Strings of cormorants
skim Lake Michigan's surface
necks stretching northward
JoAnn's Blog
Haiku a Day: Day 29 (4/29/15)
April 29, 2015
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Haiku a Day: Day 28 (4/28/15)
April 29, 2015
hyacinth fragrance
permeates the neighborhood
trespass for a sniff
Haiku a Day: Day 27 (4/27/15)
April 29, 2015
Here is one good tern.
You know what they say, don't you?
Waiting. Watching. Where?
National Poetry Month Book Giveaway!
April 24, 2015
I've posted all my National Poetry Month daily haiku on this blog--hooray! I'm up to date--let's celebrate! I'll give away an autographed copy of Write a Poem Step by Step to a random winner. To enter, add a comment to this post by midnight on April 30, 2015. Be sure to include your contact information. Good luck!
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Haiku a Day: Day 25 (4/25/15)
April 23, 2015
Sorry, orioles--
no grape jelly in the fridge.
Oranges okay?
Haiku a Day: Day 21 (4/21/15)
April 23, 2015
I'd like to lie down
in a blue bed of scilla
forget everything
Haiku a Day: Day 20 (4/20/15)
April 23, 2015
today's pond report:
goose in threat pose guarding nest
gnarled willow sprouting
Haiku a Day: Day 19 (4/19/15)
April 23, 2015
raindrops on catkins
brighten this gray, dreary day
okay, back to work
Haiku a Day: Day 18 (4/18/15)
April 23, 2015
at last, I've found you
woodpecker rapping up high
camouflaged on birch
Haiku a Day: Day 17 (4/17/15)
April 23, 2015
pulmonaria
early blossoms on our hill
pink and blue bee treats
Haiku a Day: Day 12 (4/12/15)
April 23, 2015
hush--do not disturb
mallard under bird feeders
yard cleanup can wait
Haiku a Day: Day 11 (4/11/15)
April 23, 2015
haul heavy buckets
watch boiling sap steam windows
tomorrow, French toast
Haiku a Day: Day 15 (4/15/15)
April 23, 2015
lake wind chills my ears
pesticide smells hurt my head
oh, but look--bloodroot
Haiku a Day: Day 13 (4/13/15)
April 23, 2015
swollen buds explode
on each tree as we walk by
firecrackers of spring
Haiku a Day: Day 10 (4/10/15)
April 23, 2015
Oops! I missed a day. Belated post:
yesterday's haiku
first on today's to-do list
O, slippery slope
Haiku a Day: Day 9 (4/9/15)
April 23, 2015
rain gushes down streets
pools in backyards and basements
brings ducks out to play
Haiku a Day: Day 8 (4/8/15)
April 23, 2015
stop to photograph
daffodils in rustic frame
lose another glove
Haiku a Day: Day 7 (4/7/15)
April 23, 2015
I pause, glance outside
yellow-bellied sapsucker
turn back to work, cheered
No photo today, but you can learn about the yellow-bellied sapsucker from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Bird Guide.
Haiku a Day: Day 4 (4/4/15)
April 23, 2015
Spring peepers call me
down a faint deer trail. Surprise!
Bea must hear them, too!
Haiku a Day: Day 2 (4/2/15)
April 23, 2015
wrinkled foreheads touch
two rocks kissing form a bridge
river doesn't care
Haiku a Day: Day 22 (4/22/15)
April 23, 2015
April must not know
I put away my mittens
wind chill: 32
Haiku a Day: Day 14 (4/14/15)
April 23, 2015
tiny diving grebe
disappears in quiet pond
ripples mark the spot
Haiku a Day: Day 5 (4/5/15)
April 23, 2015
skunk cabbage unfurls
under last year's leaf litter--
stinky sign of spring
Haiku a Day: Day 23 (4/23/15)
April 23, 2015
flock of umbrellas
May apples wait in April
ready to unfurl
Haiku a Day: Day 16 (4/16/15)
April 23, 2015
Soon to be revealed--
mystery spring flower buds.
What did I plant here?
Haiku a Day: Day 3 (4/3/15)
April 23, 2015
binoculars poised
we prowl the marshy pathways
stalking whooping cranes
National Poetry Month! Haiku a Day! Catching Up! (Day 1: 4/1/15)
April 23, 2015
I've been posting a haiku each day this month on Facebook and Twitter. Now I'm catching up by gathering them all here in one spot. Enjoy!
Nighttime walk, strange town--
foundry rumble, fast food glare,
same familiar moon
Haiku a Day: Day 6 (4/6/15)
April 23, 2015
I try to walk to Lake Michigan every day. Thinking about my haiku a day for National Poetry Month while I walk helps me pay attention.
today's gifts: pansies
mergansers diving through waves
children holding hands
Haiku a Day: Day 24 (4/24/15)
April 23, 2015
Bea lies in sunshine
just when I need a poem
good old helpful pal
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at No Water River. Enjoy!
March 4th!
March 2, 2015
Yippee! We made it! I always think of March 4th as the true beginning of spring. March forth! It's time to take stock, plan ahead, begin anew. Happy Marching!
The "Deeper Wisdom" of Rivers
January 16, 2015
Milwaukee River
Last week on Today's Little Ditty, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes interviewed Joyce Sidman about her gorgeous new poetry collection, Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold. Joyce issued a challenge: a "Deeper Wisdom” poem, modeled after her thoughtful “What Do the Trees Know?”
Here's mine:
What do rivers know?
To carve our paths through rock, through snow
To carry everything in tow
When ice forms, how to slip below
What do rivers know?
Dams are temporary, so
Whatever happens, we still flow
We find—or make—a way to go
JoAnn Early Macken
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at Live Your Poem. . . with Irene Latham. Enjoy!
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The Perfect Poem
January 9, 2015
Here in Wisconsin, we’ve got cold. It’s a good time to buckle down and write. I’m plowing ahead on the seventh book of eight in my Poet’s Workshop series, and somehow I lost a poem I wrote for a chapter on riddle poems. Here’s my thought for today.
The Perfect Poem
Once I wrote a perfect poem.
If only I could find it!
I searched inside my messy desk,
on top, beneath, behind it.
I poked through every pocket
and each notebook I could see.
I think it was a perfect poem.
This really bothers me.
Once I wrote a perfect poem.
I’m not sure what it said.
So now I have to wonder:
Was it only in my head?
JoAnn Early Macken
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at Tabatha Yeatts: The Opposite of Indifference. Enjoy!
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Planning for 2015
January 1, 2015
I’m trying something new for 2015—scheduling my work time in blocks so that I include time for top priorities every week.
Happy New Year! I'm always looking for ways to be more efficient and productive. Today seems like a good time to start something new.
My son Jimmy sent me a link to an article about time management for creative people, "5 alternative ways to manage your time." Jimmy said he especially liked the second method, “How to Schedule Your Day for Peak Creative Performance,” and so do I. I’ve adapted it to use with the activities I want to include:
• Create: I’ve been starting my days with coffee and my own writing for a long time; this practice works well for me. My Inner Critic sleeps late, so I’m less likely to reject my own ideas first thing in the morning. The earlier I start, the more time I have in this block.
• Exercise: I want to make this more of a priority, so I’m scheduling it earlier in the day. Plus it’s a nice transition into the next time block.
• Sticking My Neck Out, or Push (as in “pushing myself outside my comfort zone,” as the author of the article labels it). I have a long list of Maybe/Someday ideas I hope to address in this time slot.
• Work for Hire (WfH): Right now, this includes two nonfiction series I’m writing for educational publishers. With deadlines approaching, this block might expand temporarily, but I don't mind being flexible. Teaching could also be an option later in the year. We'll see.
I've included a couple of breaks for showering, checking email, throwing in a load of laundry, eating lunch, etc., because I’m trying to be realistic. And the whole five-day plan is subject to change, of course. (I am not scheduling evenings or weekends!) I'll try to post updates as I figure out what works.
What do you think? Are you planning your work hours? Any recommendations? Let me know!
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My son Jimmy sent me a link to an article about time management for creative people, "5 alternative ways to manage your time." Jimmy said he especially liked the second method, “How to Schedule Your Day for Peak Creative Performance,” and so do I. I’ve adapted it to use with the activities I want to include:
• Create: I’ve been starting my days with coffee and my own writing for a long time; this practice works well for me. My Inner Critic sleeps late, so I’m less likely to reject my own ideas first thing in the morning. The earlier I start, the more time I have in this block.
• Exercise: I want to make this more of a priority, so I’m scheduling it earlier in the day. Plus it’s a nice transition into the next time block.
• Sticking My Neck Out, or Push (as in “pushing myself outside my comfort zone,” as the author of the article labels it). I have a long list of Maybe/Someday ideas I hope to address in this time slot.
• Work for Hire (WfH): Right now, this includes two nonfiction series I’m writing for educational publishers. With deadlines approaching, this block might expand temporarily, but I don't mind being flexible. Teaching could also be an option later in the year. We'll see.
I've included a couple of breaks for showering, checking email, throwing in a load of laundry, eating lunch, etc., because I’m trying to be realistic. And the whole five-day plan is subject to change, of course. (I am not scheduling evenings or weekends!) I'll try to post updates as I figure out what works.
What do you think? Are you planning your work hours? Any recommendations? Let me know!
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Back to the Desk!
September 2, 2014
Yesterday, I spent a lovely, relaxing Labor Day afternoon at our neighborhood's fourth annual block party. The parents in the crowd excused themselves early to get their kids ready for the first day of school. The rest of us lingered to share fond memories.
The Back to You-Know-What Book Giveaway is all wrapped up, the winner is notified, and today is the first day of school. Like teachers, students, and writers everywhere, I'm heading back to my desk. I wish all of us a positive, prosperous, and productive school year! Read More
Back to You-Know-What Book Giveaway!
August 22, 2014
Wisconsin River canoe trip, July 2014
My husband and many other teachers return to their classrooms next week. Every year around this time, I can't help thinking about trying to cram in every last summer activity I can before it's too late. (We finally took our first tandem bike ride of the year!)
This morning's mysterious fog curtain inspired a haiku:
Last vacation day--
swim, bike, soccer, jump rope, skate?
Rain! Write a poem.
Book Giveaway: Write a Poem Step by Step!
Add a comment to this post by midnight on Labor Day (September 1) to enter to win an autographed paperback copy of Write a Poem Step by Step. Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you for mailing and personalizing info. (You can email it to me if you prefer--use the "Write to JoAnn" link on the left.) I'll choose a random winner on Tuesday, September 2, when the students go back to school. Good luck!
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at Live Your Poem... with Irene Latham. Enjoy!
JoAnn
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