Category: Gratitude

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Open Write September Day 2

Dave Wooley is our host for Day 2 of the September Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com, inviting us to write poems today about mirrors. Come write with us or read our poems.

Join us today for our book launch party, too! September 22, 2024 – we are having an Online Publication Party to celebrate this bounteous time in our poetry community. Please join us for a live event on Zoom/YouTube at 12 PM PST/2 PM CST/3PM EST and bring friends with you…we are going to celebrate! 

Mirrors

mirrors
of life
in art

Picasso
exhibit
in Nashville
with my
daughter

we sat
admiring
wondering
taking it
all in

then my
birthday~
she sent
blank journals
with
Picasso art
covers
fronts and backs

mirrors

mirrors
of life
these words

conversations
with Fran
we chatted
on writing
on family
on pens
and pencils

then a
Ticonderoga
Noir
Holographic
Hexagon
flat sections

mirrors

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Open Write September Day 1 – Cheering the Fight

7:30 a.m. – Today at http://www.ethicalela.com, we are writing poems in our writing community. Join us and read the poems, and maybe write your own. Check back later to see how I’ve spun the prompt for today.

Maureen, our host at www.ethicalela.com, has offered several prompts in celebration of our book launch party tomorrow. I have chosen three to write today, and I share them below. Please join us tomorrow for our book launch. I’ll be wearing light blue for prostate cancer and dark blue for colon cancer to cheer Dad as he begins his treatments in the coming days. Ironically, one of our book covers is light blue, and another is dark blue.

Tomorrow – September 22, 2024 – we are having an Online Publication Party to celebrate this bounteous time in our poetry community. Please join us for a live event on Zoom/YouTube at 12 PM PST/2 PM CST/3PM EST and bring friends with you…we are going to celebrate! 

Guts (a triolet nod to Fran)

adopting a diet for healthier guts
black beans and yogurts and probiotics
changing our diets for glands and but(t)s
adopting a diet for healthier guts
cheering on polyphenols in nuts
guarding our colons from xenobiotics
adopting a diet for healthier guts
black beans and yogurts and probiotics

Jiu-jitsu Dodoitsu For the Win (a dodoitsu nod to Mo)

I’m shopping today for blues
two new cancer-ribbon hues
for dad’s diagnosis news
this fight he won’t lose

Bonny Blue Naani (a naani nod to Leilya)

a light blue ribbon
worn through September
on a dark blue shirt
we’re cheering Dad’s treatments

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A Moment


they took my breath away, this moment

when Kona jumped up in Dad’s lap

to show him she understands

her master isn’t well

his gentle hand of

reassurance ~

I’m going

to be

fine.

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Grandparent’s Day Breakfast

9/9/2024 Grandparent’s Day Breakfast with our grandson


it’s Grandparent’s Day Breakfast for us

with our always-reading grandson

a fourteen-year-old freshman

born only yesterday

today, he plans to

be a pastor

of a church

someday

soon

but

for now

he teaches

Sunday School class

holds Bible studies

with his youth group mid-week

and volunteers as leader

his great grandfather (and great-great)

were also called into ministry

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Fall Bucket List

my fall bucket list:

cinnamon-honey butter

for breakfast bagels

next I’ll knit a warm wool hat

after that, I’ll brew clove tea

then I’ll buy a pear candle

and snuggle our dogs

just them and me

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Owls

when we came home

from our camping

weekend, there he was

hanging out in the

pine trees slated for

clear cutting

in these trees he’s loved

for years, where I too

have loved watching him

soon his mate appears

and they swoop

from tree to tree

and I hope to God

there is no little

owlet tucked away

in the safety of

a doomed tree

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Belonging in the Change

a tiny black wet

Schnoodle nose

nudges my arm as

marble-black eyes

covered with wild brows

peer up at me

from the camper seat

when I lift my arm

to raise my mug,

drink cold brew coffee

from my Halloween

Snoopy mug I truly

believe will make

the cool temperatures

arrive sooner ~

Fitz is slumped

against me,

seeking, too, all

the magic of

forthcoming fall

the changing

of seasons, gentle

wind blowing outside,

a tad early for the

acorns peppering the

camper’s roof but

all the rest of

the comfort of rituals

he knows as

reassuring trust

and belonging

in his forever family

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the ding

next time he

goes to a

storytelling night

he will time his

cliffhanger at

exactly two and

one half minutes

and then when

they tap that

ridiculous spoon

on the coffee cup

to signal thirty

more seconds

he will smile

return to his seat

leave everyone

hanging

and sit down

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It’s Book Launch Day! (Labor Day)

Today: Book Launch Day

order your copies to read

and to pass along!

(see the links below)

🌟 Exciting News! 🌟

We’re thrilled to announce the release of our new books designed to inspire and support teachers in creating classrooms where every student feels seen and heard. 📚✏️

Free download here: http://www.ethicalela.com/store
Free download here: https://open.library.okstate.edu/justya/
For sale here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sarah-J.-Donovan/author/B01GLZG89Y

Want to hear the story behind the books? Watch this video where we share the journey and heart behind these resources that aim to bring more connection, creativity, and compassion into your classrooms. 🎥✨

👉 https://youtu.be/tdRSC0dYPgI?si=QR9E7mY0l7LWGqX8

We can’t wait to see how these books will spark creativity and foster community in classrooms across the country. Happy reading and writing! 💙 #NewBooks #TeachingResources #PoetryInClassrooms #InclusiveEducation #90WaysofCommunity #WordsThatMend #JustYA

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Celebration Shoes

it occurred to me

in the shower

this morning that

the work shoes

I just bought

may be the last ones

I’ll need for my career ~

these last-hurrah celebration shoes:

Life Stride flats with

Velocity 2.0 footbeds

in navy and taupe

may get me through my

remaining years

taking me straight into

the retirement years of

my soul spirit

classic hippie Birkenstocks

for all the frayed denim

and fringed shawl

days ahead

just not today,

not yet.