Birthday Cards

 Mug Shot

This is a card I made for my daughter for her May birthday.  I've taken to making a small, postcard size, watercolor for a birthday card.  Quick.  Write a poem on the back.  Quick.

This one has flaws, but so do I.  So that's what you get with me. Lol!  But it's fun and it keeps me out of trouble!

Happy birthday to my girl,

The one who loved to dance and twirl,

The one who grew up in a day -

As old as I now, 

I must say...

I don't know how this came to be...

Wait! No! 

I think I'm 33!

Yup, you're much older than I am now

There's no explaining why or how!

by Donna JT Smith

Happy birthday, Michelle!  Happy Poetry Friday, everyone!  June is soon!

More poetry connections are at Michelle Kogan's!

Madness! Poetry

If you are wondering what to do today because you have read all the poems being shared for Poetry Friday, what better way to extend the fun, than to to to Madness! Poetry and read 64 new poems created.  Cast a few votes, or many votes to encourage all the poets who have submitted their creations (under duress!)

I will warn you, it is addicting...and the contest runs through May with new poems created weekly.  You need to stay tuned to get the next round!  Each poet has 36 hours to create a new piece using their given word.  It is not a contest to be taken lightly - however, you kinda have to!

Today at 5 my bout with RJ Clarken closes.  Our word was "suave"!  It is so interesting to see how these words get woven into poems - and to see the strange theme or character occurrences in two battling poems.

I do hope you get on over there - not just for MY sake, but for all the poets and all the poems begging to be read!!

I'm going to put a poem here in just a minute...or two...here we go...done.

An old Squiggle I drew...

Happy Spring!

Run and sing!

Catch a frog!

Jump a log!

Such delight -

Days wax bright!

Warmish breezes!

Summer teases!

Grab a swing -

Raise toes to spring!

by Donna JT Smith, 5/14/2021

 

Poetry Friday offerings are here with Irene Latham, who is hosting at her blog, Live Your Poem.

Madness!Poetry is here.  My poem is about a couple of roosters...

 

It's time for the amazing Madness! Poetry, a time of writing poetry under the constraints of word assignment (the words are ridiculously challenging), length of creation, and time restrictions (36 hours to create and submit - 36 hours to vote on each bout).  The 64 competitors eventually - beginning of June - pare down to a single winner of the Thinkier Award!

Here's my poem I submitted as an entry for Ed DeCaria, the creator/mastermind of Madness! Poetry.  It got me a seat in Round 1!  Let's hope the words flow for Tuesday, when the bout begins for RJ Clarken and me! 

Madness

Demons be within our brains
Prodding us to wax inane;
Inventing verse and astute stanza
With words like dame ‘n’ extravaganza!
Oh, to live as those who’re sane, or
To be at one with life mundaner.
But no… the sobriquet of poet
Is our lot, and we all know it.
Polish pens, unearth slick paper,
Prepare for the wildest poetry caper!
This Madness comes but once a year,
We’re loco, though, for life, I fear.

By Donna JT Smith 4/18/2021

I hope you can join us in reading and voting on your favorite poems each time the new batch appears.  Watch for Becky Herzog and Heidi Mordhorst, too!!

Don't forget to log in to vote on all the poems!  

Meanwhile, Happy Poetry Friday!  Read more poems right now by visiting Bridget Magee at wee words for wee ones.

Progressive Poem

Oh, my word!  How could I have done this.... I have gotten so caught up in "stuff" lately, that the Progressive Poem, for the first time ever, was forgotten about!!!

I hadn't even read a line before just now at 3:30 pm Easter Sunday!  Can't believe it!

But here I am scrambling, rambling... ready to roll!

Each poet is offering two lines from which the next poet can choose, then that poet is offering two lines, and so on.

Let's see what we've got....

I’m a case of kindness – come and catch me if you can!

Easily contagious – sharing smiles is my plan.

And now I've been given the choice of two lines from Mary Lee...

I'll spread my joy both far and wide

Or

Puppies, babies – what makes you giggle?

I think I am going to go with -

                                                        I'll spread my joy both far and wide

 

So:

I’m a case of kindness – come and catch me if you can!

Easily contagious – sharing smiles is my plan.

 

I'll spread my joy both far and wide

 

And now my lines to contemplate, Irene!  Which do you like?  Either way, it's a couplet!

 

Let me cleanse the world like a rising tide

or

 

As a force of nature, I'll be undenied

 

I'd say more...but I'm LATE!!!!

Take it away, Irene!!!

April 1 Kat Apel at Kat Whiskers
2 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
3 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
4 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
5 Irene Latham at Live your Poem
6 Jan Godown Annino at BookseedStudio
7 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
8 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care
9 Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche
10 Molly Hogan at Nix the Comfort Zone
11 Buffy Silverman
12 Janet Fagel at Reflections on the Teche
13 Jone Rush MacCulloch
14 Susan Bruck at Soul Blossom Living
15 Wendy Taleo at Tales in eLearning
16 Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe
17 Tricia Stohr Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect
18 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
19 Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
20 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
21 Leigh Anne Eck at A Day in the Life
22 Ruth Hersey at There is No Such Thing as a God-forsaken Town
23 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
24 Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference
25 Shari Daniels at Islands of my Soul
26 Tim Gels at Yet There is Method
27 Rebecca Newman
28 Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
29 Christie Wyman at Wondering and Wondering
30 Michelle Kogan at More Art 4 All

 

Tree's Valentine

 

I found this leaf tucked in the door handle of my car.  It looked like the tree had left me a Valentine!

Happy Poetry Friday!  Visit more poems and poetic goodies at Jama's Alphabet Soup!

Spider and Scarecrow

I didn't have extra time today, but I still wrote a poem to go with a quirky watercolor I did a couple of days ago. Sometimes having no time to write is the best time.

Spider and Scarecrow

 

There was an old scarecrow

all lady-like staid

who had a friend spider

all hairy and grayed

They both spun at midnight

though not the same way

the spider spun silk while 

the scarecrow girl swayed

The moonlight fed both

in the field every night

except on the new moon

when dark wasn't light

but still they enjoyed 

the evenings well spun 

as each of them shared

their own kinds of fun

The spider learned waltzing

despite four left feet

and scarecrow learned weaving

of shawls and silk sheets

While autumn kept creeping

but neither one saw

And then one day - whoosh!

wind made piles of them all!

Ho-hum, autumn's done

Time for snowflake fiestas

and the season of scarecrow

and spider siestas!

by Donna JT Smith, 10-16-2020

Inspiration from Molly's Garden

Sometime this week, Molly Hogan posted a picture on Facebook of her carrots.  Go there to see her great image of homegrown carrots.

I wrote a Haiku for the carrots in the Comments...

Roots try to stretch but

Ridged rocks with stony laughs

Inhibit their reach.

 

by Donna JT Smith

...but one carrot had a split root, and Molly commented back about its "dancing pants"...

And so I could not leave that alone!  It was eating at me until I wrote this poem.  It wasn't what I'd kind of envisioned.  I was thinking a kind of Gingerbread Man scenario.  But you can't stop a Carrot Top.

Thanks for the inspiration Molly!

Carrot's Top

The day was cold,
the day was spring
and I had not
a better thing
to do today
but plant a ring
   A ring of things
   I call some carrots.

The soil was moist
The loam was brown
and there I pictured
carrot crowns
and so I threw
Some seeds around
   To fill the needs
   of me and rabbits.

Tiny green leaves
An emerald sprout
came up in days
In spite of drought
It would be special
There was no doubt
   It was no plant
   Of mundane habit.

The sun it shone
And then it waned
I waited there
Until it rained
The time to harvest
Was ordained
   I saw orange -
   The time to nab it.

I pulled and pulled
Very slowly
Up came the carrot
Soiled and lowly
I looked at it
It struck me drolly…
   I never knew
   I’d have to grab it!

Two chubby legs
In orange pants
This carrot wore
As if to prance
And that it did
Or was it dance?
   In any case
   Began the gamut

It did a jig
It made me laugh
It wasn’t tall
By less than half
And then I took
This photograph
   Before it jumped
   I quickly snapped it.

Down the path and
Up the hilltop
Past a red barn
To the Big Top
Where it came to
Rest at this stop
   To ask the way -
   A little gambit.

And that is how
And that is when
Carrot said “no”
To julienne
No matter how
The world would yen
   There would be corn
   But not this carrot.

Yes, carrot learned
The life of clowns
Has many ups
Not so the downs
They traveled far
To many towns
   Pulled up its roots
   As was its habit.

I miss carrot
I’m forlorn
The loss of orange
I still mourn
But I do enjoy
Some yellow corn
   And clover is
   Enough for rabbit.

By Donna JT Smith, 9/20/2020

Thanks for visiting!  It's Poetry Friday.  Go have a heaping helping of poetry by visiting the links at Jone Rush MacCulloch's new blog!

A Recap of Some Squiggles

I'm finding balance these days in Squiggles and Poems.
The uncertainty of a blindly drawn line, the discernment of a picture, the writing of a story in poem form... all somehow give me balance as I start my day. Sometimes I start it and am not be able to continue until later in the day.  Not liking those so much, but still it is something to look forward to every day.

I know many of you have seen these posted on FB, but some have not. Here are a couple to give you an idea of what I'm doing.  I took a break in June.  Life got very busy and uncertain - more uncertain than it already was - as I prepared to travel to Maine to help care for my dying sister.  I did not know how long I would be here in Maine.  She died three days after my arrival, and COVID19 made it an interesting funeral with close friends and family gathering at the grave site or checking in on ZOOM.

A month before her death, before I knew she was in her last days, I wrote this.  Although it is not really a squiggle, it is based on the way I do them.  The balloon is a story from our lives that I recounted at the funeral.  It's kind of a floating poem...

Blue Balloon

It bobbed a bit, then left her grasp;
Away, away it lifted.
Rising high she felt a tear
As far, too far it drifted.
She should have tied it tight and fast
Too late, so late to think of that -
Escaping on the evening breeze
So blue, a true blue acrobat.
She watched it soar to clouds aloft
And touch, just touch day lingering
She felt a string wrap round her wrist
And fasten fast, deft fingering
The eldest relinquished her balloon
And calmly calmed with whisper.
She gave away her own of red
In love, love for small sister.

By Donna JT Smith, 5/14/2020

I will miss her.  We never had as much time together as we should have. 

And on a funner note, here is a true Squiggle and a Poem:

Wonderer

Bopping through the field of green
Catching anything that’s seen
Butterfly, spry grasshopper,
Caterpillar - those’ll stop her!
Anything that crawls or flies
Can’t escape her wondering eyes
Scoop with hands or swoop with net
Nothing’s been too speedy yet!
Drops them in her terrarium
So she can proudly carry ‘em.
It isn’t very many days
Before she’s learned about their ways,
And then she sets the critters free
So they can hop from grass to tree.
She thanks them kindly for their service
Apologizing if they were nervous,
She only means to study them,
Not forever buddy them!
Every day new ways to learn
At every step, at every turn.
Wondering at all things true
Keeps her eyes a sparkling blue!

By Donna JT Smith, 7/17/2020

I decided to remain in Maine for the summer, staying with my son and a houseful of dogs.
Hope your Poetry Friday is full of Wondering!
See more links to poetry at Jan's Bookseedstudio!

Clouded

It's Poetry Friday.  

I've not been here in a while - posts have been sporadic, visits to other blogs have been scanty.  

I apologize for being neglectful.  

It's been, as with everyone, a different time, different in so many ways for so long, that I've come to expect the unexpected at every turn.  But there are breaks in the difficulties that make you remember you know how to smile and how to laugh, and when to dance. Lol, dancing has been a long time coming!  But I kicked (albeit gently) a soccer ball with my grandson.

I've posted mostly on FB lately, not a venue I had been using much.  But I've done a Squiggle and a Poem every day up until this week when I missed a day.  Playing catch up.

I hope everyone is well and safe!  

I am fine and recovering and mostly feeling positive.  

Sometimes though, a myriad of things attempt to weigh me down.  I'm still getting up.

Clouded

ever clouded

the way is not clear

and I fear

that I hurt as much

as I hurt

I would wish away

the hurt

I would wish away 

the cloud

so loud

fearsome thunderous

it is

I would wish

the tears of strain

would not sting

but they do

that the skies 

would blue shine

and I could see

you seeing

but it's clouded

and it hurts

I want the hurt

to not be

for

Anyone

ever

never clouded

anymore

ever

except for

that one cloud

over there

in the shape of a heart

that can stay

by Donna JT Smith, 5/29/2020

More Poetry Friday links may be found at Mary Lee Hahn's A Year of Reading.

A Squiggle and a Poem

For much of the month of April I have been doing a Squiggle and a Poem...

The process involves very little time.  I simply get my iPhone, go to Notes, get the Markup open and make sure I'm on black marker.  Then I close my eyes and make a squiggle on the screen.  I give myself about a minute to make some sort of sense to the squiggle and then begin using other colors to fill in the image I came up with.  When it is done, a poem emerges and I write that, often on my iPhone in the notes, sometimes on the computer or paper.  The poem is usually in one quick burst, though somedays I have to get up and get more coffee!  Or, as with this one, I got interrupted by who knows what, and it never got finished.  I finished it mostly last night, with just the last few lines of the poem eluding me until this morning.

Slick Kicks

I got new slippers, they’re the best,
Not beat up, torn up like the rest!
They keep my tootsies fireplace toasty,
Wrap my toes all cozy, roasty.
Don’t know why they call them slippers,
‘Cause on the bottoms they’ve got grippers.
“Take off those slippers, hop into bed;
Can’t sleep in slippers”, momma said.
So I slip them off, leave ‘em on the floor
Beside my bed always ready for more
Comfy foot time when I’m awake;
They even dance and shake, shake, shake!
These pantofles are the best thing yet.
You’ll have to look that up, I bet!

By Donna JT Smith, 4/30/2020