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JoAnn's Blog

National Poetry Month, Day 8

 

Happy Poetry Friday! For National Poetry Month, I'm writing poems as fast as I can and posting them here and on social media as often as possible. Read on to see my previous poems.

 

Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at Salt City Verse. Enjoy!

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National Poetry Month, Day 7

 

Today's riddle-ku is inspired by Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons by Laura Purdie Salas. Do check it out, especially if you'd like to write your own. It includes helpful instructions!

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National Poetry Month, Day 1!

Happy National Poetry Month! Happy Poetry Friday! Heidi Mordhost hosts today's comprehensive and luscious Roundup at My Juicy Little Universe. Enjoy!

 

 

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What Burger? A THINGS WE EAT Poem

 

Today's poem is from THINGS WE EAT - A BOOK OF ALPHABET POEMS FEATURING FOOD, a Children's Book Council "Hot Off the Press" Selection by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. It's a collection of ekphrastic poems written to photo prompts of diverse children eating, cooking, picking, growing, or (in one case) warning about foods. All profits from the book go to the IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Children in Crisis fund. It's available now on amazon.

 

Hamburger

 

What burger? Hamburger,
nutburger, yamburger,
mushroom-and-beanburger,
biggest-you've-seen burger.
Burger with pickles
and onions and cheese,
ketchup and mustard
and lettuce? Yes, please!

 

© 2022 by JoAnn Early Macken

 

A hamburger is an odd topic choice for me. I quit eating meat when I was 16, and I've been a vegan for more than five years. But when I started thinking about all the different kinds of burgers available, I gave myself a challenge to include a variety of plant-based options. I found the rhythm as I walked the dog, and then the challenge became fun!

 

My favorite burger is adapted from this recipe for "BEEFY" VEGAN BLACK BEAN WALNUT BURGERS. I try to keep a stockpile in the freezer.

 

I'm grateful for the opportunity to submit a poem after I took Janet and Sylvia's Anthology 101 and Anthology 201 classes. You can find out more about this anthology in today's Poetry Friday Roundup at Sylvia's Poetry for Children blog. And you can find out more about Janet and Sylvia's poetry anthology classes, too. I found them comprehensive, well organized, and inspiring!

 

JoAnn

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Wordplay Poems for Poetry Friday

 

Happy Poetry Friday! I'm participating in the wordplay challenge presented by the Poetry Sisters. Today's poem is based on the exercise suggested by poet Nikki Grimes in this interview with Michelle Heidenrich Barnes. 

 

RAIN (a wordplay poem)


RAIN is a vertical word.

Its letters are streaks down a window—

except for proud R with its chest puffed out.


RAIN hangs out with CLOUDY and GRAY,

TORRENTS and BUCKETS,

CATS and DOGS.


RAIN is a glittery word.

It glimmers. It glistens.

It gussies up TREES and UMBRELLAS.

 

(c) 2021 JoAnn Early Macken

 

These wordplay poems remind me of the brilliant animal poem collection Words with Wrinkled Knees by Barbara Juster Esbensen. Twenty years ago, I received the Barbara Juster Esbensen Poetry Teaching Award for my work with a third grade class using Esbensen's book A Celebration of Bees: Helping Children to Write Poetry. With the prize money, I was able to buy a copy of Words with Wrinkled Knees for each student in the class. I have such fond memories of the experience that it's hard for me to pick a favorite poem, but here's one:

 

What a moonstruck

word.    O W L !

Such round yellow lamps

for eyes  and the hoot

built into the name

 

Beaked and taloned

it leaves the page

at dusk     When blue light

turns to shadow

and wind moves

the empty paper    this word

O W L

opens soundless wings

s a i l s     o u t

to where the smallest letters

cower in the dark

 

--Barbara Juster Esbensen, Words with Wrinkled Knees

 

Linda has this week's Poetry Friday Roundup at TeacherDance. Enjoy! 

 

JoAnn

 

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Chimney Swifts Drop In!

Chimney swifts roost together in fall before beginning their long migration.

 

 

Dusk. Look up. Listen:
whirling, chippering bird cloud.
Chimney swifts drop in.

 

Watch the video! 

 

You can find out more about chimney swifts from All About Birds or Audubon.

 

Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at The Miss Rumphius Effect. Enjoy!

 

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These Days

 

These Days
 

Six in the morning

my neighbor's radio

interrupts dove's soft coo,

crickets' bright chirps.

 

I once had

    obligations.

These days I just putter,

hands plunged in holy soil,

heart full of birdsong,

believing in miracles,

watching them grow.

 

© 2021 JoAnn Early Macken

 

It's been a summer, hasn't it? I took a step back from writing and spent more time gardening, reading, and sewing, hoping that a bit of a break would help me refocus and the annual back-to-school hubbub would invite me back to work.

 

The night before our neighborhood school started, we spotted nighthawks flying over as they do at the start of every school year. In the morning, excited kids and parents walked past our house to the elementary school down the block just like they used to. And I woke up excited about writing again. 

 
Just what I needed, I guess. Lucky me!

 

Be sure to visit the Poetry Friday Roundup with Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe. Enjoy!

 

 

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Backyard Visitor, 8.30.21

 

hummingbird dashes
between socks and pajamas
clothesline obstacles

 

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Hillside Gardening, 8.22.21

 

perfect weeding day
except I keep misplacing
my garden trowel

 

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Morning Walk, 8.20.21

 

first one up the stairs
breaks through all the spider webs
after you, my dear

 

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April 30 Poems & Poetry Friday!

 

Happy Poetry Friday! In honor of the final day of National Poetry Month 2021, I'm posting three gardening haiku. Alas, this blog format allows only one photo per post; trust that they are all based on my personal experience. 

 

 

annual promise

I will pick my own tulips

before squirrels do

 

 

before it's too late

cage erupting peonies

corral the glory

 

 

whatever we plant

in our homemade compost

tomatoes come up

 

 

I'm happy to report that I've written and posted a poem each day for National Poetry Month. Please read on to see more!

 

I also wrote a guest post for Rochelle Melander's Write Now Coach blog about how you might turn a poem into a picture book.

 

Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme. Enjoy!

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April 29 Poem

 

hyacinth perfume
follows me down the sidewalk
generous neighbor

 

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April 28 Poem

 

embrace abundance
time to catch up on reading
all those open tabs

 

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April 27 Poem

 

DIY lip balm
reusing old containers
no more plastic tubes

 

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April 26 Poem

 

Must all kitchens be
built for tall people? Forget
stepstools. Make them duck!

 

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April 25 Poem

 

marsh marigolds line
ephemeral waterway
mapping the flow

 

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April 24 Poem

 

winter survivors:
milkweed, lilacs, columbine,
maple trees, and me

 

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April 23 Poem & Poetry Friday!

 

hugs from my sister
+ 45 dinners packed
= well-spent day

 

I'm posting a poem each day for National Poetry Month. Read on to see more!

 

Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at Reading to the Core. Enjoy!

 

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April 22 Poem

 

oh to spend mornings
marveling at mayapples
best use of my time

 

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April 21 Poem

 

Rhubarb's growing.
My, oh, my!
Guess I'll bake
a rhubarb pie.


Snowflakes in April?
Guess I'll try
a Snowflakes-in-April
Rhubarb Pie!

 

 

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April 20 Poem

 

bright constellation
dandelion cluster spreads
conquers outer space

 

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April 19 Poem

 

giant snails return
weather forecast mentions snow
good thing they have homes

 

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April 18 Poem

 

Red-winged blackbird, from up in a tree,
announces himself trillingly.
His song sounds to me
like "Tweedle-dee-dee!"
Ornithologists might disagree.

 

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April 17 Poem

 

after the face masks
my hands still remember how
to make shopping bags

 

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April 16 Poem

 

skull-and-crossbones signs
would give a clearer warning
of the danger here

 

Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at Jama's Alphabet Soup. Visit, read, enjoy! 

 

Read on--more National Poetry Month poems below!

 

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April 15 Poem

 

favorite gardens
+ view of water =
daily walking routes


Today's Equation Poem was inspired by Laura Purdie Salas. She's posting one every day on her website for National Poetry Month. And don't miss Laura's brilliant book Snowman - Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations.

 

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April 14 Poem

 

open this little
brown leather wallet and find
magic coins inside

 

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April 13 Poem

 

I.
I raked the front hill
still some weeding to do but
the front hill is raked


II.
I slept well last night
remarkable clarity
this morning's thinking

 

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April 12 Poem

 

no amount of nudge
can convince this dog to budge
when she stops we stop

 

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April 11 Poem

 

election's over
but one yard sign still displays
its timeless message

 

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