Happy Poetry Friday! I'm a little late to the party, but my sweet friend Carol Varsalona invited me to post. She is hosting this weekend at her space HERE. She's got some amazing post card offerings!

Today, I'm sharing a haiku that I wrote on New Year's Eve. I am in a professional transition right now, so the idea of detouring onto a different course has been on my mind. I love the idea of thinking of a detour with excitement and adventure awaiting. I hope that whatever points are on your arc this year continue to guide you, but may you also embrace the chance of detour. You never know where it might lead you!

Think about your arc for the new year. What are your guiding points? How will connect each one? Don't be afraid to detour. If you should, how will you embrace the new course? Happy writing! xx

Happy Poetry Friday! It's so great to be visiting the round up. I'm grateful that our sweet friend, Carol is hosting this week at her space, Beyond LiteracyLink. 

Throughout the month of November, I have taken some time to consider the simple things in my life and my gratefulness for them. I need only step out into nature, and I am reminded of the blissful way it calls to me. These days it is one of the things that is always sure to fill my cup. This old elm tree is one such majestic being that brings joy time and time again. It is particularly lovely in the autumn as it turns, and when there is also a full harvest moon on the rise, a poem is destined to emerge. For this poem, the words came to me in threes. Soon, images began to form and words tumbled on the page.

I invite you to be inspired by the "power of threes" strategy in my invitation below. May it stir your poetry spirit! 

As it so often happens in fairy tales. many things happen in threes. For this poem, I brainstormed a list of strong verbs. I arranged them and re-arranged them until I found my perfect combination of three. Afterward, I stepped out on my back porch and let nature do the rest! I focused in on the sights, sounds, and smells around me. I invite you to try out your own  "power of three" poem as well. Once you have your three, allow yourself to immerse into your senses. Retreat to your own oasis for inspiration and let the pen carry you to wherever it may.

Happy Poetry Friday! I am excited to be back in the roundup this week. Thanks for visiting the ridge. You can find lots more of the poetry fun happening at Sally's space HERE!

From now on, I choose brave. It was the one word destined to be my focus for the new year. It kept bubbling up in poems and books that I had been reading. Many of my friends and colleagues even started calling me brave. It's interesting because I never would have described myself as brave. I would call myself a risk-taker. I often seek out opportunities to stretch beyond my comfort level. But to me, being brave goes even deeper than that. The dictionary defines brave as:

By that definition, I realize I really am brave. I have had to show courage, and I have had to endure many emotional hardships this past year. But somehow, I found my voice. I found my brave. It comes from a deep urge inside of me to speak, to share, to witness, and to question. I am better for it. I will always choose brave. 

Now is the time to be brave for ourselves, for each other, for our world. We must be brave together. As I gaze up at the full January Wolf moon, I am reminded of the courage that it takes to be truly brave.

What is your brave? How would you define it? What does it look like, feel like, sound like? Brave heart, write! You have a courageous story to tell.

Happy Poetry Friday! Thank you for visiting the ridge. Be sure to stop by Karen's space HERE for more of the round up!

As I continue to embrace the power of hope, I also remind myself of my dreams and vision for the future. It's important for me to lean into these thoughts and reflections. I invite you to think about your hopes and aspirations as well. Wherever they may lead, dreams and hopes are always a path worth following.

Dreams and wishes make great incentives to write. What are some of the things you dream of? Find some time throughout the coming weeks to write about your dreams and hopes. Sometimes, the simple act of capturing them in words can help make them come true.

Happy Poetry Friday! Thanks for visiting the ridge this week. For more of the poetry party, head over to Carol's space Beyond LiteracyLink.

Over Labor Day weekend, I took some time to walk about the ridge. I enjoy observing all the gifts that the natural world has to offer! Our observations can surprise us and wonder us. Having a notebook brimming full of observations can inspire so much writing!

Writers are observers of the world around them. Take some time this weekend to take a walk and record your observations. Open your senses and capture all the life around you! Let your observations lead you to many new writing possibilities. A simple walk can do a writer good!

 Welcome to the ridge, where I am hosting Day 25 of the Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem 2018!

I am so grateful for my first opportunity to offer a line in this collaborative project. It has been so fun to see how this poem has evolved! And it all began with one little seed. When I read that first line, "Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched," I imagined a tiny seed awakening from a deep winter slumber. I wondered where her journey would lead. I thought,"What will she imagine for herself as she grows and changes? Who will she meet along the way, and how will they inspire or challenge her to reach her full potential?" I believed that in time, she would spring forth into the world and bloom. Oh, what a story it would be! 

And what a story it has been so far! It has taken many different twists and turns. Today, I offer another vine in the life of our poetic Jasmine. Enjoy!

​Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched.
Oh, what wonderful dreams she had had!
Blooming in midnight moonlight, dancing with
the pulse of a thousand star, sweet Jasmine
invented a game.

"Moon?" she called across warm, honeyed air.
"I'm sad you're alone; come join Owl and me."
"We're feasting on stardrops, we'll share them with you."
"Come find me, Moon called, hiding behind a cloud.

Secure in gentle talons' embrace, Jasmine rose
and set. She split, twining up Owl's toes, pale
moonbeams sliding in between. Whoosh, Jasmine goes.
Owl flew Jasmine between clouds and moon to Lee's party!

Moon, that wily bright balloon, was NOT alone.
                                          Jas grinned,
                                             stretched,
                                               reached,
                                                 wrapped
                                                 a new,
                                      around    tender
                                             rootlet
a trellis Sky held out to her, made of braided wind and song.

Her green melody line twisted and clung.
Because she was twining poet's jasmine, she
wiggled a wink back at Moon, and began her poem.

​Her whispered words floated on a puff of wind,
filled with light and starsong. "Revelers, lean in-
let's add to this merriment a game that grows
wordgifts for Lee. He's a man who knows
selection, collection, and wisely advising
these dreamers, word-weavers, and friends.


And so onward we go...take it away Renee!

If you would like to follow along to see what the whimsical Jasmine will be up to next, here is the schedule for the amazing poets who are contributing this year!

Welcome Poetry Friday friends. Happy National Poetry Month! Today, our dear friend Amy is rounding up a wave of poetry offerings at her space, The Poem Farm. 

​This week, I couldn't help but write about the blue Passover moon after it put on quite a show for me last weekend. The moon did not disappoint and neither did the poets who had a hand in kicking off the 2018 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem Challenge! I was so inspired by each line, that I decided I would write a draft of a found poem about the moon using at least one of the words from each of the lines of this year's Progressive Poem (in progress). Here are the words I selected from the first five lines to write my first found poem: nestled, dreams, blooming, stars, sweet, game. To see today's addition to the progressive poem click on Irene's space HERE. She's the sweet lady that welcomed me to join in the project this year, and I'm ever so grateful! I'll be adding my line to the poem on April 25th. Who knows...maybe my line will inspire other writers in a new way, too!

Writers often involve themselves in all sorts of projects. Participating in a poetry challenge with a group or creating your own poetry project can help keep your writing skills sharp. What are some of the projects you have participated in or maybe have considered starting? It's never too late to join in the excitement and joy that a poetry project can bring. It's a great way to explore new writing territories! So be brave, writers. Step up to the challenge and write!

Welcome Poetry Friday readers! Thanks for stopping by the ridge this week. For more poetry offerings, visit Renee HERE for the full round-up!

Friends, this week I decided to have a little fun with the full moon above! Did you know that the March full moon is often called the "worm moon?" That's right! It was first dubbed the worm moon by farmers in the 1930's, who believed that the first full moon in March meant that spring would begin. I certainly hope that's true! Since the earthworm is a symbol of spring, the name stuck.

We are in for a treat this month as the first full moon will be a worm moon, followed by another "blue moon" at the end of the month! Since I love my friend, moon, I decided to create a song of poetry to welcome the Blue Worm Moon to the ridge this weekend. The tune of "Did you ever see a lassie?" kept popping in my head. I took that tune, and away I went! Poem songs are great fun!

Songs are poems, too! Let's have some fun trying out poems to the tune of our favorite songs. Jot down some lyrics and lines in your notebook. Your poem song can be silly, glad, or even sad. Whatever tune and mood you choose, your words are sure to sing a song for all to hear!

Happy New Year Poetry Friday friends! Thanks for visiting the first post of the year here on the ridge. Catherine is hosting the first poetry round-up of 2018 at her space, Reading to the Core. Be sure to ring in the new year by stopping by!

On New Year's day, there was a super-blue-wolf-full moon! I hope you had a chance to see it rising in the night sky. Not to worry though if you missed it because there will be another super-blue-wolf moon on January 31st. I read that it will also be a super-blue-blood lunar eclipse moon. Wow! We are certainly experiencing some spectacular astronomical events this year already. 

I always find writing inspiration from my favorite magnet topics like the stars and the moon! In this image, I put two photos of the full moon side by side to give the effect of the eyes of the wolf moon on the rise. The poem this image inspired turned out to be a little sadder than many of the poems I write, but I think poems must be written as we feel them. I was also trying to play with line breaks in a way that allowed the poem to be read as one voice or two voices. The two italicized lines can either be read as the first voice or the moon's echo in response. Try reading it with a friend in this way. I'm not sure if there is a technical poetry term for this strategy, but it was fun to fiddle with anyway! And if you prefer to read something not quite so full of sadness, I have included a haiku in honor of the wolf moon as well. Happy moon watching in 2018!    

A poet can express a wide range of emotions throughout a single poem or focus intently on one. A writer can invite the reader to feel whatever they choose, and sometimes the writer hopes to elicit a certain response from the reader. Think about poems or other pieces of literature that you have read with expressive emotions. In what way or ways did the writer invite you to feel or decide something on your own? Maybe it was the word choice or the use of line breaks to create "rooms" throughout the poem. Take note of this and try it out in your own writing., staying true to the feeling in your words. 

Welcome to the ridge! Join the November Poetry Friday kick-off with Linda at her space, ​TeacherDance.

Did you know that this weekend there will be a hunter's moon? A Hunter's Moon or "blood moon" is the name given to a full moon when it falls in the month of October, except for every four years (which is this year) when it appears in November instead. It was dubbed the Hunter's Moon by the Native American's who would track and kill prey during the light of the full autumn moon. Besides being the subject of folklore and legends, it is an occurrence of significance for astronomers and moon enthusiasts like me! 

So what makes the Hunter's moon different from a typical full moon? Well, this moon rises 30 minutes later each successive night which makes the sunset and moonrise really close together. This leads to longer periods of light during this harvest time of year. See for yourself! Step outside tonight and throughout the weekend to gaze at the incredible Hunter's Moon. 

Writing about topics we care about never loses its luster. These are those magnet topics that we are "over the moon" about. As we begin a new month, take some time to sift back through your writer's notebook. Are there entries or pieces of writing that could could be sorted into a particular collection? Read through your writing pieces. Does your collection feel complete? What other types of entries  could you add to your collection? Perhaps you'll discover a collection of essays based on a particular theme or maybe a poem anthology about the moon, like me!