Poetry Friday - Taking The Leap

  It's Poetry Friday, and Mary Lee Hahn is hosting HERE on her blog, sharing her own shout-out on Independence Day. How can I NOT return after months away, except for the Progressive Poem, after reading Mary Lee's call for us to care for our country! 

             

        I know I've missed some of your news, both happy and sad, and I am sorry for that. I spent three-plus months in a lot of pain, managing only regular things needed, holding up for some crazy times when my body was not reacting in usual ways, my plumbing problems meant watching my entire backyard dug up, and my car hit and needing repairs. I kind of lived on Advil! 

       It was a time, until finally, finally, I saw a rheumatologist who diagnosed me with what is called PMR - a disease in 'mostly' older people that attacks the muscles. Whew! I haven't taken any medicine except vitamins, etc., for a long while. Now, Prednisone has been my saving grace. The pain is gone; I'm back to doing what I want to do, knowing that the hurt in the world still has been, is being, so much harder than I had. Still, I am grateful for the modern medicine world that has so helped me. 

      It feels like serendipity that you, Mary Lee, are our host today, because I am thankful for one more thing that buoyed my life during the hard days, a postcard sent last year, sitting to greet me every day as I walked into my workroom.

       

      Now, for all of you, too, take Mary Lee's words, and know that not only can we "do hard things", but we must, for our country, our families, for everyone who is in need!

You watch the news

can never look away, and must

do whatever is possible: write, call, donate, then shout

hard words at those who want our silence

things will change by our protests, our action

                  Linda Baie 

Poetry Friday - A Better Choice

           It's Poetry Friday, and Heidi Mordhorst is hosting HERE on her blog My Juicy Little Universe.  Be sure to visit to learn about a new activity she introduced this week to her WHISPERshout writing workshop after-school classes, and the wonderful poem it led them to write!  Thanks for hosting, Heidi!

       

             I am reposting a poem I wrote and shared in December 2016 for Mary Lee's challenge, #haikuforhealing. I assume you know where we were after that election– upset, not exactly knowing what was going to happen. Now, this new election is less than two months away. Today, I am certainly hopeful, but still jittery! 

Wishing you all a special weekend ahead!

Poetry Friday - The Life That Is

 It's Poetry Friday, and Rose Cappelli is hosting HERE on her blog, Imagine The Possibilities, sharing poems that celebrate the many birds that come to her feeder. There's Captain, Fred and Ginger, Redboy and Queenie midst a host of others. Well, you'll see when you visit! Thanks for hosting, Rose! : )

        I found some time this week to play around with words that I cut from various magazines and save in a little box. Considering the world's challenges for so many people, both near and far, the words I found brought comfort in the doing as I considered those trying to survive for so long in horrible conditions from both war and terrible famine. And I thought of today, then tomorrow, hoping for better. 

discover

        simple

peace and quiet

  that needs to be nourished

feel everything nice

It’ll be gone before you can see

life is not waterproof

 

an ocean of 

                        savories

tomorrow  will be tomorrow

Linda Baie © 

Happy World Poetry Day - March 21, 2024

Poetry Friday - Thoughts of Others

 

            It's Poetry Friday, and Jone Rush McCullough is hosting HERE on her blog, sharing a beautiful, heart-warming poem plus adventures out in the world. Thanks for hosting this holiday season, Jone! And, Happy Solstice to all!

           It's nearly Christmas, and I don't exactly have a holiday poem, but I do have one that's touched me because of all the news of people in dire need, for shelter, for food and water, for saving their lives. You all have seen the news, too. This time, Elizabeth Coatsworth writes about cats. When I researched it, I found this copy of a community newspaper with the poem. And there, I discovered that she was married to Henry Beston, a favorite writer, whose book, The Outermost House, is one I re-read. It's a dream book of mine of living on a beach. So this discovery was a lovely one, in addition to reading more about this couple. I hope you enjoy the poem for the sympathy shone and the connections I made.

Wishing you all a loving, Happy Holiday!

Poetry Friday - Worker Pay

  

          It's Poetry Friday! Thanks, Carol Varsalona HERE at her blog, Beyond Literacy Link, for hosting. She has captured "summer's end" in lyrical poetry accompanied by her own summer memory photos. I'm seeing (already!) a few witches and ghosts around the neighborhood. It seems some are absolutely ready for this ending! 

        I was out sweeping my patio of the leaves fallen already, really just to be outside on a lovely day, two days until fall. In hiding lay a tiny, lovely surprise! It felt like a last goodbye, as Carol writes, "summer's end".

     Wishing you this kind of autumn's beginning: "It was a beautiful bright autumn day, with air like cider and a sky so blue you could drown in it."

                                             Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

Poetry Friday - My Clunker

    

          It's Poetry Friday! Thanks, Marcie Flinchum Atkins HERE at her blog for hosting. Marcie always shares the most beautiful blossom pictures with a haiku, this time about roadside chicory. Be sure you take a look at her post and also discover all about The Sealey Challenge that she is taking on in August. Perhaps it'll be something to interest you, too! 

          Two weeks ago, here, Linda Michell hosted Poetry Friday and reminded us about her annual "clunker" challenge. I saved the list, and have had a lot of fun imagining a connection with each one. But the one that spoke loudly to me and what I wrote is below. The picture is of my youngest grandchild, Imogene, on a walk long ago. She'll be twelve this month! I have been thinking of all my grandchildren and those of others too as the changes in our laws have astounded and worried me. It feels as if we're returning to my own young days. Yes, I'm that old! Thus, Linda's words, "Catch a falling/Word hold/Onto it." brought me to my poem below. Thanks, Linda!

  

It's Poetry Friday - The Bouncing Ball

  

             It's Poetry Friday! Tricia Stohr-Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect here, for hosting. She's sharing a poignant poem about moving, this time from her office of many years, brimful of memories! I imagine many will connect. Thank you, Tricia!

       Most of you will understand that this all came from my heart. You may know my grandson graduated last December from the University of Kentucky. What a special long weekend that was. Then, this week, Wednesday and Thursday, Grand-girls Imogene and Ingrid, graduated from fifth grade and eighth grade, off to middle school and high school! 

The Bouncing Ball Keeps Bouncing

 

there comes a line one crosses

or perhaps it is a bouncing ball

when one is a parent

from the sitting up without falling clown-like to the side

to the time the baby awakened,

and you went in to pick her up from her nap

and she stood, leaning over rattling the rail,

smiling big-time saying Out, Out!

you know the rest

down the steps and 'round the block

to a friend’s house

down the steps and into the car

off to kindergarten

up the steps and on the bus

bouncing off to middle school then high school

flying off to college

all mushed together like a layer cake

that icing in between so sweet

you keep tasting it

but sometimes, after a while,

the cake itself feels dry in one’s mouth

and you must wash it down with

water and more water

until you aren’t choking anymore

but only cherishing

the icing

  

Linda Baie (c) 

Also, I want to give a special shout-out to Laura Purdie Salas and Laura Shovan for their poetry books published recently. You can find my reviews on my blog or Goodreads, links under the book covers below. Congratulations, Laura and Laura!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60784776-zap-clap-boom

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63098710-welcome-to-monsterville

Wishing you a Happy June!

April - Poetry Month - Day Fourteen - Narrative PLUS Poetry Friday

 

I am continuing with my Poetry Month challenges and Jone Rush MacCulloch is our host for Poetry Friday HERE with a big challenge for everyone this day, to share a poem in a "Classic Found Poetry Palooza". Be sure to check it out! Thanks, Jone, for hosting!  

         Remember to check out what's happening with the next Progressive Poem line today by Janice Scully. See the entire list on the right.

       Happy Poetry Month, where poems parade in the streets, run like rivers within our veins or settle in our hearts every.single,time. 

       I am using this older book pictured left that follows the alphabet with one kind of prompt each day. I used this book on occasion in the classroom years ago, but never worked through it day by day, with deliberation! Here goes!

      Today - N is for Narrative, a poem that offers some kind of story. I kind of cheated today because it is my older granddaughter, Ingrid's fourteenth birthday. A few years ago I wrote a book of what I called "goodbye" poems of different years for all my family. This is one I wrote about Ingrid, but imagined in her mother's (my daughter's) voice. 

For Ingrid’s Mama, Sarah

 

Toddling into two-

on your way to three,

I find I miss your

halting steps,

holding my hand

only to step

off the curb.

 

Now you begin

learning no and then why

and I do it-

startling

pronouncements

of separation.

 

Your eyes prowl

for the next adventure,

now.

Wow, you are growing,

your baby steps going

into a run-and-jump song.

If this could be slowed

I would linger a while

keeping your baby smile

only for me.

 

               Linda Baie ©

Happy Fourteenth Birthday, Ingrid!

Poetry Friday - An Artist's Choices

          At A(nother) Year of Reading, Poetry Friday is with Mary Lee Hahn, poet, quilter, embroiderer, fisherwoman, and more HERE, sharing so much poetry goodness, including her "poetry month" project. Thanks, Mary Lee, for hosting!          

         It's the day before Poetry Month! Are you ready? Enjoy all the days ahead! 

          In still another post, Mary Lee shared the following: "This month, the Poetry Sisters are writing etherees. This ten-line form begins with a single syllable, and each line expands by one syllable until the tenth line has ten. We’re continuing with our 2023 theme of transformation, but how you interpret that topically is up to you.

          Somehow, some way, the topic of color entered my brain. Here is what I created. 

color wheel credit: By 8 leaf-clover - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons .wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113344793

 

Poetry Friday - Snowy Imagining

 Poetry Friday is with Molly Hogan HERE at Nix The Comfort Zone.  Molly's sharing a beautiful poem to praise the beauty of trees in winter. Mine connects trees in another way. What fun to discover that. Thanks, Molly, for hosting! 

             It's another holiday weekend coming. Do you have plans?

This comes from Laura Shovan's birthday month poetry challenge. The prompt was "a gathering". It was bitter cold Wednesday and I sat quite a lot looking out one of my windows, at the snowy cold and birds feeding often throughout the day. No, I didn't write about birds gathering, or people memories either. I also had a view of a corner of my lawn, and the green space outside of it. Imagination took over.

(You can see the younger group behind the big tree from back in 2013. Then, there they are today in 2023!)

Poetry Friday - More Love for Fall

         Poetry Friday is with Matt Forrest Esenwine, HERE at his website, Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme with some "preview" words of his new picture book, How to Be A Human.  Thanks for hosting, Matt!

        Over the years, I have shared poems I've written or those by others about fall. It's my favorite season, one that holds delightful things for us when we go out into nature every single day. Here's a poem I wrote a while ago, still true, still my celebration. The prompt was "forgotten"

a view out my front window

forgotten in July

tree blaze
leaf crunch
coat days
soup lunch
bird trek
bloom wilt
squash check
warm quilt
doors closed
brown lawn
cold nose
socks on
breath steam
snow shine
beach dream
cold –
fine
     Linda Baie © 

Poetry Friday - A New Poet!

 

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."

 

         Poetry Friday is with Rose Cappelli, HERE at her website, Imagine The Possibilities. She, too, shares a post connecting to grandchildren. Thanks for hosting, Rose!

             Like other grandparents, I have shared a lot about my three grandchildren through the years, and feel blessed that I have them. My son and daughter-in-law's child, Carter, soon will be a college grad. My daughter and son-in-law's children are Ingrid, thirteen, and Imogene, eleven. And like others, I could go on and on about each one's lives that I've been lucky to be a part of.

             This week, Ingrid shared a poem with me and I have her permission to share it. She attends a charter school of the arts in Denver, is now in eighth grade. Her major is Video Cinema Arts. Recently, her language arts class has been reading and writing poetry and she shared a few with me. Ingrid told me that this particular poem is called a "catalog" poem. I would add that she's also a pitcher on a softball team. She is a busy young woman with a passion for many things! Here's a pic of her this past summer on a league team, although now she's on a school team, still pitching! 

Still To This Day

 

A poem by Ingrid Krahling ©

 

Still to this day I enjoy scooping the walk

Piercing frigid weather

A coat of flakes on the pavement

Grasping your shovel

Mittens on

 

Still to this day I take those hikes 

Crisp air

Pine needles 

The roots of the sagacious trees born before you 

Delving into the dirt along the trail

Never wanting to look away

 

Still to this day I serve that ball

Lifting that Racket 

Blinding sun

Desperate for hydration 

 

Still to this day I board that lift

Purposely riding 

Contemplating

The glacial bitter surroundings

And the same two sticks

Below the arch of my foot

 

Still to this day I go to the beach

Extensive ocean

Afraid of the fish

Saltwater swallowed 

Hair frizzed and curled 

Adjusting to the humid air 

 

Still to this day, I bike as I did then

Sweat inside my helmet although I don’t take it off

My legs burned out, knowing that it’ll pay off

 

Still to this day

I am myself

It's Poetry Friday - Mail Call

 

 

  Poetry Friday is with Carol Varsalon, HERE at Beyond Literacy Link, as she says goodbye to summer.  Thanks for hosting, Carol.  

           In my mail, any one day, I receive many requests for help. I do donate to some organizations but all online. It hurts my heart to read of so many needs in our world, crisis after crisis. I gathered some words, brief and true, for a found poem this week. I imagine each of you receives at least some of the pleas. 

Emergency Request

displaced,

a crisis without choice

violence

increasing. . .

help makes a difference

Linda Baie ©

#PoetryFriday - A Recent Kindness

  

  Poetry Friday is with Jan Godown Annino, who's hosting HERE at BookseedStudio. Thanks for hosting, Jan, lovely to see you here! And thanks for the post showing off a wonderful book inspiring your own poem.

I am thinking of these words from Maya Angelou:  “I’ve learned you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.” 

             I've loved other books, other tales, other inspiration from Irene Latham before. A granddaughter visiting this week asked to read "that cat book" again, meaning The Cat Man of Aleppo. Then we searched about him on the web, finally discovering those who are helping pets to survive in different places in Ukraine. She will be eleven in a few weeks, knows all the news, and it felt good to show her how people all over the world are showing kindness, for animals and people! 

              Irene's most recent book is 12 Days of Kindness, follows the well-known song "Twelve Days of Christmas" with a myriad of children and adults showing varied ways we can be kind.

        Each part of the verse shows a new act of kindness; hugs and smiles, greetings and thank-you notes fill people's worlds and bring smiles from them, too. All kinds of people are there in the color-filled illustrations by Junghwa Park. There are family members, school workers, and recess buddies. Kindness wraps the day from the top to the sweetest ending I would hope for every child. The left side demonstrates the kindnesses as the right side fills up page by page as those "12 days" pass. 

         In these recent weeks, it feels as if a kindness given will lift friends, family members, and strangers, too. We all need it! I know this would be a book to share in my classroom if I were still teaching. Thanks, Irene, for your own kindness shared by writing this wonderful book.

 

Poetry Friday - Overheard In My Garden

 

  Poetry Friday is with Buffy Silverman, whose blog is HERE. Be sure to visit to read her delightful poem about the beautiful but tricky lady slippers! 

           It's been a very late spring this year for us in Denver. I have peony memories of cutting bunches to take to the cemetery for Memorial Day. A week has passed, and finally, there is one bloom! My imagination flies!

     Peony Whispers

 

“Hang in there,” shouted the roots.

“We’re closer,” sighed the leaves.

“It’s only a sprinkle of snow,” shivered the stems.

“The sun will come out tomorrow,” sang them all.

“Wait a bit longer,” cautioned the bud.

“I’m preparing to open.”

“The rain helped us,” said the roots,

almost there.”

“It’s time,” trilled the stems.

“We’re ready,” called the buds.

“At last!” answered the bloom.

"Welcome!" shouted the columbines.

“Thank you,” whispered the gardener. 

 

Linda Baie ©

 

Poetry Friday - Escape

 

  Poetry Friday is with Carmela Martino, at the blog, Teaching Authors here.   She's sharing about a new program for young ones named Wee Steamers by Heidi Bee Roemer and one of her own spring/outside poems about dandelions, bee favorites! Thanks, Carmela!  

     It's been a long week, hasn't it? Last weekend I had a joyful visit with my son and daughter-in-law, only to have some of it dampened by more news of senseless killings. I feel I must write, to never forget this loss and those who will miss them. I do find peace in the outdoors and wish that for all of you, too.

An etheree

 

when

days bring

on despair

television’s

news-watching becomes

my only addiction

fiddling for the cold hard facts

until I have no need for more 

I lean on that which offers solace 

nature-made, dependable, bud escape

 

 Linda Baie ©