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Someone
Someone Someone has to. Someone has to go. Someone has to go down in the dark, musty basement. Someone has to. Someone has to tip toe along the concrete floor. Someone has...
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Tired Trees
I wrote this cinquain in response to Carol Varsalona’s invitation to contribute to her gallery Autumn Ablaze. Carol’s galleries are always full of gorgeous images and...
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Learning from the Best Haiku Teachers
Some of my favorite haiku books and journals. chapstick and nail clippers all that’s left in my father’s dresser For almost twenty years, the Haiku Society of America has hosted The Nicholas A....
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iPhone Epitaph
Rose Gold Here lie the shattered remains of Liz’s iPhone 7. It succumbed to the weight of her minivan and now it rings in heaven. As always, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes has a wonderful interview...
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Welcome to Poetry Friday!
Why I’m Here I’m here to make pancakes when it’s hard to go to school. I’m here to save the crossword and talk about the day. I’m here to be calm when others can’t, to hug...
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2018 KidLit Progressive Poem–Day 1!
Happy National Poetry Month! In 2012 Irene Latham launched the first Progressive Poem to celebrate the month, poetry, and community. Every day in April, a different poet adds a...
View ArticleWorld Refugee Day
World Refugee Day Who would choose to leave their home— the place they live with those they love? Who would choose to leave their beds, their alters, their ancestors’ graves? Who would choose to leave...
View ArticleThe Day After
The Day After How do we go on? I ask those who came before and have gone. How did you keep going over lifetimes of losses seeing how easy it is to be cruel? Child, the voices whisper, though I have...
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Hooray for All Kinds of Kids!
Once again Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong have demonstrated their profound commitment to getting poetry into the hands of children with their latest anthology Great Morning! Poems for School...
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Vote!
Vote! Make your mark. Poke a hole. Pull the lever. Vote! People fought. People died. So we, the people, can decide who’ll represent our point of view and do the work we...
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Welcome to Poetry Friday!
Welcome! I am so glad you are here to celebrate poetry and community. Poetry Friday is a perfect way to celebrate. As is J. Patrick Lewis’ anthology The Poetry of Us. I...
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Day 28
watching the snow fall furloughed caught in a web of branches government shutdown I wrote these senryu earlier in the week for my many friends and neighbors who work for the federal government....
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School Visit: Haiku, Poetic Language, and Collaborative Writing
Last Friday I visited two elementary language arts classes at a local school in Washington, DC. I knew beforehand that the students had already done some work on haiku and had written winter animal...
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H is for Haiku in the Classroom!
Last week I wrote about a lesson I did with two local elementary classes that began with a discussion of haiku. I thought I’d follow up today with a little more about haiku and teaching poetry. I’ve...
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What is a Fact?
A fact is a fish on ice. We can all see its glassy eye. We can all feel its razor-edged fins.We can all smell its sea-salty past. A fact is raw.It can be baked, grilled, or fried,but we can all agree...
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2018 KidLit Progressive Poem–Day 1!
Happy National Poetry Month! In 2012 Irene Latham launched the first Progressive Poem to celebrate the month, poetry, and community. Every day in April, a different poet adds a...
View ArticleWorld Refugee Day
World Refugee Day Who would choose to leave their home— the place they live with those they love? Who would choose to leave their beds, their alters, their ancestors’ graves? Who would choose to leave...
View ArticleThe Day After
The Day After How do we go on? I ask those who came before and have gone. How did you keep going over lifetimes of losses seeing how easy it is to be cruel? Child, the voices whisper, though I have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hooray for All Kinds of Kids!
Once again Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong have demonstrated their profound commitment to getting poetry into the hands of children with their latest anthology Great Morning! Poems for School...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vote!
Vote! Make your mark. Poke a hole. Pull the lever. Vote! People fought. People died. So we, the people, can decide who’ll represent our point of view and do the work we...
View Article