Today is Good Friday, and thanks to Anna J. Small Roseboro’s #Verselove prompt today, it made me think to write a Good Friday poem.
Flirty Venus’ namesake day
Relinquishes the work week
Into reassuring rest–
Day of finis. This Friday they call Good
All the more, when
You declared, “It is finished.”
Today is Poetry Friday, as well. Thank you to Matt Forrest for rounding up all the Poetry Friday posts here, with an interview with children’s author and poet, Leslie Bulion.
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
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
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
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.