Plan ahead to avoid the heat of the day whenever possible.
Embrace fresh produce by visiting farmers' markets.
"Everything is held together with stories. That is all that is holding us together, stories and compassion." -Barry Lopez
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Click here to enterPoetry Unbound: 50 Poems To Open Your World by Padraig O Tuama finally arrived in the digital format from Libby. I'm in love and all I did was read the Introduction and the first poem. This is not a book that I'm content to read digitally and return to the library. The poems deserve to be highlighted, reread, dogeared, and savored.
I'm in Winston-Salem with my daughter celebrating an upcoming significant birthday. We have plans to visit two indie bookstores today, so I'm hoping one of them has Poetry Unbound. For now, I'll share my favorite quote from the Introduction:
"A poem can be like a flame: helping us find our way, keeping us warm."
This quote reminds me of a favorite poem, "Fire" by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater that I found in Booklinks and shared in a 2017 NPM blog post. I love the opportunity to gather with poetry friends to "warm our hands with poems" each week, even if I sometimes arrive on Saturday.
Join us at the poetry playground with this week's host, Karen Edmiston.
Thanks, Karen, for hosting!
Sometimes a slow stroll lets you discover more, like this creature featured from a recent walk!
Tiny little wonder
So cleverly camouflaged
Leap to the left, please!
You're never too old to learn a new trick. That's why librarians deserve to be your best friends! They know the tricks and they will share them with you.
When I visit my local branch, I always visit the display just inside the front door first. This month was a focus on Asian Pacific Islander Heritage month. I love that our library features adult books, middle grade titles, and even picture books as part of this focus.
Then I pop over to the new kid books' display table. I love to find books for my grandsons and I still love to read middle grade books. Recently the table was gone! Sometimes they need the table for activities in their meeting room. When that happens, they move this display to the top of a shelf near the periodicals which is definitely not centrally located. Maybe they need someone to donate a table!
I always stop by another display table with a thematic focus. The last time I was in, it was mysteries. Then I head to the new book shelves for grownups which include fiction and non-fiction books (and large print). That's my next-to-last stop before I pop over to library holds and then I check out my books.
I recently attended a Southern book club meeting at our library (not because I need another book club in my life, but) because they were reading a book that I borrowed years ago and the meeting provided the nudge I needed to finally read my brother's copy of A Reading Life by Pat Conroy.
After the meeting, I enjoyed chatting with the librarian about middle grade book titles and that's when I discovered that our library has a section for Y (youth) shelved near the young adult books. What a great idea! Readers of a certain age aren't stuck in the children's section searching for titles they might love. They have their own section! This discovery added another stop to my library visits.
I can't leave without sharing three books I found on recent library visits thanks to wonderfully arranged displays in the library.
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman comes highly recommended from Melissa, a former teaching colleague, who frequently shares middle grade titles with me (I do the same for her).
My Book and Me is a wonderful tribute to the joy of a favorite book. Check it out from the library, but you'll definitely want to purchase a copy for your own collection..
Ten-Word Tiny Tales of Love by Joseph Coelho and 21 Artist Friends made me wish I could share it with students and discover their stories from the ten-word tiny tales and illustrations. It would be a perfect book to share with students in a creative writing class or with any child who loves to write stories.
Let's give a "Hip, Hip, Hooray" for the libraries and librarians in our lives!
Last month, I challenged our memoir writing group to write a poem for April. I shared George Ella Lyon's "Where I'm From" as a mentor poem. I've had students write these and dabbled in the format, but this is the first time that I've completed one of my own.
I was talking with someone from another writing group that I challenged to write family stories in 2025. She was surprised to hear me say that writing is hard for me. I actually committed to finishing this poem for Poetry Friday so I would have a set deadline for finishing. It's still a draft, but I'm offering it here as my current effort.
Where I’m From
I am from the green glider in the front yard,
from Uncle Wiggily’s board game and Chatty Cathy.
I am from a simple gray three-bedroom home
with Daddy’s long-dreamed of family room addition.
I am from marigolds, princess feathers, red roses,
from the pink crepe myrtle and showy mimosa trees.
I am from a garden that occupied ¾ of the backyard
with rows of potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, and weeds.
I am from hanging laundry on the clothesline,
from sweeping the floors and weeding the garden.
I am from walks to the library with best friend, Dortha,
with a stop at Rexall Drug for strawberry ice cream cones.
I am from Hawthorne and William Gay Elementary Schools,
from the junior high Mustangs and high school’s black and gold
I am from Mrs. Truttman’s creation of “The Sugar Plum Tree,”
from Mrs. Lewallen’s adopted ship and memorized poems.
I am from Mrs. Frew’s split class with the addition of Charlie,
from learning some Braille and setting up math problems.
I am from Mrs. LeFlore’s newspaper from the Middle Ages,
from 6th grade graduation and “We’ll Remember Always.”
I am from Mrs. Long’s health classes (Have Another Cancer Stick!),
from Mrs. Massaro’s French classes and evening program,
I am from Mrs. Thrasher’s prep for Southeastern’s competitions,
from BFF Jan’s pledge to write a tear jerker in my senior yearbook (she did).
I am from grandmothers, Ella Martin and Martha Ada Young,
from Duff rancher and Scifres preacher grandfathers.
I am from morning Sunday School and evening Sacrament meetings,
from home study seminary and Gold and Green Balls.
I am from Primary on Thursdays and Mutual on Wednesdays,
from salt dough villages and scattered Israel on a bath towel.
I am from Billie Thompson’s Beehive class in the kitchen,
from recreational singing and square-dancing lessons.
I am from Scifres family reunions at Platt National Park,
from sleeping on pallets when visiting cousins,
I am from listening as grownups play Moon in the kitchen,
from loving the laughter and stories they told.
I am from a Dad who could fix anything and read my history books,
from a seamstress Mom who made Velma’s and my wedding dresses.
I am from Dad’s, “When you’re out of bananas, you’re out of groceries,”
to Mom’s Labor Day proclamations, “We are turning over a new leaf!”
I am from biscuits & gravy and chicken & dumplings,
from Aunt Edna’s fudge and Aunt Ruby Dee’s chocolate pies.
I am from Aunt Nan’s chilled glasses for root beer floats,
from blackberry cobbler and Great Grandma’s chocolate roll.
I am from summers in Tulsa with Velma’s growing family,
from sister Kay’s love of books passed on to me,
I am from brother Karl, the best friend any girl could have,
from siblings scattered across four states, but forever good friends.
I am from Ellis and Lillian, parents who taught by example,
from front yard waves with love & tears at the end of a visit.
I am from parents who loved fiercely, but left us too soon,
from their love that surrounds, supports and sustains me.
- Ramona Behnke, draft
I apologize for my tardiness in posting, I fought with Mr. Linky and finally settled on using Inlinkz. I hope it works for you.
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Click here to enterOn my morning walk, I listened to Emily P. Freeman's podcast and decided to follow her format for naming what's saving her life right now. "It's time for our seasonal episode of What's Saving My Life Right Now on The Next Right Thing podcast. It could be anything from a favorite product to a spiritual practice, a fun new TV show, or a meaningful relationship. When it comes to naming what we love this spring, everything counts."
In no particular order, here are six things saving my life right now.
1. I listened to our book club book, The Small and the Mighty, read by the author, Sharon McMahon. I loved it and learned so much!
2. This middle grade book, The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman
It's my dessert after finishing two nonfiction books for my book clubs. Nonfiction is not my jam, so it was difficult that both book groups had chosen nonfiction for May. I Just picked up The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest this afternoon. I can already tell it will be a new favorite!
3. Watching a feel-good movie, "Nonnas", on Netflix
4. Morning walks
5. Taryn's chocolate chip cookies, always a favorite
6. Picture books - Posted this on IG three days ago:
"I read this children's book (eBook) to myself just before going to sleep last night. I may have started a new tradition. A lovely children's picture book might be just what I need before bed during our troubled times.By Akiko Miyakoshi, Little Shrew celebrates pockets of joy in three lovely chapters. Get it for the children in your life or for yourself!" #picturebooks
Did you notice that three of the six items saving my life are books?
What's saving your life right now?
As a confirmed tree lover, I couldn't resist this title from the 2025 Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels list.
My local library did not have Leafy Landmarks: Travels with Trees (yet), but I checked my King County account and discovered an eBook I could check out. It was a delight to read each poem in the book, a lovely paean to fourteen historic trees in the continental United States. Michelle Schaub uses a variety of poetic forms to introduce us to the trees and illustrator Anne Lambelet's luscious illustrations accompany us along our armchair arboreal journey. Interesting facts accompany each poem providing background history, nature, and geography for each of the trees. The final poem in the book "My Landmark Tree" will have you looking for a favorite tree in your community. The author's note encourages readers to be tree champions and take a tree road trip.
I've frequently picked favorite trees in my communities. Here's my current favorite, located just down the street at the cemetery. I was afraid that it might be dead this spring. All the trees around it had already bloomed and leafed out, but it was just a bit later which makes me appreciate it even more.
One of the things I am intentionally pursuing is moving more slowly. Perhaps that's because I am growing older, but I miss so many things when I move too quickly through my days.
I spy the stately pair of geese.
I savor morning mist and
sunshiny clouds tucked in water.
I open my soul to seeing.
-Ramona Behnke
Inspiration for that last line comes from an unattributed quote in my commonplace book:
"The holy is always there, like a luminous lifeline.
In the end, it is a matter of opening the soul to seeing."
I just googled the quote and it came from Fran Haley's SJT post on November 2, 2022.
I look forward to seeing where BE takes me for the next four months. Here's a quote from Amy Krause Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld's book I Wish You More with a wish for your summering months:
"I wish you more pause than fast-forward."
I visited Just Be, a small gift shop in our downtown area, on Wednesday and found this quote that I've always loved on a small card.
"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting - a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
The pictures I chose to illustrate my haiku were taken in April, wonderful examples of God's handwriting. I walk and meander through life, always looking for the beautiful. I feel the blessing of beauty surrounding me and I'm grateful for it's bounty. Enjoy my illustrated haiku.
Green's invitation
Water's shimmering sparkles
His love manifest
My trip to Just Be yielded another quote that makes me think of our monthly gathering and the blessing of writing and being supported by one another.
"Impart as much as you can of your spiritual being to those who are on the road with you, and accept as something precious what comes back to you from them." - Albert Schweitzer
I pray for Carol and her family as they deal with the grief of losing their husband/father/grandfather to an illness that took him so quickly. May they feel the comfort of the Holy Spirit as they grieve during this time. The words of Psalm 46:1 and Isaiah 41:10 have always provided sweet comfort to me:
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
I said goodbye to National Poetry Month with a visit to Robby's kindergarten classroom to share poems from my many pockets. It's not Poem in Your Pocket Day, but any day when you get to share poems with kids is cause for celebration!
I also shared poems in Jack's 2nd grade classroom, but forgot to take pictures. He remembered that last year I let them keep the poem they selected. I didn't do that this year, but I came home and made a two sided handout of some favorites for them. Jack and his classmates knew about metaphor, simile, alliteration, and hyperbole. I love that Mrs. Wright has taught them so much about poems. She wasn't there to thank, but I'll send her a note.
It was fortunate that daughter was out of town so I could step in for her regular story time in the boys' classrooms and share poems with these wonderful students. It's a joy to be with them and to share my love of poems!
I bring you four delightful anthologies compiled by the king of poetry (crowned by me in my NPM project of 2017), Lee Bennett Hopkins. Reading always tops my list of hobbies and since poetry also figures on that list of diversions, poems about books combine both interests.
Jumping Off Library Shelves: A Book of Poems is filled with poems to love. Charming illustrations by Jane Manning bring each poem to life. I couldn't narrow it down to one favorite, so I'll mention two, but really you'll want to read the entire book. Joan Bransfield Graham's "Librarian" (p. 18) captures the love of a reader for the librarian who becomes a friend. Kristin O'Connell George captures the joy of reading with an animal buddy in "Reading with Riley" (p. 26).
Wonderful Words: Poems About Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening is filled with glorious poems from poets of today and dead poets (including Emily Dickinson and Carl Sandburg). Vivid illustrations by Karen Barbour accompany each poem. "I Am The Book" (p. 18) by Tom Robert Shields shows how books can be our friends through every season.
I Am the Book (which also includes Shield's poem) has colorful illustrations by Yayo that invite us into each poem. My favorite poem in this book is by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater and is titled simply, "Book" (p. 29). If you don't know Amy's site, The Poem Farm, do not pass go or collect $200, simply go straight to this marvelous repository of all things poetic. (I crowned Amy the Queen of Poetry in my 2017 NPM Project.)
Good Books, Good Times! is filled with poems about the joys of reading illustrated with Harvey Stevenson's watercolor paintings. The book opens with a favorite poem by Karla Kuskin, "Being Lost." The final four lines sum up any book lover's favorite place to be.
"I linger alone
In a place of my own
Lost
In a book."
We finished a three-day sprint with three of our four grandsons (ages 8, 6, and 3 & three quarters). Not surprisingly, I fell behind on my poetry month project. Their parents are still traveling, but Aunt Ann arrived last night. I'll spotlight three favorite picture book anthologies by Paul B. Janeczko with three favorite poems from each book for days 25, 26, and 27..
NPM Day 25 - Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices, a whimsical collection of persona or mask poems with wonderful illustrations by Melissa Sweet. Stop by to read "The Vacuum Cleaner's Revenge" by Patricia Hubbell, "Old Elm Speaks" by Kristine O'Connell George, and "Maple Talk" by Lillian Moore.
NPM Day 26 - The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-To Poems, so difficult to pick just three favorites from this book. The illustrations by Richard Jones enhance each and every poem. Check out these three: "Toasting Marshmallows" by Marilyn Singer, "How to Catch a Poem" by Irene Latham, and "How to Pay Attention" by April Halprin Wayland.
NPM Day 27 - Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems, another wonderful collection of poems, illustrated by Melissa Sweet. I like the mix of old and new in this book, from Carl Sandburg's "Fog" to Robert Frost's "Dust of Snow" (featured in our sixth grade anthology) to Joyce Sidman's "A Happy Meeting."
NPM Day 28 - One Today by Richard Blanco with gorgeous illustrations by Dav Pilkey features the inaugural poem for President Barack Obama's second presidential inauguration. I would love to have the final three lines (four lines in the book) and illustration in a poster form. You can read the poem here, but you really should buy the picture book.The next thing I love about this book is the stunning artwork by Mehrdokht Amini. The front cover, the back cover, and every illustration in between will inspire you and move you to action to make our world a better place for everyone.
The third thing I love are the quotes! Every word featured in the dictionary includes a memorable quote. You'll want to copy them all into your writer's notebook so you can savor them often.
The poems are fabulous! Curious to learn who wrote each poem? Check the table of contents: Irene Latham wrote the poems with red titles, Charles Waters wrote the poems with blue titles, and the poets jointly wrote the poems with purple titles.
Each featured poem has an anecdote about an experience they had related to the specific word. The anecdotes provide another clue to the author of each poem. Irene wrote the ones for her poems, Charles wrote the ones for his poems, and the jointly written poems have jointly written anecdotes.
The poetic form utilized for each poem is listed at the end of the poem. You may be inspired to try out a new form after experiencing the many forms in the book. An alphabetical index of poetic forms is listed on page 116. I tried writing a golden shovel while reading this book during the pandemic. I was inspired by a sentence in Irene's anecdote about the poem "Compassion."
The Try It! is a call to action after each entry in the dictionary. It encourages us to take a small step toward implementation in our individual lives.
I hope this list of things I love has inspired you to check out this inspiring book. Nelson Mandela sums up the message of the book with these words: "It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it." Let's all rise to the task before us.
When I glanced over my poetry bookshelves, Forest Has a Song by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, popped out as a perfect choice for Earth Day. This was Amy's first book, but certainly not her last. You can read about each of her books here. I was captivated by Amy's presentation the first time I heard her speak at an All Write conference. I love following her blog, The Poem Farm (with a carefully chosen theme each year for Poetry Month), and enjoyed sharing it with my students when I was teaching.I told my three-year old grandson this morning that it was Earth Day. He asked, "What do we do on Earth Day?"
"Maybe we should take a walk," I suggested, "and look for the beauty that surrounds us."
While sitting on their screened in porch, I encouraged Ollie to listen a bit. He pointed to the mama cardinal on their roof singing sweetly and exclaimed, "Music!" I love that he already identifies the song of the birds as music!
I hope you have a chance to spend some time outdoors celebrating with Mother Earth today.
Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverent & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poet's Life by Allan Wolf and illustrated by Tuesday Mourning is my recommended book to share with the young poets in your life. I liked using Anatomy of a Poem, p. 47, to show how to annotate a poem. This analysis of George Ella Lyon's "Where I'm From" was a great introduction for motivating students to write their own "Where I'm From" poems.
Allan's book, The Blood-Hungry Spleen and Other Poems About Our Parts, was also a hit in my middle school sixth grade classroom.
Two picture book titles by Allan Wolf were introduced to me via the book basket at the home of my three grandsons: The Day the Universe Exploded My Head: Poems to Take You into Space and Back Again and Behold Our Magical Garden: Poems Fresh from a School Garden.
If you have favorite books by the poet Allan Wolf, please leave a comment.
Welcome to Day 19 of our Kidlit Progressive Poem, a yearly opportunity to join friends in the Poetry Friday community as we create a communal poem for children. Margaret's inspiration came as she gazed out her back window at her golden-doodle pup. I enjoyed thinking about other creatures who might be lurking in our spring meadow. I pass the baton to Mary Lee for the next line and the ending to our stanza . . .
Thanks to our host, Margaret, for organizing this effort and to all the poets joining us at the playground this month:
April 1 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
April 2 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
April 3 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 4 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
April 5 Denise at https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/
April 6 Buffy at http://www.buffysilverman.com/blog
April 7 Jone at https://www.jonerushmacculloch.com/
April 8 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
April 9 Tabatha at https://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/
April 10 Marcie at Marcie Flinchum Atkins
April 11 Rose at Imagine the Possibilities | Rose’s Blog
April 12 Fran Haley at Lit Bits and Pieces
April 13 Cathy Stenquist
April 14 Janet Fagel at Mainly Write
April 15 Carol Varsalona at Beyond LiteracyLink
April 16 Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm
April 17 Kim Johnson at Common Threads
April 18 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
April 19 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
April 20 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 21 Tanita at {fiction instead of lies}
April 22 Patricia Franz
April 23 Ruth at There’s No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town
April 24 Linda Kulp Trout at http://lindakulptrout.blogspot.com
April 25 Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
April 26 Michelle Kogan at: https://moreart4all.wordpress.com/
April 27 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 28 Pamela Ross at Words in Flight
April 29 Diane Davis at Starting Again in Poetry
April 30 April Halprin Wayland at Teaching Authors