Patchwork Prose and Verse
A shadorma poem is one with six lines, in this syllable sequence: 3/5/3/3/7/5. My One Little Word (OLW) of 2026 is Onward!
Onward!
what we bring
into this new year
depends on
what is worth
keeping ~ and having the strength
to let the rest go
The Shadorma form is six lines, containing a syllable line count in this order: 3/5/3/3/7/5. To welcome December, I celebrate all those who are special in my life today – family, readers (that’s you), writing circles, book club, and friends who fill my life with warmth.
leaning in
pouring tea with friends
embracing
fireside warmth
this is how to live a life~
I got dressed for this!
November Shadorma
go ahead
eat the pumpkin pie
before the
turkey comes
out of the oven all browned
is there a main course?
……and just like that, after Halloween candy and football player costumes and all the fun of fall festivals including a hayride around the campus at work, we are thrust unmercifully into the Christmas season. The candy at Dollar General is half price, and the one seasonal row they’d already dedicated to Christmas has expanded to three. It’s the season of eating, and no one is waiting on anything.
Today’s poem is a shadorma, a form similar to Haiku in syllable pattern. This form has six lines, and the syllable count on each line, in order, is 3,5,3,3,7,5. I’m a fan of eating dessert first, so I’m urging all pie lovers to take full advantage of throwing out the rules and questioning whether there is really a main course.
For me, it’s the pie.
who better
to lead our nation
than the ones
who built it:
caring women and men with
strong humanity?
Today’s Shadorma was inspired by Dad’s views on women in leadership roles. You can listen below to his story he shared about the power of women in ministry, words from the heart spoken by our Southern Baptist father as told to his two Southern Baptist children (one of us is currently married to a member of the Catholic faith, and one of us formerly was) in his final days of life. The thing about Dad was his love for others. ALL others, even those who believed differently from him. His full embrace of humanity far exceeded differences of religion, politics, sexual orientation, and race. He even loved those who didn’t like Georgia Bulldog football or the Atlanta Braves.
It all had something to do with the way his mother demonstrated this first. He learned from her. Take a listen:
confession:
sweets are my struggle
today I
ate three rolls
of Smarties ~ the Giant kind
(that’s no small matter)……
One of last month’s prompts from Georgia Heard’s Tiny Writing Calendar was Letter to a Place. I am using the tiny Shadorma form (3-5-3-3-7-5) today to revisit this tiny writing topic.
her pen moves
across the paper ~
a letter
written to
the place of her family
roots ~ Goodbye, it says
it’s funny
how summer sneaks up
suddenly
like weddings~
all the anticipation,
one fleeting moment
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: A Poem Made of Questions.
A Poem Made of Questions
doesn’t have
exclamation points
periods
or hellfire
narcissism directives ~
it offers free choice
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
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: A Scent from Long Ago.
A Scent from Long Ago
White Shoulders
her scent permeates
the gold box
containing
not just jewelry but her
presence ~ memories!
Common Threads 