DMC: "I Have so I Give" by Angelique Pacheco

I HAVE SO I GIVE

Two eyes to see the needs of others,
Brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers.
One heart to feel their pain and despair,
One heart to give them love and care.
Two hands to give to those in need,
To be a blessing is love indeed.

© 2020 Angelique Pacheco. All rights reserved.

Our first of three challenges from My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice: A Guide to Writing Poetry & Speaking Your Truth by Patrice Vecchione (Seven Stories Press, 2020) is to write a poem about the place empathy has your life. Click HERE for more details.

Post your poem on our April 2020 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, April 24th, and one lucky participant will win a copy of My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice, courtesy of the publisher.

Register HERE for Patrice's virtual book launch today, April 7th, at 6:00pm Pacific Time!

I am visiting Laura Shovan's blog today with a wordplay prompt for her #WaterPoemProject—30 days of writing prompts about water, suitable for students (and adults) who enjoy writing poetry. If my prompt looks familiar to some of you, it's because it was adapted from Nikki Grimes's 2015 DMC challenge. I hope you'll to join in!

DMC: "The Glass" by Angelique Pacheco

THE GLASS

Be half full,
Never half empty.
Learn to chill,
There’s always plenty.

Pour your love out,
Replenish with goodness.
Don’t have doubt,
Nor fill up with darkness.

Quench a thirst,
Put out a fire.
You’ll never burst,
If things are dire.

Be see through,
Like water that’s clean,
In all you do,
So that you will gleam.

Your blessings will overflow,
As only a glass can know.

© 2019 Angelique Pacheco. All rights reserved.


Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:

DMC: "Passing By" by Angelique Pacheco

PASSING BY

She twists and twirls
She billows and curls
She flicks up her legs
Her dance flows with grace
He breathes her in
He breathes her out
The curtains move
The breeze passes through
A love affair
Fleeting
Flitting
But never standing still.

© 2018 Angelique Pacheco. All rights reserved.


Calef Brown has challenged us to write a poem that tells the story of two anthropomorphized objects. They can be an odd couple, close friends, mortal enemies, or meet each other for the first time. The poem can be about an adventure they have together, a conflict, a game they play, anything. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our October 2018 padlet by October 31st. While some contributions will be featured as daily ditties, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up presentation on Friday, November 2nd, and one lucky participant will win a signed copy of Calef Brown's latest collection of ghoulish poetry from Carolrhoda Books:

DMC: "Different but the Same" by Janice Scully

Different but the Same

If ten chefs make apple pie
you will have ten pies that are different
though all baked with apples,
sugar, flour, butter, salt, and
cinnamon.

Just because some are paler,
some browner, some sweeter,
others spicier,
doesn’t mean
each won’t have its fans.

Why is that hard to understand?
What if apple pies were all the same?

© 2018 Janice Scully. All rights reserved.


Click HERE to read this month's interview with Naomi Shihab Nye. Her DMC challenge is to write a letter to yourself in which you ask some questions that you don't have to answer. (Please keep in mind that your poem does not need to be in standard letter form.)

Post your poem on our September 2018 padlet. While some contributions will be featured as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up presentation on Friday, September 28th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her latest collection of poetry from Greenwillow Books:

DMC: "The Unappreciated Ninjas" by Angelique Pacheco

THE UNAPPRECIATED NINJAS

I look out of windows,
in Japan where I stay,
I see rooftops,
Chimneys made of clay.

Rats scramble over shops,
And fly across flats,
I begin to imagine,
Urban hilltops.

Where ninjas battle,
And samurai’s hold sway,
Where fears are far,
And nerves don’t fray.

The train screams,
Pulling in the station,
I look down,
To see a Gaijin Invasion.

© 2018 Angelique Pacheco. All rights reserved.

Click HERE to read this month's interview with Julie Fogliano. She has challenged us to stare out the window and write a poem about what we see. You might even consider writing something down every day for a week: 

At the end of the week, read through what you wrote and write your favorite bits on a separate piece of paper. I bet there will be a poem in there somewhere… see if you can find it.  – J. F.

You have until Thursday, May 31st, at 5:00 pm (EST) to join in! Post your poem on our May 2018 padlet and I will add it to the wrap-up presentation HERE. One lucky participant will win a personalized copy of Julie's stunning new picture book from Roaring Brook Press:

DMC: "The Victim Bully" by Angelique Pacheco

THE VICTIM BULLY
          ~with a line from "Black Box, by Devon Hope"

I target them and find my mark
It’s always been me versus them
The one who teased me is called geek
The one who blamed me is called wimp
The time has come for me to be called Bully.

© 2018 Angelique Pacheco. All rights reserved.

"Black Box, by Devon Hope" © 2002 Nikki Grimes, from BRONX MASQUERADE


Click HERE to read this month's interview with Nikki Grimes. She has challenged us to write a golden shovel poem using a line from one of the poems in the post.

Leave your golden shovel on our March 2018 padlet. While some contributions will be featured as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, March 30th, and one lucky participant will win a copy of her new companion novel to Bronx Masquerade:

DMC: "Book Immersion" by Angelique Pacheco

BOOK IMMERSION

She dips her toe in the freezing water,
A small ripple makes its way yonder.
She climbs in gingerly at first
Then dives right in, with a burst.
She languishes and plays,
She envisions mental plays.
Indulging her fantasies,
Her imagination sings.
When it’s all over she sadly climbs out,
Remembering fondly, what the book was about.

© 2017 Angelique Pacheco. All rights reserved.


Click HERE to read this month's interview with Melissa Manlove, Senior Editor at Chronicle Books. Her DMC challenge is to write a poem that explores how writing (or a book) is like something else.

Post your poem on our May 2017 padlet. While some contributions will be featured as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 26th. Two lucky participants will win a book published by Chronicle earlier this year: LOVING VS. VIRGINIA by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Shadra Strickland, or LOVE IS by Diane Adams, illustrated by Claire Keane.

DMC: "Under the Tree" by Angelique Pacheco

UNDER THE TREE

There is a place I like to go,
Where not a soul is in the know,
Under a pine tree ever so green,
Is where you’re likely to find me.
A place to dream ideas,
A place to banish fears.
A place where I can weep,
A place where I can sleep.
A place where thoughts run wild,
A place for my inner child.
A place where there’s no sadness,
A place of fun and gladness,
This is where I like to be,
If you like, come join me!

© 2016 Angelique Pacheco. All rights reserved.


Ann Rider has challenged us to write poems about places of refuge and solace this month. Click HERE for more details.

Post your poem on our November 2016 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, November 25th, and one lucky participant will win a copy of BEFORE MORNING by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes, courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers.

DMC: "The Mermaid" by Angelique Pacheco

THE MERMAID

My tail glistens in the sun
I long to be free to run
My transformation has begun
And my parents begin to shun
They don’t accept the human son
My Love and I long to have fun
The life I knew becomes undone

© 2016 Angelique Pacheco. All rights reserved.


Laura Shovan has challenged us to write persona poems this month. Click HERE for more details. You don't need to include the artwork that inspired your poem, but you are welcome to as long as I can properly attribute the artist/photographer.

Send your poem to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com, or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 27th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic new verse novel for middle grade readers:

DMC: "Echoes" by Angelique Pacheco

ECHOES

The drum beats
The sound repeats
Becomes incomplete
Before it retreats

© 2016 Angelique Pacheco. All rights reserved.



In celebration of National Poetry Month, Marilyn Singer has challenged us to write poems inspired by the word "echo." Click HERE for more details.

Send your poem to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com, or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, April 29th, and one lucky participant will win a copy of her fantastic new collection of reverso poems based on Greek myths: