National Poetry Month...

So I challenged myself for the month of April to write a poem a day in honor of National Poetry Month. Some poems were lame, admittedly, others, mildly entertaining. I have kept all of them and thought I’d share each day’s entry here. It was fun to do!

April 30

Since it’s the last day of National Poetry Month, I will be wrapping up my daily offering, as lame as many of them are. But it was a fun challenge. So here’s my last…and it’s a haiku:

Celebrating National Poetry Month

Shiraz and Merlot

Fermented grapes from the vine

Uncork the bottle

April 29

“Oh Sweet Slumber”

Sleep comes and flashes of you appear

But as dawn arrives

You are nowhere to be seen

And the heartache begins again.

April 28

Before It’s Over

Time for a haiku

National Poetry Month

Won’t you join the fun?

April 27

Halted

You sang your last note before the song was done

The scenery on the canvas unfinished

Characters in limbo in your latest work-in-progress

No more tomorrows for the creative spirit

April 26

What is a Haiku?

It’s five syllables

And then it is seven more

Now we’re back to five

It’s (still) National Poetry Month

April 25

Time’s Trickery

It felt like time was at a standstill…

…when Grandma’s wind-up clock ticked, ticked, ticked, its hands unmoving

…when the colicky baby would never stop crying

…when the lover’s promise of returning was never realized

Yet, somehow, time had its way, leaving me to wonder…

how did I get here?

It’s National Poetry Month

April 24

Work-in-Progress

The pages are empty, awaiting flesh to fill out the character

The plot a question mark

Then one, two, maybe three or more drafts later

the story unfolds with a world I never before knew existed.

National Poetry Month

April 23

The Billionaire’s Backlash

Oh, Elon, you are now part of an unfortunate throng

Like Giuliani, Cohen and Barr, your stupidity has done you wrong

Now you may have learned there is no Midas touch

Like fool’s gold, it’s not the real thing he loves so much

Money or not, things haven’t turned out the way you planned

S’pose that’s what happens when you glom onto such a man!

National Poetry Month

April 22

A Young Girl’s Diary

When she wrote people were good at heart

had she witnessed any horrors yet?

Or did her mind change once she was discovered…and brought to the death camp?

Did she still believe people were good at heart

as she wasted away while death surrounded her

Or did her mind change as she heard the cries, moans and gunshots?

Did she still believe that people were good at heart

When she lay dying

Or did she long to pen a much different sentiment before she took her last breath?

April 21

“The Sins of the Father”

Did you know when you held that “good book” aloft

Even though it was upside down

The reminder in Exodus 34:7 is quite possibly why your mind is not sound?

Thanks may go to Mary Ann and Fred

Because you’re paying for their sins long after they’re dead.

This was the promise from that long-ago verse

But it is us being punished by such a wicked curse.

Now, I’m not saying it’s the infallible word of any god

since I find the hypocrisy much more than just a bit flawed

Although you want your cult to trust that you believe

I thought it would be an important message for all to receive

So should I pity you and turn the other cheek

I think not when what you’ve done is made the world so very bleak.

Now, we can find excuses, you narcissistic fool

While you intend to keep America under your autocratic rule

Yet let’s not forget that sermon on the mount

With those numerous blessings on which we should count.

“I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.”—Exodus 34:7

April 20

I celebrate spring on this Easter Day

Welcoming geese heading back our way

And cherish the leaves sprouting on the trees

While pollen is spread by the honey bees

What I celebrate on this Easter Day

The belief of renewal, come what may

The sun is warm, the sky blue

I celebrate the earth and the morning dew.

But, if you celebrate Easter in a spiritual way

I wish you well on this April day

April 19

“Lost Chances”

There had been time to ask questions,

It never occurred me to do so

I saw a future and not the past

Not realizing that’s where you lived

But now the time is gone

and the stories you carried are buried…along with you

National Poetry Month

April 18

“Rings, Necklaces, Bracelets—Pshaw!”

Never yearned to shop at Tiffany’s

Jewelry stores don’t turn my head

I’d rather meander in a bookstore

And see what’s on the shelves instead

April 17

“Because She was a She”

She was robbed

Not of money or fancy jewelry

Something much more personal

A victim made to believe the fault was hers

Because she was a she

Her thief? He was a he.

Halfway through National Poetry Month

April 16

“Democracy in Action”

Back to postcard writing

Even if my hands are tired, my eyes strained

Thrilled the effort helped Wisconsin

Inspired to keep at it again!

April 15

In Honor of National Poetry Month

My apologies to Dickinson, Angelou, Gorman

Talented poets all

The words I write do not compare

Even if inspiration is the driving force

Yet, I toy with meter and verse just for fun

In honor of National Poetry Month

April 14

Crumbled

Gullible, naïve or ill informed

All a danger to democracy

Do you regret the choice you made

or are the blinders firmly in place?

If so, I must ask this question:

Do you think it’s okay the damage he’s done

or do you allow his loyalists’ twisted reasons to stand

While the world crumbles around you?

National Poetry Month

April 13

Fur Babies

Lacey, Louis and Sherlock

My three precious fur babies

A Malti-poo and two Shih Tzus

Most importantly, all are rescues

National Poetry Month

April 12

“Military Parade”

What a pathetic being

As if deserving a military parade

When “bone spurs” were the excuse

used to keep from serving

What a pathetic being

As if deserving a military parade

When dishonoring McCain and many other real heroes

You wouldn’t know shame if it hit you in the face.

National Poetry Month

April 11

Not a Poet

Doggerel, oh they may be

A month filled with my silly poetry

But it’s a way to begin my day

Limited words with so much to say.

National Poetry Month

April 10

Hypocrisy

Clasp your hands

Get on your knees

Quote Bible verses galore

Not fooling anyone

Since it’s easy to see whom you really adore

April 9

Another Haiku

Shaven, handcuffed, crouched

Spirited to a strange land

Rights ignored, tragic

It’s National Poetry Month

April 8

Dump tRump

There are no reasons, there are no rhymes

When such a “man” commits so many crimes

Oh, the horror of that arrogant orange face

Seen seated in such a lofty place

Impeach! Impeach! Impeach! I shout

Useless, desperate demands to get him out.

It’s National Poetry Month

April 7

Remembering November 5, 2024

Stunned, numb with tear-filled eyes

Watching in horror as hope slipped away

Hope not just for me but for the country

Leaving me to wonder, would we ever get it back again?

It’s National Poetry Month

April 6

Haiku

Root of all evil

Greed for power and money

Where’s the empathy?

It’s National Poetry Month

April 5

Protesting

It’s time; actually overdue

To get off my ass and march

Raise the Hands-Off sign high

Demanding enough is enough!

Won’t you join in?

It’s National Poetry Month

April 4

We are the Wildflowers

They banter, uncork and discuss

Books, topics and wine a must

Three lifelong friends, in every way unique

They are the Wildflowers, your curiosity to pique

It’s National Poetry Month

April 3

The Rift

You were there first, suspended in time

forming beneath the maternal heartbeat
until you wormed your way down the canal

emerging in to a world flooded by light

First sibling, you were. You are.

Time beat on while another began taking shape

in a place where there’d been a vague trace of you

a slight familial message scratched on the walls

Did the bubble burst before or after?

Perhaps not till later—much later

When MAGA stole you away.

It’s National Poetry Month

April 2

Pearl Carter

You’ve been gone now for many years, but I remember…

…I remember the time we went into your attic and you showed me how the Victrola worked

Would you be surprised I share that memory when doing events for my latest novel?

Or that Pearl is the name of one of my characters in my latest work-in-progress?

Would you be surprised, Grandma, that I remembered April Second is the day you were born?

It’s National Poetry Month

April 1

Resist by Carol Hoenig

The battleground is soggy, filled with potholes

The blood of generations before vanished

The Lilies, roses, orchids withered

Yet, I take one step after the next, carry a sign and resist.