
Strings of cormorants
skim Lake Michigan's surface
necks stretching northward
Strings of cormorants
skim Lake Michigan's surface
necks stretching northward
hyacinth fragrance
permeates the neighborhood
trespass for a sniff
Here is one good tern.
You know what they say, don't you?
Waiting. Watching. Where?
Sorry, orioles--
no grape jelly in the fridge.
Oranges okay?
I'd like to lie down
in a blue bed of scilla
forget everything
today's pond report:
goose in threat pose guarding nest
gnarled willow sprouting
raindrops on catkins
brighten this gray, dreary day
okay, back to work
at last, I've found you
woodpecker rapping up high
camouflaged on birch
pulmonaria
early blossoms on our hill
pink and blue bee treats
hush--do not disturb
mallard under bird feeders
yard cleanup can wait
haul heavy buckets
watch boiling sap steam windows
tomorrow, French toast
lake wind chills my ears
pesticide smells hurt my head
oh, but look--bloodroot
swollen buds explode
on each tree as we walk by
firecrackers of spring
Oops! I missed a day. Belated post:
yesterday's haiku
first on today's to-do list
O, slippery slope
rain gushes down streets
pools in backyards and basements
brings ducks out to play
stop to photograph
daffodils in rustic frame
lose another glove
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.
Spring peepers call me
down a faint deer trail. Surprise!
Bea must hear them, too!
wrinkled foreheads touch
two rocks kissing form a bridge
river doesn't care
April must not know
I put away my mittens
wind chill: 32
tiny diving grebe
disappears in quiet pond
ripples mark the spot
skunk cabbage unfurls
under last year's leaf litter--
stinky sign of spring
flock of umbrellas
May apples wait in April
ready to unfurl
Soon to be revealed--
mystery spring flower buds.
What did I plant here?
binoculars poised
we prowl the marshy pathways
stalking whooping cranes
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
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
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!
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!
Read More
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!
Read More
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
Read More