driving in to work
sun rising over the fields
showering in mist
March 5: 7:08-7:39 The Sun and The Mist Haiku
March 4: 6:36-7:07 A Schnoodle Mom’s Morning Gratitude
they know how I am
about my babies, my three
boys I’ve rescued through
the years, and that’s why
I thank the good Lord this morning
not only for my children and grandchildren
and husband and all my
people blessings
but these schnoodles, too
because when I enter the vet’s
office they all greet me
by name and gather around to talk to my
sweet Fitz (not just “patient 7101”)
~they know my Fitzie well~
and pet him in my arms
before scooping him up for his
CUPS Disease treatment
(another cleaning and more extractions)
and it’s why, precisely why, when I picked
him up yesterday the technician came out
cradling a groggy Fitz
and handed me a little bag with
six tiny teeth, bloody, on a bandage,
smiled apologetically and
whispered, I knew you would want these,
then my heart skipped a beat and I almost cried
because yes, yes, yes,
I am that dog mom
…….and it shows
March 3: 6:04-6:35 – The Brain Awakens to Face the Day in a Septuple Nonet
(scroll quickly, vertically, to catch the brain wave working)…….
just finding two matching shoes to wear
or not spraying the walls with the
Water Pik, …..and Cranberry
Orange breakfast scones with
piping loose leaf tea
awakenings
are hallmarks
of bright
starts
plus
Wordle
Connections
Spelling Bee for
a brain-charged challenge
keeping synapses sharp
– these are my routine morning things
right here in rural middle Georgia
and writing friends across the nation
who inspire me to do new things:
like humbleswede, whose camper
postcards will now be mailed
and Glenda Funk, who
inspires me to
travel the
world with
new
eyes
(and to
hug my old
rescued Schnoodles),
Margaret Simon
whose baby ducks on jump
day always bring a teared smile,
and Denise Krebs, whose Mojave
desert hikes are calling my name now…
Fran Haley, my birdwatching sister
one state north in a same-named town,
wordancerblog’s March food fest
keeps tempting my tastebuds,
Sally Donnelly’s
city sights and
book talks make
me want
to
read
on a
sunny park
bench, Barb Edler
whose slam poetry
competitions inspire
me to buy tickets to a
poetry event on a stage
in Atlanta this coming April
and so many more fellow writers
whose blog are a source of daily
inspiration this month, all
awaken my brain, inspire
me to get out and live
to try new things I
wouldn’t have done
without a
friendly
nudge
Luck of the Irish Paint Chip Haiku in Savannah, Georgia
I’ve been in Savannah, Georgia this week for a conference, and everything’s coming up green. The grass is growing, flowers are blooming, and River Street is gearing up for its world-famous St. Patrick’s Day parade in a few weeks. The city becomes a shoulder-to-shoulder party on that day. It all brings back memories of our Senior Skip Days in high school, when we’d pile into cars and make our way from just across the state line in Bluffton, SC to Savannah, Georgia. The whole high school skipped class to honor the seniors, so we basically had four senior skip days during our high school years.
I don’t miss those days – – but I’m glad to have the memories, and I’m glad I was sparkle-sprinkled with the luck of the Irish all those years ago! I think the Irish blessing stays with me most days! Look around ~ my wish for you is that you find some Irish luck today, too.
luck of the Irish
four leaf clover, shamrock green
winter shamrock clover patch
Blue Ridge Writer’s Conference Day 1 : Things I Love
there’s nothing I don’t love
about the Blue Ridge Arts Center
from its towering columns
of stately presence
to its history and artful womb
this birthing center for
pottery, dance, painting,
sketching, mosaic, sculpture,
stained glass, yoga, tea blends, origami,
jewelry making, drama, weaving,
poetry, plant pressing,
paper mache, woodcarving, and
exhibits of inspiration but what
I love best is that there is something
for everyone ~
including writers
Oh, how I wish our county held a writer’s conference. Maybe that’s my next venture, starting in fall of 2026: to conjure up a place for art to happen here in one of the most beautiful places in rural Georgia. If that ever happens, The Art Center at Blue Ridge will be my model. I need an old farmhouse or barn with an exhibit space and smaller spaces for workshops and rooms upstairs for visiting artists and an old sink with a deep window ledge for plants and a fresh pot of coffee……..and I’ll keep dreaming.
Check out this amazing place and all it has to offer here.
Read more about this year’s writing conference here.
Sunday Stroll Paint Chip Etheree
Dutch
tulips~
freshly cut
stems, quaint cottage
countryside in bloom
coffee nook, morning calm
early riser’s Sunday stroll
remote trail of tranquility
weathered windmill ~ nostalgic feeling
brunch gatherings, cottage-feel stories shared
February Open Write Day 3: Healing Hurts
Our host today for the third day of the February Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com is Britt Decker of Texas. She inspires us to write poems of hurt and healing You can read Britt’s full prompt and the poems of others here. Britt inspires us to write a poem in any form we’d like that considers a moment, object, process, relationship, or anything else, that has simultaneously acted as a healing and hurting agent.Â
depths of forgiveness
understood, finally, as
she welcomed her child
February Open Write Day 2: Hope Lies Within
Stacey L. Joy of Los Angeles, California is our host today for the second day of the Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com. She writes, “Back in April 2021 for Verselove, our Ethical ELA friend, Dr. Kim Johnson, prompted us to write a mirror poem by finding words from another poet to use in our original poems. I fell in love with You, too, Can Fly by Zetta Elliot. And I fell deeper in love with the Etheree as my form. It’s Black History Month, and my heart longs for hope during such difficult times. I know our ancestors left us with hope. It’s up to us to find it and spread it.”
You can read Stacey’s full prompt and the poems of others, along with the process for writing an etheree here.
I used two of my favorite black poets’ works today, and one favorite of Mexican-American descent, to blend an etheree in celebration of all strong women of this nation: Lucille Clifton (won’t you celebrate with me) and Maya Angelou (The Human Family), two strong women whose poetry modeled what our reigning US Poet Laureate Ada Limon meant when she wrote How To Triumph Like A Girl. And here we are, standing on this bridge together.
Lifting Our Shirts
take
my hand
celebrate
togetherness
strength in unity
we are more alike, my
friend(s), than we are unalike
the human family survives
on this bridge of lady heart triumph
just lift our shirts and see to believe it
February Open Write: Love Poems Inspired by Black Poets
Donnetta Norris of Texas is our host today at http://www.ethicalela.com with a LOVEly invitation for this Saturday morning in February to kick off this month’s Open Write. You can read her full prompt and poem here. Her Paul Laurence Dunbar-inspired poem Invitation to Love in turn inspired me to mirror a poem by a favorite black poet. I love so many – Jericho Brown, Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Brooks, Clint Black, and many more – – but of course, Lucille Clifton captures my soul in every poem. I fell in love with blessing the boats (at St. Mary’s)when its final line was chosen for the National Poetry Month theme a couple of years ago. She inspired me to lower case my letters in an e.e. cummings style, and I have been doing that ever since in most poems I write. Here is Clifton’s mentor poem I took from The Poetry Foundation as my inspiration for the prayer poem I wrote today:
blessing the boats
                  (at St. Mary’s)
may the tide
that is entering even now
the lip of our understanding
carry you out
beyond the face of fear
may you kiss
the wind then turn from it
certain that it will
love your back may you
open your eyes to water
water waving forever
and may you in your innocence
sail through this to that
Here is my prayer poem, filled with love:
blessing the children (and theirs)
may these prayers
offered each morning
whispered Heavenward
from the Rav4 road to work
(my prayer chamber)
multiply exponentially
with peace, health, safety,
sobriety, love, joy, provision, and
all good things
may these intercessions
meet you where you are and
keep you in God’s grace
may they stir in your heart
blessing you and yours
with a holy head kiss
divine in all love
lingering through the years
forever
Amen.
Winter Break Bliss
tax returns
sleeping in
cleaning
audiobooks
vet visits
dog play
for every meh there’s a yaaay
{{{winter break begins today!}}}
Common Threads 