Category: Self-Improvement

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June Open Write Day 1 of 3 with Leilya Pitre of Louisiana

Our host today for the first day of the June Open Write is Leilya Pitre of Louisiana. She inspires us to write dictionary poems. You can write read her full prompt here.

She outlines this process for writing a dictionary poem:

Choose a word that may describe you, and then then write your poem as if it were a dictionary entry from your life. Include some or all of the following parts:

  • Etymology: Where did this word enter your life? Who gave it to you? When did it start to matter?
  • Definition: What does this word really mean to you now?
  • Synonyms/Antonyms: What words shadow it? What words have you replaced it with?
  • Misuses: When was the word used unfairly or wrongly?
  • Example Sentence: Include a personal memory or story that shows this word in action—your version of how it lived in your world.

What word have you carried? Write your own life-definition poem. You may follow this format closely or bend it to suit you. You may completely disregard the prompt and/or the instructions and write whatever brings you joy today.

Before Dad died, he kept urging us to tap into the serendipitous steering currents of the spirit. He loved words and their sounds and meanings. I’m choosing the word serendipitous today as my dictionary word.

serendipitous (adj.) – a favorite word of Felix Haynes; he referred to the serendipitous steering currents of the spirit – it began mattering in the days leading up to his death when he urged us to watch for things to happen – to unfold in unexpected and divinely inspired ways.

definition – the divineness of the hand that parts waters, lights stars, and moves mountains like in Romans 8:28, making a way where there seems to be no way.

synonym – beneficial

antonym – unfortunate

misuses – planned, controlled, humanly intentional

sentence: Don’t be surprised when the serendipitous steering currents of the spirit sweep in and cause miracles to happen.

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Demi-Sonnet for a Summer Night

fairy lights twinkle in summertime trees

night magic sparkles on firefly green leaves

darkness of black sky sets stage for the stars

evening’s cool blanket, reprieve from the heat

front porch swing beckoning rest for sore feet

chamomile tea welcomes day’s end with peace

myth’s constellations: such stories they weave

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June Gift Basket

If I were giving

you a gift basket

I’d make it a summertime sensation!

you’d receive

a skin-safe clean sunscreen

to keep you scorch-free and silky

a pair of sunglasses with readers

to soften the sunbeams

and a splishy

lightweight water tumbler

to saturate your senses

a basket sure

to make a splash !

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Say Yes to Oui

I find inspiration in the lids of the yogurt I eat. I buy this brand not just because it’s delicious, but for the messages and the pure glass containers that will root new plant life for me to share with friends. Here is a poem inspired by Say Oui to Time Off!

Say Yes

we said yes because

what we know about us

is that we like a big window

and gray and white

and newness and matching

towels and linens

not odd assortments

and light,

plenty of light

and good music speakers

front, back, and outside

for good 70s tunes

and fifteen trips to France but

not going there

instead, staying close to home

but still away, oui?

and time off

to enjoy it

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School’s Out Rictameter

One of the things I love to do when I have a little spare time is read the blogs of other writers. I noticed that Donna Smith of Mainely Write was part of the same KidLit Progressive Poem that I was writing for 2025, so I checked out her blog and discovered a new poetry form – – a Rictameter. You can check out Donna’s blog here to read about the structure.

For today, I’m writing a Rictameter to celebrate the beginning of summer.

School’s Out!

school’s out!

what will we do?

camp in state park campgrounds

take family trips to the beach

have watermelon seed-spitting contests

read books in a hammock all day

count stars on a clear night

take a night swim

school’s out!

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What Your Feet Know

In the spirit of tiny writing and short forms, today’s poem is a Shadorma (3-5-3-3-7-5) inspired by Georgia Heard’s Tiny Writing prompt calendar: What Your Feet Know.

What Your Feet Know

your feet know

after a long trip

the way home

your feet know

the tight pull of belonging

listen to your feet

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Making Body Butter

My sister in law and I have been making various salves, lotions, balms, and body butters. It all started in April. She found a recipe for Bergamot Body Butter, and it’s been fun ever since. We each ordered some of the ingredients and a slew of containers, fired up the stove, and got to stirring and mixing, making our own magnesium and shea butter foot creams.

Today’s poem is a simple tricube – three stanzas of three lines with three syllables!

Sister Time Tricube

bergamot
shea butter
olive oil

lavender
mixing bowls
minerals

beeswax flakes
kitchen fun
sister time
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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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March 30: 8:28-8:59 Seed Sprouts

Sprout Smile Nonet

it’s been a long time since I’ve made them

I was a child in the kitchen

making sprouts with my mother

I got a kit today

two drain lids plus seeds

with my own jar

and I felt

my mom

smile

Way back in the 1970s, my mother taught me how to make alfalfa sprouts. It was fun for a kid to do. You get the starter seeds and rinse them, then soak them overnight. Each day for a week, you rinse and drain. After a week, you have enough sprouts to last you a week on sandwiches and salads, and it’s more economical than buying them in the store. Much more fun than when we hung a flat white bean on a wet paper towel in a Ziploc bag on the classroom window and watched it sprout and then took it home and threw it away. These sprouts we actually ate.

In my slice time this evening, after a day of visiting another camper dealership and then stopping for dinner and a shared banana split to celebrate our anniversary on the way home, I opened the sprout kit that I’d ordered and began the process of making the sprouts.

They’ll be amazing on a tomato sandwich with salt, pepper, and mayonnaise – – I’m already eyeing one of my green tomatoes on the back porch, wondering if just perhaps it will be the one to ripen in time to meet the growing sprouts in a springtime taste explosion of a sandwich on sourdough bread.

My mother would be so proud! I can feel her smiling down, knowing I’m thinking of those days in our avocado-colored kitchen of the 1970s at the corner sink, shaking out the sprout seeds together, all amazed and dazzled at their growth.

Sprout lids and seeds