Challenge from Allison Berryhill: Write an Onomatopoeic poem
Almost Asleep
pitch black dungeon dark except for
his screen beam of scrolling
against the haint-proof-blue headboard
eyelids fluttering lazily to the sounds
of drift-on-a-dinghy verge of the
edge of a deep sleep forest
where the gnashing of the
terrible teeth of the wild things
on the fringes of the wild rumpus begins
with the whirring blur of a white noise fan
feverish scritch-scritch circling of Schnauzer Fitz,
feet-sheet-scratching to Shanghai
rumble of thunder as we slumber under the
refrain of pelting rain
grumbling growl of Schnoodle Boo
the king of all wild things
who’s snoozing too
Challenge from Susan Ahlbrand: write your own poem inspired by “Both Sides Now,” sung by Joni Mitchell
And now Abideth These Three……
Faith
once a vocabulary word
a question
a word heard in church
now the substance of things hoped for
prayers of grounded belief
assurance of ultimate destination
Hope
once a too-high expectation that
skewed all the outcomes
a setup for a letdown
now the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
the promise that tomorrow will arrive
on full-feathered wings
Love
once a phony “marriage” of betrayal
a joke vault of secrets
a wasteland of landmines
now four spirited grandchildren
three resilent children
two rescue dog sons
and a second-chance sacrificing soulmate I cherish
…..and the Greatest of These is Love
(inspirations from the Bible, Emily Dickinson, Emanuel Carnevali)
Inspiration
Frank O’Hara was known for writing poems on his lunch break and became famous for his “Lunch Poems.” His “Lines for the Fortune Cookies” contains inspiring prophesies, thought-provoking questions, and humorous scenarios.
Process
Write your own “Lines for the Fortune Cookies” poem today. Your audience can be anyone – the general population, a tourist, a family member, or even (dun-dun-dun) an ex! Spice it up!
Kim’s Poem
(I asked a Curriculum Coordinator, Administrator, and former student to collaborate with me on this composition):
Fortunes for Eclectic Diners
Your crow’s feet will up and fly away, oh glory, never to return!
Be on the lookout for hidden treasure – there is toilet paper still to be discovered.
Believe that you really are the love of someone’s life.
Tomorrow your life will never be the same.
Flowers bend toward you because you are as bright as the sun.
Act strategically. What if this is the rapture?
To make a tissue dance, put a little boogie in it!
Life is full of cheesy twists.
You will lose 5 pounds tonight as you undress for bed.
Cheers! Your chances of inheriting a Chihuahua rescue farm are ever-changing.
You are the Lord of the Dance that no one is watching.
That cookie you just cracked was the presumptive cure for all disease if left intact.
Never forget: Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana!
Check your messages. Your ex and the new flame will soon need bail money in Mexico.
Be eccentric. Eat more kale.
Amazon welcomes you like family!
–Collaboratively written by Dawn Lanca, Carrie Dawson, Nolan Riggins, and Kim Johnson
Your crow’s feet will up and fly away, oh glory, never to return!
Be on the lookout for hidden treasure – there is toilet paper still to be discovered.
Believe that you really are the love of someone’s life.
Tomorrow your life will never be the same.
Flowers bend toward you because you are as bright as the sun.
Act strategically. What if this is the rapture?
To make a tissue dance, put a little boogie in it!
Life is full of cheesy twists.
You will lose 5 pounds tonight as you undress for bed.
Cheers! Your chances of inheriting a Chihuahua rescue farm are ever-changing.
You are the Lord of the Dance that no one is watching.
That cookie you just cracked was the presumptive cure for all disease if left intact.
Never forget: Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana!
Check your messages. Your ex and the new flame will soon need bail money in Mexico.
Be eccentric. Eat more kale.
Amazon welcomes you like family!
–Collaboratively written by Dawn Lanca, Carrie Dawson, Nolan Riggins, and Kim Johnson
As host on Day 16 of National Poetry Month on http://www.ethicalela.com, I issued this challenge:
Inspiration
Frank O’Hara was known for writing poems on his lunch break and became famous for his “Lunch Poems.” His “Having a Coke With You” inspired famous artwork as well as the modern Coca-Cola bottles that say “Share a Coke with (your name).” “Having a Coke With You” was a love poem to his boyfriend, Vincent Warren.
Process
Write a poem in which the title of the poem is “Having a Coke with You,” and the first line begins “is even more _____ than….” Your next lines can be as random as items in a thrift store. You may wish to conclude with, “which is why I’m telling you about it.” Have fun with this one today – and feel free to change the drink of choice or its effect (fun, refreshing, depressing, etc)
Kim’s Poem
Having a Coke with You
is even more refreshing than
an aperitific Aperol Spritz at the Ritz
showers of blessing, when mercy-drops ‘round us are falling or
a shocking-cold spray of spring water as we kayak glassy streams or
a cleansing bottle of Miralax as a procedural prep or
a drizzling of sizzling kisses or
a sprig of nasturtium leaves to cure fungal infections or
a splattering of the colorful splendors of spring or
a midday misting of hydrating Evian mineral water or
a smattering of what’s mattering to me right now,
which is why I’m telling you about it.
Challenge from Margaret Simon: Write an Analogy Acrostic.
My poem today was inspired by Shakespeare in his line, “The readiness is all!” from Hamlet.
My poem today was inspired by Shakespeare in his line, “The readiness is all!” from Hamlet.
READY
Ready is to revival as
Eager is to experience as
Able is to adventure as
Doing is to destiny as
Yearning is to you
Challenge from Padma Venkatraman: write a mirror poem with juxtaposition divided onto two sides of the same page.
Divided Love: A Garage Snapshot
Hers……………………………….…..His
Blue……………………………….…..Red
Toyota……………………….….Chevrolet
Rav-4…………………………….Suburban
Left………………………………… Right
Hood to world……………….Hood to House
The New Yorker………Weekly Town Paper
CNN……………………………………FOX
Love of his life………………Love of her life
“Sugarbutt”………………………….“B Baby”
Naydeen and Jordy, pre-service teachers from Oklahoma, issued a mind-twisting prompt today to get us thinking back on our dreams. The one I share below happened years ago and still haunts me today whenever I think about it. I can still see it vividly, and it was on my mind last night as storms swept through our area. I’ve often wondered if the woman in the dream was my mother, who was succumbing to Parkinson’s Disease and my nightmare told the story from a different perspective.
Stormy Nights
The news footage
is surreal.
A woman
in her thirties
with a knee-length
dress and a pinafore
has her hands
over her face
crying desperately
accepting her fate.
The tornado swirls
voraciously
in the distance
coming for her
as the reporter
narrates the horror
like a nature
documentary.
I wonder:
Why doesn’t she run?
Why doesn’t she escape?
There is time to try!
She walks in a daze
waiting for it
to devour her
in her
aimless pathway
grievous wanderings
it lassos
her ankle
pulling her in
she stair-steps
to heaven
waving through
blinding tears
to those she leaves
behind.
A Mashed Potato Poem using Readings in Georgia Literature textbook from the mid-1900s. Crediting is photographed below:
Challenge from Stefani Boutelier: write a Where I’m From poem.
Kim Haynes Johnson
I am from the antique bookcases of rare books,
from paperbacks, to Childcraft volumes, to modern bestsellers –
anything to prevent an introvert’s insanity.
I am from the Johnson Funny Farm in rural Georgia
and Guale, the Marshes of Glynn –
Both breathtakingly beautiful,
both rechargingly relaxing,
each wildly waving Loblolly or Spartina arms.
I am from the free-range eggs for which Chanticleer
mistakenly believes that he is necessary.
I’m from one side where everything has a place
and everything’s in it,
and the other that is full of long-lost surprises
in the heaps of clutter.
From Haynes and Jones.
I’m from the wake-up dog breath
full-face kisses of Boo Radley
the valiant nightwatch-Schnoodle
and his sidekick Schnauzer brother Fitz
who sleep with us because Mom’s last words were
“You take good care of these dogs!”
And sleep-tight nights with books piled high
throughout the house.
From “Fasten Your Seatbelt!” and
“Watch Your Speed – You Know They Hide Up Here!”
I’m from the glass house of a Southern Baptist preacher dad,
the closed curtains and deadbolted doors of a maddening mother.
I’m “Kimberly – (English) from the royal fortress meadow,”
my birth meadow the Okefenokee Swamp, cracked pecans,
a churn of homemade peach ice cream.
From Georgia Lee and Eunice and Miriam,
whose long-gone but lingering voices of dementia
prompt reluctant visits….
to the pantry….
to be sure….
I can still….
smell the peanut butter.
I am from these haunted corners –
holding on to the jagged edges of life,
sometimes remembering,
sometimes wanting to forget,
always wishing their voices were still here.
Common Threads 
Detail of Sapelo River
your marsh and river at dawn and dusk
ever-changing palette of brilliant hues,
a back I scratched on novice skis,
arm I tickled casting lines, nets, shells;
you picked up the dinner check:
deviled crab, steamed shrimp, fried fish,
and lulled me in a dock hammock as I listened
for playful dinnertime dolphins,
an empty mollusk shell now –
priced far less than all you’ve given.