wordsandcoffee1

Perseverance

We packed memories at start of dayno receipts to take them backour car bounced off along its waywe’ll tarry along its gravel trackthe trodden path, we ignore and passeach and every time, we’ve faced removalthey carry themselves like tempered glassand charge themselves with the world’s approvaltumbleweeds and doubts circle around uscarrying on with their indifferencewe’llContinue reading “Perseverance”

Sunshine Kayak

under glistening sunlight, we won’t look back,for our sister’s river tripwe can’t fail to pack:three children’s lifejackets,plus spares for the cousins,the little blue coolerwith its bag of crushed ice,cherry tomatoes from the garden,and all that beef jerky,cucumbers, cheese,and our favorite summer sausage,way too much water,and not enough beer,SPF 60 for mom,but SPF 30 for theContinue reading “Sunshine Kayak”

Restful

Time is never wastedwhen passed in tranquil places,the whisper of grass and,underfoot, rich sand.A breeze against our cheeks:we could stay for weeks,immovable against life’s worriesa force against nature’s hurries I wrote this poem for Wea’ve Written Weekly prompt #123 over at the Skeptic’s Kaddish. This week’s prompt was provided by Sally, who asks us toContinue reading “Restful”

Ephemeral Waves

grains of time, like sand,wash away, drawn back by tidehands cup pooled waterthat slips through our fingertipseffervescent, ephemeral Time always feels so rushed at the start of each new school year. It seems that no matter how much time I put into my classes over the summer to hopefully ease the transition to the fallContinue reading “Ephemeral Waves”

Glacial Wonders

They call them “glacial potholes”.I wonder, why not something more majestic?not something I giggle over –as if we need more potholes in Wisconsin–but true to their ancient legacy,from when glaciers concealed this place, and then, further back to when thick lava oozed to form these warbly basalt cragsthat hid beneath the sand and ice thatContinue reading “Glacial Wonders”

MaMaWriMo

I belong to a Facebook group of mothers who are also writers, and they celebrate “Mama” WriMo every August in place of November’s NaNoWriMo. I think this concept is brilliant and, even though August isn’t the best time for me to do a lot of writing (it’s lesson-planning, back-to-school month), I was able to sneakContinue reading “MaMaWriMo”

Martial Universe

four horses drive us into the riverpocketbooks pulling the reinssink deep into the mirepeace, like a tidal wave, flows in our heartswe fill buckets with our hopechildlike innocence sinking sun sprawls low over the deserthuman tears water the groundearth’s dry crust cries for rainfour horses drive us into the riverwe fill buckets with our hopeearth’sContinue reading “Martial Universe”

Small Worlds

Traveling to my grandmother’s house, the car filled with excited anticipation. Visits with family were pleasant, but the city also held wonders from zoos and aquariums to shopping malls and museums. For a small town kid like me, these trips to the Twin Cities were precious. As the oldest of my high school friends, IContinue reading “Small Worlds”

Uphill Writer Battles

For me, writer life tends to flow in ups and downs. I’ll feel very motivated to write and I’ll grow confidence in my writing. Then, I’ll hear another rejection and I’ll lose that confidence boost. Recently, I felt incredibly dejected about my writing. I’ve been receiving rejections from agents all spring and summer for aContinue reading “Uphill Writer Battles”

Garden Days

grazing the gardentucking veggies under armsand filling bucketslittle hands helped to sow seedsdirt-stained hands help to pick weeds I wrote this little poem for the Wea’ve Written Weekly prompt. This week, Punam asks us to do the following: *Write a food-related poem in any form* Our garden is a special summer tradition (and treat!) everyContinue reading “Garden Days”