DMC: "Brave Outing, May 2020" by Janet Clare Fagal

BRAVE OUTING, MAY 2020

I sip my tea, munch a biscotti
watch lake water gleam under
a bright spring sky.
People in pairs walk by, chatting briskly.
A young girl runs back and forth
at water’s edge.
Her smile brighter than today’s sun.
A reminder of childhood’s innocence,
a longer distance between her and her future
compared to me and mine.  I step from the car,
adjust my mask, venture out into foreign fresh air.
Taking a cue from this child, I       
inhale as best I can,
and pray for the cleansing and freedom we need. 

© 2020 Janet Clare Fagal. All rights reserved.

TLD reader Margaret Simon has challenged us to write a mindful poem about the present moment. Click HERE for more details and to add your poem to the padlet. While some poems will be shared as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 29th.

DMC: "Strangers No More" by Janet Clare Fagal

STRANGERS NO MORE

The wave-dancing, endless crashing
water music welcomes me
to the sun-blistering,
crazy-quilted beach.
Where towel-unfurling placement is an art,
and undertow-racing, deep-hole digging children
scream f o r e v e r. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Their voices carried off by ocean breezes,
drowned out by seagull-screeching songs.
Where eager bathers dodge the sea-foamy shore,
and summer-heat's magic becomes a healing balm.
Where strangers share their bits of sand-tinged tapestries,
tip-toeing around with care.
 
© 2020 by Janet Clare Fagal. All rights reserved.


Buffy Silverman has challenged us to write a poem that uses combined or invented words. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our February 2020 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration this Friday, February 28th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her nonfiction poetry picture book from Millbrook Press:

DMC: "Calling All Kids" by Janet Clare Fagal

CALLING ALL KIDS

Inside of you:
dreams,
ideas,
potential.
Wildness, maybe.
Athletic skills,
eyes that show
your hands what to draw,
music that only you may hear.
A tender heart
full of caring.
Words that want to find
their place on a page,
feet that tap a rhythm,
a brain that seeks
to learn, to know.
Curiosity.
You, the real you.
Like the sky lit
by fireworks,
you are brilliant.
You can light up the world.

© 2019 Janet Clare Fagal. All rights reserved.


Click HERE to read this month's interview with Karen Boss, Editor at Charlesbridge. Her challenge this month is to write a poem in second person, speaking directly to a kid or kids about something that you think is important for them to know.

Post your poem on our June 2019 padlet. While some contributions will be featured as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration this Friday, June 28th. One lucky participant will win a copy of I Am Someone Else: Poems About Pretending, collected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Chris Hsu, available online for preorder, and coming to a bookstore near you on July 2, 2019.

DMC: "Lake Champlain Summer Storm" by Janet Fagal

Lake Champlain Summer Storm

The rain
Crashes and whips.
Our boat rolls side to side.
We watch as dad wrestles the waves...
saves us.

© 2014 Janet Fagal. All rights reserved.

Laura Purdie Salas has challenged us to come up with a water-themed cinquain this month.  Click HERE for details.  If you would like to join in the fun, use the contact form in the sidebar to the right to send me your splashtastic poem!