wordsandcoffee1

Growth through Words

Last week, I accomplished a pretty neat little milestone on WordPress: my 100th post! I had originally made this website back in 2016 when my first cozy mystery was picked up by a publisher before an unexpected series of events ensued. However, to my own detriment, I didn’t do anything with the blog for years.Continue reading “Growth through Words”

Poem: Waterfall Music

We part the trees at Pattison Park, brave craggy ledges of stone to where the rush of sound grows stark sending sprays of water through overgrown brush. Manitou Falls: wailing water forks and plunges boldly, scurrying down, down to the sandstone Black River gorge, cast under freckled shade to tree-strewn temporary home; to far-off worldsContinue reading “Poem: Waterfall Music”

Poem: Skipping Stones

Stone smooth, gray skip freely speckled, splashed rocks. Splash drip, drop sail softly scattered, splattered falls. Today, I’ve written my first lanturne (or two!) for the Word Craft Poetry #TankaTuesday Challenge. The lanturne is a short form that grows in one syllable each line until the end; it has a syllabic pattern of 1, 2,Continue reading “Poem: Skipping Stones”

Poem: Stubborn

Burrow your feet in hitching anchors to rocks, twisting roots within secure against the odds. Small and frail you begin, yet you grow among the copse: until you rise above the din, until you’ve bested every fraud.

Poem: Moon’s Grudge

teasing through cloud lines slinking over my domain blinking stars from sky and breaking apart sheer blue with audacious orange hue I’m joining in the W3 prompt on Skeptic’s Kaddish today. Today, Punam wrote us a lovely prompt poem, which you can find here. These are today’s guidelines: Write about the moon from the sun’sContinue reading “Poem: Moon’s Grudge”

Collecting Mini Milestones

For many of us cancer survivors, the five-year mark is a huge milestone. It’s believed that if you are in remission for five years, with no evidence of disease, that you can be considered “cured”. At least tentatively. Though it does happen, it’s rare for most cancers to return after so long. Many people noContinue reading “Collecting Mini Milestones”

Poem: Ways of Seeing

Maybe some sovereign ellipses, bracketing the earth’s brilliance, mounting unlimited power. Maybe Ares’ spear and shield, his rights chariot-ridden through clouds under his father’s thunderbolts. Maybe drops of ice crystals, floating suspended in the sky, whispering back to trace damp earth. Today, I’m participating in David’s W3 prompt over at the Skeptic’s Kaddish. Today’s promptContinue reading “Poem: Ways of Seeing”

Why I Love Writing

I believe that you can change the world through writing and other creative works. Maybe it’s not always a simple or obvious process, but each word might be one small step towards a greater journey. One way I see this is through my students. Even those who at first tell me that they don’t enjoyContinue reading “Why I Love Writing”

Poem: In the swamp

Ripples in dark water tasting wood’s groovy edges pulling limbs in farther past grassy trail ledges through heathered shadows under muddied reflections hear the frogs croak and bellow hear the echo’s misdirection I’m responding to another W3 prompt today, hosted by David at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. The criteria this week was provided by Kunjal atContinue reading “Poem: In the swamp”

Poem: Forever Reader

Climbing ivory pages into alternate destinies, blooming wisdom of sages, deciphering mysteries: love surpassing the ages beyond childhood memories. Today, I decided to try out the #Whatdoyousee prompt from Sadje’s Keep it Alive blog. The prompt is to respond to the image of the child with the book. I immediately thought of my earliest memoriesContinue reading “Poem: Forever Reader”