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JoAnn's Blog

Ungrumping Yourself & Poetry Friday!

January 31, 2019
Tags: Poetry Friday, reading, ungrumping yourself, Polar Vortex

 

How to Ungrump Yourself

 

Are you overwhelmed by news?

Is it giving you the blues?

Here's a tip that you might use:

Read some poetry.

 

If you wake up feeling grumpy

'cause the road ahead looks bumpy,

don't you fidget. Don't get jumpy.

Read some poetry.

 

If you feel like you could cry

(even if you don't know why),

I say give it one good try.

Read some poetry.

 

Though there is no guarantee,

poetry could be the key.

It worked well today for me.

Read some poetry!

 

Oh, what a week! Between the Polar Vortex, family health questions, and people doing heartless things, it's a wonder anyone stays positive these days. I reached my limit this morning, and something made me stop, take a break, and go back to look at last week's Poetry Friday posts, which I had missed.

 

Gorgeous language! Perfect metaphors! Helpful explanations! My whole day—my whole outlook—turned around. Next time I feel myself slipping into Grump Mode, I will try to remember to do that again. What a gift this Poetry Friday community is! Thank you to everyone involved!

 

Tabatha Yeatts has today's Poetry Friday Roundup at The Opposite of Indifference. If you haven't checked it out yet, here's your chance!

 

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List Poems & Poetry Friday!

January 10, 2019
Tags: Poetry Friday, list poems, windowsill, memories, notebook

 

A helpful commenter on last week's post (scroll down to read it) suggested writing list poems as a way to get back into writing after drifting away for a while. So I tried a few. Here are three new ones from this week.

 

       

 

Oh, notebook, my confidante,
I've missed the comforting opaqueness of your cover,
the predictable curve of your spiral,
your straightforward guiding lines,
the way you keep my secrets,
and how they whisper to me as your pages turn.

 

        

 

On Mom's Windowsill

 

orchids whose flower stalks stretch toward glass
Christmas cactus, hopefully budded
plump aloe with companion stained glass dragonfly
chick in Easter basket, dancing to sunshine
reminder to staff: Always use gait belt for transfers!
chair alarm, flashing to show that the battery works,
      labeled "wireless fall management"
      as if it could maintain her balance
      or temper her urge to get up and go somewhere—
                like home,
                if she could just remember how to get there

 

       

 

What She Remembers

 

She remembers the lyrics to songs she sang decades ago.
She remembers the punchlines to jokes she repeats with a smirk.
She remembers to put on her long, double-strand

     pearly necklace.
She remembers how to apply her red lipstick

     without a glance in a mirror.
She remembers a day with our dad in a field by the water.
She remembers my face, though she's not always sure who I am,
and I don't have the heart to remind her because
I am struggling with memories of my own.

       

 

Kathryn Apel has today's Poetry Friday Roundup. Enjoy!

 

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Morning Observations & Poetry Friday!

January 4, 2019
Tags: haiku, Poetry Friday

 

daylight lengthening
minute reasons to rejoice
winter's turning point

 

next door cat follows
squirrel between our houses
window to window

 

singing overhead
sunlit branches block my view
hope for a robin

 

I never intend to stop writing every day, but when I fall out of the habit, I sometimes find it easier to slide back into haiku--not because they are short but because using the traditional 5-7-5 form gives me a structure to hang my words on. What works for you?

 

Sylvia Vardell has today's Poetry Friday Roundup at Poetry for Children. Enjoy!

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