Choosing a Favorite Poem

I don't know if I could ever choose my favorite poem of all time. There are too many. Some poems were my favorites duriing childhood like " …

Woman Who Loves Gardening

Another of my original poems to bring National Poetry Month to a close. Woman Who Loves Gardening I have dirty nails and rarely paint them, living out my…

Digging For Keys

As National Poetry Month comes to an end I am going to repost some of my own original poems. This poem was inspired by an exercise at a writing retre…

Thank you Mary Oliver

Thank you Mary Oliver for reminding me of the simple things that surround me in morning. Morning By Mary Oliver Salt shining behind its glass cylinder. M…

Let Evening Come

The month of April never gets by without at least one poem by Jane Kenyon. I can't think of a poem she has written that I haven't loved. Here…

There Is a Place

There Is a Place There is a place  where the museum houses thousands of paintings seen nowhere else in the world, the colors so bright they grab your eye…

Memories of Second Grade

I was talking to my students the other day about their first memories. It is hard to know what you remember, what you have seen in a picture, or what…

A Poem of Belief: Remembering the Holocaust

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. During the study of the Holocaust with my students I have been reminded over and over that we must not forget. I …

You Begin

I read poetry all year, but during April I read, reread, and revisit many favorite poems. I always return to this poem and enjoy it all over again ea…

Flower God

Flower God, God of Spring Flower god, god of the spring, beautiful, bountiful, Cold-dyed shield in the sky, lover of versicles, Here I wander in April Co…

National Poetry Month:Daffodils

Daffodils I fell in love – Taken by the innocence of  Child-face daffodils:  Their perky April fanfares –  Clarion calls from yellow-ochre brass bands Pres…

Poetry and Friend from Childhood

I have known Trudi most of my life. Our brothers were born days apart and we were destined to know each other. I can't really remember if it was …

Poetry Primer Part 2: Counting Words

For some reason many students come into my class thinking more writing is better writing. They will be proud of all the words they have written on a …

Autumn's Loft: Honoring Creativity and Trees

Last week I made a stop at Autumn's Loft on Highway 57  by Priest Lake. I found a woman with passion for photography, a love for her roots in nor…

thank you e.e.cummings

priest lake, northern idaho My week of rest was also a week of beauty. I was surrounded by nature's beauty and lifes' blessings. I am so thank…

One Art

One Art by  Elizabeth Bishop The art of losing isn't hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disas…

Just Now

Tonight I was reading Good Poems for Hard Times , an anthology selected by Garrison Keillor. This poem supports my idea of looking for beauty in simpl…

Idaho Great Lakes

I didn't post yesterday so this would have been my National Poetry Month post for Tuesday. In the far north land Idaho lies Priest Lake. This tim…

She Walks In Beauty

Caroline Kennedy is a champion in promoting poetry in the United States. She has created numerous anthologies of poetry that have honored her own mem…

Poetry: A Prayer for Spring

A Prayer in Spring Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;  And give us not to think so far away  As the uncertain harvest; keep us here  All simply …