Month: April 2025

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#VerseLove Day 20 with Susan Ahlbrand of Indiana – Lingering Lines

Susan Ahlbrand of Indiana is our host today for the 20th day of VerseLove 2025. She inspires us to write poems using Broadway lines that stick. Since it’s Easter and I’m heading to Callaway Gardens on Pine Mountain, Georgia for the Sunrise Service this morning, I’m going to wait and choose a line from a Sunrise Service song and change things up a bit.

Check back later for a poem and for pictures of the sunrise on this Easter morning.


Honk! Honk! Honk!

we watched the Cliff Swallows

coming and going from their

mud nests under the eave

of the dock as we waited

for the service to begin

off they went, and back again

as we sang

out of the silence

the roaring lion

declared the grave has no

claim on me

and then we heard them

overhead, coming our way

Honk! Honk! Honk!

right smack dab in the middle

of the Callaway Gardens

Easter Sunrise Service

here they came, flying around

the people

commanding our attention

I counted twelve

and the loudest

Canadian Goose was

the one in the back

Immediately my mind

went to the twelfth disciple

Judas Iscariot

who betrayed Jesus

for thirty pieces of silver

leading to His crucifixion

this cup Jesus asked to be

taken from Him in the

Garden of Gethsemane

and my mind went into

wondering mode

as I sat in Callaway Gardens

hearing the twelfth goose

honk, spurring the pastor

to remark

isn’t that a beautiful sound?

(laughter from the crowd)

that’s how the goose gives praise!

another hymn sung

but drops of grief can ne’er repay

the debt of love I owe

here, Lord I give my self away

’tis all that I can do

Judas, the Greek version of

the Hebrew name Judah,

means Let God be Praised!

the one disciple not from Galilee

the one who betrayed his friend

the one whose evil actions God used for His purpose

the chain of events starter leading to our salvation

the twelfth one by whom God was not blindsided

the one who hanged himself with regret in the aftermath

holds a message for us

that there is hope for all of us yet

that God uses evil for good

here was the twelfth goose

circling us overhead

honking the loudest

on Easter Sunday morning

to the masses below

Honk! Honk! Honk!

Let God be Praised!

Let God be Praised!

Let God be Praised!

as we closed in song

Because he lives

I can face tomorrow

Because He lives

all fear is gone

Because I know

He holds the future

And life is worth the living

Just because He lives!

I disagree with predominant

Christian belief that Judas is in hell.

I believe he had a change of heart at

the eleventh hour, fifty-ninth second

(he was twelfth for a reason)

and that he was the loudest

God-praising goose

this morning.

Hallelujah!

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#VerseLove Day 19 with Jordan Stamper of Virginia- Bon Appetit! Food Poems

Jordan, our host for this 19th day of #VerseLove 2025, lives in Suffolk, VA.

She inspires us today to write poems about food.

lots of things I don’t do right in this world

but making a fresh sprout and kale wrap

with beets and a half dollop of

mayonnaise is not one of

them, fortunately ~ and

the difference is

right outside on

the porch where

it grows

fresh

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#VerseLove Day 18 with Tammi Belko of Ohio – Random Word Poems

Tammi Belko of Ohio is our host today for the 18th day of VerseLove 2025. She inspires us to use a random word generator to generate words to work into poems. You can read her full prompt here, along with some suggestions for online word generators.

Recently, we had The Poetry Fox visit our local coffee shop to celebrate National Poetry Month by writing poems for people on his vintage typewriter. After his visit last year, I learned that he keeps a list of all the words that people give him. I asked if I could take a picture. I’m using his words today as my random words, but I’m only taking a few of them: dogs, hurry, kindred spirits, wisteria, tulip, watercolor, enchantment.

Watercolor Enchantment

I come to the garden

late afternoon

with the boys

– my kindred canine spirit dogs ~

in no hurry to be

anywhere but here

in this watercolor enchantment

of yellow, red, white and pink tulips

vibrant against the lavender wisteria

fragrant, spellbinding,

deeply rooted

in the business

of being what

they were meant

to be

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VerseLove Day 17: Search Poems

Our host for Day 17 of VerseLove 2025 at http://www.ethicalela.com is Angie Braaten, who inspires us with a poetry prompt to use Google search phrases to create a poem. You can read her full prompt here.

Googling

how much is enough sleep?

how much is enough to retire?

how much?

when is enough enough?

when is there too little?

when?

should we be worried about bird flu?

should we break up?

should we?

shall we gather at the river?

shall we dance?

shall we?

how can you tell if a cat is pregnant?

how can you tell if a diamond is real?

how can you tell if an egg is bad?

how can you tell whether zeros are significant?

how can you tell?

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National Poetry Month’s KidLit Progressive Poem – April 2025


The annual National Poetry Month Kidlit Progressive Poem is well underway, and along with other poets who have added a line before mine, I’m adding one today.  Margaret Simon is our host, inviting 30 poets to create a communal poem throughout these 30 days of National Poetry Month.

My line follows Amy’s line from yesterday:

Open an April window

let sunlight paint the air

stippling every dogwood

dappling daffodils with flair

Race to the garden

where woodpeckers drum

as hummingbirds thrum

in the blossoming Sweetgum

Sing as you set up the easels

dabble in the paints

echo the colors of lilac and phlox

commune without constraints

Breathe deeply the gifts of lilacs

rejoice in earth’s sweet offerings

feel renewed-give thanks at day’s end

remember long-ago springs

Bask in a royal spring meadow

Tune in tomorrow to see what Margaret Simon adds! You can see the list of poets and their dates below.

April 1 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise

April 2 Tricia Stohr-Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect

April 3 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge

April 4 Donna Smith at Mainely Write

April 5 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care

April 6 Buffy Silverman 

April 7 Jone Rush MacCulloch

April 8 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse

April 9 Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference 

April 10 Marcie Flinchum Atkins

April 11 Rose Capelli at Imagine the Possibilities 

April 12 Fran Haley at Lit Bits and Pieces

April 13 Cathy Stenquist

April 14 Janet Fagel at Mainely Write

April 15 Carol Varsalona at Beyond LiteracyLink

April 16 Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm

April 17 Kim Johnson at Common Threads

April 18 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche

April 19 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page

April 20 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading

April 21 Tanita Davis 

April 22 Patricia Franz

April 23 Ruth at There’s no such thing as a Godforsaken town

April 24 Linda Kulp Trout 

April 25 Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe

April 26 Michelle Kogan 

April 27 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance

April 28 Pamela Ross at Words in Flight

April 29 Diane Davis at Starting Again in Poetry

April 30 April Halprin Wayland at Teaching Authors

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VerseLove Day 16: Etheree Poems with Katrina Morrison

Our host for Day 16 of VerseLove at http://www.ethicalela.com is Katrina Morrison, who teaches English and German in a rural community in Osage County, Oklahoma.

Katrina inspires us to write etheree poems and shares her process: “Etheree Taylor Armstong, an Arkansas poet, created the simple eponymous Etheree. An etheree consists of ten lines with each line’s syllabication increasing by one. Line 1 begins with one syllable, line two has two syllables, line three has three syllables, etc. Proceed this way until you have composed a poem with ten lines.” You can read her full prompt here.

The Poetry Fox

have you ever seen a fox type poems

on a classic vintage typewriter

pecking with his paws at the keys

pounding out on-demand verse

for people offering

their favorite words,

then reading each

aloud to

human

hearts?

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#VerseLove Day 15 with Brittany Saulnier – Colors in Nature

Brittany Saulnier, our host for Day 15 of VerseLove2025, is the author of the short story LIGHT OUT in the anthology Just YA: Short Stories, Poems, Essays & Fiction for grades 7 -12. She is the co-creator of Read to Write Kidlit, a podcast dedicated to improving writing craft by talking with authors about their books.

She invites us to think of a recent memory where we were “in nature” and write a poem that highlights the three colors from our memory. You can read Brittany’s full prompt here.

All the Colors of Sunset

what do you call the shade of sunset?

sometimes it’s 14-carat gold

other times, it’s tangerine

or pink cotton candy

sunflower yellow

or lilac storm

….the best nights,

ruby

red

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#VerseLove Day 14 with Padma Venkatraman – Safe Spaces

Padma Venkatraman, our host for Day 14 of VerseLove 2025, is the author of The Bridge Home, Born Behind Bars, A Time to Dance, Island’s End and Climbing the Stairs. Her books have sold over ¼ million copies, received over 20 starred reviews, and won numerous awards: Walter Dean Myers Award, South Asia Book Award, Golden Kite, ALA Notable etc.

Today, she inspires us to read her poem entitled Safe Spaces and think about a place that feels like a safe harbor – and bring that space alive in a poem.  You can read her full prompt here.

My friend Margaret Simon, host of Poetry Friday, introduced me to a Shadorma form. I love the short forms, and this one contains six lines with this syllable pattern: 3-5-3-3-7-5. I’m trying this for my safe space poem today.

Safe Harbor Shadorma

safe harbors

places we can breathe

without fear

but tell me ~

do they exist anymore

in this mess of now?

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#VerseLove Day 13 with Dr. Sarah J. Donovan of Oklahoma – Witnessing

Dr. Sarah J. Donovan is the founder of Ethical ELA, a community for teacher-writers, and a 2024 Fellow for the Genocide Education Project. A former middle school English teacher and author, she advocates for humanizing literacy practices, genocide education, and poetry as witness. Her work bridges pedagogy, justice, and storytelling.

Sarah inspires us to write poems in recognition of the past and in celebration of the Armenian people, their voices, and their enduring culture. You can read her full prompt here. I’m sharing a celebration pantoum.

Armenian Culture Pantoum

elders are respected

children are revered

Hellenistic temples

intricate khachkars

children are revered

strong family values

intricate khachkars

lavash and harissa

strong family values

Yarkhushta marriage dance

lavash and harissa

Artsakh carpets

Yarkhushta marriage dance

Hellenistic temples

Artsakh carpets

elders are respected

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#VerseLove Day 12 with Kate Sjostrom of Illinois – Literacy Memories

Our host for the 12th day of VerseLove2025 is Kate Sjostrom, a teacher educator at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

She inspires us to write our favorite literacy memory in a poem. You can read her full prompt here.

I’m sharing a pantoum today – – of the poem that started it all for me…..my deep love of poetry comes down to one poem that mesmerized me and wouldn’t turn loose. It still holds me captive, and it’s the reason I often wear green glass beads…….Overheard on a Salt Marsh, by Harold Monro!

Falling in Love with Harold Monroe

in my closet with a flashlight

reading Childcraft Volume 1: Poems and Rhymes

I fell in love with Harold

when I was 8

reading Childcraft Volume 1: Poems and Rhymes

Nymph, nymph, what are your beads?

when I was 8

Give them me. / No.

Nymph, nymph, what are your beads?

Your green glass beads on a silver ring

Give them me. / NO!

Hush, I stole them out of the moon.

Your green glass beads on a silver ring

I fell in love with Harold

Hush, I stole them out of the moon

in my closet with a flashlight

Water nymph with green glass beads, image generated with AI