Category: Poetry

Categories
Poetry Topic Words of Wisdom

Hanging Onto Ifs

Questions of uncertainty
Hanging onto ifs
Restricts growth
It constrains

Hanging onto ifs
Breeds uncertainty
And doubt

Hanging onto ifs
Robs you of exploration
Stalls curiosity

Hanging onto ifs
Builds rifts
Stalls shifts in creativity
Takes all the lifts out of the sails

Hanging onto ifs
Can foster inner tiffs
Let go of the ifs

It helps to sift
Sift away fears and doubts
Lift hope and confidence

Let go of the ifs

The poem, Hanging Onto Ifs is about how our mind plays on us. It can let doubt creep in and stop us from pursuing our dreams. We question ourselves and ask, “what if it doesn’t work?” Well, what if it does. Injecting hopeful thoughts and believing in ourselves is a positive alternative.

The mind is very powerful, and it is important that we guard our thoughts. Every action starts with a thought. If we question and overthink, it stalls growth.

What do you think about the what ifs?

Thank you for stopping by to read.🙏🏽💞

Photo by Laurin Steffens on Unsplash

Categories
Poetry Topic

Sweet Slumber

A Tricube

step inside
feel the vibe
calm imbibe

guard let down
blissfully
pillow bound

eyes closing
rest ensues
start the snooze

Sweet Slumber is about that moment you get home from a rough day. All you want to do is get some sleep. No longer on the clock, you can just let go and hit the bed. Let the snoozing begin.

The Tanka Tuesday host this week is Willow, who has tasked us with the challenge to write a tricube poem.

You can write your Tricube poem in as many multiples of three-line stanzas as you wish. Please pick your moment and write about your feelings. A word of advice don’t overthink the moment let your words flow.

Thank you all for stopping by to read and thank you Willow for the prompt. 🙏🏽💕

Categories
Poetry Topic

No Need for Name Calling

No Need for Name Calling

An Etheree


Knock 
Who's there?  
Tap, tap, tap  
Tap tap tap who?  
Knock, knock, tap, tap, bam 
Who's that rapping my door? 
Knock, knock, tap, tap, bam, bam, ding 
Pressing the doorbell again, dong 
Trodding to the door, you yell, coming!  
Just open the door already, Ding Dong!

Robbie invites us to write a poem using onomatopoeia for this week’s Tanka Tuesday challenge. I tried to add some humor to this one about someone knocking at the door. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it!😊 And thank you, Robbie, for your inspiration. 🙏🏽💕

Categories
Info Poetry Topic Words of Wisdom

30 Years Turns the Art of Poetry

April is National Poetry Month. The year 2026 makes 30 years of this celebration of art.

What does poetry mean to you? What is your favorite poetry form?

Is there a special way you like to commemorate the art form of poetry and writing? If so, share the most meaningful way you choose to celebrate.

Words are very powerful. They can inject joy and adversely, bring about feelings of hurt. The way we choose our words is very important. Words can be used to compose a song, convey an idea, express thoughts, and a plethora of many things. Both spoken and written words carry weight.

For National Poetry month, I have tried writing my first Trenta-Sei poem. Not an easy feat.

What is a Trenta-Sei poem?

-Created by John Ciardi, the Trenta-Sei poem is a poetic form that contains 6, six-line stanzas for a total of 36 lines.
-A rhyme scheme of ababcc.
-Lines 2-6 of the first stanza will be the first line of the stanzas to follow, in the same order.
-The cascading repetition adds to the complexity of this style.

Sounds simple, right? I’m joking. It was challenging for me but nonetheless, it was fun writing.

30 Years Turns the Art of Poetry

Artistry comes in many forms 
Creating ways to move 
Motion in strokes not the norm 
Writing that transforms and grooves 
Rhymes skillfully arousing the senses 
Poetry and prose in many tenses 
 
Creating ways to move 
Your mind drifts afar 
Riding words feeling the groove 
Inspiration shining like a star 
Don't stop, ideas abound, keep up the flow 
Intricate words flood the brain, page aglow 
 
Motion in strokes not the norm 
Acrylic, watercolor or oil 
Brushstrokes haphazard forming a storm 
Circular and abstract like a coil 
Collage of fabric in Pink, Yellow, Green 
Blending media, asking what it means 
 
Writing that transforms and grooves 
Taking you on a wild ride 
Explain the meaning a pen behooves 
Awing the reader, mouth open wide 
Scanning the page, delight and disbelief 
Vivid, exact, succinct and very brief 
 
Rhymes skillfully arousing the senses 
Cadence so crisp and clear 
No more dis songs, time to mend fences 
Harmony is music to my ears 
An art form transcending generations 
Lyrics infused with deep revelations
Categories
Poetry Topic Words of Wisdom

Sidelined Sadness

Sadness be gone

A Triolet poem

Laughter cradles when sadness weighs 
A good belly roll brings oxygen to the brain 
endorphins stick around for days 
Laughter cradles when sadness weighs 
stimulating feel good pathways 
shifting mood to a higher plain 
Laughter cradles when sadness weighs 
A good belly roll brings oxygen to the brain

Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read Sidelined Sadness.

Image by Sergei Tokmakov, Esq. https://Terms.Law from Pixabay

Categories
Poetry Topic

Return or Boomerang

A Cameo Poem

Returning Boomerang
throw it
wait, it comes right back
physics and shape aid its return
near or far
it rides the wind and flows back in
back into your palm it rests
magic

Return or Boomerang is a cameo poem. It is written in response to the W3 weekly challenge.

Thank you for stopping by to read my first try at a cameo poem. 💕🙏🏽

Image credit: Spencer Wing from Pixabay

Categories
Poetry Topic Words of Wisdom

Horizons of Light

Lighthouse shining over the horizons
Standing quietly, alone
No one in sight, solo
Commanding stance over seas
Views of water for miles

Alone, until people drift by
To and fro, ebbing with the tides
Suddenly you are called upon
Memory jarred that your light is shining

Light that draws them near, curious
Wonderment in their eyes as they pause
Pause, hesitant to ask 
How do you do it?

Ask, how do you continue to shine light
All while being alone, present
Day in and out, rain, fog and clouds
Hovering over your crown of light

Difficult task that takes patience
Being constant no matter what comes
Knowing that light is a powerful force
Drawing people into a place of safety

Sound the alarm only when danger lurks
Silent, stationary even when water murks
Pulsating light comes with many perks
Structure standing tall and firm
Navigating shores, signaling when to turn

Horizons of Light was written for the W3 weekly challenge. Unfortunately, I missed the submission deadline. The challenge was to be a lighthouse. You can choose to be a literal, metaphorical, delusional, illusory or false lighthouse.

The piece I wrote is from a metaphorical standpoint.

Standing quietly but not lonely. Drawing people in with your inner light. Just when you think that people do not see you or know you are there, it strikes you. Yes, they see me. It’s like the saying, ‘being seen and not heard’.

Only speaking and/or making noise when necessary. A lighthouse that is like a quiet force. Still standing even when the heavy tides of life roll in.

Thank you for reading Horizons of Light. 💕

Image created by AI with Copilot

Categories
Poetry Topic Words of Wisdom

To Be Called Mom

motherhood grows the heart and the mind
birthing a love like no other
do I deserve this bundle
a blessing to behold
small eyes so bright, pure
her smile, her laugh 
so tender
loving
sweet

To Be Called Mom is written for the Tanka Tuesday challenge.

Thank you for stopping by to read. 🙏🏽💛

Categories
Poetry Topic

Cool Shades of Cobalt and Cerulean

Artist unknown
indigo azure  
horizontal strokes curving
injecting mystique
draws us in wonder
what lies beneath is unknown

Cool Shades of Cobalt and Cerulean is written for the Tanka Tuesday challenge. We are to write an ekphrastic poem. The challenge this week is to let the colors and brush strokes inspire our words, rather than to write about what is in the painting.

The art in this piece is by an unknown artist. It is the top half of an old calendar that I cut out and placed in a clear frame. The colors are very calming placed in a mysterious scene in the background. The work looks similar to art by Hwang Young-Sung, but I cannot confirm. If anyone knows who the artist is I would love to know too.

Thank you for reading🙏🏽💕

Categories
Poetry Self Awareness Topic Words of Wisdom

Fighting the Feeling; Stage Fright

A Shadorma

you're up next
smiling and sweating
is this real
on the mic
speaking word my thighs trembling
snap, snap my smile grew

I knew then
I can't mess this up 
ankles weak
lights blinding
just who do I think I am
calm down, you got this

Thank you for reading my poem, Fighting the Feeling; Stage Fright. It is a Shadorma written for the W3 prompt. 🙏🏽💖 This is the first time writing this poem style. I’m not sure if it is right, but I enjoyed it!

Speaking in front of a crowd can be a scary thing. The physical things that you feel standing up there. It’s amazing how the body responds and the thoughts that run through your mind. The inner ‘prep talk’ is what helped me get through the recital of Until That Day.

Categories
Diversity Poetry Self Awareness Topic

Employed and Unhoused-What’s Wrong with This Picture?

Man holding paycheck with nowhere to go
The dawn’s early light 
Tells of a downward plight 
Or the perilous fight 
Nearly fifty percent 
  
Land of the free 
Home of the brave  
Depraved of housing 
A basic human need 
 
Nearly fifty percent 
Work for mere cents 
Either part time or full time 
Heavy bombs on descent 
 
Unhoused, homeless, no roof 
Paycheck in hand is no proof 
Proof of simple liberties 
Nearly fifty percent 
 
Show up every day to work 
With income, not enough 
To secure a dwelling 
Prices ever going up 
 
Nearly fifty percent 
No place to call home 
Across the U S of A 
Shall free men stand 
Be free in this land? 
 
In God we trust 
Always a must 
Walk by faith 
But not by sight 
 
Nearly fifty percent 
Not of unemployment 
But homelessness 
 
Nearly fifty percent

Image created with AI using Copilot

Categories
Poetry Topic Words of Wisdom

Redwoods and Infinity Covenants

A Triolet

Couple in Redwood forest
Handle with care, don’t beat my heart 
Longevity of Redwoods our love will endure  
Umbrella canopy keeps us from drifting apart 
Handle with care, don’t beat my heart 
Strength for each other, our counterpart 
Guard the covenant, our union will reassure 
Handle with care, don’t beat my heart 
Longevity of Redwoods our love will endure

Redwoods and Infinity Covenants was written in response to the prompt by Sadje. Thank you for stopping by to read💞

Image credit: Brianna Parks on Unsplash

*Poem revised on 3/12/26*

Categories
Poetry Topic

Friend or Foe

Dalmatian and Bengal

Friend or Foe

A Diamante

 
Bengal  
 Striped Tiger  
Hunting Camouflaging Roaring 
Fierce Majestic Playful Energetic  
Running Fetching Barking  
Spotted Canine  
Dalmatian

Thank you for stopping by to read! 🙏🏽💖

Image created with AI using Copilot

Categories
Poetry Topic

Reminiscent Summertime

Thank you for taking time to read my poem. I appreciate all of you who come here to read and comment.

First, I would like to thank Christine and David. Christine, thank you for the nomination to be PoW. David, thank you for your time and effort in organizing and bringing us the W3 poetry prompts each week.

This is a first for me (pun intended) 😊. Hosting a poetry prompt, I am humbled. I hope you all enjoy and I am excited to read the responses. Have fun creating!

Reminiscent Summertime

An echo poem

It all began with a glance
glance
A quick look that had me in a trance 
trance
Butterflies in my stomach do a dance
dance
Not like the two-step but the Harlem shake
shake

My first adolescent crush
crush
Had my face all flushed
flushed
Suddenly cheeks turn beet red like blush
blush
Ah this puppy love, what a rush
rush

Holding hands at summer camp 
camp
Eyes light up bright, like a lamp 
lamp
Sweat beads on my forehead, damp
damp
Oh, I wonder if he thinks I’m a tramp
tramp

Only one thing is for sure
sure
Summer camp is nothing but pure
pure
Hot fun in the lush green land
land
One must experience it to understand
understand?

Categories
Poetry Topic

Love is Like a Kaleidoscope

Answer me this
Bring awareness to the
Complex idea about love
Does it happen organically
Exempt from conditions
Free of judgments
Gratuitous just for its existence
Hopeful for its longevity
Imagine finding lasting love
Just once is enough
Knowing some may never have
Love is like a cup of tea
Making the heart feel warmth
Needing no validation from others
Only building excitement for 
Pleasure purpose and peace
Quick to turn away opposition
Releasing any and all doubt
Soothing the body mind and soul
Tension leaving with each tantalizing touch
Unleashing stress from the day
Vanquishing control with each caress
Wishing the best for all
Xenodochial by nature
Yearning for that feeling
Zen is the ultimate goal

Thank you for taking the time to read my poem. Love is Like a Kaleidoscope was written in response to the W3 Prompt for this week.

I hope I followed the rules for the prompt. Apologies, if I missed the mark. It was a lot of fun writing this one. Enjoy!

Image credit: Gordon Johnson from Pixabay