and the winner is . . .

by Cynthia, in category News, poetry

In honor of World Poetry Day, the Young Adult Review Network (YARN) just announced the winners of its “Enchanted Places & Spaces” poetry contest, inspired by Margarita Engle’s lovely memoir in verse, Enchanted Air. The winning entries were selected by Engle herself.

Winner: London Shah “Desi Donation”

Runner-up: Matt Forrest  “Last Autumn”

Runner-up: Me — “Early Morning”

So happy to be included as a runner-up! My poem “Early Morning” describes The San Francisco Wildlife Refuge, near Newark, California. A beautiful, quiet place, I’d go to after long days of teaching.

Don_Edwards_San_Francisco_Bay_National_Wildlife_Refuge_3

poetry month is nearly over . . . but not quite!

by Cynthia, in category Poem in Your Pocket Day, poetry

For me, every month is Poetry Month. I write poems every day. Or at least, I start a poem every day. But Thursday, April 21st, is Poem in Your Pocket Day, one of my favorite days of the year. I like all kinds of poetry, but I have a special affection for small poems. Poems for your pocket. Short poems about mostly ordinary things. Valerie Worth poems.

grass

As I have been removing my backyard grass, one shovel-full at a time, and replacing it with flowers, fruits, vegetables, and herbs, I am reminded of the poem “Grass” by Valerie Worth. I love how she compares the speech of a grass lawn to that of a grassy field. And her surprise at the end.

Grass, by Valerie Worth

Grass on the lawn
says nothing:
Clipped, empty,
Quiet.
Grass in the fields
whistles, slides,
casts up a foam
of seeds,
Tangles itself
With leaves: hides
Whole rustling schools
Of mice.

For more information on Poem in Your Pocket Day, look here.

poetry, like bread . . .

by Cynthia, in category Bread, News

I’ve been making the same Irish soda bread recipe for decades with little variation– some years I’d add currants, and some years I’d add raisins– depending on what I had on hand. But this year, I made a few changes. I have to adapt all my recipes for altitude baking now, so I made some other changes as well. Instead of standard (cow) buttermilk, I used goat buttermilk, and I splurged on Irish butter and Manukka raisins. The tastiest batch of soda bread yet.

bread

loaves

sodabread

I’ve read the raisins hail from the Himalayas, grown at 6,000-9,000 feet, but I’ve also read they are grown in the Middle East …I will definitely need to do more research. But wherever they come from, they are plump, juicy, sweet, and delicious.

moons and poems . . .

by Cynthia, in category metaphors, poem-a-day, poetry

If a poem isn’t coming along very well during my daily writing practice, I look to my writing mentors. I have dozens of poets I read every week–living and no longer living– and I consult with them. Sometimes I will  imitate the form of a poem. Sometimes I will take a line and go on from there. Sometimes the rhythm of the poem will get me going, so that’s what I run with. And at other times, I’ll take the whole concept, but change a metaphor.

Here is a short poem I love by Elizabeth Steinglass titled “Chalk Moon.”  She, in turn, was inspired by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s “Tonight.”

Chalk Moon, by Elizabeth Steinglass

Who made the moon?
Who scribbled it with chalk
on the blackboard sky?
Who blew the dust away
and filled the dark with stars?

So, for an exercise today, I’ve taken “Chalk Moon” and asked myself, what else makes “dust?”

Wafer Moon
Who took the moon?
Who nibbled the wafer-thin moon
and scattered its crumbs 
across the tablecloth sky?

When stuck, it is always good practice to imitate and emulate the masters. This snippet will need substantial additions and revisions  to become its own poem, but the exercise got me unstuck, which is all one can ask for.