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Saturday, April 30, 2022

April - Poetry Month - Day 30 - Last Words

 


        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look?  

Plus! Check each day for the final line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

April ends today and thus does this particular poem a day. I'll continue writing, will continue enjoying playing with words. It's a pleasure to write every day, but even more, a pleasure to read what everyone else shares during April. With so much that's hard news recently, the respite given through reading thoughtful poems is appreciated! 

Wishing everyone a May full of springtime joys!


My Long Night

 

I woke up at 2:30.

I know because that’s 

what the clock read.

 

And I wondered if I could

sleep a few more hours?

 

I like rising early

but. . . 2:30?

 

Yet, sleep came.


I dreamed of a rocky climb

up a slippery slope 

wondering if it was really rocks

or life?

 

I am no Hillary or Norgay

but like the goats I see atop the rocks

when I drive into the Rockies,

I made it one step, one grasp,

one haul of my body

to the top.

What does this have to do

with getting back to sleep?

Is life too often a dream?

 

I rose as morning light glimmered,

turned on the coffee

to think about it.

 

Linda Baie © 


Until next April. . .

Thursday, April 28, 2022

April - Poetry Month - Day 29 - Poem In Your Pocket Day! & Poetry Friday



 Jone Rush McCulloch hosts us today at her blog here with an inspirational poem for starting the day. Be sure to visit to read it. Thanks, Jone!

        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Only one more day!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

       It's Poem in Your Pocket day. Do you have a poem ready to carry and share? You can find many here at Poet.Org, The Academy of American Poets, or here at The Poetry Foundation. 
         I am re-sharing the poem that I wrote last year, this time for this special day. 


What A Pocket Knows

 

a keycard for a getaway

a lacy hanky’s good to pack

the ID card tucks in to go

a chunky bar’s a welcome snack

I hold a dollar bill, or two

and quarters for the fare

a poem stays in readiness

the one thing meant to share

                            Linda Baie © 

April - Poetry Month - Day 28 - Sunset

 


        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

Only two more days!



sunset’s smile

circles on to another’s

sunrise hello


Linda Baie ©

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

April, Poetry Month - Day 27 - Books!

 

        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

How could I not write about. . . 

        BOOKS!

 

I call it book, others might

name it opus, primer, scroll

 

nevertheless, for each

 

enticing, like cake icing

leaflet, treatise, omnibus

no matter what, they reach

 

satisfactory paperback,

tract and periodical  

 

                                                                              no matter what, they teach


                                                                                                        Linda Baie ©



Tuesday, April 26, 2022

April - Poetry Month - Day 26 - Robin

        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

         Spring brings so many delights to celebrate. Here is one of mine!



Monday, April 25, 2022

It's Monday - Final one of Poetry Month

     Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and 

  
Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they and others have been reading! Your TBR lists will grow! 
    from Cheriee at Library MattersJust a reminder to everyone participating in #MustReadIn2022,  I will host an (entirely optional) update at the end of the month.
            
           I'm writing a poem every day in April for Poetry Month. Come visit, or, visit Jama's Alphabet Soup here for all the ways poets are celebrating this month.

             I have three new poetry books to share for this final Monday of Poetry Month. There are more that have recently been published, but these are the recent ones I've read. Other books read are at the end. 
             Also, FYI! Friday is "Poem in your Pocket" Day. I'm sharing a poem I wrote about a pocket on that day. Be sure to choose a poem to carry with you on Friday!


        Perfect time for #PoetryMonth and for becoming mesmerized while learning about the wonders of space. Sally M. Walker writes haiku, both descriptive and full of tidbits of the facts. Each part has a small organizational piece in the bottom corners, starting first with "constellations and astronomers", and ending with "asteroids, comets, and meteors." I like the idea of this one in "stars" especially.
                        brilliant nebula
                        cloud pregnant with gas and dust
                        stellar nursery
Showing off Walker's haiku, Matthew Trueman's illustrations fill double-page spreads with his magical paintings, beautiful to see and to learn from. Anyone's study of space needs to add this book to their collection for both learning and appreciation of what we know is out there when we look up!
             Thanks to Candlewick Press for this copy!

         I love the ocean and don't have its pleasure until an annual trip somewhere! Reading this new one by a poet friend whose online poetry class I have taken offers a delightful peek at what might happen one ocean day, if only one's imagination took hold. 
         Renée M LaTulippe lives by the sea on the coast of Italy and knows about poetry, and crabs, too. She has written of a fantastic time when crabs rise up to give a show, with seahorses, turtles, anemones, and more. Some pages include the entire 'company' but others focus only on those dancing crabs, so darling! And there are a few other extras in the background, ones you may have seen in their own beautiful ballet leaps--dolphins! 
        Not only is the story in rhyme accompanied by Cécile Metzger's fabulous watercolor illustrations. (See that cover!) Each page demands more than one look with all the detail. There is a glossary, too, at the back that explains the French ballet terms. Even the end covers fill one up with the beautiful sea creatures and plants.

                              "turtles spiral in between.
                                A seahorse pair glides on the scene,

                                bows deep and low, then soubresaut!
                                An elegant marine routine."

       If you did not know, "soubresaut" means "A sudden small leap in which the dancer jumps from two feet and lands in the same position."     

        For those who will love a bit of imaginary theater with the added salty theme, this new book will make you smile.

         It's a poem-in-your-pocket celebration from Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. Remember Read! Read! Read! and Write! Write! Write! and so many more? In this book, a young girl writes her own poem about carrying a poem, found or written. She spies a bird out the window and wonders what the bird would carry if it had pockets! Amy lets each of the nineteen animals share their own story in the poems while the child finishes up at the end. In varied, lyrical style, the science of the animals is there, cleverly included within the poem. A mother giraffe speaks of her and her young one's unique pattern: "My pattern is unique to me./Hers unique to her./Think fingerprints–/one of a kind./Know me by my fur." And a tarantula shows its unique meal prep: "I sink my fangs./They liquefy./I suck them down/like lemonade." While for some, kids will say, "ew-w-w". For others, they'll think, "Wow!" In "Metaphor in a Meadow", it ends with "I am a walking sky." I won't share what that is but it's an animal you may want to look at again because of Amy's clever poem. Poetry entertains and educates this time as Amy's lovely poems accompanied by Emma J. Virján's brightly colored full-page illustrations make a book every young reader will love. 

April - Poetry Month - Day 25 - Crows on Wire

 

        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  


        I love seeing the birds on the wires as I drive around town, found this, as you see, on Wikimedia Commons.

Martin Cathrae from Charlottetown, PE, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons


stoplight view

nest supplies on their way

crow fly by

 

Linda Baie ©


Sunday, April 24, 2022

April - Poetry Month - Day 24 - Bee Helpers

        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

I'm still waiting to spy a bee but dandelions are up, hopefully enticing them here! 


Bee Abecedarian  - Ally Zooming

 

Always bees can determine

eventual flights giving help

in joyful knowledge, leaving mankind

nurturing outdoor planting quickly,

requiring satisfaction toward underlying

values with xenial you zooming!

 

Linda Baie ©

 

Saturday, April 23, 2022

April - Poetry Month - Day 23 - Tulips

 

        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

It's late for these to pop up. I've been watching and waiting. Now, I sat and looked for a while, welcoming spring at my house.











pinky promise   

daring debut 

hidden stunner

remember to look long

Linda Baie ©



Thursday, April 21, 2022

April - Poetry Month - Day Twenty-Two - Poetry Friday - Earth Day!



         Margaret Simon, at Reflections on the Teche is our host today for Poetry Friday and the creator of the next line in the Progressive Poem. Thank you, Margaret, for a beautifully thoughtful line. 

        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

The photo is called "The Blue Marble Shot". Enjoy this article from The Atlantic, "the story behind the image".  It will be fifty-one years old this coming December.


Earth Day – 

     Time to Reverso

 

while Earth stays hurt

and shadows thin

sunshine flirts

as spring begins

wandering through

our climate fears

no one attended

for too many years

come on activists

take a stand

for the children

for our land    

 

                                                                                                        Linda Baie ©



April - Poetry Month - Day 21 - My Parade


        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

     We have many days of sunshine here in Colorado and I love it, but because there is so much and it is bright, I also love the clearly defined shadows – everywhere!


My Parade

 

Shade’s parade marches at sunrise,

Porch rail slats stripe the porch.

Tree branches waver on the lawn,

crisscrossing the grass

as light glitters between leaf shadows.

Shade marches with the music

of geometric shapes – round pots,

rectangle chairs, triangle windchime.

At the end, mysterious flower wisps wiggle-

like people parade-watching, 

impatient at streetside.

 

                                                                                                    Linda Baie ©

 

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

April - Poetry Month - Day 20 - Earth Day - Ready?

 

        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

It's all over the news, the need is NOT for what to do in the future, but what to do NOW to save our planet. Don't stop learning how and reading the news from scientists, believing them, then ACT! Do something new by Friday!

I've posted another of my rabbit pictures, the same one who nestles in a corner of my garden, seemingly needing rest and alone time. Here he is this morning!



Let this Earth Day

become an every day

to care.

Everywhere!

 

Linda Baie ©


Tuesday, April 19, 2022

April - Poetry Month - Day Nineteen - Sight & Taste

 

        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

        I love pineapple and though I cannot buy a whole one for just me, I love their look, another 'treasure' that grows! Thus, the poem.


  


Taste and Sight

 

The pineapple pulls

stars from the sky,

wraps itself in a

taste of heaven.

 

Linda Baie ©





Free Stock photos by Vecteezy

Monday, April 18, 2022

April - Poetry Month - Day Eighteen - Wind

 


        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

          The wind has not been a friend here in Colorado this month. It has colored the days and enhanced the fire danger. Fires have started all over the state and firefighters are working hard to contain them. But then, kids are also out with kites! This picture is from a nearby park. I've written a poem that takes a word with more than one meaning, a fun challenge.




Flying High

            

I’ve learned patience with the string,

un-winding a few turns at a time.

When the kite nibbles on the breeze,

I take off running until I’m winded,

and the kite soars,

catches the wind,

sails on like freedom must feel.

 

Linda Baie ©

 



It's Monday - Poetry & Other Special Stories

    Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and 

  
Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they and others have been reading! Your TBR lists will grow! 
    from Cheriee at Library MattersJust a reminder to everyone participating in #MustReadIn2022,  I will host an (entirely optional) update at the end of the month.
            
           I'm writing a poem every day in April for Poetry Month. Come visit, or, visit Jama's Alphabet Soup here for all the ways poets are celebrating this month.

     Nancy Merlin has written some amazing YA fantasy stories, but this time her fantastical writing is a book for middle schoolers. Sylvie and her mother and grandmother live in a medieval French village quite comfortably yet there are a few rumors that they may do more than brew herbs for healing. As other descriptions say, "Perhaps they're a bit . . . witchy". When Sylvie's grandmother dies, attempts to help her mother as she grieves go terribly wrong. Sylvie must seek help but struggles with whom to trust as the search becomes a mix of terror and a search into her own heart. It may be a lesson for growing up, a time to listen to self, a time to learn that some can be trusted, some cannot.
                         Thanks to Candlewick Press for this copy!

     
      From Baptiste Paul and Jacquelin Alcántara (remember The Field?) comes a gorgeous book about a climb where the dad is urged on to the top by his energetic daughter! Gorgeous illustrations on the pages show the steep and wild jungle setting as, eventually, it's the dad who does the support. The climb is filled with native animals and a huge reward at the end, the view! There's a fun surprise at the very end as well. This needs to be seen, read aloud, and enjoyed with a group. Not only will they enjoy the view all along the hike but learn a few Creole words as perhaps they pretend to mouté (Climb on!). First, a little bwe (drink), then a manjé (snack)! Time to get outside!

 

Sunday, April 17, 2022

April - Poetry Month - Day Seventeen - Trees

 

        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

peace

salaam

shalom

 

Once every 33 years, Ramadan, Passover & Easter are observed simultaneously. This year is one of those amazing years


 


shimmering sky

trees lean together –

a human wish


Linda Baie ©















photo by Adam Rhoades on Unsplash




Saturday, April 16, 2022

April - Poetry Month - Day Sixteen - Alone

 

        The bookmark, on top of the picture above, came into the bookstore at the end of March. Often people do donate books and leave 'treasures' in them. This time, it became my own treasure and I knew what I would do for April's poetry, write about found treasures, perhaps find new places to look? Happy April!

Plus! Check each day for the added line to the Progressive Poem, created by Irene Latham, now hosted by Margaret Simon! The link is to the right!  

          Some days I want to visit with someone, but mostly I am okay by myself. I am an introvert, after all, and find many ways to fill my days.

                                                                                                        Alone

Alone is delicious.

I can eat the silence.

Piece by piece I pick it apart

and place it into my mouth.

I savor the quiet, 

letting the blue of sky dribble down my chin.

Tasty are the crumbs of clouds on my t-shirt.

I help myself to a plateful

of this messy dessert,

bite into the delectable hours

and begin to chew.

                                                                                                         Linda Baie ©