Dear friends,
​I'm pleased to host an article on Story Empire today. Perhaps you'd like to stop by, and if so, just click on the link. My focus is sunsets across our beautiful planet.

Have a wonderful weekend. 💗

Hello dear blog friends, it's #TankaTuesday and author Colleen Chesebro has another poetry prompt. Because this is the fourth Tuesday of the month, the prompt is a theme: EXPEDITION. When I saw this, my thoughts went immediately to the journey we all take in life. I decided to write a Butterfly Cinquain, which has 2-4-6-8-2-8-6-4-2 syllables, because of the symbolism of this little flying beauty. I hope you like it.

My poem is called The Final Journey. I hope you like it. Have a wonderful week!  
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Hello friends, it's #Tanka Tuesday! And since it is the third Tuesday of the month, the focus is an Ekphrastic photo prompt.

Author Colleen Chesebro invited Annette Rochelle Aben to select a photo, which is the one to the right. All submissions are written in response to this image. 

My syllabic poem is below. It is my first attempt at an Alouette poem - six lines with syllables of 5,5,7,5,7 and a rhyme scheme of aabccb. 

Wouldn't it be delightful to walk on the beach and discover such beautiful treasures as these? If you're like me, you've already taken that journey in your imagination. 😊

I hope you have a wonderful week! 

Hello dear readers. Earlier this summer, I read a book that continues to haunt me: The Choice, Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger. A survivor of Auschwitz, she offers an account of misery most of us will never experience or fully comprehend. I read slowly, stopping many times just to breathe. Over and over, I struggled with one question -- how can people be so cruel? 

When I walked this evening, I thought of Dr. Eger's book, and then stopped by the community flag and took this photo. For some, it's a divisive sign, but for me it is a reminder of our hard earned freedoms - to worship as we please, to choose our leadership, to disagree civilly, to earn a just wage, to live peacefully, and so much more.  

Dr. Eger wrote, "We're born to love; we learn to hate. It's up to us what we reach for." With her 5-STAR book in mind, I wrote a short tanka poem. I call it The Invitation. I hope you like it. 

Have a wonderful week! 

Hello blog friends, it's "TankaTuesday again and author Colleen Chesebro offers another prompt. She asks that we create a syllabic poem using synonyms for these two words: green and morass. It's the monsoon season in my area, and my contribution reflects this fact. I hope you like it and also hope you join in the fun.

​Have a wonderful week!

Hello blog friends! It's #Tanka Tuesday and author Colleen Chesebro invites budding poets to participate in her challenge. Because this is the first Tuesday of the month, Colleen asks that we choose any syllabic form. We're free to do whatever we'd like, as long as it is syllabic.

I've decided to try the 3-5-3 haiku. There's a story behind my piece, isn't there always? 😊

Two weeks ago my husband and I moved to Prescott Valley, Arizona. Though we're still living out of boxes and struggling with mail delivery and disappearing WiFi, miracles abound!

I walk in the early morning and always I'm struck by the incredible beauty surrounding me. Perhaps it's the elevation, perhaps it's the season, whatever the reason might be, my spirit soars. Literally. I keep my feet on the ground, but it takes effort. 

The scene below is from today's walk. Isn't it amazing?  

I'd love to hear if you experience delight in the early morning. Have a wonderful week! 

Hello dear friends, it's poetry time again!

​Author Colleen Chesebro's prompt for this week is a bit complicated. Participants are to: (1) choose their favorite syllabic poetry form and write the poem, then (2) give the poem different characteristics, and finally (3) name the new syllabic poetry form. 

Well... I've taken a simple path and decided on Haiku Squared. I hope you enjoy it. 💗