This past weekend was Open Write, and we wrote poems over three days. You are welcome to join us in March! Check it out here and subscribe to hear about each new prompt. Writing poems always seem to come from a slice of my life–past, present, or future. Here are the poems I wrote this weekend, with a little extra explanation about each.
Saturday, February 21, 2026 with Seana Hurd Wright
Ode to A Special Place
I loved my great Aunt Thelma, but I purposely left her name out and kept the details about her vague in this poetic ode to her avocado tree. I wanted to write just about the thrill and joy I found in that tree. Sadly, she moved away from that house by the time I was seven. If I had begun to write about my sassy, funny, talented, and dynamic Aunt Thelma, who I had until I was 27, I probably wouldn’t have stopped. Another day I will write about the beloved owner of my beloved avocado tree. (Maybe she will be the first addition on a March Slice of Life Story Challenge idea list, which is going to be needed very soon!)
In addition, I gave myself another challenge with this poetry prompt. I have a jar of words from Georgia Heard’s January writing resource. I randomly chose ten words from the jar and added them to my ode poem. The words: branch, ember, longing, beneath, rest, release, seed, tender, hush, echo. (Oops, I just noticed I didn’t use ember. How would you get that one to fit in this poem?)
Ode to a Special Place
When we weren’t there,
we dreamed of the tiny yard
of her early 1900’s LA bungalow.
We loved her, but when we went
to her house, it was the tree,
the tree was our very reason for being.
This magical tree echoed
the avocado tree in Eden.
It filled to overflowing the small yard,
spilling over fences in all directions.
Large branches grew low to the ground
from the tremendous trunk and across
the grassless yard, then back up
making a zentangle of possibilities
for even the smallest climbers.
This tree was a sanctuary for us, and
the gods of play and avocados and adventure
blessed us with hours of devotion and rites.
We were children in awe–
at sport on the jungle gym of all creation,
at rest beneath the city-hushing canopy,
at mending mindfulness and joy.
After exploring for some time,
we clumsily began peeling avocado skin,
releasing the tender flesh,
scooping it out with our fingers,
flinging the seeds at each other.
Lovingly (while longingly awaiting our next visit),
we would say goodbye to our beloved.
Sunday, February 22, 2026 with Stacey Joy
Honoring Human Emotions
Stacey Joy gave us a link to Brené Brown’s “Atlas of the Heart”, where I learned some new emotion words. The emotions I chose were borrowed from German. After watching the treatment of some Olympic athletes, like Amber Glenn when she didn’t do well in the short program, I was struck with the sad truth of schadenfreude. The emotion of schadenfreude (/ ˈʃɑːdənfrɔɪdə /; German: [ˈʃaːdn̩ˌfʁɔʏ̯də]; lit. “harm-joy”), is the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of the troubles, failures, pain, suffering, or humiliation of another.
Harm-Joy
Why did this emotion
jump out today?
Schadenfreude?
harm-joy?
Pleasure in another’s
trouble, harm or pain?
This chapter
in our history is
bringing out
the worst
in social media users,
in politicians,
in media,
in me,
in us,
in America.
It’s true, it’s bringing
out the worst in us.
But can schadenfreude be
positive? A by-product of justice?
Princes and prime ministers
fall and we do well to rejoice
in the accountability.
Yes, more accountability,
please.
Yet I look forward
to a new chapter
called freudenfreude,
joy-joy.
Monday, February 23, 2026 with Stacey Joy
I Believe In…
Recently, my husband asked me for my forgiveness for something he had said to me. I answered, “Yes. I believe in forgiveness,” so I had to write this one with the “I Believe In…” prompt:
A Tricube After An Argument
I believe in
forgiving–
you and me
the bitter
alternate
is blaming
I’ll choose to
close in love,
forgiving
Thinking ahead to National Poetry Month, in April we’ll be writing poems daily at #Verselove. Check it out here and consider joining us.
