Thinking about Poetry

Last June, on a trip Highlights, I followed my heart, and dove more seriously into the world of poetry. Like an excited explorer, I tied on my hiking boots, grabbed my trekking poles and set out into the unknown.

Around every corner, I found new forms of poetic life that surprised and delighted me by their unique nature and form:

Poems that explained just how I feel about books.

Poems that were unexpected and made me laugh.

and poems that touched in my heart to the point of tears

This is the magic of words.

This is the magic of poetry.

Check out this beautiful poster. You can read more about it here.

April is National Poetry Month. I am so very excited about pouring more of myself into my poetry writing this month. I have an adult poetry collection I have been working on for a few months and new children's one. I love coming up with a theme for a collection and brainstorming a list of inspiration to draw from. Somehow when I sit down to write, it feels like a visit to Baskin Robbins with their 32 flavors. Which one should I try today? Hmmmm....

Fun note: In the 1960's, dressed in our pajamas and unbuckled in the back seat of our maroon chevy convertible ( yikes!), my parents would take us kids to Baskin Robbins for ice cream on a hot summer evening . Dad would go in and come out with vanilla for everyone, despite there being 31 flavors!

I hope you will stop our Poetry Friday host, Marcie Flinchum Atkins 's blog this week for the complete roundup. Each poem you enjoy today will inspire, and give you a lovely escape into the beauty of words.

Happy Poetry Friday! Time to get writing :)

Watch Where You're Going!

March Literary Madness has commenced! It seems everyone is hosting contests, authors are busy with school visits, agents are opening for submissions again and there is an exciting energy in the air.

I have been taking advantage of some of the opportunities to stretch my writing wings. Like a fisherman who is after the BIG CATCH, I have learned you have to keep casting, always making sure your bait has a fresh perspective and is publishing-ready!

One of my favorite opportunities jus arrived. Every March, author @VivianKirkfield hosts the #50PreciousWordsContest. Take a look at all these great stories she has reeled in this year!

You may have read my entry from last year here. It is challenging to know what to write about. Sometimes I start with a pretty concrete idea and spend time squeezing a full story arc out of it. Other times my fingers sit idle on the keyboard for quite awhile. This year's 50 precious words entry was born out of playing with fun words that tickled my tongue.

Out of this word play came two characters- Bunny and Duck.

A mallard and a rabbit. Interesting pairing, and probably unlikely friends.

They have an unfortunate collision leading them, not to anger and name calling, but to listening and learning from each other, ultimately to forgiveness and perhaps in their understanding and compassion, a new friendship might take flight.

But how to do this in just 50 words????

Hope you enjoy my attempt below. Let me know what you think.

Fingers crossed on this one :)

©cathystenquist

Thanks to @Margaret Simon of https://reflectionsontheteche.com/ who is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup today. Hope you'll skip on by to take a look at her amazing poem in a weather map form. Yep! Her approach really has opened my eyes to poetry's possibilities.

Have a good weekend everyone!

My New Best Friend?

Happy Poetry Friday! Today I share a poem about the simplest, and in my opinion the most precious of things: Reading to a child. Following is a little explanation of the inspiration.

This week Amazon announced that their voice-activated assistant, Alexa +, will now be even more intuitive and interactive.  Definitely someone they claim we cannot  live without.

 “I’m your new best friend in the digital world,” Alexa + proudly states. For only $19.99 a month, you can have a new friend living with you intimately knowing all aspects of your life. What a deal!

During a demonstration, they went on to Alexa +, “Can you see if somebody walked the dog the past couple of days?”

I’m not a dog owner, but shouldn’t you know that?

I was curious, so I continued to watch, as Michael Strahan of Good Morning America got to converse with “her.”  Alexa + soon came back with comments about his “legendary” arms.

“Do you still keep up those famous guns in the gym these days?” she asked.

Ewww.

Too flirty, too personal and might I say, “icky.”

But what really made my stomach turn was when a sweet girl, about 6 or 7 asks Alexa, to tell her a bedtime story.  

Alexa answers, “Do you want an adventure story or a funny animal story?”

Yes, maybe this question hit me in the gut more, being a writer of children’s picture books and poetry. When I write, I imagine my words being enjoyed by a child—my book on the lap of a child snuggled up with someone they love with plenty of time to ask questions about what they heard and discuss it.

While I can see this application possibly being helpful for the home bound and disabled etc., I think we need to be careful about feeling drawn to every new shiny toy that comes down the pike…

just because we can.

Yesterday, my grandson, only 17 months old, grabbed a book off the shelf and ran to me shouting, “Read this! Read this!” I pulled him to my lap, and we entered into a world of celestial delight together, touching and talking about the textured moon, sun and stars. These are the kind of book experiences that are priceless for him and for me.

For me, there is nothing sweeter.

Hop on over HERE  to Denise Krebs Dare to Care Blog

for more amazing poems to brighten your day!

Thanks Denise for hosting!