Poetry Friday is a dream this week! Be sure to visit Brenda at her fairyland space, Friendly Fairy Tales.

Dear friends, this week I have been thinking about how important it is to return to the people, places, and things we love. I do this a lot, especially when I start realizing how much I have missed. One evening, I was walking out in my yard by the old elm tree, and I suddenly noticed how much had changed. While I was off living in my own world, the natural world I love was changing and living its life as well. As I stood there gazing up at the branches, I was sad that I had passed by so many times without stopping. I missed the birds. I missed the trees. I missed the spiders and the crickets. So I imagined that they could hear me and that we could talk to each other. This poem is that conversation. I talked to my dear friends, and they answered, like a soft echo of the breeze through the trees.

Too Long
 
I miss the elm.
I miss the spider.
 
Too long, too long                  
                       you have passed us by.
 
I miss the wren.
I miss the cricket.
 
Too long, too long
                       you have passed us by.
 
Too long, too long
I have passed you by,
dear earthly friends.
 
© Kiesha Shepard
​

Try reading this poem with a friend. Partner A reads the narrator's statements. Partner B reads the nature's response echo in italics. Then switch. Try adding stanzas and response lines to my poem if you like, or better yet, have fun experimenting with your own call and response type poems.! 

Welcome, friends! Thank you for joining me here on the ridge this week. for more Poetry Friday fun, visit Leigh Ann at her space A Day in the Life.

​I have been relying on my magnet topics for writing starters lately. Trains are certainly a magnet topic for me that I write about often in my notebook. I can always find new ways to write about them.

There's just something about a train lumbering down a track, far off in the distance, that makes me pause in my busy track of life. It seems I move full speed ahead these days, and yet somehow, a familiar sound will blow the horn in my head. It's the horn that says, "Stop, slow down, let out the steam." I need to hear that, and when I do, I feel safe. So safe that I am eager to step up on the platform and board the train, wherever it may be going. The destination becomes very unimportant. What matters is that the train's familiar sound was enough to slow me down and pick me back up. 

Often a familiar sound can slow us down and make us think about why it's so easy to recognize. It could be a memory from our childhood or something we hear everyday at school, work, or at home. What are the sounds that you are most familiar with. Make a list in your notebook. Think about how these sounds make you feel or what they remind you of. Writing about a sound we connect with can lead us down all kinds of writing tracks. 

Poetry Friday is back again! Thanks for joining in the round-up this week. For more Poetry nuggets, visit Irene at her space Live Your Poem. 

In October, I can always depend on many joyous moments and autumn offerings to inspire gobs and gobs of writing. Unfortunately, I can't always depend on my busy schedule to allow me to write them down. I have tried many things to keep my writing life at the forefront of this busy season, like keeping pens and notebooks everywhere or setting a reminder on my phone. However, none of these strategies have worked as well for me as my new favorite writing tool, Google Keep. If you aren't familiar with this app, I have included a button below the screenshot for more information. In a nutshell, it's an efficient and simple way to capture your words throughout the day. You can make lists, snap images, voice record, and write! There is even an option to create tags and to set background colors. This really helps categorize your notes and topics. 

This digital note taking tool can be very helpful for any writer on the go. I love to share new devices, especially when they help writers continue writing throughout the hustle and bustle of each new season.

What are your favorite tools for writing? Think about how they help you stay on track with your writing goals. How do they make it easier for you to write either at home or on the go? 

Hooray for Poetry Friday! I hope everyone has a chance to take a peek at the harvest moon this evening. I am looking forward to all the autumn poem offerings this month! You'll definitely find some at Violet's space HERE, along with many other poetry pieces. Thanks for visiting! 

Have you ever stopped to take notice of how your toaster makes toast or wondered about how the coffee maker makes coffee?

The behavior of our modern amenities, these "makers of modern convenience," can be quite captivating to a writer. An inanimate object can initiate a conversation with us in a way. As writers, we can take a common comfort that we might take for granted at times, and allow it to tell its story across our page. These objects do the work for us. It's really quite fascinating to witness the work first  mechanically and then to imagine it in a humanistic way. It is something worth noticing and even writing about. So here's to "the makers" of this world. May their story somehow find its way to your page. 

Who are what are the makers of this world (both real and unreal) that deserve your appreciation or bring you pleasure? Spend some time noticing and observing these makers. Make note of their physical characteristics. Now give them a human-like quality. Try to get them talking. What would they say? What makes them tick?