Tag Archives: Poetry Friday

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Finishing up December’s #haikuforhope

unnamedWriting #haikuforhope during December was simply wonderful. Last year, I participated, but on a much more limited basis. I’m not sure if I created a haiku every day this year, but I was darned close! The process focused my attention amidst the blur of holiday activities and helped me tap into the heart of it all. I’m so thankful to have written along with others during the month, and as I’ve said before, reading their haiku was inspiring and educational. I learned so much from these fellow writers and mentors!

Along with writing haiku, another one of my favorite things about December was having break and more time to explore and take photographs. This was doubly rewarding, as getting out and about with my camera fuels my writing. My early mornings at the river inspired two of my final haiku and have sparked another poem that’s still in pieces but feels like it has potential. I also wrote a haibun with one of these haiku for this week’s Slice of Life. Finally, I took a field trip to Portland, ME to visit the “celebrity” Great Black Hawk who’s taken up residence in an urban park. There’s quite a story to go with this bird (here), but I was struck by the difference in how we treat this avian immigrant versus human ones. Another haiku was born.

Here are my final three #haikuforhope from December:

December 29th:

morning fog
drenches rising sun
watercolor world

December 30th:

bird immigrant
celebrated arrival
modern day irony

December 31st:

bald eagle and I
patiently await the dawn
morning communion

(If you’re interested, here’s the link to the haibun I wrote with this haiku for this week’s Slice of Life (here). )

All haiku ©Molly Hogan, 2018

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Sylvia Vardell at her blog, Poetry For Children. She is sharing an impressive and exciting list of poetry titles expected to be published in 2019. Talk about anticipation! Go take a look, recognize some familiar names (Yay!) and be sure to plan your yearly budget accordingly!

 

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A flurry of haiku, #haikuforhope

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There’s still no snow in coastal Maine, but the flurries of haiku continue. I’ve been consistently inspired and impressed by the poems shared by #haikuforhope participants during this month. Here’s a glimpse at my week in haiku.

December 21st:

holiday baking
cinnamon-scented memories
inhale deeply…hold…

December 22nd:

drifting asleep
somersaulting through my day
mental gymnastics

December 23rd:

airport insight
hello is a prelude to
another goodbye

December 24th:

last minute wrapping
scissors flash, ribbons fly
paper tornado

December 25th:

Christmas Morning Miracle

dull metal barn roof
under moonlight’s soft caress
transforms to silver

December 26th:

Seasonal Preserves

today’s harvest yields
glowing jars of ripe moments
tomorrow’s sustenance

December 27th:

laughter drifts upstairs
their late night sibling revelry
sweetens my dreams

All haiku © Molly Hogan, 2018

Donna Smith is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at her blog, Mainely Write. She’s sharing thoughts on finding your way and a delightful angel poem inspired by the angels in her new home.  You can spend some pleasant hours exploring links to other poetry posts while you’re there. Also, if you haven’t had a chance to do so yet, I encourage you to visit Twitter and check out #haikuforhope.

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#haikuforhope

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I’m still participating in #haikuforhope, trying to write a haiku each day during the month of December. I wasn’t as successful this past week, and I missed a couple of days. Overall, this hasn’t been a productive writing month for me, and I’m more and more thankful for the nudge to write haiku!

December 15th:

A.M. Tragedy

morning’s sweet promise
takes an unexpected turn
fly in my coffee

©Molly Hogan, 2018

December 17th:

hollyhock stalks
festooned with snowflakes
blossom anew

©Molly Hogan, 2018

December 18th:

water, wind and cold
elemental alchemy
winter masterpiece

©Molly Hogan, 2018

December 19th

cloud congregation
clusters on the horizon
anticipating dawn

©Molly Hogan, 2018

December 20th

Christmas Homecoming

the day passes
anticipating her hug
molasses hours

©Molly Hogan, 2018

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Buffy Silverman at her blog, Buffy’s Blog. Make sure to stop by and read her review of a beautiful book of science/poetry, The Stuff of Stars.

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More Haiku for Hope

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I’m so thankful for the focus of writing haiku this month. It’s been a blessing. Thank you again (and again and again!) to Mary Lee Hahn for the invitation to write haiku daily in December with #haikuforhope. Here are my contributions for the past week.

Dec. 8th

within busy days
one may discover oneself
disappearing

©M. Hogan, 2018
(street art from a corner in Puerto Rico)

Dec. 9th

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in bitter winter
River shivers in her bed
ice shatters like crystal

©M. Hogan, 2018

December 10th

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fading oak leaf
ignites at dawn
final blaze of glory

©M. Hogan, 2018

Dec. 11th

Full Moon Memory

the moon appliqued
intricate branches
onto indigo sky

©M. Hogan, 2018

December 12th

dizzy holidaze
life glides into focus
writing haiku

©M. Hogan, 2018

December  13th

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on River’s skin
Winter’s icy winds etch
hieroglyphics

©M. Hogan, 2018

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by the warm and welcoming Laura Shovan at her blog. She’s sharing a snowy poem by Jona Colson that is full of beautiful words and  imagery.

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On a Haiku Roll

unnamedRecently, I’ve been on a haiku roll. (Sounds like a special at a Japanese restaurant! lol) I haven’t ever meditated, but I imagine that writing haiku is similar–it narrows my focus and slows me down a bit. It brings me into the present, but also out of the present. I suppose that all writing does this, but the brevity of the haiku really intensifies that process for me. Also, the more I write haiku, the more I realize how much there is to learn about how to do it well.  I’m enjoying that challenge. (mostly!)

With lots of distractions and less writing time recently, it’s also been helpful to have a poetry invitation to motivate me–Mary Lee Hahn’s #haikuforhope or #haikuforhealing. This year, as for the past several years, she’s invited people to write haiku each day during the month of December. Even when I don’t tweet my efforts, I’m doing my best to participate daily. Thanks, Mary Lee!

inside the coffee shop
rain-streaked foggy windows
swaddle us

©M. Hogan, 2018

amidst whirlwind days
reading and writing create
an eye in the storm

©M. Hogan 2018

on the Christmas tree
faded paper and yarn ornaments
induce time travel

©M. Hogan, 2018

Also, I submitted a haiku to “A Sense of Place: City Streets–hearing”  at The Haiku Foundation (they have a weekly theme), and it was selected for that week’s final post (along with a whole lot more!). Yippee! Here it is:

hope in an inhaled breath
indifferent footsteps pass
the weight of a sigh

©M. Hogan, 2018

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Elizabeth Steinglass at her blog, My Blog About Me. She’s sharing a lovely poem about a menorah. Stop by to add some poetry to your holiday festivities!

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Triolet

unnamedI think the first time I encountered a triolet was in August at Alan Wright’s blog. He shared a thorough and easy to follow description of the form and then one of his own triolets (here). I loved the feeling evoked by the rhyme pattern and the repeated line and knew I wanted to play around with the form sometime. It’s taken me several months to work my way around to it, and as usual, nature finally inspired me.

I’m fascinated by the scenery around me on my morning commute and during my photography jaunts. I’m so intrigued by the way a scene can change before me, subtly or dramatically, in a matter of seconds. Sometimes, when I’ve stopped to admire a view or take a photo, I find it hard to leave, because each moment is so ripe with potential. In an instant, the sun rises, the light alters, a bird lifts into flight, etc. I often find myself marveling that in an instant everything can shift.

Perspectives

In an instant it all shifts
this world we think we know
a deer tail flicks, fog drifts
in an instant it all shifts
a scene transforms, a veil lifts
a stunning new tableau
in an instant it all shifts
this world we think we know.

M. Hogan ©2018

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Carol at her blog, Carol’s Corner.

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Raccoons and Cherita

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Inspired by Diane Mayr (Random Noodling) and others, I’ve been wanting to write a cherita for a while.  I was intrigued by the flexibility of the form (no syllabic count!) and the narrative focus. The word cherita comes from the Malay word for story. The cherita’s creator, ai li, describes it thus: “”a single stanza of a one-line verse, followed by a two-line verse, and then finishing with a three-line verse.” I’m pretty sure I still have a lot to learn about the nuances of the form, but I’ve had fun playing around with it. I decided to put two cherita together, because… well, why not!? I do hope this isn’t offensive to any cherita purists out there.

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Betrayed by bare branches

you scramble upward
toward the apple or away from me?

I edge in to capture
not your body, but your face
deceptively innocent

For long moments

your clever hands hold tight
I take picture after picture

You climb higher into swaying branches
your backward glance reproaches
contrite, I depart.

M. Hogan ©2018

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I knew I’d played around with a cherita before, and I went back through my notebooks determined to find it. I couldn’t even remember what I’d written about. How surprised I was to find this cherita, written in mid-August.

The trap has sprung

Feeders rest on the earth
amidst scattered sunflower seeds

Within the trap
lie a few lonely suet crumbs
the bandit has escaped

M. Hogan © 2018

Clearly this raccoon situation isn’t a new one!  Oh, and for the record, it was a Have-a-Heart trap.

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My post today combines my love of photography, nature, and poetry. I am thankful for all of these things (and so many more!) and, as always, for the wonderful support and community of this group. This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Irene Latham at her blog, Live Your Poem. In a haiku bonanza, she’s sharing a beautiful new book by Laura Purdie Salas and a link to a Jack Prelutsky read along. Be sure to check it out and add some poetry to your holiday weekend!

 

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Snow Day

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Snow Day

Storm talk
take stock
…snow day?

Big debate
4 or 8?
Snow day?

Grey leaden sky
fat snowflakes fly
Hey, weather guy!
Snow day?

Cold winds blowing
White drifts growing
Still not knowing…
Snow day?

Hope clings…
Phone rings
My heart sings
SNOW DAY!

M.  Hogan ©2018

Linda Baie is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at her chockful-of-book-love blog, Teacher Dance. She’s sharing a lovely new lullaby book from Rosemary Wells.

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Nature’s Lessons

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Two long tailed ducks
rise and fall in churning surf
serene amidst chaos

M. Hogan ©2018

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Late blooming lupine
brilliant against autumn leaves
discordant harmony

M. Hogan ©2018

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Michelle H. Barnes of Today’s Little Ditty  fame. In addition to hosting, she’s sharing several powerful poems to highlight the ups and downs of this volatile week.

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A Poster Can Be…

unnamedIn mid-October we always head to the fire station for a fire safety presentation. It’s a short walk from school, or a short bus trip in inclement weather. The kids typically have the opportunity to explore firetrucks and equipment, watch a fire safety video, and interact with the firemen and women. There’s also Sparky, the water-squirting, fire-truck-driving, mechanical dog. As you can imagine, the event is always a hit with the kids.

This year’s presentation was very well-designed and my students were thoroughly engaged. Our fourth grade group was split into our three classes to rotate through different activities. My class had the good fortune to see the video first.

After the video, some inspired soul (clearly never an elementary school teacher) thought it would be a great idea to give each child a fire-safety poster. In the past the posters have been distributed at the end of the day at school. This time, the poster was placed into each eager fourth grade hand. Since we saw the video first (Remember, I mentioned our good fortune? You can reread that sentence with some sarcasm right now. I’ll wait.), these posters came with my students through the next two stations. So, for the next 30 or so minutes, while waiting in line to participate, students had a rolled up (or unrolled) poster in their hands. Or on their friends. Or in their mouths. Yup.

It’s truly amazing what a poster can become, and although you might not think so, a rolled up poster can be even more entertaining than the Jaws Of Life. I can attest to the veracity of that statement.

At any rate, the events of the day inspired this poem:

Roll Up A Poster and It Can Become…

A lyrical flute or a megaphone
a spyglass to spy out the journey home
a sound tube to whisper secrets and dreams
or amplify noises and high-pitched screams
A pirate sword in a desperate fight
“Ahoy, ye maties!” Jab left! Jab right!
Finally, unrolled at the end of play
a poster can show tips to save the day
So many distinct possibilities
I wonder what else a poster can be…

M. Hogan ©2018

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by the amazing Jama Rattigan at her lush blog, Jama’s Alphabet Soup. Make sure to stop by and check out the poetry action. If you’re in the soggy Northeast, it will offer a nice respite from the unrelenting grey and drizzly weather. (Or, alternatively, get yourself a poster and let your imagination go wild!)