Poetry Friday, Verselove, Week 1

Today is Poetry Friday and the roundup is being hosted by Janice Scully at Salt City Verse. She has a book review and author interview with David Elliott of At the Pond.

I just remembered about the 2-Day, 10 Words, 1 Poem contest that is coming up soon. The deadline to register is next Friday, 15 April. Last year I wrote a poem using the ten words, but I wrote it in July, after the contest. I’ve signed up for this year’s contest. How about you?

Today I am sharing the first week of Ethical ELA poems I wrote. The links go to the prompt, which are great for classroom or personal use.

Day 7 – (Song) Structures Speak with Chris Goering (my poem)

I’m the supple stick in the mud
That bends and bobs but doesn’t break.
I’m the thorn between two buds
Attempting to keep them awake

I’m the shovel that carried the sand
To plant bright hope rather than hate
I’m the peace promise made by hand
which was hard to keep and came too late

Day 6 – Cherita with Mo Daley (my poem)

My sister came from Arizona to Seattle yesterday.

She can’t stay until the baby shower on Saturday,
so she took us out for dinner. Tears were shed

over the deaths of her husband and eldest son during
Covid. But she laughed y hablaba español with our camerero
and loved us, fully present, full of life and hope.

Day 5 – 4×4 Poems with Denise Krebs

On Day 5, I was busy reading and commenting on poems (and also flying up to Seattle for my daughter’s baby shower on Saturday). Here are some 4×4 poems I have written over the past few months.

Our Baby Boy

Day star dawning
Sunshine beaming
Precious brilliance
Of toasty warmth

Rise in the east
Day star dawning
Warming the earth
With joy and hope

Rising round womb
Growing bundle
Day star dawning
The world awaits

Grandson coming
Family grows
Into sunshine
Day star dawning

Who is Denise?

Denise Reed Krebs
Friend, mother, wife
Teacher, learner
Christian and me

Wasn’t always
Denise Reed Krebs
First Denise Reed
Then married Keith

I added his
Last name to mine
Denise Reed Krebs
Together now

So many years
One united
Keith Lewis Krebs
Denise Reed Krebs

Voting Questions

Ask the questions:
Is voting a
right? Or is it
only for those

we agree with?
Ask the questions:
MAGA members?
Progressives? All?

Do citizens
all get to vote?
Ask the questions:
Or just those who

preserve ballot
box “purity”?
Jim Crow reborn?
Ask the questions.

Ukrainians

Ukrainians
Resilient, proud
fighting for peace
freedom is sweet

Blooms for Russians?
Ukrainians
send Molotov
cocktails instead

Brave president
Averts world war
Ukrainians
battle alone

Chaos and dying
as world watches
on Instagram
Ukrainians

Day 4 – Burrows and Seeds with Jennifer Guyor-Jowett (my poem)

What was lost is now found
Or a hope God’s not bound

In amaryllis and holey toast
Father, Son and Holy Ghost

Each reflects the image of God
So, is patriarchy a fraud?

Mother, Daughter, Holy Hen
Women in God’s image, not just men

Invisible, yet present
I wait for Your good Advent

Day 3 – Collaboration Poem with Gae Polisner and Lori Landau (my poem)

the doves were active today, the
way they flitted, leaving their twin seeds unattended.
forgiveness lives in the hearts of parents and
arrives each spring because eggs
with cracks too early won’t hatch, but
the fissures of a future bright with
promise mean the fledglings are coming, legacy
of new life, a gift of
hope

Day 2 – Core Memories with Emily Yamasaki 

“Things I Have Memorized”

the recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies
the place my head fits on your chest
the way the hummingbirds whip the air as they drink
the sound of the mourning doves in the evening
the smell of the books in the old library in Hollydale
the “indeed you were a finalist” in my rejection letter
the love and mercy and grace God pours out
the scent of plumerias on a hot humid evening
the long limbs of the Joshua trees pointing to hope

Day 1 – Verselove Begins with Bryan Ripley Crandall (my poem)

For sitting and staring
I really can’t think of anything
Remotely as mesmerizing,
Enjoyable, and relaxing as these
Lingering moments around the fire.
It was what kept me this evening.
Good night, welcoming #Verselove.
Here even though it’s late.
Thank you, friends.

9 thoughts on “Poetry Friday, Verselove, Week 1

  1. WOW! Look at how productive just the first week of this month has been for you…and while traveling and preparing for grandmotherhood? You are a wonder. I so enjoy your cherita. It’s such a story packed into just a few lines. Bravo!

  2. Thank you for sharing all of your beautiful poems, Denise! I know you will love being a grandmother.

  3. Denise, you have been in the poetry zone this week. Baby Boy is such a lovely poem. I hope you enjoy the baby shower. It is a special time of the year when everyone celebrates.

  4. Keep writing! How fabulous that you have these many poems in a short few days.

  5. Well, I could comment on each one, each a thought-filled poem for you and for all of us to enjoy, Denise. Wow! I am in awe of all you wrote. I’m glad you put the politics in, the celebration of a new one, family love, the sorrow of Ukraine. I love “I’m the shovel that carried the sand”. Happy Writing!

  6. Oh my goodness, so much to swim around in here, Denise. Thank you for sharing all of these. I love meeting people through their poems, but these lines will stay with me a long time:

    Ukrainians
    battle alone

    Chaos and dying
    as world watches
    on Instagram

    That is so powerful!

  7. I am in awe of your creative output this week. So many worthy subjects, explored with heartfelt words and different poetic forms. Thank you for sharing these with us.

  8. Denise, these are beautiful. The poem “Things I have memorized” really made me think and it had to do with home and why being home is so dear to me, all the things I have memorized about daily life. Congratulations on your new little baby.

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