What is a Friend?

Happy Poetry Friday!  I haven't been here for a while, but there is a lull today in my otherwise topsy-turvy momentarily slow to more commonly frenetic life....

Thank you Sarah Grace at Sarah Grace Tuttle for hosting the Poetry Friday today!

Today is the official release of the anthology, What is a Friend? by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong.

It's a compilation of poems - an ekphrastic book of black-and-white photos and poems for children ages 8 and up - about being a friend. And I'm excited to have one of mine included!

It's also a fundraiser for the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund: https://www.ibby.org/awards.../ibby-children-in-crisis-fund

 

Devotion Led in May

I think this month, I will be helping myself out and if it helps anyone else - wonderful.  I will be happy that God used me.  But it is going to be fairly selfishness on my part.  I am listening to some meditative prayers and devotions and have decided to use them as a starting point for some poetry.  Some will rhyme, others will not; some may be Haiku (short and sweet), some may be long.  If this is not your cup of tea this month, please hang in there!  I will be writing more in June.  I have lots of things to work through in my present season, and I need to remember that my troubles will not last.  I need to see my troubles in a different way.  My lens of hope has clouded and I need to get myself right and see with the right perspective.  Thank you for indulging me.  Thank you for reading, if you have stuck around.  If you are tiptoeing out, please peek around the corner to check on me again later!

 

                                                                  (random image generator)

There is a time to....

 

in the Bible

never did it say

there is a time to

quit. 

If you are

still here

If you are

seeing a day

then you are here

for a reason

in this season.

Praise through the pain

the hardships

the dark

it is not about

the circumstances

It's not about you.

Rejoice regardless

you are better

than you know

his plan is better 

than anything you know

Rejoice that he is

with you in your days

of trouble,

of despair,

in valleys.

These days

are not forever

All things work

together for good

There is a time to

remember

you are not alone

and to trust

God to do what he

knows is best. 

He may lead you into a storm

but he will bring you out

also.

By Donna JT Smith, 2022

Sunday is for God

The random image and fake word generator also generates random Bible verses.  Here's what it gave me today:

 

Psalm 114:8  

Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

 Psalm 114:8

Christ our Rock,

Our fountain of Grace,

Behold what God does

He abides in this place.

 Donna JT Smith 5/2022

 

from the old Psalter:

Psalm 114:8. That turnes the stane in stank of waters,

And roche in wels of waters.

 (https://libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk)

Z is for Zeffereoring and Zipper

It's Z last Day in the AtoZ Challenge!

For National Poetry Month, I am posting a poem a day as I participate in the AtoZ writing challenge.  I am writing ekphrastic poetry (poems written with inspiration from an image) using a randomly generated image with a randomly generated FAKE word all this month.  

Using the site: https://randomwordgenerator.com I get both a fake word and random image for the day.  Here's today's image and poem using the FAKE word "zeffereoring":

 Zeffereoring

He has teeth like a zipper

to lock the food in 

He's all head and tummy

But hasn't a chin

Zeffereoring from one thing

then on to the next

he'll slip into your backpack

and send mom a text

He hides all your pencils

and nibbles on books

pretending he reads them

he nestles in nooks

he's quiet at bedtime

bestowing good dreams

he snuggles and cuddles

he's not what he seems

for in daytime he's different

he has too much spunk

but when bedtime comes

his head goes kerplunk.

asleep with a smile

zipped on his face

but on waking he zings 

and makes life a great race.

Donna JT Smith ©2022

I've given consideration to continuing daily posts through May...we shall see.  It's going to be a busy month of readying the house to sell and finishing up homeschooling the grandkids.  But writing is a good distraction from thinking about what I'm doing or have to do.

We shall see.  Ideas??  What topic, topics, rhyme schemes, images???

Y is for Yoffa and Yellow

It's Y Day in the AtoZ Challenge!

It is National Poetry Month, so I am posting a poem a day as I participate in the AtoZ writing challenge.  I will be writing ekphrastic poetry (a poem that was written with inspiration from an image) using a randomly generated image with a randomly generated FAKE word all this month.  

I am using the site: https://randomwordgenerator.com to get both a fake word and random image for the day.  Here's today's image and poem using the FAKE word "yoffa":

 

Yellow-Blind

 

Yellow lines between the which

lies line of gray contained

That yoffa has been prone to cross

when not securely laned.

A yoffa has a problem

It's severely yellowblind,

so golden is the color that

a yoffa's mind can't find.

It never knows there's mustard

The sun is out of view

And dandelions bedecking yard

to it, look like they're dew;

a yoffa won't eat lemon pie

but salivate and sniff;

The sweet smell is enticing

when it catches just a whiff.

Though yellow is invisible

It sees every other hue:

Red and purple, green and brown...

But its favorite color's blue.

Donna JT Smith ©2022

Z last day of the AtoZ is tomorrow!

But I think I'll still keep trying a poem a day.

I did not have as many readers this year as in the past, but that is MY fault!  I just couldn't get around to reading much this year as I usually have done.  Sorry, all!  Maybe I can catch up.

 

X is for Xlf and eXplorer

It's X Day in the AtoZ Challenge!

It is National Poetry Month, so I am posting a poem a day as I participate in the AtoZ writing challenge.  I will be writing ekphrastic poetry (a poem that was written with inspiration from an image) using a randomly generated image with a randomly generated FAKE word all this month.  

I am using the site: https://randomwordgenerator.com to get both a fake word and random image for the day.  Here's today's image and poem using the FAKE word "xlf":

 

Little eXplorer

eXplorer of the wondrous world,

little Xlf, you plot 

spying with a bottle lens

your hat a stainless pot

around each corner find new lands

rocking chair sails seas

treasures in a Lego box

paper tube palm trees

eXamining small creatures

a hippopotodog

a felionish kitty cat 

a crocodilifrog

eXplorer of the wondrous world,

little Xlf, you know

the world's packed with adventure

everywhere you go.

Donna JT Smith ©2022

 

Y is tomorry!

 

W is for Wibi and Windmill

It's W Day in the AtoZ Challenge!

It is National Poetry Month, so I am posting a poem a day as I participate in the AtoZ writing challenge.  I will be writing ekphrastic poetry (a poem that was written with inspiration from an image) using a randomly generated image with a randomly generated FAKE word all this month.  

I am using the site: https://randomwordgenerator.com to get both a fake word and random image for the day.  Here's today's image and poem using the FAKE word "wibi":

Wonky Windmill

 

Mangled vanes clunked

In blue sky

Took in soft breeze

flying by;

Four winds wound up

In a knot;

Stagnant, couldn't

swoop or trot.

Wibi wobbled

till it fell;

Wonky windmill

lost its spell!

No more clunking

windmill sound;

Wind is freely

darting 'round!

 

Donna JT Smith ©2022

 

V is for Votion and Vortex

It's V Day in the AtoZ Challenge!

It is National Poetry Month, so I am posting a poem a day as I participate in the AtoZ writing challenge.  I will be writing ekphrastic poetry (a poem that was written with inspiration from an image) using a randomly generated image with a randomly generated FAKE word all this month.  

I am using the site: https://randomwordgenerator.com to get both a fake word and random image for the day.  Here's today's image and poem using the FAKE word "votion":

 Vortex

What is this commotion,

Such water erosion?

I have a notion

It's merely the ocean

Displaying emotion

In swirled locomotion,

The whirl of salt potion

Revealing deep votion

and undying devotion

Through vortexing motion.

Donna JT Smith ©2022