I’m joining the Poetry Sisters’ prompt for the month of December, the challenge was to compose a poem containing Light Hope and Peace. Thanks to all the Poetry Sisters’ for the prompt, be sure to stop by their blogs and read their poems too: Tanita,Laura, Mary Lee, Liz, Sara, Tricia, and Kelly. Find more poems from this prompt tagged with #PoetryPals!
And by the way, last week my post was full of Peace and Light, you can find it here.
Walking Towards A…
Pause for Peace Pause for Hope Pause for pondering Before our New Year. Pondering light filled with hope Pause for pondering In our New Year. Pause for Hope Pause for Peace Keep on pausing throughout the year!
Mosey on over to talented poet, and writer, Tricia Stohr-Hunt’s’s blog, The Miss Rumphius Effect, where she’s hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Tricia!
Welcome, I’m hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup, and hoping to spread a bit of calm, yearning for connection, light, and Peace! I recently visited the Yoko Ono exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art here in Chicago. My pics are from Yokos’s rich and intriguing exhibit, come and take it in if you can. Two of my poems are also inspired from the exhibit.
Please add your links to Mister Linky:
I may not be connecting with you right away as I’m having some major dental surgery on Friday, however, know that I will reemerge and visit your posts as soon as I can.
DREAM-KEEPING
If with our one life, we All join together, come together, and We all help each other, we Are headed toward Saying “Give Peace a Chance.” There Is so much we can share and Give to one another, and if Peace possibly brings hope, A hope for possibility, let’s “Give Peace a Chance!”
Golden Shovel poem with striking line, All we are saying is give peace a chance. From the song, “Give Peace a Chance” by John Lennon, originally credited to John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and friends.
Yoko offered us a puzzle piece full of sky and cloud, and I’m offering this poem…
I offer you a piece of sky a piece of peace a possibility to comprehend and connect with each other
I pulled out my Polar Bear friends with the coming of winter and all the snow we’ve been having in Chicago… I created these bookmarks a while back because I was very concerned about the Polar Bears and their shrinking habitat, and unfortunately the situation seems even bleaker today. You can read more about the specifics on the Polar Bears and their habitat at the World Wildlife Here’s a link to my Polar Bear Bookmarks in my Etsy Shop.
And a link to a terrific animated short film, Snow Bear by Aaron Blaise:
Mosey on over to creative and talented Linda Mitchell’s blog, A Word Edgewise, as she is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Linda! And she’s sharing a holiday-inspired Mash-up poem!
And come on back next week, for I will be hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup!
I’m here with another poetry prompt from the Poetry Sisters’ to close the month of November. The challenge to compose an ‘Eavesdropped & Overheard’ poem in tribute to our pal at the long-running Chicken Spaghetti blog, Susan Thomsen. Thanks to all the Poetry Sisters’ for the prompt, be sure to stop by their blogs and read their poems too: Tanita,Laura, Mary Lee, Liz, Sara, Tricia, and Kelly. Find more poems from this prompt tagged with #PoetryPals!
This was an interesting challenge… First you had to find bits and pieces to discreetly listen to, and then assemble some of these bits into a poem. It’s been a busy month, though here’s my try…
WHICH IS VERY GOOD…
He taught me stuff, um to do 5 synonyms Oh ya, interesting… Ya— It reminds me of choices of verbs dissuaded, etc. Ya. They have word games, were you word genius’s or something like that?
You can do synonyms they have all these complicated words Ya, …a lot did not have extensive vocabulary Yes, I know. This one guy thought he knew everything— If I taught him a word he would use it 5 times It’s ridiculous. I taught him the word bombastic and even where it came from, he used it a bunch of times. I was looking it over OMG— it’s embarrassing. I said, do you realize how bombastic this sounds…
I’m in the Evanston Art Center’s 2025 Winter Arts & Crafts EXPO Running through December 20, 2025 Evanston Art Center 1717 Central Street, Evanston, IL https://www.evanstonartcenter.org
Michelle’s Featured Work at the Evanston Art Center’s Winter EXPO 2025
Hope all my US friends had a Happy Thanksgiving! I’m on the night-before as I write this post as I will be busy cooking the day of…
Meander on over to talented poet, author, and nature photographer Buffy Silverman’s Blog for this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks for hosting Buffy!
be well, take a breath smell some flowers inside or out, imagine and dream…
I’m joining Susan Thomsen in her poem prompt this week, where we are writing from Donika Kelly’s poem, “Poem to Remind Myself of the” Natural Order of Things”as a mentor poem. However I took some liberties with another area, which was to write from a video that went viral. As I didn’t have a lot of time, and I couldn’t find one that spoke to me— I’m writing in connection with all these ICE notices that have been filling up My Neighborhood texts for the last 2 months while ICE has been unjustly targeting and abducting immigrants in Chicago. Probably 90% or more of these notices were related to working people, teachers, gardening/lawn workers, all employed and contributing to the betterment of society in Chicago. Thanks Susan!
“Poem to Remind Myself of the” Unnatural “Order of Things”
Observe the strong Chicagoans, holding bullied, bludgeoned ground firmly, for their fellow immigrant neighbors:
Armed with whistles, wits, and wisdom— many were pepper sprayed, pepper balled and doled out unjust daily treatment by ICE.
Chicagoan’s make our hearts proud, you should be revered.
Coming in with a short poem, reflecting on elusive time…
Talented poet and author Laura Purdie Salas, at her blog is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Laura! She shared that her new book, Flurry, Float, and Fly! is coming out next week on Tuesday, and she’s also sharing a wintery poem, be sure to stop by!
I took a break this week from the political mayhem din, and attempted to write a Burning Haibun poem. The prompt for this came from the Poetry Sisters for their October challenge. And this was quite a challenge, wish I had a bit more time to have edited my original prose, though I didn’t so I just kept on going…Briefly the poem calls for an initial prose piece focusing on the “internal landscape of memory,” and some part of the prose piece has to burn. After composing your initial prose piece, erase or blockout words you don’t want, then you do this again, and then from the last erasure you erase more until it’s whittled down into a haiku. Hope I captured some of this in my poem(s). Thanks to all the Poetry Sisters for the prompt, be sure to stop by their blogs and read their poems too: Tanita,Laura, Mary Lee, Liz, Sara, Tricia, and Kelly. Find more poems from this prompt tagged with #PoetryPals!
Erasure 1
Birds, Compassion, and Humanity
Hey Birds, Im interested in you— my fight pattern—as a child had a memory, perhaps the memory found a forest-top to swing, soar through air, like wings and suspend in midair forever… But relatives were dying, my grandmothers with each a ritual funeral. Perhaps compassion sprouted and manifested in care for birds— around my city dwelling— with hands in earth, digging and planting, and hearing your sweet songs— Hey birds, you seem like Duchamp readymades common ones, like sparrows, robins, cardinals, somewhere in the muck I became attached to your feathers, cocking your head, your nest building, and eventually sad plight of your endangered kin. I want to spread awareness of you for so many— becoming endangered. so abruptly disappearing, so I became feverishly involved Researching endangered birds specific to Chicago, IL, and the US. Today our planet burns, and we’re acknowledging the damage we humans have done to birds, and our bringing about many of you to extinction. I hope we slow down this rapid disappearance, politics has never wanted to help birds, which would help earth, and help humanity…
Hey birds, I–me–you— my child memory found air-like wings and suspend in midair forever… relatives dying, rituals sprout care for birds— city hands in earth, dig and plant and hear your sweet songs— in muck, I attach to your feathers, cocking head, nest building, and plight of endangered kin. want to spread awareness of you. acknowledging damage humans have done bringing extinction hope we help birds, help earth, help humanity…
Talented poet, photographer, and artist, Jone Rush MacCulloch at her blog by the same name is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Jone! She’s offering some spooky, Halloweenish poems, be sure to stop by!
Do we have weeks that aren’t crazy any more… I’m not accepting all going on as normal, hence I attended the No Kings March last weekend, and wrote a poem in reflection this week…
WHAT’S NORMAL
East wing teardown Congress at bay Tariffs on Russia Ranchers left astray
What’s Normal
Largest USA Protest Peaceful no violence But ICE attacks continue As USA democracy mirrors impiousness
What’s Normal
1,000’s out of work Administration turns away Blame it on the Dem’s We’re lunching with the Pres today
What’s Normal
Are we adults, adults Is this actually happening Or will the authoritarian nightmare Finally start dismantling
What’s Normal
So many peeps still in a stupor not knowing our rights and democracy Are eroding away—Hurry implore them Before we all fall beneath this autocracy
The talented poet Patricia J. Franz, at her blog Reverie is hosting the Round Up this week, thanks Patricia, so mosey on over she’s offering a refreshing nature filled post!
From the windy city that’s presently taking some unwanted, unneeded heat.
Short post this week for I’m knee-deep in school work and more…
Mosey on over to talented poet and lovely individual, Linda Baie’s blog, TeacherDance for this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks for hosting Linda! Be sure to drop by for she’s serving up some intriguing Dickens this week…
Some art for Inktober, though I’m wielding a pen year round… I may not have the bandwidth to enter ofter. Here’s a link for anyone interested in Inktober.
Talented author and poet, Matt Forrest Esenwine, over at his blog Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Matt, be sure to stop by!
Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting, & Writing 
