Blog
The Park Was Having a Plant Sale (pantoum draft)
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Long time, no see! Life this spring/summer has been full of ups and downs, and I haven’t posted in a couple of months. And even this post is kind of a drive-by! This month, the Poetry Sisters and I wrote pantoums inspired by
Monoski poems
Welcome, and happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m so happy you’ve dropped by. Whether you’re a regular participant in the Poetry Friday world, or you ended up here from a search or a link, please know that we’re a welcoming community! Read, comment, think, share, and enjoy! As I prepare
Spinning in Time
Welcome, and happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m so happy you’ve dropped by. Whether you’re a regular participant in the Poetry Friday world, or you ended up here from a search or a link, please know that we’re a welcoming community! Read, comment, think, share, and enjoy! NOTE: I posted
Hallways, an Ekphrastic Poem
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Short and sweet this week, as I’m immersed (doesn’t that sound better than drowning?) in family medical care. This month, the Poetry Sisters (and you!) wrote ekphrastic poems–poems inspired by art. I decided to be inspired by this print I have in my
If You Knew (a poem about cyberbullying or maybe just bullying)
Welcome, and happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m so happy you’ve dropped by. Whether you’re a regular participant in the Poetry Friday world, or you ended up here from a search or a link, please know that we’re a welcoming community! Read, comment, think, share, and enjoy! We have a
Did You Know? An Ovillejo
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Two things before moving onto poetry: 1: I’ve been having a lot of trouble commenting on posts lately. Mary Lee and Tanita gave me some tips on Inlinkz work arounds, so if the Roundup this week is through Inlinkz, I might better be
The Roiling
Welcome, and happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m glad you’re here! We’re a welcoming community, and I hope you enjoy visiting with us. Read, comment, think, share, and enjoy! A couple of weeks ago, Randy and I spent a week at Walt Disney World. We both grew up in Orlando,
The Voice of Winter, a Percussion Celebration
Hi, Poetry Friday friends. (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Randy and I were at Walt Disney World all last week, and I didn’t do a dang bit of writing. But I have this lovely video to share–unrelated to Disney. A couple of weeks ago, Sara from Walla Walla, Washington, reached out to me.
And What Have I Strung?, a Response Poem
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Y’all, thank you so much for all your kind words and wishes this past month. I can’t tell you what they’ve meant as I’ve dipped into comments when feeling overwhelmed and had a lovely few minutes of respite each time. I didn’t meet
A Different Drum, a Tricube
Hi, my Poetry Friday friends. The chaos continues here in Minnesota, but I’ve had so much loveliness this past week too. Gatherings with friends, support from passersby while protesting, progress on a picture book manuscript, extra favors from my critique group, knitting fun, and glorious figure skating Olympic performances that have brought me to tears.
The Unsaid Thing, a Tricube
Aw, my friends, thank you so much for your lovely responses to my guilt-ridden post last week. I’m so far behind still, but I’m at least tossing out my second tricube. Here again is that set of first drafts that I ended up mixing up lines between the poems to create new poems.
Launching from Waves, a Tricube
Hi, everyone–I’ve missed you and Poetry Friday for all of January! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Poetry Friday is one of the many things I’ve had to let go recently in order to try to become more of an activist in protecting my neighbors and democracy. Even just
The Price of Light
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Well, friends, I feel like 2025 is kind of limping to a close here. Covid and various bugs have been spreading around my family the past couple of weeks, and I’m exhausted. We’re supposed to have our Christmas Eve celebration Saturday night (postponed
Poetry Proposal for NCTE 2026?
Welcome, and happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m so happy you’ve dropped by. Whether you’re a regular participant in the Poetry Friday world, or you ended up here from a search or a link, please know that we’re a welcoming community! Read, comment, think, share, and enjoy! Howdy, friends. Well,
1. Win a Free Author Visit, and 2. You Can Sing PUDDLE SONG
Howdy, educators! I’ve got two things for you this week. First, did you know you can sing the text of my book Puddle Song to the tune of Waltzing Matilda? I got the cutest email in October: I have your ‘Puddle Song’ book and I read it to my 16 month old daughter a few
Are You Looking For?
Go to my Poetry page for:
- National Poetry Month projects through the years
- Small Reads Roundups (poems grouped by topic)
- Introductions to several favorite poetry forms