DMC: "Rivers" by Juanita Havill

RIVERS

Writing,
You swim in a river of words.
Word by chosen word,
The delta nears.

Reading,
You stand in the same river twice,
Seeing deeper as
The water clears.

© 2017 Juanita Havill. 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.

You have until the end of today, May 31st, to join in! Post your poem on our May 2017 padlet and I will add it to the wrap-up presentation HERE. 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: "Elevation" by Teresa Robeson

ELEVATION

A book is often likened to
a doorway, a window, a mirror.
But for me it’s
a ladder, a stepstool, a platform
taking me higher,
making me higher
than I was
before it raised
my morals, my outlook, my spirit.

© 2017 Teresa Robeson. 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.

You have until tomorrow, May 31st, to join in! Post your poem on our May 2017 padlet and I will add it to the wrap-up presentation HERE. 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.

May DMC Wrap-Up + Giveaway

A Book...                                  Delphine Devos

Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.

                – Virginia Wolff, A Room of One's Own

At the beginning of this month, Melissa Manlove, Senior Editor at Chronicle Books, challenged us to write a poem that explores how writing (or a book) is like something else.

"Convince me!" she said.

You never know what you're going to get with a DMC challenge.

"Let Me Tell You a Story" by Deb Noggle

Not until you open it up...

"Library of Alexandria," Abecedarian Gallery

and let it loose.

"Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" by Carol Vey

By the end, you may feel sea-tossed . . .

"Octopus at Sea" by Annette Sujo

or windswept . . .

"Listen to the Wind Blow" by Malena Valcárcel, on Etsy

but the journey will undoubtedly be memorable.

I don't know about Melissa, but I've been convinced many times over this month! Thank you to everyone who contributed a poem or followed along, and thanks especially to Melissa Manlove for setting us on our way.

Scroll through the poems below, or, for best viewing, CLICK HERE.

Inspired to write your own poem that compares writing or a book to something else?

Add it to our May 2017 padlet by Wednesday, May 31st, 2017, and I will move your poem to the wrap-up presentation.

Participants in this month's challenge will automatically be entered to win a copy of LOVING VS. VIRGINIA or LOVE IS, both published by Chronicle Books earlier this year.

(One entry per participant, not per poem.) Alternatively, you may enter the giveaway by commenting below. Comments must also be received by Wednesday, May 31st. If you contribute a poem and comment below you will receive two entries in total.

The winners will be determined by Random.org and announced next Friday, June 2nd.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As for last week's giveaway, Random.org has determined that the winner of TOO MANY FRIENDS by Kathryn Apel is . . .

LAURA PURDIE SALAS — congratulations, Laura!

Join Margaret at Reflections on the Teche for this week's Poetry Friday roundup.

DMC: "Writing is like Parenting" by Kathleen Mazurowski

WRITING IS LIKE PARENTING

Writing is like parenting.
Dreams, questions, joys, doubts,
You have to let go.
Release your best efforts to the world.

© 2017 Kathleen Mazurowski. 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 tomorrow, 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: "Science is like Writing" by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

SCIENCE IS LIKE WRITING

In science I held up a prism.
The sun made a rainbow
on my book.

Our teacher explained 
about bending light.
My friends all came to look.

Science is like writing.

A poem takes white light in me
and breaks it into colors 
for everyone to see.

© 2010 Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. All rights reserved.
(from The Poem Farm archives)


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 this 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: "A Perfect Storm" by David McMullin

A PERFECT STORM

The weatherman's predictions are unclear.
I venture forth with pencil in hand.
Balmy prose are expected, but I prepare for inclement choices.
My umbrella is a well researched outline.
Writing is a breeze.
Idea clouds swirl above.
The sky opens up.
Lightning strikes.
I throw aside my umbrella, letting myself be drenched in inspiration.
Words flood my mind.
A flurry of letters pelt my paper.
Drifts of pages accumulate by my side.
Then,
As quickly as it came, the storm gives way to clear blue.
All is still except one fresh draft.
A draft carrying with it the promise of sunny skies.

© 2017 David McMullin. 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 this 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: "A Season of Poems — a Quartet" by Jane Baskwill

A SEASON OF POEMS—A QUARTET

Poems in Winter

Poems in Winter are
Slow to rise,
When storms rattle the window panes,
And wind whistles through cracks,
They shiver and shake and hide undercover,
Not wanting to come out,
Not willing to leave their nest,
Until lured by the snap-crackling of a promise,
Drawn to the warming intoxication of the hearth,
Cold hearts melt as icy fingers thaw,
They curl up by the fire momentarily,
Poems in Winter
Make good kindling.

Poems in Spring

Poems in spring are hopeful,
They start as small shoots to be nurtured
And protected from the whims of nature,
Some germinating too early,
Catching the gardener unaware,
Some awakening from a winter’s rest
Only to die from joyful pruning,
Some growing rapidly,
Taking over their assigned space,
And spreading into others’,
Forcing their presence,
In need of shaping, tending, taming,
They seek attention, consideration, celebration,
Poems in Spring
Rejuvenate the spirit.

Poems in Summer

Poems in Summer
Are a procrastinator’s dream,
They lie about on porches or swings,
Or in the shade of a tree, dozing,
With their eyes closed against the brilliance of day,
When summer breezes blow,
They drift into neighbour’s gardens,
Waiting for someone else to find them,
Caring not for the woes of the world,
Nor if they should live beyond today,
Poems in Summer
Are lazy.

Poems in Fall

Poems in Fall
Explode with colour and embrace their calling,
They drop from leaf-laden trees
Without care or misgiving,
Coming to rest with joy and abandon
They are propelled along pathways and old railway beds,
Moving briskly with stalwart determination,
They gather in piles and heaps, on stoops and verandas,
Impatiently demanding to be,
Poems in Fall
Have an urgency.


© 2017 Jane Baskwill. 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 this 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: "Fishing for a Reader" by Irene Latham

FISHING FOR A READER

A good book
hooks
with a sharp first line.

Its plot wiggles
and pulls and surprises.

Its characters are bait
that wait
for you to bite.

A good book 
reels you in

with glistening language
and a splash
of style.

It soaks you with memories
and new discoveries.

A good book 
holds steady
through The End—

and then 
it lures you in again.

© 2017 Irene Latham. All rights reserved.

Click to enlarge.

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: "The Act of Writing" by Elizabeth Steinglass

THE ACT OF WRITING

You let go
of your trapeze.
You’re flying
over everything—
the crowd, the clowns,
the dancing dogs.
It all looks different
from above,
but now you’re wondering
where’s the bar
you’re supposed to grab?
Can you get from here to there,
flip and twist through open air
with nothing more
than words?
Will the people down below
follow your rise, your rhyme, your spin,
feel the fear, the awe, you feel?
Or will you fall?
Will you land on your back
on a web of string,
bounce up high and find your feet,
and climb the ladder
once again?

© 2017 Elizabeth Steinglass. 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: "Nasal Passages [to Writing]" by Diane Mayr

NASAL PASSAGES [TO WRITING]

There are times when
a steady drip, drip, drip
yields nothing of merit.
Other times a tickle leads
the writer to think that
soon to spring forth will
be metaphors and similes
and only the right words.
Sadly, a probing pinky
cannot detach them.
The best writing comes
as an unexpected sneeze.
In surprise is liberation.
Words fly with nothing
to hold them back.
Air passages cleared,
words are wiped up,
finally caught on paper.
The writer breathes. 

© 2017 Diane Mayr. 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: "Alphabet Coaching" by Jesse Anna Bornemann

ALPHABET COACHING

Excuse me, please! I’m eager to
Address all 26 of you.
I think that I heard someone say
You’d like to form a poem today?
There’s little doubt you’re each endowed
With stellar skills! You should be proud!
I’m not here to suppress your style
But, rather, to enhance it while
I teach you to work as a group.
A lithe and lovely letter-troupe!
First, some warm-ups . . . take your time.
Maybe make a simple rhyme?
Nice job! (Or, I mean, could be worse.)
Now, can you stretch into a verse?
That’s it! Oh, wait – you missed a beat.
No, you don’t have two left feet!
I’d never say that. I’m impressed!
Fine, I can see why you’re stressed.
But stress is needed. Rhythm too.
Don’t choke now. There’s work to do!
So, that’s it? Our session’s done?
I thought that we were having fun.
An artist must stick to her craft!
What if we call this our first draft?

© 2017 Jesse Anna Bornemann. 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: "Waiting World" by M. H. Barnes

Lupin Light: sunrise at Lake Tekapo, by Chris Gin

WAITING WORLD

To read is not like folding socks,
it's like a folding chair
you carry to the garden
to taste the fragrant air.

To write is not like counting words
or seconds on a clock,
it's packing up a picnic lunch
and going for a walk.

A poem doesn't live within 
the confines of a room.
You step inside its waiting world
to watch its sunrise bloom.

© 2017 Michelle Heidenrich Barnes. All rights reserved.

Click HERE to read last week's interview with Melissa Manlove, Senior Editor at Chronicle Books.

Her DMC challenge:

Write a poem that explores how writing (or a book) is like something else.




If you'd like to participate, post your poem on our May 2017 padlet. Other comparison poems featured this week were by Margaret Simon, Brenda Davis Harsham, Jessica Bigi, and Angelique Pacheco. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 26th, and two lucky participants will win either LOVING VS. VIRGINIA by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Shadra Strickland, or LOVE IS by Diane Adams, illustrated by Claire Keane, both published by Chronicle Books earlier this year.

Check out what's blooming at A Teaching Life. Love's in the air and the Poetry Friday roundup is ripe for picking. Thanks, Tara!

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.