Tag: poetry

POEMS INSPIRED BY A FAMILY ADVENTURE

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Yesterday, my husband and I loaded the kids into the car and went to a park we had never been to before (we had heard there were tractors the kids could climb on, and both kids love tractors!)

We didn’t know exactly where the park was. We were pretty sure it was off a certain highway. So we drove. And drove. And drove until we were pretty sure we had either missed the park or were completely wrong in where it was.

But we had neither missed the park or been wrong. We finally find it, finally found the tractors, and even found a pedestrian bridge that crossed a finger of a pond. My son is really into bridges right now, so he was thrilled!

My family by the tractor (my son had fallen asleep in the car and had just woken up.)

While we were exploring, I took a few pictures. The weather was beautiful, but expected to rain at night. We planned to have a cook-out, then eat a picnic supper as we watched limousines drive by carrying prom-goers. On the way home, though, we watched the clouds build.

The weather hit us early, and we did not get to have a cook-out and we definitely did not eat outside!

The poems below are inspired by some of the pictures I took yesterday. (Yes, I was supposed to post this yesterday to wrap up National Poetry Month. The storm sort of threw everything off.)

Enjoy!

Next week I plan to start trying my hand at some short travel writing. At the moment I’m publishing some children’s stories, but my hope and dream is to publish Christian travel romance. By writing ‘real-life’ travel writing, that will help me practice. Feel free to leave me feedback!

Thank you for reading and for traveling through National Poetry Month with me!

NATIONAL POEM IN YOUR POCKET DAY

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Welcome back to another post celebrating National Poetry Month!

This coming Friday (April 29, 2022) is National Poem in Your Pocket Day, so what a better way to celebrate than by writing poems specifically to be carried around in one’s pocket?

Feel free to print one of these poems out and carry it around with you all day Friday! Share it around. I even left a blank pocket you can print out and write your own poem on. Read to the end of those post and find more ways to celebrate National Poem in Your Pocket Day.

Enjoy!

Do you want more fun ways to celebrate National Poem in Your Pocket Day? Check out these ideas from Poets.org!

  1. Share a poem on your social media sites and use #PocketPoem. (Just be aware of copyright laws!)
  2. Call someone you love and read a poem to them. Bonus if you do it via a video chat!
  3. Record yourself reading a poem to share online. (Again, beware of copyright laws.)
  4. E-mail a poem to someone – be it a friend, family member, or (poets.org even suggests) a government official. What a fun idea! I’ll even go so far to recommend to print out copies of your poem and slip one inside your mailbox for your mailman, give one to the cashier at the store, etc. Just pass them around to spread the fun!
  5. Add a poem to your E-mail footer.
  6. If you live in a city or close neighborhood, read poetry from your porch or balcony. Be loud, be proud.

What are some other ways you can celebrate National Poem in Your Pocket Day?

CELEBRATING EASTER AND NATIONAL HAIKU DAY

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Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful day.

Today is both International and National Haiku Poetry Day. So what is a better way to celebrate National Poetry Month today than by showcasing a few of my favorite haikus that I’ve written recently?

Today is also Easter. My children’s books don’t have a religious affiliation, but my adult books do, so I do consider myself a Christian author. I wanted to start this post with a few haikus that celebrate Easter. The reason for Easter is the entire reason I am a Christian – not only do I believe that Jesus saved my soul when He rose again from the dead, defeating both Satan and death, but He also saved my life from suicide in 2003. He completely changed my life.

Here are just a few haikus I thought of. All of these pictures I took on our various travels over the years. (The picture of the moon above was actually from my last trip to Walmart. I came out and it was pouring rain. By the time I got to my car and unloaded the cart, the moon was out. So strange.)

Thank you, everyone
For reading some poetry
From a non-poet.

(See what I did there? 😉 )

Happy Easter!

DRIVING THROUGH CHICAGO

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As promised, here is the second post for National Poetry Month.  Thank you for your patience.

The problem with my brilliant idea to write poetry for a month is that I didn’t give myself any other parameters to work with.  Just, “write a poem for the first two weeks.”  (I have a little more of an idea for the next two weeks.) 

I realized I missed a week, then I realized I had no idea what to write about for a second poem.  I thought about sharing an old poem of mine, but I really wanted you to have fresh material to read

So I tried to find inspiration for a new poem.  My children were eating breakfast – I wasn’t inspired by their scrambled eggs.  I looked outside – the clouds were cool, but not poetic, and the squirrel running by the window made me think more of a caffeinated two-year-old than poetry. 

Then I thought back a week to a nice visit we had with my in-laws (again, the reason I didn’t post last weekend.)  I thought about the trip up there and the adventure it was.

My husband and I had our two kids, both under the age of five.  We met up with my sister-in-law and her two girls – both under the age of four – and it was quite the adventure.  Both cars had a potty training toddler.  Both cars had at least one bout of car sickness.  Both cars missed a turn or had to deviate from the route for some reason or another.

Then there was Chicago.

I am a country girl.  I was raised in a small town and currently live in an even smaller town.  Big cities freak me out.  I don’t like the noise or the hustle and bustle.  And I really hate driving through them.

Fortunately, my husband doesn’t mind driving through large cities.  Anytime we drive through Chicago, he drives.  (Although, let me pause and be honest for a moment – if we are in a car together, he is probably the one driving no matter where we are.)

My poem today is from my general experiences in Chicago. 

Please let me know if you have a different perspective of Chicago.  I know there are beautiful parts of Chicago.  I flew into O’Hare once at night and wow, that was gorgeous!  I’ve eaten some absolutely amazing pizza there.  I have several friends that have or currently live there.

But Chicago?  Not for me.  And here is part of the reason why:

“Driving Through Chicago”

Stop. Go. Stop. Go.
Emergency lights –
Everybody merge right.
One mass of cars,
An amoeba of machines.

Horns honking.
Base is thumping –
Feel it a few cars over.
Children crying.
Weary workers rubbing sore heads.

Sun. Rain. Sleet. Rain.
Sudden blizzard.
White out conditions.
Back to rain.
Cold.  Just cold and windy.

Off the Interstate,
Pay the toll.
Five-way intersections –
Whose turn is it anyway?
Patience is required.

Tall buildings
Stretch into the sky
Obscuring the view
Of the rest of our adventure.
Onward we go!

SPILLED MOONLIGHT

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Wow, I’m so sorry that I missed a week.  We went out of town for Spring Break, I took my computer and, well, never opened it.  We were visiting with family and had a great time, but I just could not get on here to share a poem with you.  So I’m sorry about that.

To try to make it up to you (because I know reading my blog is the highlight of your week… right?  Right?) I will post a poem today and a poem tomorrow.

Happy National Poetry Month!

The poem I’m going to share with you today was inspired by Anne of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I had been re-reading the entire Anne of Green Gables series and got to a part where Anne’s daughter was talking about “spilled moonlight.”

Wow.  All kinds of beautiful images frolicked through my head at those two words, as if those words were the story themselves. 

What about you? 

What feelings bubble up in you when you read the words “spilled moonlight?”

What visions dance through your head?

I decided that I was going to try to write a poem based off what I was feeling.  This was February 14, 2022.

It’s still a work in progress.  It’s a more literal that I had originally planned, but I hope you still feel some of the emotion I felt then.

Enjoy!

“Spilled Moonlight”

The air is crisp and cool
The breeze rustling leaves and
Casting shadows on the ground
From the spilled moonlight.

Bats flit up in the air
Chasing nighttime meals
Creating silhouettes in the sky
From the spilled moonlight.

Raccoons and possums
Scurry across the ground
Their eyes reflecting eerie glows
From the spilled moonlight.

Through the chilly air
An owl’s hooting echoes
And crickets sing inspired
From the spilled moonlight.

And children chase fireflies
Placing them in lidless jars
Until their mothers call them in
From the spilled moonlight.

Preparing for National Poetry Month

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Now that I have finished “The Mirror” (which I really hope you all liked!) I am preparing to celebrate National Poetry Month.  Every week in April, I will post at least one poem that I have written and the story behind it. 

Last year I did a Facebook Live reading every week. The short version is that it didn’t go over so great, so I’m going to try this instead.

I warn you, though, I am not a poet!  Here is a poem I wrote in 2004 for an art project (of all things) that sums up how well poetry and I go together:

“I Am Not A Poet”

I am not a poet
I don’t pretend to know it
I stretch and force words to work
(Aren’t I such a jerk?)

My poems have no meaning,
My poems have no rhyme,
My head is simply teeming,
‘Cause I’m running out of time.

Do you see what I’m saying?
Don’t come at me braying.
I warned you once:
I am not a dunce.

I am not a poet.

(See what I mean?)

I am going way out of my comfort zone here.  I write Christian travel romance, Christian living, and children’s stories.  Poetry is way out in left field for me.  I hope that by me sharing what I’m not as great at, though, it will encourage you to flex your muscles and try something new.

Trying new things can be hard and scary.  We might fear rejection or failure.  But we never know what’s going to happen until we try.  For anyone who ever watched Scholastic Production’s “The Magic School Bus” growing up, you may be familiar with Ms. Fizzle’s famous saying: “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”

I think my poetry’s gotten better as I’ve practiced (so hopefully that will be the most painful poem you read from me) but please know that I will make mistakes. Many of my poems will be messy. Some of the poems may be fairly dark, because I tend to only write poetry when I’m struggling with depression.

But I’m going to share these new, scary (imperfect and messy) things with you. Climb out on a limb with me here. Let’s see what happens! 

And while we’re at it… what new thing are you going to try?