Challenge Ending #aprpad 30

Spring Bouquet 2017

April Challenge

The end has come, what shall be done?

April is over, her challenge is finished

I shall miss her but not be forlorn 

- at least not for long

For May is arriving with colorful warmth

lilacs and tuliips, soft gentle breeze

new beginnings and endings

to challenge our days 

 - and bring joy

JoMae

4/30/18

#aprpad 

30. Prompt, write a poem in which something is coming to an end

A Gift of Aging #aprpad 29

A Gift of Aging

I love to catch glimpse of my dear grandmother

peekiing from the smile of our great granddaughter

playing in the kitchen 

A vantage point one cannot achieve except by

Aging

JoMae

4/29/30

#aprpad

Prompt: Write a response poem

My response to my day 2 portrait poem: At 80
      Photo by JessicaKate Miles

Grief's Wave #aprpad 28

Chef's Birthday Treat

Grief’s Wave

In grief’s drowning void

dive deep into loved hobbies

to soothe the yearning

JoMae

4/28/18

#aprpad

Prompt:  take the phrase “(blank) Wave,” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem,

My Stuff

John's Carving: Articulated Golfer

My Stuff

I have a fond relationship with stuff

every picture on the wall, each

piece of furniture, a story

Any earring, gift or not, is more than just an

earring, it’s a hug, a memory, a tale to tell

My dear stuff is an element of who I am.

One day I will have to downsize, part with much

and figure out a way to carry things by heart

or be torn up again with loss. It’s only stuff?

Each choice, each gift has formed me. The whole

embracing with an almost unnoticed hug.
Stuff, the warm familiar sea I swim in.

JoMae
4/26/18
#aprpad

John liked to whittle, design toys, games etc.  This is one he made in high school.  You pull the arm back and it hits a ball.  Notice the extra club laying along side.

Prompt: write a relationship poem.

Succulent Tangelos #aprpad 25

Succulent

I love to peel a

little juicy tangelo

for a tasty snack

JoMae

4/25/18

#aprpad

Prompt: pick an intriguing and/or seldom-used word, make it the title of your poem

Small Steps #aprpad 24

Small Steps

Spring air and a walk around the block

put a spring into my step; move me

forward on my journey to discover

who I am to be, now on my own

Small steps, slow steps, clear my foggy head steps

Small steps, slow steps bring me back to me

Warm sun and the promise of more

melt the cobwebs of the winter

invite this sedentary soul to

step out doors and breath

Small steps, slow steps, clear my foggy head steps

Small steps, slow steps bring me back to me

Catching up with friends next door

walking to the avenue for lunch

laughing over nothing in the

rain, make me whole again

Small steps, slow steps, clear my foggy head steps

Small steps, slow steps bring me back to me

JoMae

4/24/18

#aprpad

Prompt: Write a roundelay. (a short, simple song or poem with a refrain) 

Action Inaction #aprpad 23

Action / Inaction

One day of long awaited sun, just one

seventy glorious degrees.

tomorrow will be cooler

the yard calls out for raking

for working up a sweat

my book calls out for reading

while soaking in the warmth

my bones ache for the salve

of penetrating sun to soothe

away the winter, rejuvenate the joints

And so in-action wins the day!

indulgence all the way. I’ll sit here 

till that warm sun goes down

for tomorrow will be cooler!

JoMae

4/23/18

#aprpad

Weeping Willow #aprpad 22

~Weeping Willow~

My golden wheat willow is weeping today

My soulmate, my love has been taken away

New widow, forlorn, softly weeps out her sorrow

While wind furied willow whips out grief's true measure

JoMae

4/22/18
#aprpad

Danger! #aprpad 21

~Danger!~

The great danger of

procrastinating: that the

task will not be done

JoMae

4/21/18

#aprpad

Summer in the ’70s #aprpad 20

~Summer in the ’70s~

Camper and tents packed

Bike rack filled, we were off to

Hamlin’s open arms.

JoMae

4/20/18

#aprpad

Day 20 prompt:  take a line from an earlier poem
(preferably from this month) to begin your poem

Loose Thread #aprpad 19

Loose Thread

When your life has dropped a thread

and begins unraveling, a stitch is

necessary to halt the damage so
the whole is not forever lost

And if all is lost, the

errant thread reduced to

a ball of yarn, get out your

needle and create a beautiful

new you

out of that old yarn with all its

warmth and stories,  weave 

possibility and wonder knit 

with purpose and a smile

to wrap the old around

you, yet be new

JoMae

4/19/18

#aprpad

#aprpad 18 Temptation

Life is a Found Poem

Temptation

Ready to pick up a bit and make things nice for company

I am tempted to procrastinate some more because, oh

wouldn’t you know, I’ve stumbled on a pot of poetry

demanding to be read. Or listened to. Sent by a

friend. So rich. So full of texture - as are the 

poets and the poems she sent. I’m soon

lost, swimming in the wisdom of the

words. Combing through the

reveries they bring, Lost in

succumbing once again

I do confess, into

 temptation

JoMae

4/18/18

#aprpad

Life is a Found Poem
ONBEING.ORG
(Thanks, Jayne Heetderks)

April Snow Showers #aprpad 17

APRIL SNOW SHOWERS

I do love Springtime.  

The anticipation of warmth

and flowers blooming, of the

smell of lilacs wafting over me

as I sit out back and soak in hope

for long hot summer hammock days.

I do not love mid-April snow

freezing promised daffodils,

hiding the sun, prolonging

winter cold. Holding back

longed for tulips and

gardens eager to 

SPRING

JoMae

4/17/18

#aprpad

Today's 'Two for Tuesday prompt: Write a love poem. Write an anti-love poem. 

Favorite Thing - #aprpad 16

Chasing Endless Notions
(Photo by Mimi Merrick)

Favorite Thing

My favorite thing these days 

is to wake up to an open ended 

day with time and energy to chase

down notions, read and write to my

heart’s content, then fold the words,

arrange them so they can best express

my sentiment of life - or just a moment.

JoMae

4/16/18

#aprpad

Pine and Willow #aprpad Day 15

Pining For My Weeping Willow

Deep in the middle of the night as I lay seeking

sleep, I’d listen to the soaring stately pine

pillared strong outside our room,

standing, waving in the breeze

scraping at the window to

remind me he was there

dancing with the willow just next door

who wept for joy at his attention - his

whispered love sending shock waves

through her limbs. Her languid branches

sweeping the lawn with abandon, then 

reaching out for him in the wind as he

smiled back and nodded gallantly

Many years ago, my young husband sound

asleep, instead of counting sheep I’d listen

to the couple cavorting in the yard. The

elegant tall pine and whimsical willow

took on a life of magic in the night.

<><><><><>

No longer dancing together,
neither tree survived the
devastating ice storm
of 1991.

JoMae

4/15/18

#aprpad

Weather Report #aprpap Day 14

Photo: WHAM Channel 13 Weather 

Weather Report:

Mid April and I long to be out on

the porch with my coffee but

at 33º and an ice storm

on the way, I’ll have 

to wait. Just too

Cold!

JoMae

4/14/18

#aprpad

Lightening Bugs #aprpad Day 13

Photo: Wikipedia

Lightening Bugs

Fireflies speak of summer 

and by April I am eager to

see their shining bodies

blinking in the dusk

As squealing children we caught

them carefully into mason jars

earnestly hoping they would

survive to light our way 

In elder years, as twilight fell,

warm evenings found us watching

from the porch with a cool drink

engaged in quiet conversation

smiling at the beetle’s lightening

dance as they, winking, lit their way

hovering, flashing in the garden 

singing, catch me if you can!

JoMae

4/13/18

#aprpad

Lament #aprpad Day 12

Lament

The rattling of swords

the sharp edged words

the threats and counter threats

the lack of listening

the children dying

the bombs prepared

all these, Dear Godde, but

tokens of our broken world,

we bring for your repair

Please speak your Wisdom,

Beloved Word, and may we 

hear and do our small part

to help the healing of our 

Broken World

JoMae

4/12/18

#aprpad

#aprpad Warning! Day 11

Warning!

I fear I’ve come up empty on 

this eleventh day of poeming

no ink is running freely from

my fingers through the keys

Perhaps my inner spring is

frozen and will not run until

the season warms and we

move beyond the threat of

Frost

JoMae

4/11/18

#aprpad

A Good Deal! #aprpad Day 10

A Good Deal!

It was a good deal in 1963. An 

elderly woman’s fixer upper, a

great deal both as to the price

and for a young man’s love of

carpentry - of mending houses

on the weekends or after work 

A good deal for the growing family

raised there. For friendships made,

for beauty blooming from his hands

as he whistled in his workshop, or

in his garden and as he touched

the lives of all the folks he met

Another good deal in 2010 and

many others in between were

put back together, rehabbed, 

providing warm homes where

tired, broken downs had been

This man was truly a good deal!

who left behind much love

and beauty in this world

and with his passing

 is most sorely

missed.

His name is

John

JoMae

4/10/18

#aprpad

Battle Lines - Poem A Day - 9

Battle Lines

There were no battle lines

no terminal affliction

long drawn out 

Death slipped across

the boundary unseen

- unseen until too late

hidden in a cough

carried him off and

away in only a day

JoMae

4/9/18

#aprpad

Family Camping Poem Day 8

Family Camping

Every summer for many years we spent two weeks 

at Hamlin Beach Campgrounds

dad driving off to work each day

kids running free or at the rec hall

mom in the hammock with a book.

We spent our ‘real’ vacation setting

up near cities to explore - or some

exotic travel destination. Still, as

soon as school was let out, the

camper and tents all packed,

the bike rack filled, we were

off to Hamlin’s open arms.

A place we loved that over time became a part of us.

JoMae

4/8/18

#aprpad

Hot Coffee - A Poem A Day - 7

Hot Coffee

Cold hands nestling my hot mug find

warmth on this freezing April day

while the brew seeping down

spreads around my bones

soothing my whole self

easing tense muscles

knotted up against

the weather

JoMae

4/7/18

#aprpad

Dinner Time! - Poem A Day - 6

Dinner Time!

For years I put a meal onto the table

every evening for our growing gang.

While that was my responsibility

I was not an especially good cook

nor was I enamored of the kitchen.

The family joke was, when hearing his car

pull in I’d often hurry to the pantry in a panic,

remind myself of what was there and

encouraged by the warm hug approaching 

place the ingredients on the counter

as if the meal had been planned all day.

Of course he knew

He had my number

And loved me anyway

Sometimes I’d quickly put a pot of water

on to boil for the pasta or potatoes

sometimes, if there were a good driveway

story to finish listening to on the radio,

he’d walk in the door to the aroma of

onions frying or hamburg browning

for the spaghetti sauce

He knew, and loved me anyway

Sometimes the kids would query

“Is this a recipe, Mom?“

I’d paste a smile and assure them

that of course, it was my recipe.

He’d grin. He knew…

Each night we’d gather round the table

calm the boisterous and give thanks

then eat it all, washed down with lots of

chatter and laughter (or not) about our

days, along with planning for tomorrow.

Now all is quiet at that table

Instead of fixing meals

I fix a bite to eat.

Instead of chatter, visions float by

Remembering, I smile, and give thanks.

He knew me well and loved. We loved.

JoMae

4/6/18
#aprpad

Things We Know -Poem A Day 5

Things We Know

Some things we know without being taught

that birthdays are special 

that babies are small

when mother is missing

it makes one forlorn -

is cause for alarm

that sometimes

crying helps

and that birthdays in April

ought not expect snow!

JoMae

4/5/18
John's Birthday

(a cold snowy April day)

#aprpad

Case Closed - Poem A Day - 4.

Case Closed

At first one keeps looking back

desperately wishing things could change

yet knowing death is final

no turning back

no undo

The only path is forward to

try and make something of

the melded life you formed together 

now over, yet living on in you

- but who are you now

without your other half?

Gathering up the scattered pieces

of your lives, so deeply tempered by

each other, you weave what’s left

as best you can, find your new identity

and step out, smiling. Accepting.

Knowing your other half walks

with you tucked safe within

and smiling

JoMae

4/4/18

#aprpad