I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was dipping into Sleeping on the Wing by Kenneth Koch and Kate Farrell, an anthology of poetry and writing prompts written for children and teens. In a chapter on D.H. Lawrence, the authors note that Lawrence called his poems “acts of attention.” They prompt readers to give … Continue reading The Story of My Hydrangea Bush
Hi, there!! In case you haven't heard, April is National Poetry Month, so all month I've been posting original poems. Times being what they are, I've wanted to post poems that are fun and/or funny! This week's offering fits both categories well. Enjoy! The music is salty like dry roasted peanuts. I come downstairs … Continue reading Velvet Dress
Hey, it's National Poetry Month, so I've decided to post a few poems this April. It's been fun for me to look back over my decades-long collection of poems to find a few that will be just right for this moment in time. None of those wild, whiny, passionate unrequited love poems I seemed prone … Continue reading How to Find the Muse
For Saint Patrick’s Day, I thought I would share a bit of Irish history (sometimes called mythology). This poem tells the story of Patrick’s encounter with a poet named Oisin. Oisin (pronounced O-sheen) was the son of Finn MacUail (pronounced M’Cool) who was a great warrior. Oisin was the poet who recorded his father’s great … Continue reading Oisin and Patrick: an Irish Tale
When I feel sad disconnected unsure of where I belong I invite the poet in. She will remember the soft yellow-gray belly of the mocking bird vibrating as he trills high above me on the outer branch of a tree at the edge of the bridge. Darn, I can’t remember what kind of tree … Continue reading Poetic License
Written with my Thursday night group with the prompts: tangy, tired of using words, accountant, electric lights, hooked on phonics, I found the strangest thing in my pocket “I found the strangest thing in my pocket,” Peter said at breakfast. He pulled out an eight and half by eleven sheet of paper folded into a … Continue reading The Poetry Bunny
Before paper, everyone spoke in rhyme or else you’d forget what was on your grocery list. You’d go out to buy a hat and be forced to buy food for a cat, even though you only had a pet mouse to keep you company in your house. Before paper, babies were given very short names … Continue reading Before Paper
School children rushed up the city street. The shu-shush of their corduroy pants woke the white paper birch trees from their dreams. The children had come from an ocean as green and foamy as champagne. Their skin was translucent like the skin of a yellow plum blushing blue, and their eyes were brown but lit … Continue reading White Paper and Water
Hey, I just found this in my journal. I remember writing it, but I don't remember when. Guess it's time to set it free. It's a bit of Matrix thinking! If I had it to do all over again, maybe I’d take the blue pill; I’d choose the illusion. I’ll get a job in a … Continue reading If I had to do it over again. . .
Fifty-something years ago in a Catholic school not so far away, the nuns used to read to us from The Lives of the Saints. St. Brigid was always my favorite, but not because she lived in my matrilineal ancestral home of Ireland. No, she was my favorite because she had the best stories. Celtic history … Continue reading Happy St. Brigid’s Feast Day!
