Tag: open write

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Open Write Day 2 of 3 August 2025: Hermit Crab Poems

Hermit Crab Poem

Today our hosts for the second day of the August Open Write are Margaret Simon of Louisiana and Molly Hagan of Maine. The Open Write is a place for educators to nurture their writing lives and to advocate for writing poetry in community. We gather every month and daily in April to write together and to share our thoughts on the poems that are born of our shared prompts. Today’s prompt can be read in full here.

My friend Margaret lives on the Bayou Teche in Louisiana.  She and I made a presentation at the Faye B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg last April to share prompts from a book we wrote with our writing group – Words that Mend. She writes a blog regularly at http://reflectionsontheteche.com. Molly lives in an old red house, on top of a hill, in a small town in mid-coast Maine. She blogs regularly at www.nixthecomfortzone.com.

These friends inspire us to write Hermit Crab poems today.

They explain: “Hermit crabs are known for creating inventive homes in all sorts of surprising spaces and containers. As writers, we can use the containers of other types of writing to form inventive poetry!”  A hermit crab poem takes on another existing form, such as recipes, glossaries, quizzes, applications, etc. 

I chose an Amazon Review for my Hermit Crab Poem. I spend time there whenever I’m about to buy a product and thought of how apt it would be to combine the book The Gift of Nothing and an Amazon Review only without the book part. First thing: Pull some of my old Amazon Reviews off of Amazon. I’m sharing them below:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works for my Hard-to-fit-Ears

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2024

Verified Purchase

I don’t usually have such luck with earbuds. They don’t stay in my ears, most of them. These have the ear hooks so that they don’t have to shove all the way in to be effective. I can even wear them with my glasses. And the charge life is unreal – it lasts for weeks.

5.0 out of 5 stars Every Color

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2024

Size: 7.5Color: CharcoalVerified Purchase

I have them in every color. On my feet all day, I find comfort in these shoes that offer support and traction. Having them in every color takes the guesswork out of what to wear. It may seem boring, but there is a lot of reliability in a dependable shoe that doesn’t rub blisters and offers enough support and comfort to get through the long work days.


5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect comfort
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2024Size: 7.5Color: Obsidian Verified Purchase
You can’t ever go wrong with a pair of Tevas. They are like a little cloud of heaven to walk on.

Next, I took some of my actual words from these reviews and applied them to a review for Nothing in a prose poem review-style fashion. Here is my Hermit Crab poem, Amazon review style in a prose poem:

5.0 out of 5 stars: Nothing

I give nothing five out of five stars. It comes in every color and brings traction and support. It may seem boring, but there is reliability and dependability in nothing to get me through those long work days. Nothing is something that doesn’t have to get shoved in to be effective – it works with or without glasses, and the charge is unreal – – it lasts forever, practically! You can’t go wrong with nothing – it’s like a little cloud of heaven, and exactly what we’ll all take when we go there one day. So think ahead: get your nothing today – you will be glad you did!

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Open Write Day 1 of 3 August 2025: Acrostic Poems with Mary Lee Hahn

Mary Lee Hahn of Ohio is our host today for the first day of the August Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com. She inspires us to write an acrostic poem. You can read her full prompt here.

My One Little Word this year is enough. With the recent loss of my father, a collector who kept everything he ever owned and left seven storage rooms and a house full of “collectible” treasures, my brother and I (both minimalists by choice) are using this word – enough– on a daily basis. We’ve had enough! When is enough enough?? So I chose enough as my word for my acrostic.

Enough

Even

Nothingness

Offers

Us

Generous

Harmony

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Springs of Elim

In Dad’s final days, we gathered audio clips to preserve his stories, prayers, and words of wisdom. In today’s clip, he shares about one of his favorite topics – The Springs of Elim – and how they worked in his own life.

fresh Springs of Elim

waters of restoration

reviving the soul

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Open Write Day 3 of 3 July 2025

Our host today at http://www.ethicalela.com for the third day of the July Open Write is Jennifer Jowett, with guest Ann E. Burg. They invite us to write poems about moments in nature. You can read the full prompt here and check out the poems throughout the day.

Bat Crap Crazy

it’s okay ~

go ahead, think it ~

we all know 

the better title

for this poem

and how that expression

originated out of bats

in the belfry and rabies

from the droppings and I

still Googled to see if

anything had changed but

it’s all still the same

kind of crazy it always was

where here on the

Johnson Funny Farm at

33°8’42″N / 84°25’33″W

in Williamson, Georgia

at 6:10 a.m. with clear

skies at 77° with the 

moon cradling its

own light and winking at

Venus to its 5:00 position

due East of my front door

I stand on the

porch listening to the calls

of the Eastern Wood Pewees

from all the dead trees

that used to be their homes

now lying like corpses across 

the acres and see our

one single solitary bat that

flies in endless circles 

overhead 

as it always does 

from dusk to dawn

and I’m not sure

which of us

is the

bat shit crazier

…..oops

Our actual bat
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Open Write Day 2 of 3 July 2025

Today for the second day of the July Open Write, Jennifer Jowett of Michigan and Deborah Wiles of Georgia are our hosts. They inspire us to write I Once Knew poems, using a process they describe at this link. Hop over and read some of the poems that will be eclectic and unexpected. This is one such random poem process that is, what I believe, makes poetry shine and sparkle.

To Be Continued

I once knew Miss Sue

who taught me

how to swim in

her backyard pool

now filled in

with earth and flowers

I once stayed at

The Blue Swallow Motel

with the Swiss dot bedspread

and Moon Pies on the pillows

and t-shirts advertising

refrigerated air conditioning

as I drove Route 66

I swam in the Illinois

cornfield sunset

I swooned over the

coconut cream pie

at the Midpoint Cafe

in Adrian, Texas

I sweltered in the

Palo Duro Canyon

Texas heat

where even the road runners

know to sit in the shade

of the picnic tables

I sweethearted a

photo finish kiss

with my husband at

Cadillac Ranch

I swapped my beaded

quartz bracelet for one

made of turquoise and

mother of pearl

in Albuquerque

at the store with

the red war paint door

because it reminded me of

my mother

I swore to return to

finish the route

to be continued…..

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July Open Write Day 1 of 3 with Jennifer Jowett

Today’s host for the first day of the July Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com is Jennifer Jowett of Michigan. You can read her full prompt here, inspiring writers to compose a poem of Memory Threads – – a way to breathe in healing through fabric of story and connection.

This month, I’ve been capturing Dad’s final words and stories in audio clips and poems as he inched closer and closer to Heaven, one foot in this world and one in the next. It’s as if Jennifer’s prompt was written just for me. That’s the thing about poetry ~ it meets you exactly where you are and invites you into the vast realm of each moment, scattering the light and blanketing the dark and swimming fully immersed in the shadows. For me, there is no greater healing than what is found in prayer and verse. I’m convinced it’s why the Bible itself – the Holy Scripture – is written in verse. Because it casts light on all truth and heals souls right where they are, and it invites personal response.

I hope you will visit the link above today and read some of the poems and, perhaps, write your own. Even if you don’t share it with anyone, my wish for you is the peace of writing and the healing of expression. Forget perfection. Forget whether it’s good or not, whether it’s right or wrong. There are no rules.

Just dive in.

Still Life with Dying Father

my brother and I

sat by our father

in his final hours

each labored breath

casting ethereal ripples

on the gossamer veil

hanging sheer and thin

between man and Maker

each weakening whisper

each story

each prayer

each memory

becoming weightless

dancing gracefully

toward the shimmering glow

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June Open Write Day 3 of 3 with Leilya Pitre

Leilya Pitre of Louisiana is our host today for the last day of the June Open Write. You can read her full prompt here. She inspires us to write poems about small acts of kindness. If you’ve ever curated a music playlist on a theme, you know there is excitement in the discovery of related verse – it’s an addictive cognitive hobby. Leilya has done that – curated a group of poems on a theme – and offers several model poems to use as inspiration. She shares these below:

She explains the process and urges us to write an etheree or nonet as our poetry form.

  1. Choose a small action or quality that you believe helps make someone a decent human being or good citizen. It may be kindness, honesty, fairness, patience, curiosity, listening, speaking up, sharing, helping, apologizing, forgiving, welcoming, learning, planting, voting, mending, repairing, thanking…
  2. Brainstorm what this word or act looks like in daily life. How does it show up? Who taught it to you? How do you practice or witness it?
  3. Write a poem celebrating or exploring this quality or act.
  • Nonet → 9 lines; starts with 9 syllables, decreasing by one each line.
  • Etheree → 10 lines; starts with 1 syllable, increasing by one each line.

A Gift of Dill Pickle Chip

I slide my dill pickle to the side

a rippled chip, algae-hued green

floppy, salty, puckery

knowing he’s eyeing it,

never having to

ask for this chip

he knows I’ll

offer

it

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June Open Write Day 2 of 3 with Tammi Belko

Tammi Belko of Ohio is our host today for the second day of the June Open Write, inspiring us to write poems about our normalcy. You can read her full prompt here.

Tammi explains the process:

1. Use the word “normal” or another word of your choice.
2. Brainstorm examples or characteristics of that word as they relate to your life or the world around you past or present.

3. Write a poem that defines your chosen word. Your poem may take any form.

Teaching Ideas:

  • Choose nuanced vocabulary words for students to incorporate into their poems.
  • Have students select nuanced words to describe a character from a novel studied in class and use the word in their poem.

Kim’s Normal Poem

the day normal changed

normal changed on Friday the 13th

the way things do

when Dad drew his last breath

my brother and I

had gone home

for showers and sleep

planning to return

shortly

but shortly came sooner

than we’d thought

and the Hospice nurse

called to tell us

we could come spend time

with him before

she called the funeral home

we walked in to find him

under a scripture-embroidered

bright yellow blanket

wearing his Georgia Bulldogs cap

as if he were taking a nap

right before the game

at perfect peace

with the world

as we exchanged

a knowing look:

it would only be normal

for our quirky dad to

wear his velvet-sleeved

doctoral robe

and ball cap straight

through the pearly gates

***

he brought tears

and laughter as folks

realized: this is so Felix!

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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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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