leg bug crawls out of the pants they are about to fold
But I did
I screamed
then told myself
I can do this I can do this I can do this
I don’t need a husband
Who probably wouldn’t have helped anyway
I can catch this thing in something
something something I need something
I turned to find that something
something something there must be something on my dresser
I’m not a bug squasher, not a bug killer
I’m more
catch and release
less murder
But when I turned back around
the bug was gone – he will never know how nice I
was
going to be
but now, I thought…
I’ll write it, even though I don’t want to
That bug had to be somewhere in my bed
I yelled for my son to come help me again
“Bring a vacuum
or we have to sell our house!”
I tried to carefully shake the blankets
my dog looked at me confused
my cat ran under the bed
my son warned me to
be careful!
you might touch it!
it’s going to jump out of there!
I didn’t get far in my quest
it was time to go to school
So later I will decide
Strip the bed, vacuum, look in every cranny
or sleep on the couch?
Lucky for me
help must be on the way
because after school I found
not the bug
but the boys’ wanted poster they must have made before catching the bus
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BUG?
LAST SEEN: MOM’S PANTS
So although it may be true that
apparently we are more scared of bugs
than bears here
we also know how to laugh
in the face of fear
and make clever wanted posters
Ona,
Welcome and thank you for joining us. I hope we see you in the months to come. Drop in any time for one of the Open Writes.
Love this narrative free verse. Of course, you had me at the ALL CAPS about the bugs and mom’s pants. Perfect call out and up leaning into the lovely so what ending of “we also know how to laugh…and make clever wanted posters.”
Perfect.
Peace,
Sarah
Ona, I really enjoyed your poems throughout the month. This one is great storytelling! I love the part where you are looking for a thing to trap the bug. (I’m a catch and released, too!)
Ona — What a morning you had! Bugs and bears. Definitely epic! You had me laughing at the bugs, but I am right there with you. I hate those million legged things. They are so damn fast and they can get really big! You are way nicer than me though. If it is in my house, I kill it!
Ona–I started chuckling at putting your clothes away like an adult, related completely to the bug chase, and fell in love with the sign your sons made! The best, all the way through!! What a wonderful, honest story!
Ona, this is something! I thoroughly enjoyed your narrative. I noticed how the tension began to build up when you got to:
”I can do this I can do this I can do this
I don’t need a husband
Who probably wouldn’t have helped anyway
I can catch this thing in something”
Love the repetitions that sound like you were trying to convince yourself. The ending is so fitting. Thank you!
Ona, that is a perfect narrative free verse form. What a fun story. At first I thought there might be more to the bear story, but bringing the bear back at the end with the comparison to bugs is clever and hilarious. Thank you for sharing this gem with us, and I’m glad you ventured into Verselove some days this month!
Thank you to all of the prompt sharers this month. It has been such a wonder and something I look forward to every morning. I’ll miss you until June.
Sarah, thank you for providing this space–a place for writing challenges, fun, fellowship, relationships and sometimes gentle solace. Thank you to all who offered their good wishes yesterday. I lost another sister this week. Three years ago I wrote a poem about my sisters here during Verselove: https://www.ethicalela.com/24-30-snapshots-in-time/#comment-38674 Today I used that poem to write a blackout poem, and it’s attached as an image. There were 7 of us in my family, and now there are 4. Each sibling has died suddenly, no illness and no warnings. While it certainly can be counted as a blessing not to die by inches, it’s still shocking for those left behind. It’s also humbling to see my own expiration date on the horizon. It is nice to have this place to write and share. Thank you, all.
Oh, Denise – this is heartbreaking. What a way to write about the grief – a blackout poem. I’m sorry to hear about your losses. The poem was beautiful. – both before and now. Thank you for sharing it.
Denise,
I’ve thought of you often today and the grieving you and your family are experiencing. I know you’re finding comfort in words and reimagining a poem from the past. “for this tomorrow hurts” is an achingly beautiful line knowing today is that tomorrow. Peace and love to you, my friend.
Denise,
Thank you so much for offering this framing of your poem. As one of 11 who lost the first sibling last year, I am pondering some of the same thoughts of expiration and the inevitable of counting down when so many years ago people would be counting up with each pregnancy.
Still, there is no comparing grief, and I didn’t mean to make this about me.
The black out is quite different from the strike out — more permanent. Definitely darker. The contrast of there and gone is stark.
I did a right click and open in a new tab to see it large. Yes, “tomorrow, hurts.” that comma seems especially important as representing something still there that may not be.
Oh, hugs.
Sarah
Oh, dear! Denise, my heart breaks all the more today. That you would take that beautiful poem about sisters and black out so very, very much of it – this speaks so poignantly, so clearly about the excruciating loss you are enduring. It is so very painful to lose a sibling. It is, without a doubt, “still shocking for those left behind.” Praying for you, as you grieve this enormous loss in your family.
Denise,
I am so sorry for your loss. Sending prayers to you and your family.
Denise, I’m so deeply sorry for your loss! Your blackout poem emphasizes the grief your experience and emphasizes the sudden loss. I can feel every wave of pain you share in this poem. Tomorrow hurts resonates for me. May the bright memories help carry you through this difficult loss! Tears and hugs!
Denise,
Your blackout verse seems the perfect choice for both the suddenness of your loss and the darkness of the grief. Praying for you and your family.
Thank you so much for your encouragement of my work this month. It’s been a delight to “meer” everyone through this community.
Denise, this blackout poem creates such a somber tone. It tell about your acute pain. “Tomorrow hurts” indeed. I don’t have many words right now; just want to hug you. 🤗❤️
Denise, this poem says so much in so few words. I’m so very sorry for your heartbreaking loss. May your memories comfort you and your friends, family and writing see you through this difficult time.
Denise,
Your black-out poem carries to us the weight of your grief.
So sorry for your loss.
Thank you for sharing both versions of your poem and the joyful picture of you and your sisters. Your love for one another is fully evident in both poems and the picture.
Sending peace and love and light.
Love you and your poetry, Denise.
Oh, Denise. Thanks for sharing another poetry memory and all of this with us. It’s nice to be able to read the first poem and what you decided to blackout. I love that you started with “a picture” because the original poem was based on a picture and “sister in love / afraid of the pain” is powerful. I’m glad you have close siblings and people who have become siblings in your life who help you through the grief of loss. *hugs*
Denise, your blacking out words in your own poem about your sisters, on the loss of another, moves me deeply. What is left behind? Hurt – which goes deeper still. Know that you and the family are in my thoughts today and in the days ahead. It is terrible to lose a beloved one suddenly – but three siblings? – I cannot imagine. Know that you are in my heart and that I pray comfort to yours, friend. Know how much you have brightened so many of my days – I pray rays for you in this present darkness. Thank you for your always-amazing offerings.
Sarah,
Much gratitude to you for nurturing our poet souls since National Poetry Month 2019, but especially this moth. A huge thank you to those who supported me throughout this journey by reading my poems and sharing affirming thoughts that are often a source of strength and a push to keep sharing in this space. To those who wrote strikethrough poems on April 28, thank you for showing up. ‘Preciate you!
Poetry Petting Zoo
i think of this as
our poetry petting zoo—
we touch word-worlds here
Glenda Funk
4-30-24
Canva photo: One I took in March during our road trip to Arizona.
Poem idea from the *Rare Book Petting Zoo* at the Folger Shakespeare Library in 2010 during a Teaching Shakespeare Institute reunion. We did get to *pet* the rare books.
Glenda! I love this… A Poetry Petting Zoo. So much to imagine and feel in those 3 lines. I have visions of your poem hanging on a wall of poems —- inviting sharing and celebration.
“we touch word-worlds here” – oh, I love this so much! It has been wonderful to write alongside you this month…five years now, for me, and I owe this all to you! Thanks for all your dear comments on my writing, and I hope I have shared such commenting love with you, as well.
Glenda,
Love this –“We touch word-world here.” So true!
Glenda, I participated in your strike-through poem and I absolutely loved it. That was the first time I ever did a poem like that. Poetry petting zoo, what a neat concept. I love how you end it “we touch word-worlds here” I was so skeptical when I first started this open write, but everyone welcomed me with open arms. It was nice to read your poems and participate in your prompt. Best wishes.
Glenda, I love your haiku. Writing in this space is like holding bright beautiful birds. Unique and colorful creatures you treat tenderly! A petting zoo offers the idea of that same gentle treatment we hope to find in this space. I want to personally thank you for challenging me to continue writing. I just wanted to give up but your faithful presence and support was a constant and even when I didn’t want to write a word, I did because your presence and responses mattered. Thank you for sharing your brilliant craft and amazing Canva poems!
Glenda, “we touch word-worlds here” is the essence of this community. I am so glad we found each other in this space. Thank you for each of your poems, for each of your comments, for your outpouring support, friend!
Glenda, what a so sweet poem today. “word-worlds” is so expansive and powerful. It makes me think of all the ways poems are like word-worlds, and it makes me love your poem more. Really a favorite this month! Nice image too, and a “Rare Book Petting Zoo” Wow! Fun!
Thank you so much, Sarah, for providing this space for us to share poetry and communicate with each other. I decided to go with a found poem. This is dedicated to the writers who shared their poetry with me on April 13th: https://www.ethicalela.com/the-brain-dump/. Your words matter! Thank you for trusting me with your words! (P.S. third meeting today ahead, I’ll be back)
Determined to Make It Matter
we arrive at dusk
orange, purple, and gray skies to the west
blossoming in the April rain
trees shiver into budding leaves,
the piercings of heartstrings
in the company of tall solitary anonymous trees
on rocky terrain, spaces i long to rewrite
searching for the secret entrance—
I breathe deeply and pretend
it’s only flooding when the people build
I hear dancehall music, see
a picture of a girl with a “bubble butt”
a culprit approaches, cigars in hand
like the joints in my crooked fingers
cocktails of negative energy
careless fatheads, tiny brown creeper,
your little rug rats, the fool upon the stage,
the one that overthinks and judges judges judges
a baby’s cries echoing, gnaws against bone,
as easily as beheading, both of us will be burnt
driving down, driving back out
exiting with Blue Moon or Superman
a moment we put off for too long …
things still fall through the cracks
we’re not letting him beat us from these crimes
even when the silence is scary, the sun
is rising and all sense of purpose is almost
when the day darkened, we were the coyote too
we with our buttery- air- popped-popcorn- love,
a teaching unicorn, cream and berries mousse cake
and Cajun blood,—just a teeny bit,
that bridge can carry both of us to the possible—
world peace welcome home
please don’t shut us out
Barb Edler
30 April 2024
Spectacular poem! You weave a new story out of all that has been offered, and it is both suspenseful –
and hopeful
It has been a wonderful month, Barb! So great to connect with you.
Barb,
Reading these words offers a sense of the sublime, but then these words jumped from the page to interrupt that peace:
“the one that overthinks and judges judges judges”.
Then the ending gifts a prayer and hope:
“that bridge can carry both of us to the possible—
world peace welcome home
please don’t shut us out”
There’s an ebb and flow to this collage you’ve reimagined as though to recognize the full spectrum of emotion and experience this month has brought. Thank you for your word gifts each day, for your support and generosity.
Barb,
I especially love the lines “on rocky terrain, spaces I long to rewrite searching for the secret entrance ” I have felt that way most of the journey this month. Your verses are all beautiful, and reading the.has been a joy.
Thank you for your encouragement this month!
Amazing story, Barb. You really make me want to try this on another day. I would love to know how you approached writing this poem.
Barb, this beautiful collage signifies the ways you see poetic expression unfold. I like how seamlessly you weaved in all the lines. Thank you for always being so generous and supportive with your comments! Your poems were sharp, thoughtful, and sensible throughout all month. I always look forward to read your poems.
Barb, the brain dump prompt comes through, especially in the second stanza. So many interesting, big, scary, or nightmarish ideas there. That was a good prompt, and I can see it again in this collage poem.
I’ve been wanting to write another triolet but haven’t squeezed it in yet. So here’s my go!
Worn
a mother’s work is never done
it wears her through and thin
the patches placed and netting spun
a mother’s work is never done
in fact, it’s always just begun
it’s deep inside her skin
a mother’s work is never done
it wears her through and thin
Rachel, your triolet sings. The repetition of a mother’s work helps emphasize this reality. Feeling worn thin resonates! Wonderful poem!
Wonder triolet! I love the combination of
such truth-telling! I hope poetry-writing releases some of that exhaustion. Happy end of April! It’s been a fabulous month of poetry writing.
Rachel, nice triolet. The rhyming is great, and the surprising “Wears her through and thin” is perfect. I especially love “in fact, it’s always just begun” You have captured the busy life of a mother.
What a lovely triolet, Rachel! The repetition of “a mother’s work is never done” really brings home the theme here. I love it — I found the triolet tricky to write, and yours is excellent to read … makes me want to try again!
Rachel, the first repeating line is cementing piece of this triolet. Beautifully done!
Step Right Up!
Step Right Up!
Ladies and
Gentlemen
Boys and Girls
You never know
What Iambic Oddities
Await
Hear a Longfellow Poem
Transformed into a
Spenserian Sonnet
Right Before Your Very
Ears
Play the games
of chance on the
midway,
and now while
supplies last, you can win
a reasonable facsimile of
an autographed copy of
Leaves of Grass
Step Right Up!
Step Right Up!
Pin the tail on William
Blake’s painting “The
Great Red Dragon” and then
On Blake himself!
Everybody’s a winner!
Whack-A-Poet pits
You against those
Wily Beat Poets
Ginsberg and
Ferlinghetti
Knock over WCW’s
White Chickens!
Or Guess
the Weight of
Percy Bysshe
Shelley’s Heart!
And Don’t Forget
Skee Ball!
Get lost in Neruda’s
Corn Labyrinth, full of
Maize and Wonder
William Butler Yeats
Swallows Fire and Tames
A Rough Beast with
only a Whip and Kitchen
Chair
Walt Whitman recites
“O, Captain, My Captain!”
Completely Nude
(only for the adults
in the audience,
mind you)
And In tent number three
inside a fairly dirty mason jar
see the wonders of
Emily Dickinson’s FLY
You heard right,
THE ACTUAL FLY
she heard buzz
before she died
and while you’re there
You can see the Hope
we’ve trapped in a
Gilded Cage just
for you
(individual feathers
available in the
souvenir shop
on your way out)
And for the
Coop de grace
See the Melancholy
Edgar Allan Poe,
Head of a Man
Body of a Raven
repeating the phrase:
“Nevermore! Nevermore!”
Step Right Up!
Step Right Up!
___________________________________________
Sarah, thank you for your Cento today; you honor those poets and this community! Thank you so much for [gestures broadly] all of this! My offering started with an imagined title – “The Island of Misfit Poets” – but I couldn’t quite get it to work the way I wanted it to, and that led me to the image of Poe, half man half raven, and that was that, as they say!
I want you to record yourself writing a poem so that I/we can see your process. You simply amaze me. The way you weave really smart stuff in with total whimsy or humor! I love every bit of this, but I’ve spent the most time teaching Poe, so his stanza takes top billing!
Such a fun ode to poetry writing, Scott! I’m laughing at the image of Emily’s feathers of hope trapped in a gilded cage. And this, how I chuckled –
There were several days this month that I felt like a “whack-a-poet,” although I had no idea until this poem that this was even a thing, lol. It’s been wonderful to write alongside you this April!
Scott–
“Walt Whitman recites
“O, Captain, My Captain!”
Completely Nude
(only for the adults
in the audience,
mind you)”
You have such a wondrously strange mind. It is truly a side show…I wish I was teaching next to you! (They would never let us sit next to each other in meetings…)
Scott, I can hear your carnival barker inviting us in to see all these poetic oddities. My favorite is the fly-although the raven man sounds awesome, too!
Scott, could you just record the audio version of this poem for us? I would love to hear it. )) I like how you worked in all the poetry giants. Thank you for writing alongside us this month again!
Oh Scott, what a carnival barker poem voice you created here. Very fun poem of the Misfit Poets. I love the Hope in a gilded cage and, of course, the man-raven repeating, “Nevermore.”
I picked a prompt from one of the days I didn’t do. I chose the one called “Noteworthy.”
On paper, I was the ideal student.
-4.0 gpa
-student council
-debate team
-class president
-blah – blah – blah.
I did all the things the trust fund kids did,
and on paper,
I was equal to them…
On paper
But on another paper,
I was a kid who sat in the back,
where I felt like no one could see me
or expect anything from me
With the kids of my class,
– economic that is –
with the kids
who smoked pot under bleachers,
who skipped class and cussed at teachers,
who fought in the street after late-night benders,
who got yelled at and forgotten by administrators
while
their families struggled to make ends meet,
while their fathers were in prison and their siblings were addicted.
I sat in the back with the kids who,
like me,
learned fast that things are earned and not given,
that nothing is guaranteed,
and to take chances when you see ‘em.
In the back row,
we had a paper,
an ongoing conversation,
passed outside of the vision of teachers,
where I acted like I had done all the things they did,
all the things I was too scared (and too smart) to do,
because the back row was where I felt at home
until I didn’t.
until I understood that the 4.0
and the dollars saved in a shoebox
and the late-night studying
that no one in the back row knew about
could get me out
of the back row.
Em,
Your poem leads so well to the culminating lines. Oh, the difference between what’s “on paper” and not and what teachers are aware of and not.
I’m so glad you stayed grounded and got out of the back row! It’s just a shame there is even a back row.
There is so much to consider in your poem, Em. The idea of fitting in intrigues me. I love your ending. Well done.
I wonder how many people are part of that back row, knowing that they don’t really belong there? This is a sensitive and truthful poem.
This
“In the back row,
we had a paper,
an ongoing conversation,
passed outside of the vision of teachers,
where I acted like I had done all the things they did,
all the things I was too scared (and too smart) to do,
because the back row was where I felt at home
until I didn’t.”
Wow.
Em, your poem is quite relatable to me too. I was “in the back row” during the first semester. By the beginning of the second, they “promoted” me to the middle, and as a sophomore I settled in the first row. Still without a money or trust fund, but with my work. I am happy you got out of the back. It is exhausting, tons of effort, but it is all worth it. Thank you so much for sharing this story with us today!
My prompt: Write about a time someone treated you unfairly.
Title: Petty
I hope someone treats your work
the way you treated mine.
I hope they see no value in it,
I hope they spit on it,
I hope they strip you of your title,
I hope you develop insomnia
and nothing helps you sleep.
I hope you lay awake at night,
tossing and turning
for hours on end,
praying for just a few moments of rest,
wondering why God has decided
to punish you.
And I hope when you’re
tossing and turning,
sweating,
praying,
losing your sanity,
you think of me.
I hope you think of every student
you’ve ever treated unfairly.
Please, suffer.
Mick, I completely understand this feeling! I can think of a few of my past teachers that need to read this poem. It’s so funny and heartfelt. The whole thing is so well-written. A few lines made me chuckle because I have felt this same way so many times. Great job!
Mick…we all had this teacher at one time….many of us teach to NOT be this teacher. I hope they spit on it, too.
Mick, I would never want to meet you in a dark alley! Your words are powerful and speak of a time when you were treated harshly. I’m so sorry this happened to you.
Mick, I am sorry you had to experience that. I hope you saw great teachers too. As a teacher, I can’t imaging intentionally hurting a child. Thank you for sharing today!
Mick,
I agree with brcrandall about us wanting to be a part of the change in teaching. There’s constructive criticism and then there’s the unfair treatment that you described.
Hi, Sarah. This is the first year I’ve participated in Verselove and I offer a heartfelt thank you for launching this amazing site. My life has been enriched by this opportunity and especially by all the poets who wrote with exquisite feeling, truth, and creativity. I am blown away by the talent here and have learned so much. Happy to hear there will be other chances to connect as the year goes on. I love how you were able to cobble together pieces of so many wonderful verses and create a unique poem. I’ve got to work on that, so for now, I’ll just end with this humble verse…
Few people I know write poetry.
Sometimes I feel like an anomaly.
For years I’ve penned rhyming verse.
It’s usually a blessing, but sometimes a curse.
Rhyming words whip through my head
in times of joy and times of dread.
This is the first time I feel free
writing and sharing with poets like me.
I’m so glad Ethical ELA,
along with Verselove came my way.
I’m learning I don’t have to rhyme
to create a poem that is sublime.
I’ve learned different kinds of verse
and trying them keeps me immersed.
The best part, you may agree,
is learning how others think and see…
Sharing words that shine and sear,
sharing words that make the truth so clear.
Poets that pick up their pen
and offer insights with a creative bend.
Thanks for your work and words of encouragement.
You’ll never know how much it’s meant.
Hello, Rita. This is my first year participating in Verselove as well. I’m so glad you’ve been able to share your work with like-minded people, there’s nothing more valuable than words of encouragement from fellow writers. My favorite line was, “The best part, you may agree, / is learning how others think and see…” I completely agree, I love reading everyone’s poetry and getting a glimpse into their lives and how their brains work. Great work! I hope you’re able to participate again.
Rita, I am so thankful you came to VerseLove so that we could continue writing alongside each other daily. You are so right – – the passion of poetry is alive and is a steering current, and when you find your people, the world is so much brighter. The Open Writes are my monthly fuel – – I honestly don’t know what in the world I would do without them. Here, I learn, I connect, I celebrate, I grow. I’m glad you’re here doing all those things too. Wonderful poem today, and I love the rhyming couplet form.
Rita,
What a blessing to have you among us! I know how I felt finding this community . . . that I finally had people to share my love of expression with. I learn so much every single time we have an Open Write and then the VerseLove month is just magic. I look forward to reading more of your work and watching you evolve as a poet, and I really look forward to more commenting from you. I love to read other writer’s insights!
What a sweet tribute!! Thank you, thank you for being here & joining us! And come back! I love this couplet: “Sharing words that shine and sear / sharing words that make the truth so clear.”
“This is the first time I feel free
writing and sharing with poets like me.”
This, to me, is the joy of VerseLove – the comfort and connection between all of us. It is such a positive, loving, caring community. It’s been wonderful to write alongside you this month!
Rita, I am so glad you found this community supportive and meaningful. Thank you for writing, sharing, and commenting this month!
Rita,
I read this after writing my poem for the day. We had similar thinking stylistically for today’s poem. I really enjoyed reading this!
Rita, it has been a pure joy to have you join in during Verselove this April. Your poem is lovely, and shows so much of what I also love about being here. “Sharing words that shine and sear” is such a powerful way to describe the poems we write here. Hope to see you in June too.
Sarah, what a fun list of prompts for writing today, the last day of Verselove. I took your pathway and chose to go to the prompt I hosted. I revisited those poems. I have been particularly fond of piecing together phrases and lines to make something meaningful from them. I do not know if my message is clear here for anybody else, but it is helpful for me, and sometimes I think that is what poetry is for.
Attached to the Yarn (Fran)
Lately, all I need is an unexpected kiss (Rachel)
then hold it to [my] cheek. (Rita)
I do not need any things. (Kasey)
Yet, here I am on the eve of (Scott)
darkened buildings illuminated with stars on liquor-soaked nights – (Jordan)
the laugh that escapes you; (Ona)
together giggling nonstop (Christine)
awakens [our] familiar. (Saba)
I was grabbing purple (Sarah D.)
but my tears said rescue me: (D. Curtis)
crushed Amazon returns. (Denise)
Blah, blah, blah! (Katrina)
Words that are scattered reminders: (EMVR)
Where does my glitter shine? (Margaret)
I forgot to remember: (Anna)
Time to be (Sarah F.)
more. (MathSciGuy)
Let me don (Barbara)
a slip of Wolf Shadows, (Jennifer)
Silver charms, linked together, (Rachel)
attached to the yarn – (Fran)
relaxes the blood vessels (Susan O.)
again and again and again. (GJSands)
Today, [I] must ever glow (Clayton)
and make things happen for [my]self. (Mo)
[My] bubble is ready for [me] to enter (Linda)
attached to the yarn. (Fran)
Rake your imagination (Stefani)
Stars will shoot like rockets from their mouths (Stacey)
Across any language terrain (Leilya)
attached to the yarn. (Fran)
And this is the best I can do. (Donnetta)
Hands shaking (Ashley)
quiet, like rice – (Kevin)
Extract of Joy. (GJSands)
Say good-bye to boring (Joanne)
because meaningful change takes time. (Kathrine)
Amber, I’m amazed at how beautifully you blended these creative line to make a whole new verse, replete with deep meaning.
Beautiful blend of all of our writers! Thank you!
Amber,
I found your prompt to be so unique and engaging and this collage of lines from writer’s output really works! It took a lot of work to pull them, I am sure! But the pay-off is great!
Amber, this is amazing! How seamlessly you knitted these lines together (had to use a yarn word, lol)! I am marveling at the images you reweave – donning a slip of Wolf Shadows (wow) – silver charms linked together, attached to the yarn (sigh) – the whole thing’s just magical, completely enchanting. Thank you for this meaningful and beautiful gift!
This is great, Amber! Thank you for this! “Say good-bye to boring / because meaningful change takes time.” TRUTH!
Amber, your poem makes a great sense to me. I also pieced together a quilt from lines crafted during the day I hosted. I am amazed how many more poems we can find in this space. So many gems! Thank you for writing, sharing, commenting, and being a part of this community!
In-Betweens
To all you through this screen,
That traded rhymes in- between,
Class, supper, and vacations.
Thank you…
for the motivations……
Joy to you,
and may you be blessed,
Relax,
but never let your pen rest.
Gifted in a poetic way,
I love reading…
what y’all are writing to say!
Such a fun group with rhymes to share,
Ethical Ela is number one,
I declare!!!!!
Encouraging expansion of our eras,
Developing our style…
Thank you, Sarah!
Everyday vibing with positive tones,
Everyone designs their personal songs.
Free-verse, rhymes, and strikethroughs,
First times,
echoes, acrostics, and not to’s!
I acquire so much from each member,
Igniting ideas!
which leads me to remember…
About the poetries hid in my mind,
Peaceful, I type to unwind.
Childhood creativity raised from ashes,
Imaginative cardinals are born with keyboard dashes!
All the prompts inspire spiritual clarity,
We never met….
But….
There is a sense of familiarity.
We link with magical spirit,
Our world is written,
So, others can hear it.
This spirit rings in the finch’s heart,
We hear it,
because we are a part,
Of the songbird’s song,
Every note,
Mutual,
we write along.
Same as sparrows when they sing,
I recognize you….
with your in-betweens.
As the owl understands the crow,
We appreciate each other’s
artistic rhythm and flow……
Because we reveal ourselves as doves,
As we create ourselves…
with
Expressions through #verselove.
Spring has sprung,
Dew drops return,
As I read yours,
I write,
I Learn….
Until our next session,
Through the screen,
Unscramble the meshing-
Rhymes in-between,
Memorable lessons,
Let’s…….
Write to be seen……
· Boxer
Wow! I couldn’t agree more with your insights, Clayton. My favorite line is…
“We link with magical spirit,
Our world is written,
So, others can hear it.”
There’s is truly a magical spirit and an intimacy we share as contributors to this site. Write on!
Boxer—we are all seen here. Isn’t it wonderful?
There is nothing better than to feel seen and this community allows for that so well. I always appreciate your contributions and this one is spot on!
My favorite lines . . .
Love it! And I’m impressed with the way you made your spacing work! Nice. I love that image of all of us “trading rhymes” through our screens, in between “class, supper and vacations.”
Thank you, Boxer! This is a love song to this community. I support each one of your claims, and “Let’s …… / Write to be seen…… “
Thank you to Sarah and all the other poets that have made this like home the past month. I don’t think I was as active as last year, but like last year, I wish this could keep going!
I went back to “Poetry as Billboard.” I am seeing off my first advisory group this year at graduation, so this is for my class of 2024.
When we open books, often
We are struck with genius.
Words lay a solid foundation
To create the scaffolding of sentences,
Winding into windows, wallpaper until
Readers are blinded by grandeur:
Intricate wallpapers, crown moulding, scrollwork.
But, we never saw its construction.
We never saw the story’s skeleton laid bare,
Notes scribbled into the margins, or mashed
With first-scenes and dialogue into forgotten
Documents. No window exists to their mind to
Witness the darkness of self-doubt, or the red
Tracks bleeding through draft after draft.
So, take note on graduation:
You will misstep.
You will mark it out in red.
You will try it one more time.
You still may not be right.
You are a draft in progress
Working the way to your version of genius.
“You are a draft in progress”. What a great message for your students as they work their way to genius!
What a wonderful poem to share with them! It gives such great insight. I especially love
Jordan, I’m with Gayle and Susan here, what a great message to share with your students! I love the reassurance that they will stumble and “misstep” and that is all part of life, “[w]orking the way to [their] version of genius”!
Jordan, the final stanza, that “note on graduation” is especially effective with “You are a draft in progress” as culminating point. Thank you for writing and sharing!
To Sarah and every poet who offered our daily inspirations, thank you for this wonderful month of writing! From the very first prompt, you led me into marvelous and unexpected places, and stretched my poetry skills in new and lasting ways.
I offer a collage “thank you” poem today, using only first lines from poems written in response to Bryan’s Magic Box prompt (Apr 2). Every morning this month offered me a poetic magic box, overflowing with your extraordinary gifts of verse.
First lines are italicized and the author cited; my own words are in regular font. (I didn’t have to write very many words of my own.)
Thank you, everyone! Love to all!
I Thought There Would Be Sunshine (Rita)
(Actually, I Was Sure Of It!)
Tuesday at #VerseLove, it’s cool (Leilya)
the light calls (Kim D)
each morning
oh, to have a vacation (Donnetta)
a continuous vacation
simply playing with words
I’ll play (Scott)
pen to poem to write today (Anna)
I feel like a duck dancing in the soaking rain (Jessica W)
gurgle burble crackle spark (Glenda)
I thought freedom was my goal (Gayle)
I never meant to be the feather (Emily M)
well, sit right back and you’ll hear a tale (Keith)
so many tales, rich with
golden-rimmed glass doors parted (Stacey)
wisteria hanging like lavender bubbles (Margaret)
vintage green stamps in rose-hued sunglasses (Kim J)
my visitor today is a green thumb (Denise)
she steps a gentle, gandering route (Rachel S)
I never meant to pop the unicorn (Saba)
I discovered the jewels (Fran)
laying gently in my hands (Ashley)
you always listened (Heidi)
to me
and
together
we found a way (Linda)
to
look for the sun bequeathing life in Earth’s nooks (Cathy)
piercing through channels that bind (Kathrine)
so goes a morning sunrise (Bryan)
until we meet again
Oh, Margaret, you offered another great poem to read, ponder and read again. I’ve enjoyed all your contributions this April. They provide both insight and inspiration. Thank you.
Beautiful. Especially the last line…
What a gorgeous collage poem, Maureen! I recall reading many of these line previously – you have spun them into gold here. Love your subtitle, too, about being sure there would be sunshine in VerseLove. The order of the lines is just phenomenal – it “reads” beautifully. What a lovely (temporary!) parting gift. “Until we meet again”…soon, I say!
What a neat compilation, Maureen – I’m impressed with how smoothly you strung all these lines together. Your description of April as “a continuous vacation / simply playing with words” is spot on!
Maureen,
I admit I go on a scavenger hunt when I read the poem that follows is a found boy collage poem, and I had to giggle at
“I feel like a duck dancing in the soaking rain (Jessica W)
gurgle burble crackle spark (Glenda)”.
Thank you for living in these writing communities w/ me. We’ve had quite the journey thus far, and we’re not done yet. I sure wish this day hadn’t landed on a Tuesday! Watch for postcards in May.
Maureen, I love this! You’ve stitched these lines together so well! And I’ve so enjoyed writing alongside you this month, too!
Maureen, what a vivid poem full of unique images and rich emotions. These found poems are challenging and share these poets voices well.
Maureen, I enjoyed every poem you created throughout this month. Each one is a gift to us. This final tribute to the community is another way I see your generosity and support of your peer poets. Thank your for writing, sharing, reading, and commenting!
Maureen, this is really beautiful. The few words you added to tie the lines together makes it a whole, a whole poem gift “until we meet again.” Thank you.
I love the process of putting together a collage poem. They work so well. I absolutely love those last two stanzas especially. I think the Magic Box prompt was my favorite also. Just so different than anything I’d ever done before! Excellent poem Maureen!
I don’t want this to end. Even though I feel probably busier than other years I’ve participated, I want to keep going more than previous years. That says something and that being the case, I’m leaving yall with two. (And a picture outside of a shop called Poetry although I don’t know what that place has to do with poetry.)
I was inspired by a few of you to look back at the day I hosted and create a found poem. I wanted this to focus on children.
I will
write a poem
about a girl drawing her future (Jennifer)
the mirror positioned just right
so she can watch her own joy in letting go (Judi)
Bright with tangerine ribbons (Jeania)
about a middle school boy counting pennies (Linda)
about
the child’s rocking horse
he carefully crafted in shop class,
saying,
“You could have it for your baby.” (Mo)
about the birth of a daughter (Cheri)
those facial
love handles pushed out
with belly laughs of
innocence (Stefani)
about a boy and a girl
who thought they could hold
the whole world in their hands (Barb)
excited children out to play (Jeania)
their
faces
lit
up (Wendy)
their smiles are my world (Christine)
where we choose to be brave
never worrying how it all ends (Kasey)
_________________________________
Also, I wanted to try the pantoum about a first time and decided that should be about my husband (again, inspired by the many who wrote about love yesterday). Thanks for the lovely month, Sarah and everyone. Until next time.
The day I knew I loved you
before I walked down to my apartment
only three words appeared in my brain
the idea of telling you felt so natural
I walked down to my apartment
and wondered if I should let you know
the idea of telling you felt so natural
because you showed me that you cared
As I wondered if I should let you know
No doubt entered my mind
because you showed me that you cared
I smiled and sat with these new feelings
No doubt entered my mind
only three words appeared in my brain
I smiled and sat with these new feelings
The day I knew I loved you
I love both of these poems so much! Your found poem about children – I’m spellbound by how many times ‘children’ come up in our poetry, and how lovingly you created a new poem from everyone’s words – just precious. That pantoum of love! Oh, what a gift for your husband. We know those “only three words,” so so sweet. I need to try to write a pantoum for my husband – the rhythm and repetition of lines makes for dancing words. Lovely. It’s been a wonderful month of writing together!
What an overachiever, Angie! Your poems are great. I love how you skillfully wove all of the words about children together. And your love poem is so sweet and tender ❤️
Angie, thank you for these two poems! The collage about children is pieced together so well! Because we are teachers, kids are present here quite often. I live it. Your second poem brings me to my yesterday’s poem about meeting my first love (who became my husband four years later). The pantoum works great with that “The day I knew I lived you.” Thank you for being so generous with writing and your comments this month! “See” you in June!
Angie, I’m so glad I came back this morning. I had forgotten to read your poems yesterday. It has been such a delight reconnecting during this Verselove. Your first poem about children is so delightful. I’m loving these collage poems today. And I’m so glad to see the photo of beautiful you and Poetry with that white peacock in the window. Your love poem about saying those three words to your then future hubby is sweet and honors still the risk it took to say the words. I’m so glad you both took the risk.
I love the variety of prompts you left for today. I decided to take a line from many of my poems written this month to create my last poem of the month for this wonderful group.
Starting out with a blank canvas
My journal of stored memories grows
Meandering along that road not taken
In Bermuda for my birthday as a youngster
I knew I was lucky
I am from every person I’ve ever known
Lessons started in mommy and grammy’s kitchens
Intensely hard on myself
Seeing red-orange and white paint splotches swirl like a lollipop
It’s time to take a deep breath
I can do that, can’t I?
Shut out all the background noise
Dream of delicious days ahead
See the brilliant tulips and daffodils of Spring
Oh what a beautiful place to be
Unbreakable bonds
Cherished memories
“Maybe Someday” needs to be now
See dreams realized
At times we all need to be carried
My heart is full once again
Beautiful, hopeful poem, Heidi. Write on!
This is so clever; I am awed by the combination of
I am thinking these are from two different poems, and yet, paired together, they sound like good coaching for anxiety – bravo! Love that you ended with a full heart. This month of writing has left me with a full heart, too. Wonderful to write alongside you all month!
Thanks for another great take on the prompt. I’m impressed at how smoothly And easily your poem flows.
Sarah, thank you so much for this space and all these amazing people that you’ve brought together.
My quick poem today is for everyone who shared a piece of their heart with everyone this month:
Thank you for your gift of words
Thank you for showing up and sharing here.
I bid adieu with this quick afterword –
Same place, same time next year?
Saba,
As our time in Verse Love comes to an end this year, I am already excited for the next one! I love how you captured the community and gifts everyone gave!
Oh, yes! “Same place, same time next year?” It has been a wonderful month of writing together!
The gift of words is such a lovely gift, isn’t? I’m so glad you were able to write with all of us this month. Hope to see you in May!
Thank you, Saba! Hopefully, “Same place, same time next year” will happen.
Sarah, thank you so much for creating this space and for giving us the opportunity on this day to reflect back on this month of writing and reading and commenting and being in community with each other.
I’d like to thank everyone in the community for sharing a part of yourself each day and for being open, receptive, and supportive partners in writing. This community has given me so much and I really look forward to writing with you all each day in April.
Sarah, I took your lead and write a cento based on the poems that were written for my prompt, the “Sevens Up” kwansaba prompt. Since this is a day of reflection and praise, I thought that would be appropriate. Again, thanks to you and everyone in our writing community!
A Verselove ’24 Kwansaba Cento
I remind myself to praise this day (Denise)
In verse and story, rhyme and song (Jeania)
Tinker and weave and stretch and wander (Maureen)
Watch our hearts open, our worlds expand (Stacey)
With smells of earth that ground me (Kim)
A calm that shares warmth in us (Juliette)
I await to meet you each day (Christine)
It’s amazing how well these collage poems work, excellent!
Dave, I love a Cento. And I love when it brings the voices of poets we know, like yours today. I also love to see how the order of lines in the same cento changes the dynamic. I have enjoyed this month with you and look forward to seeing you in the Open Write.
Love this! Thanks for the shout out, lol. That last line says it all, “I await to meet you each day.” This is the power and beauty of our month of sharing poetry…I feel giddy every day, reading everyone’s treasures. It’s been wonderful to write alongside you this month!
Sarah and all the Verselove contributors: I find myself in gratitude to the prompts this month. They have added so much to my life. Thank you, thank you!
This poem is composed of lines from the 2023 poetry. What fun to revisit and what a great prompt! Enjoyed it.
Grandma
She quit driving at 93
always full of ideas and willing to lead
but age and luck were against her.
We’ve prepared your funeral.
Before I throw the flowers out
they will fill the sky to a dimension beyond.
Do you realize what joy they give?
You probably didn’t know.
In my life there is not one compared to you.
I found myself drifting,
uplifting
as purple flowers of youth went by.
I sit alone
in a path between the weeds,
emotions at peak.
It was then that I knew
(even though I have a huge hole in my heart)
I look to the other side
and let in a ray of light.
So much depends on the age
more of the soul not the body
worn out
It takes a bit of memory
freeing, levitating
quickly awake
to feel
your hands reach out to mine.
Two made one.
Thank you for taking this opportunity to revisit your poetry from 2023 and to craft a collage of your writing. I feel like I am rehearing prompts and echoes of your writing throughout, which is lovely in the “So much depends on the age” and “as purple flowers of youth went by.”
Sarah
Wow, Susan, this is a lovely poem. I love that you took lines from last year to write it. These “found” poems are working so great. I love the many movements “freeing, levitating”, “your hands reach out to me”, “drifting / uplifting”. Beautiful!
Such a touching poem and lovely tribute to your grandmother. How clever of you to snatch lines from last year. Thanks for sharing.
This is so beautiful That image of your hands reaching out to your grandmother is a breathtaking conclusion. I love this, too:
Your poem helps me to hold the preciousness of time in my heart. It has been so great to write alongside you this month.
Sarah,
I cherish this space your have created, nurtured, and grown so much. The prompts push me in the craft of poetry and typically lead me down rabbit holes, usually about my life. But, my favorite thing about our community is the way fellow writers help me feel SEEN. The comments and affirmations about either my writing or my feelings help me so much. It’s better than therapy. And, I absolutely LOVE reading the vulnerable poems by others. We share so many life experiences and it helps us all to feel less alone.
I recapped each prompt for me. I don’t expect you all to read this. It just helped me reflect and already start the mourning process of April being over.
Thank you, Sarah, so much! And thank you, community, for giving me so much!
reflections on april
#hastagacrostics shoved me into a fun mode but I focused on negatives unfortunately
the magic box gave me fodder galore to use words beautifully
inspirational places sent me down many a rabbit hole
alphabeticals led me to look at letters differently
fridays are for date nights caused me to wish and want and land on advice
photographic poem with its unlimited options took me to our four kids
things (better) left unsaid reminded me of a huge regret
zip code poem helped me be concise about the wonder of the eclipse
true or false list poem created great fun (and discussion) among our family
celebration of yourself in all its complexities had silly me pulling from the wrong source
surprising supplies led to an invention I’m working on . . . empathy ointment
an ode to the unworthy took me on a deep dive into Devil Hour
the brain dump revealed my conflicting feelings about hotels
if ever there were a spring day so perfect yanked me out of my own head in order to see
to elegize or not to elegize saw me aggravated with devices as babysitters, even parents
sevens up praised our online community of VerseLovers
echoes from the past challenged me but gave voice to aggravation about trends
nobody but you fused insecurity with Goldilocks and Charles Bukowski
deibide baise fri toin tapped into my Irish roots and my obsession with Taylor Swift
noteworthy gave me the chance to inspire others . . . I hope
memories from mama’s kitchen helped me unearth some positives about my mom
thank you, mother earth gave voice beauty of Sanibeal and destruction of Hurrican Ian
april showers bring may flowers helped remind me of how death [leads] into life
writing the night sky taught me so much and helped me revisit childhood
where I’m from with a twist allowed me to dig into a very favorite book
poetry as billboard will help Scott–and ME–fill the walls of our classrooms with wisdom
sound off poetry voiced my complex feelings about our occupation and my daughter’s exit
strike and write: composing a strikethrough poem let me ruminate on Rob Lowe
first time for everything caused me to dig deep into my memories of giving birth
congratulations, verselovers 2024 reminded me how empty I am going to feel with April being over
I read it all, and it was great! I love what you wrote about your own prompt. You did inspire us! And I laughed about Rob Lowe for the third day now 😀
Susan,
This is fantastic, and what a way to honor the hosts and their efforts to explore possibilities with us. It is so powerful to see the verbs in “voiced” and “let me ruminate” and “caused me” and “reminded me” — such movement, maybe nudging and definitely growth, yes? All the things you made that didn’t exist 30 days before. Amazing.
Sarah
What a great way to relive each prompt! I love how the “deibide baise fri toin tapped into my Irish roots and my obsession with Taylor Swift.” How relevant!
I love these reflections, and I’m with Angie, the Rob Lowe poem was a highlight of the month for me!
This is amazing, Sarah! How wonderful to have a reminder of all the prompts right in one place. I’ll be referring to this and thanking you as I do. Great job!
An amazing compilation, Susan – a poetry scrapbook! Every day brought its wonders and revelations – often from within. Thank you for all you brought to VerseLove. It has been a joy.
Susan, I read it all too. How could I not? I loved seeing how each prompt touched you, and it actually makes me want to go back and write one like this myself. “noteworthy gave me the chance to inspire others . . . I hope” Yes, it definitely did inspire others! Thank you for being here, and I loved seeing your recap of so many of the poems that I had read this year, like the powerful ones of your daughter leaving education and the emotions of your first night after the birth of your child.
WHat a wonderfully challenging month of writing this has been! It’s been such a treat writing and reading with all of you. Sarah, thank you for working your magic, as always, to nurture teacher poets and providing this wonderful space for all of us.
Metamorphosis
By Mo Daley 4/30/24
As April draws to a close,
I am happy to have risen to challenges.
I am still overcoming hurdles-mental and physical,
That have been placed in my way.
I am ready to get outside of myself,
to focus less on myself
and look forward to the promise May brings.
As May opens merrily before me,
I am giddy with the thought of gardening
And caring for nature, being outside.
My calendar fills with invitations
To graduations, girls’ weekends, and milestone birthday parties.
I am thrilled to have the chance to celebrate others.
I make travel plans that include friends old and new
And as always, family.
I May.
I love the multiple meanings in “I May”, lovely hopeful poem, Mo <3
You’re poem is uplifting and reminds me of all the job that May may hold. LOL
“I May” – ahh! I love that you salute April, cherishing the writing, aware of your perseverance – “overcoming hurdles-mental and physical” and help us all to look forward into May. (Oh my, as I write, it is mere hours away!) It’s been so great to write alongside you this month, Mo.
Mo, I’m so glad your foot is healing, and that May will be a more hopeful, fun, and productive time. Here’s to a wonderful month for you. I love that last line and the different ways to imagine its meaning.
Sarah, I started writing an acrostic poem about NATURE, which blossomed into this thank you note. So, here you are, our dear host of VERSELOVE.
Naturally
Now that April VERSELOVE is over
And we recede, no need to seek for cover
Tempted to hide from what we have told
Unloading in poetry makes some bold and some cold
Ready now? Let’s admit what we have said
Accept the fact that what we have read
Lays out the truth as we know it, fictionalized a bit but true
Let’s laud those who wrote the prompts and those who commented too
Yeah! This community is key to helping many of us just to get through.
A great cheer to this community! Thanks to all.
Fabulous acrostic word – ‘naturally’ – this season of April poetry is drawing to a close, yet there will be more, there will be others. Cycles of life, naturally. I am captivated by the line “Unloading in poetry makes some bold and some cold” – this is so true. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing alongside you this month, Anna!
I love how you’ve reinforced the sense of community in your poem, Anna. It’s a great way to finish out the month.
Anna, I say, “Amen” to your final line thought: “Yeah! This community is key to helping many of us just to get through.”
Thank you for your wisdom, words, comments!
Sarah thanks for another wonderful month of poetry. I decided to take a look back at all the Echo Sonnets written on the day I hosted and make a remixed poem (found poem) out of some of the lines that I enjoyed. I’m pretty pleased with the result:
Echoing an Echo by Erica J
When tasked to make my words in poem take flight: (weverard1)
listen to its wondrous echoes, far more than these (Fran)
returning to things I thought were long past. (Susan)
How do I keepsake them? Communicate. (Amber H)
I looked to the future and asked, who will I be? Me. (Kimberly)
Did you forget another thing? (Jennifer)
So it’s back to the drawing board for this. (Scott M)
What shall we do? Let me count the ways. (Sarah)
It’s the cadence after all, shaped by elements we live as art (b.r.crandall)
Share with others what you know now (Anna)
and reconnect as friends again. (Linda)
We’ll keep writing until we find love! (Erica)
Omg what a great idea, Erica, and how does this work so well?!? Even though I have written my poem, I am off to look back at my prompt and see what happens. I have too many poems to write on the last day 😭
I’m astounded by this poem and by our poets who’ve been able to go back and weave lines together so wondrously. Even your title is perfection! I loved the Echo Sonnet, Erica. I want to play with it more. Now, back to rereading this poem of yours again – I am awed every time!
So wonderful, Erica! This works beautifully. What a great way to end the month.
Erica, this works so well! Thank you for stitching these together!
Thank you Sarah for this spectacular month of poetry writing! I have enjoyed it immensely and feel honored to share writing spaces with all the spectacular poets and educators here. I appreciate the honesty, care and appreciation that you’ve shown everyone and me. I decided to complete a writing I didn’t get a chance to submit this month.
Sixty is a Comin’
When I was 10,
sixty seemed like 90
because the older women at
church plus my mom’s friends
seemed uncomfortable sometimes
and fussy when they were older.
They wore odd shoes and
shapeless dresses.
I noticed canes, limps, terrible wigs
and thought ” Oh no…..”
When I was 30,
sixty seemed less daunting
When my mom was heading down
the highway towards it
she and her BFFs were
mostly stylish, hysterical, embraced their
sags, limitations, pains, and waved their
middle aged comprehensions as
badges of honor.
Now that I’m sixty and several months,
I celebrate every day with gratitude
appreciation, love, grace for myself and others
and arthritis ointment.
Seana, Thanks for the truth of your poem, which expresses how our ideas about aging depend on our age and who we see as we age. Thankfully, the members of this VERSELOVE community include educators of most decades, from late teens in Sarah’s classes to those who have been retired since these newbies were born! What we share both teaches and preaches in ways that make us keep coming back. 🙂
Seana, I am with you on this one: “When I was 30, sixty seemed less daunting.” I am now 41, but anticipate and am excited about my days to be sixty. Your final stanza has me looking forward to it even more. It’s been great getting older. I didn’t know the treat I was in for.
Seana— I nodded all the way through—so much truth. And the last line made me snort just a little!!
Seana, I feel seen and heard here – – yes, yes, yes! Voltarin is my go-to…….that arthritis ointment.
As always, Sarah, you’ve provided a 30-day space from an entourage of word-lovers who pay ‘close attention to glistening surfaces’. I tried to alphabetize the prompts for the month, with a lil’ liberty with the letter ‘L’ – because that’s what we do. Feeling revitalized and refreshed for another year.
We are the…
b.r.crandall ‘24
alphabetical, hypothetical
brain dump that remains better left unsaid…the
complex simplicities celebrating our
Deibide Base Fri Toin date-nights on Fridays,
echoing the past with tomorrow (there’s always a
first time for everything)
Go to any day…find the
#hashtag, #rhythm, #prompt
#inspirational place or #challenge to
jot down words to the page, letting the
kitchen memories, backyard barbecues,
‘L’egize the lavender love from any
magic box mother nature leave behind…
notes worthy of nobody but you, the
ode to the unworthy collection of us, the
photographic poetry meant for billboards…this
quest of a 30-day battle (rattle) with the
riddle prattle, saddle-hackle
striking throughspring days in a sound-off of surprises & supplies,turning & twisting narratives, falsifying the truth, embellishing the lies.
ubuntu, the all of us, we are the everything,
verse-lovers running in April’s poetic parkour…
writers of the night sky who choose to
zip-code & reload the words (these worlds) of who we are together.
Great idea to put the prompts all together in a poem. These are especially great:
“notes worthy of nobody but you”
“writers of the night sky who choose to
zip-code & reload the words”
such power! Pow pow!! 💥
Omg I’m not good at catching alphabets …that’s awesome!
Oh this poem was such a fun look back at all the prompts and poetry we’ve shared together this month! A fantastic celebration of all of us. Thanks for this! I loved the use of the strike-through and especially the phrase “poetic parkour”
Oh, hey, abecedarian poem. Brilliant. How wonderful to see all the ways we found each other in through the alphabet. (Jennifer has a line like this in her poem today.) I am loving the “riddle prattle, saddle-hackle”! And this ending of zip-code is cool to see in the way we are all of different numbers and yet in the same place writing “together.”
Sarah
OKAY, you’re making me teary with the lines from poems that reflect the community we’re building here. I like best
echoing the past with tomorrow (there’s always a
first time for everything)
For some of us, trying these prompts is a first-timer. For others, including in our poems reflections on the past and optimism for tomorrow is what makes this group so healing and healthful. (Yes, HEALTHful.)
Thanks for sharing.
What a fun way to memorialize our month together. I really like the line “verse-lovers running in April’s poetic parkour…” It feels like that for sure!
Impressive! Abecedarian and a history of the month, all in one!
Oh. My. Word! Bryan, you genius! This makes me smile, thinking that all of our poetry types are here and you have taken the time to craft the very challenging abecedarian and represent all of us here in your words. High five! I have so enjoyed this month writing with you and sharing the journey. Hope to see you in the Open Writes. You bring smiles and joy to all of us!
Bryan, your craft, energy, and wit amaze me – I love a sense of order so this elates me on a number of levels. I really adore this line: “ubuntu, the all of us, we are the everything” – we ARE, here, in VerseLove. We bring ourselves, give ourselves, receive each other – and it is everything. Thank you for every incredible contribution you made in poems and in comments – they’re all gems.
Love, love, love this jamboree of prompts woven together, Bryan! It was so great to write with you this month! Your words, your thoughts, your comments are so appreciated! Till next time, Leilya
Bravo, Bryan! This is so good! I especially love the lines “we are the everything” and “April’s poetic parkour”! Thanks for this!
Sarah, thank you so much for building this community. I’ve enjoyed these daily invitations so much.
Ain’t no tired
like teacher tired
’cause teacher tired
don’t stop.
I’ve learned
(and re-learned)
the work
e
x
p
a
n
d
s
to fill the hours
until summer
mercifully
arrives.
And if I do
(somehow)
get caught up,
a late assignment
will magically appear
before I can finish the sent-
Ope! Gotta go.
Late essay from a senior
just hit my inbox.
“Aint no tired like teacher tired :)” Imma have to steal this one 🙂 very creative and fun poem!!
This is such a fun poem to end Verselove on. The way you play with the letters and word “e / x / p / a / n / d / s” is delightful as I read through poems today. Thank you for being here in this space this month and today.
Those last two stanzas—wonderful!!
Oh, the joys of summer after the whirlwind of a school year, especially with seniors. I’m so glad I got the privilege of writing with you this month. I look forward to seeing you in the Open Writes.
Sarah,
Thank you so much for this space and today’s prompt. Feels like you’re transitioning us to write on our own. I’m
hopinggoing to keep my new daily habit of writing a poem going. I’ve been a little concerned about how to do that without the structure and nudge of a daily prompt, but your prompt today is a lovely invitation to return to the fertile ground of these #verselove prompts. Thank you.And thank you to all of the teacher poets who have hosted, prompted, wrote, and commented. I’m so grateful for each of you and this time we’ve spent together. I’m not sure I’ll be able to post in June as I’ll be travelling, but I plan to see y’all in July. Take care everyone!
Today, I wandered back to the structure of Stefani’s Debide Baise Fri Toin.
riding home
shifting through the work day’s loam
it’s time to let worries go
slow
Sharon,
How lovely to circle back to Stefani’s prompt. It’s brevity here has me already longing for the absence I know I will feel tomorrow without a prompt in my email box. And your words are apt in “let worries go/slow.” I need this reminder. Slow.
Peace,
Sarah
Sharon, I’m so glad you joined us this month! After my first VerseLove, I couldn’t bear to think of May 1. I needed my people, my writing, and my routine with structure. I know how you feel. Please come back for the Open Writes. If you are looking for a way to write without the nudge of a daily prompt, the Cento form that Sarah shared today is a perfect tool for your tool belt – – I like to collect favorite lines from many different poems and write them on tongue depressors and rearrange lines from existing poems into new poems. I hope you will keep up the amazing daily habit you have begun! Happy travels in June, too!
Isn’t this a cool format? Your poem seems kind of wistful to me, but I love the thought of letting things go.
Sharon, thank you for your kind words to me today and yesterday. For being a giver in this space. I loved that prompt too, and I want to try it again too. I can imagine you “shifting through the work day’s loam” and finding worries among the things that are easier to cast off. I like that process helps you let them go. Lovely poem. I’ll look forward to seeing you in July.
Sharon, I am glad I met you in this space. I feel like I needed your words today: ” it’s time to let worries go / slow.”
Thank you for being here, writing, sharing, caring, commenting!
Thank you, Sarah and all the VerseLove community. You have given me so much this month, praise, inspiration, and a sense of belonging. I’m reminded today about a poem I wrote serval years ago based on Robin Hirssch’s poem – Entering a Poem in his book,
Feg: Ridiculous Poems for Intelligent Children. Thank you all for allowing me to enter your poems this months and bringing me along on your journeys. I am ever grateful.
When You Enter A Poem
You enter a poem
through the basement.
Walking down several steep steps,
you inhale a musty odor –
the damp darkness.
You reach above for the string
that will turn on the light,
you can’t find it.
You shuffle and stumble,
trying to adjust to the light.
You begin to see outlines –
shadows of things
Could that be your old wagon?
Is that a box of your books?
You bump into an old rocking chair,
you always loved that rocker.
You’d sit on your mother’s lap
as she told you stories,
a cobweb gently touches your face.
You swat it away.
Where’s the light?
You find the string and pull,
but it does not go on.
You know the poem is in here, somewhere,
you reach out your hands
and feel your way around –
the cool, rough cinderblock walls,
the smooth, curved oak chest
the ragged, chipped-painted pipes.
Your eyes are getting accustomed to the dark.
You can now make out the wooden ceiling beams,
the various pieces of furniture stacked with boxes
the small, odd door on the far side of the room.
There is a sudden scent of lavender
from some abandoned blooms
forgotten in an old vase.
You walk on feeling your way
in the murky darkness.
You come to the small, odd door.
It is really just some rough-hewn planks
crudely hammered together.
A brass key protrudes from the lock.
You try to turn it, you try to pull it out,
but it doesn’t budge.
You wonder what is inside
and why it’s locked away.
You try the key again.
It won’t turn.
You knock on the door –
There is no one on the other side.
You boldly bang and kick it,
Throw your shoulder against it,
it remains steadfast.
You walk back towards the steps,
You can make your way
more easily through the darkness.
A poem is like that –
Some things become clearer,
some remain secret,
you turn and ascend the stairs.
Thanks for sharing. I love the way you showed the search, discovery, and celebration here.
Yes, Joanne. “A poem is like that –” You trace the possibilities so beautifully. Thank you for being with us this month!
Peace,
Sarah
What a unique and creative poem. I love the metaphor of a dark basement that is easily relatable to any writer searching for a word, a phrase, a sentence. Thanks for sharing.
Joanne, I was with you every step of the way in this walk through the metaphor of poetry and seeking it, finding it, leaving it, wondering about it, letting it come clear. Your journey through the basement to find it and pulling the light string is descriptive and so apt to poetry. I like the hidden kind the best, the kind you have to dig deep for and find in the dark. Those are the best! Thank you for a wonderful month of writing. Are you going to publish a volume of poetry on the flowers from March? That would be amazing!
Thank you, Kim. I am working on a self-published book of flower in poetry and photos. Probably will turn into a summer project. I’ll keep you posted!
Incredible sensory detail, Joanne, as well as a stunning metaphorical journey for the poetry-writing/memory mining process. I savored every single image and line. I so appreciate all your offerings and your spirit-buoying words!
Joanne, beautiful poem. I so enjoyed every step of entering the poem in the metaphor of the sensory details of being in a basement. Well done.
I really appreciated all the creativity of the hosts this month! I got a lot of inspiration for myself as well as resources to share with my classroom for writing sessions. I still have a love/hate relationship with poetry, but I know that looking through everyone’s poems and seeing how someone used the prompts differently is a great way to show the kids that it’s okay to be different even if you’re using the same prompt. Things hit differently for different people and that’s what is so great about being our individual selves.
So well said!
Sarah and all of our poets—what a month! Thank you for enriching me and challenging my imagination. I wrote this poem halfway through the month, but could not publish it—we did not have an answer at that point. Now that we have gotten the “all clear” on my husband’s health, I can put it out into the ether.
Sarah— look at the amazing entity you have created from your concept in 2015. And your equally amazing found poem.
Waiting for the Diagnosis
All the tests are tested.
All we can do now is…
wait.
I am a menagerie.
Angry bees buzz in my stomach
A bird flutters frantically in my mind,
trilling whatif? whatif? whatif?
A large cat sits on my chest
It is hard to breathe
An elephant rests in the corner,
We know it is there, but we don’t mention it.
Screaming monkeys jump around the room,
making it hard to focus on my book.
The wolf paces outside, waiting for its chance.
And our lives go on,
waiting to hear
the diagnosis.
GJSands
4/15/24
Gayle,
I am so glad to hear the “all clear” and that today’s prompt invited you to return to this poem to share with us. Of course, you have a community here to celebrate good news and to comfort you in time of sadness. I hope we can be here for both. But today, hurrah!
This is a jungle or zoo of emotions in the wild “flutters” “sits on my chest” “rests in the corner” and “jump around the room” – each animal representing the many thoughts and feels of uncertainty. You do it craftfully, Gayle.
Sarah
Gayle, grateful that you all have been given the “all clear.” You have made the waiting tangible, overloaded with senses magnified until we can feel the weight of the elephant (what an extraordinary placement of its location you’ve given) and hear the screaming monkeys and feel the bird frantic. My god, this is palpable. Thank you for sharing your good news and for writing this powerful poem today.
What a powerful poem, Gayle. So glad ALL is okay! Wishing you wellness this last day of April.
Gayle,
So happy that you and your got good news.
Waiting is so hard. Your ellipses in the second line followed by that disappointing word, wait, shows the inadequacy of not being able to do anything but wait, when we do want to know and to help.
I like how your stanza then brings us into all the wild animal energy that has no outlet as we wait and worry.
And then your last stanza calmly reminds us that life goes on as we wait, ending with that word that can be scary—diagnosis.
Really admire how your structure supports your emotions.
Thanks for sharing your good news.
Gayle, Wishing you the best. I don’t think I’ve quite read a poem as authentic to such a moment as this one. I know those cats and the wolf outside. Here’s to you and the mental gymnastics the waiting creates. I’m glad you found poetic therapy to process it all.
Glad you shared as you did today.
Gayle, I am so glad that you got the all clear. That waiting is a difficult place to be – life just stands still until we can move forward. That menagerie of animals all sounding off and sitting there keeping presence can be released back to the wild now. Those screaming monkeys, wow! What a metaphor!
Gayle, your poem vividly describes the stress and terror of waiting for the diagnosis to be revealed. I am a menagerie resonates!
Gayle, such a great news to get the “all clear.” I can imagine the feeling as though a ”large cat sits on my chest / It is hard to breathe.”
Thank you for writing, sharing, and commenting generously this month! All the best, Leilya
Sarah, thank you for this invitation and this space to grow as people and as writers. You lead us in all the best ways, and I am grateful for you. I cherish your giving spirit, so humble and so accepting of all of us. Your cento poem today is proof positive that this is who you are – one who feels, who sees, who celebrates others, and who takes note of it all in the knowing. Thank you. To all who wrote this month, I am also grateful for your comments, your heart, your fabulous prompts, the work you do, for being you. What an exhilarating ride our April has been! I blended two of my favorite prompts this month: Stacey Joy’s Mama’s Kitchen and Fran Haley’s The First Time.
Pastorium Perils
late summer 1971
in rural Reynolds, Georgia
the land of peach trees
in their time of ripeness
Mama was pregnant with
my baby brother and
we were in the den
Mama Daddy and me
when
~~whoosh~~
in through the kitchen door
a naked girl with
long wet hair
streaked through
our house holding a towel
screaming all the way
down the hall
to my parents’ bedroom
locking the door
on her heels her stepdad
pounding and screaming
threatening her life
I recognized them from church
I was five
the girl was a teenager
(with flapping boobs
……and hair….down there?)
her stepdad was drunk
my mother clutched me
carried me like a football
into my room
locked the door
then ran through
the connecting bathroom
I followed, fearful
to stay alone
crawled under their bed
Mama found the girl
huddled in the bottom
of their closet
shaking
crying uncontrollably
wailing for help
Mama comforted her
clothed her
sat on the bed
holding her
called the cops
we listened
in fear for Dad
as we waited
those slurred screams
of fury
are seared
into my memory forever
she comes with me
or I’ll go get
my ruiner
and ruin you
then more voices,
the crash of a lamp
furniture slamming
handcuffs, arrest,
police report
one prominent
family in ruins
exposed
it was the first time
I knew
growing up a preacher’s
kid would bring
a whole cast of
characters always calling
mostly clothed
it was the first time
I saw a naked teenager
running for her life
and I will never forget it
Kim,
What a gift you are to me and this space. I love, love the blending of prompts and the way you honor our community in this way.
In that third to last stanza, I feel the echo of “first time” that so many wrote about yesterday — we share in that– but the specificity of “preacher’s /kid” and “mostly clothed” contrasted with the way your mother “clothed her” with comfort and safety. Seems you witnessed the body in a new way, the female body in this patriarchal world, the language of possession in “comes with me”! Above all, I hear how your home was a place where bodies could go for safety.
I think this is a good one for Just YA, too. I can imagine many teens recognizing the layers of intersectional identities in this piece.
Hugs!
Sarah
Kim, I’m not even sure how to begin a response (I’ve recomposed this several times already). I can’t even. For all of you. For the teenager who came running for her life (and her being), for the little you who witnessed the unthinkable and who probably grew up tenfold that day, for your mom who had to mother extra that day (a necessary for all moms), for the many this poem represents whose stories won’t be told or remembered and shouldn’t be forgotten. Thank you for your many extraordinary words, Kim.
Wow! Your poem grips its reader and doesn’t let go. I’m so glad that teenager ran to the right place! A safe place!
Phew, Kim. You saved a poem-poem for the last day of loving April verse. I am holding onto this poem because it is real. Loved writing with you again this April. I remember nights of being carried like a football by my own mother. These words needed to be written.
Kim, I’ve so enjoyed all your poems and responses this April. You have a natural creativity that I admire. This is a beautiful blending of a heart-wrenching tale. Glad we could connect through this site as well as SOL.
Kim, this is a whopper of a poem! It’s a harrowing story, but you tell it with clarity and compassion. And it’s clearly a powerful and lasting memory. “Slurry screams of fury is chilling” as is “I’ll go get my ruiner and ruin you”. Whew.
Kim, this scene is so vivid that I feel I was a witness to it all – thanking heaven the girl could outrun her drunk stepdad, thankful that your mom, though pregnant, could carry you like a football to safety, thinking so fast, and that she was there for that poor terrified girl…and that your dad was able to manage the monster until police arrived. When I was about the same age as you in this poem, a girl in the community went missing. She’d walked to the 7-Eleven for ice cream and never came home. Her body (with a bag of melted ice cream) was found in a patch of woods in front of my home – her stepdad was arrested and convicted of rape and murder. She didn’t run into our house but I have never forgotten the horror. The lines I love best are those about your first realization, as a preacher’s kid, that a whole cast of characters would be calling, “mostly clothed” – oh Lord! The storytelling here is profound. I am so glad you loved the first time prompt. You have taken it to another level altogether!
Wow! What a memory! You capture the shock, terror and consequences so well in this poem. I had a similar experience that was also incredibly memorable. Your closing thoughts and sharing her running for her life resonates for me. Powerful poem! Loved it!
Kim,
There’s a whole novel in this poem. What a cast of characters. And a difficult life lesson for you, not to mention the poor teenager. I’m glad she found safety with your family.
An unforgettable tale for you and your readers.
Kim, like Jennifer, I feel dumbfounded in trying to respond. It is a poem-poem, as Bryan said. I guess my favorite part is that your parents were there to stop the trauma for this young woman. I was glad to read “handcuffs, arrest, / police report” I hope she had a better life after this intervention.
Kim, first, I am incredibly grateful for knowing you and being able to call you my friend! Second, I enjoyed reading your poems every morning, even when I didn’t comment because your words and your voice are so authentic.
This poem is extraordinary! The fact that a teenager found your home a safe place is amazing. The way your mother warmed her up and clothed tells me about her caring and generous nature. No wonder you “will never forget it.”
Brilliant finish to the poetry marathon, Kim!
Dear Everyone:
First: This morning I went back to finish commenting on yesteday’s poems – thank you all for every incredible offering you brought.
Thank you all for VerseLove – you have enriched me immeasurably.
Thank you Sarah, for making it all possible, and for this celebratory conclusion poem knitted from our own poems and hearts. A community is made of communion, of unity – our words and comments do just this. And it’s a beautiful thing.
Donnetta: I missed one day of VerseLove writing – Earth Day, when you hosted. I was traveling with my husband to pay homage to his father on the fiftieth anniversary of his death. I visited the grave of my own father. We made our peace.
Today I go back to that Earth Day invitation, to catch up, to celebrate sustenance, writing and song that carry us on through life. It’s rough but here goes.
Thank you all with all my heart – Fran
The Song
As I write, in day’s first light
a cardinal sings from the roof
living proof
that day dawns
in song
As I write, thinking of Earth
of death’s rotation with birth
I hear a strumming
an ancient humming
As I write, I think of words
in Scripture, in every book
and every poem I’ve ever heard
in my head, in my heart
As I write, I realize the sound
is coming from without
and within
without beginning or end
a song of You Have Today
begin again
to live
As I write, the past is never far
but today is new
the Earth
continuously remakes itself
so with the rising
of the morning star
on the wings of timeless song
I can, too.
Fran, I’m struck by the recursive nature of your earth day poem, the earth’s rotation, the cycle of birth to death, the circling again and again to the “As I write” phrase, the opening and closing with morning and song – all as if the earth is rebuilding itself anew. The poem mimics the cycling while giving rise of both nature and self. You most definitely can!
Fran,
How lovely to take today to circle back to Donnetta’s inspiration, to revisit ways of earth and Earth. Contrasting the poem to your intro-framing of the piece, I see the healing, maybe an implied knowing of the way we bury our loves in the earth, how we can revisit them in “the past is never far” and recognize the “remaking” that is the earth’s great capacity (for now) and within our grasp, too.
Hugs,
Sarah
Love this, Fran – especial the last line – I can, too! You are a joy and inspiration to me. I always am eager for your little bits and pieces. They make a BIG impact!
Fran, I hear the cardinal starting the day in song…..and I hear the Gaithers singing We Have This Moment…..oh, what a lovely tune is playing in my mind with your words that bring such peace and happiness! Timeless songs, yes!
Fran, I knew there will be birds and their songs in your poem! I loved the images you created in celebrating life and Earth. The ending is epic:
“so with the rising
of the morning star
on the wings of timeless song
I can, too.”
Your input into this community is so generous, kind, and supportive! Thank you for being you! 🙂
Fran, this poem is giving me hope and puts a smile on my face during this sad week.
I know this is the sweet song of life on this earth, and then you remind me of the never ending love song of creation and the Word of God. Thank you for this.
Sarah, thank you for this space of creative expression. It has been a great month of growth and I appreciate your efforts to coordinate it all! As I read through your collage poem, it was wonderful to see the contributions from all those new poet friends. You start my day with a smile!
I learned about the pensee form this month and drafted a verse of gratitude to all who inspired and gave encouragement to me!
Thirty days
Thirty new poems written
some with ease, others with deep digging
trepidation revealing my soul to screens
found hope, promise, friends, mentors, giving me wings!
Christine, we are grateful you landed here each day this month. I know that trepidation AND the wings that follow. I appreciate you digging deep and offering soul. What a beautiful honoring of our art here.
Christine,
I am reading your words after Frans who also mentions wings, and I think this metaphor is so moving — literally, the movement of words, the time passing as we fly with our poems each day, and the way our poems live on as others read, respond, revisit. I hope you have found this space to be worth the “trepidation revealing my soul to screens” in that we are the ones on the other side. Hugs!
Sarah
Yay to mentor give us wings, Christine!
Thanks for capturing the joy of this writing challenge within your poem.
You describe the thirty days exactly, Christine – it has been a joy to write alongside you!
Christine, revealing my soul to screens….powerful! Yes to the hope, the promise, the friends and mentors giving wings.
Christine, it was great to “see” you and read your poems here every day! Hope we will meet again in June for the Open Write. Thank you!
In a land of words, there are truly no words. Instead, a brief exploration of gratitude to each of you, for your words. Sarah – thank you.
Bard Gratulation
Gratitude bottomed out
forty years ago
a brief flatline
before resuscitation
brought it back to life
We find each other in alphabets
yet it persisted
edging out its death
found itself again
breathing life into our breath
breathing breath into our life
one poem at a time
it becomes an offering
this bit of thanks
a gesture between friends
found here
a monthly muse
the words knocking on the door to home
Yes, Jennifer, I find myself leaning into grief a bit this last day and likely tomorrow of Verselove. I am not sure how to hold, carry, make sense of what we each made individually and what we made collectively. We do not know the extent of our poetry being shared in classrooms, read at summer, saved on a screen for the next time we need it. So beautiful but defying any common sense description.
Your poem, my friend, surfaces just the right/write phrases to help in the “becomes an offering” and “a gesture between friends” and “words knocking.” This last phrase hits me because I often find that the phrase we share are knocking the rest of the day and resurface later right when I need them like “We find each other in alphabets.” Yes.
Sarah
Love this line,
and I love finding you in the JGJ jingle (with a hello, HI) in-between.
Jennifer, I remember my first VerseLove. I was so distraught on May 1 I didn’t know what to do. I love how you reverse breathing life into our breath and breathing breath into our life…..one poem at a time. I like that you call this space home. That’s how I feel about it too, friend! I love my people, and I love our poems.
Jennifer, I cannot even say which line I love most – I love the musicality of these:
breathing life into our breath
breathing breath into our life
and “offering” is a favorite word of mine, for with our words we are offering so much of our inner selves to others; we receive others into ourselves through their poems, and we are changed. Ever for the better. Ever deeper. I remain grateful for your incredible poetic prowess and creativity – you are always a tremendous inspiration!
Jennifer,
This warmed my heart! The ode to community is so clear ,and the restorative impact of writing alongside others shines in your lines “a brief flatline/ before resuscitation/ brought it back to life.” Beautiful!
Jennifer, I already commented (I think) about your ability to craft a profound masterpiece so early in the open when I just opened my eyes. I keep reading and rereading these lines:
“found itself again
breathing life into our breath
breathing breath into our life”
Thank you for this gift of beautifully-woven words every day – “the words knocking on the door to home.” Amazing!
Thank you Sarah for providing this space for us poets. One of my favorite prompts is The Magic Box (April 2), and another is Sevens Up (April 16).
TeachWrite
Present; joined by the love of words
A writer and a teacher…both are true
For this group of scribes, authors, poets
Sharing our souls, bearing our deepest selves
Giving the world a glimmer of hope
What separates us is counted in miles
As close as the squares on a screen
Donnetta,
It’s remarkable how close we can become, have become, through this screen. An offering of hope, glimmering in this space. Thank you!
Donnetta,
I hear and see a Zoom writing group in the “squares on a screen” that must be your TeachWrite writing group, yes? How wonderful that you have communities that have their intimate spaces that also overlap in their love of poetry and respect for educators. Indeed, “Giving the world a glimmer of hope” reminds me of “poem is an act of peace” (I think it was Pablo Neruda, but I can’t find proof of that).
Thank you,
Sarah
I love this poem to TeachWrite and especially the lines “Giving the world a glimmer of hope” because that is certainly felt each time I meet with all of you! Thank you Donnetta.
Donnetta, I love the way you take away the distance and bring us close with the screen. Thank you so much for all you bring to us! Hope to see you for the Open Writes!
I love the comparison of being separated by miles yet close as squares on a screen! No matter the miles we connect and encourage each other as poets joined by the love of words! Well done
Donnetta, you found just the right words saying that this community is “Giving the world a glimmer of hope,” and then the final two lines are so amazingly describe our proximity to each other in this space. Thank you for being a huge part of this “group of scribes.”
Beautiful! I hope you know I think we are actually friends. So if we ever meet, don’t expect a shy greeting. LOL!
Thanks for all your poems and for being here with your kindness and care!
The words, thank you, seem inadequate for my gratitude. However, thank you Sarah Donovan and you all for a wonderful month of writing. Some days I struggled to get back to commenting (I’m an early morning writer) and I appreciate the grace given.
For much of my writing life my first reaction to a prompt is, “no. I can’t do that.” Then, I’ll start free-writing in my journal and usually a response to the prompt appears. I’m learning to be comfortable with my “no. I can’t.” I give it a moment and then continue on writing anyway. I love being a student of this and I hope this learning builds the grit in me that I can model for my students.
See you all in June!
Thanks for saying you love being a student of this. I think I realize now why I keep coming back…because I LOVED school and being a student and this is the closest thing I’ll get to it these days without going back to school!
I’m right there with you, except for the early morning writing part!
Thanks to all for all the prompts and conversations, and of course, poems. Sarah, I appreciated the way you stitched that community poem together.
Kevin
Some poems
never find homes
they linger
in imagination’s ether
Neither forgotten
nor written
only just remembered
Great last day poem Kevin.
Kevin, the wonder of the number of poems in imagination’s ether, only a smattering of which find their way here. I’m thankful yours did.
Oh, yes, Kevin. This is so true “Some poems/never find homes” ! You really have me thinking here. Even if I don’t write or publish it, there are times it is still stirring but times it feels like it should not exist and thus never finds a home, a place to rest, be read, hold space. Some, yes, I wish could be forgotten, but the remembering in glimmers or notes or images is the thinking of a poet.
Love this poem so much and so appreciate your presence in this community,
Sarah
I really like the mood of that final line. Thanks for sharing.
Loved writing with you again this April, Kevin. Here’s to the unwritten versus lingering somewhere above Connecticut and Massachusetts!
same!
Kevin, I love the idea of the seeds that may bloom but they may lie dormant for a season – or more. Poetry seeds. Remembered. Some written, some blooming, some not. Love it!
I think I have a quite a few poems stuck there! Love “imagination’s ether”.
Love the sound of “they linger / in imagination’s ether,” Kevin! I enjoyed reading your poems early in the morning throughout the month–the rhythm and diction always working in tandem.
Kevin,
I am glad you shared this. I have guilt over poems in my head, never written. I think I am okay now that you’ve given us this gentle advice.