April’s Promise of Poetry–National Poetry Month

I love the approach of April, the year’s promise of poetry, recognized annually as National Poetry Month.

I love the approach of April, the year’s promise of poetry, recognized annually as National Poetry Month.

Mesmerizing Fuchsia * Petal-pink ballgowns drape. They dance in cool winds, <p value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">stamen toes twirl magicstamen toes twirl magic for the spellbound onlooker. * Bough bound performers leap, plié amid the garden, provide bewilderment for evil ones, enchanted guardians of home. * It is said the fuchsia protects, first springing from the blood at the base of the cross, offering blessings to each new bride. * […]

Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday, Happy Happy to my debut poetry book, Colors Collected, Poetry Inspired by the Hues of Life! One year ago, today, my chapbook of color poems released into the world. It was exciting to create a culminating take-away from the award-winning poetry series, Colors, where the book idea originally began. Colors was born after the amazing Channillo.com invited me to join their online series publication and within […]

Somehow August has arrived, with sunshine and summer in tow. It felt so far away, back in March, when isolation started. But here we are. And after a long lull in my poetry inspiration, I’m back to writing more fluently again! Last month I wrote three poems for my Wednesday Whims page, plus a couple online workshop pieces, and a few others to hopefully send out for submissions (so I […]

Happy July (even amongst the tattered reality of our season this year). It didn’t quite feel like Independence Day this time around, but I am hopeful to press on and not stop pressing until we can overcome and once again, gather together as family and friends, as humankind. I’m speaking out of isolation, out of racism, out of knee-deep misinterpretations and misunderstandings and misgivings and all kinds of hate…because underneath […]

Poem in your Pocket Day is April 30th this year, and the perfect send off to an unforgettable National Poetry Month. In some ways, perhaps more poetry was shared due to our isolation with Corona Virus. My hope, with all the sadness and anxiety, with the unfortunate souls lost to this pandemic, is that some how we manage to find reason and comfort within a string of words. This is […]

With April abloom, we are more than midway through National Poetry Month. If you have been following along with Steps In Between, you know we are reveling in this event by sharing poetry from writers all over the world. Their names are listed below, but read on for a quick bit of well-filling inspiration… POETS below in alphabetical order, their poems can be found at this link: https://stepsinbetween.com/2020/04/05/let-the-words-roam-national-poetry-month-april-2020/ Yvonne Brewer (Spring Sends […]

This year, our entire world is isolated and locked down during National Poetry Month. But I say, let the words roam! Let them “beat upon your head like silver liquid drops” (Langston Hughes, April Rain Song, 2)! Let them singe from your fingertips as you write and embrace your heart as you read. I say, fill this time of fear and instability from an enemy-virus with grace and hope and […]

Happy earliest Spring since 1896! In celebration, come join our “Community Garden” of Poetry! This year March 19th marked the Spring Equinox, and with world-wide isolation and the stuffiness of staying home, I am ready to burst into something beautiful and colorful and flowerful! In less than two weeks April arrives signaling…National Poetry Month! So, let’s celebrate with a garden of poetry from everyone in my writing community! It’s “Community […]

I am thankful for a December look-back. The first Sunday of a new month is an invitation to visit my poetry page, Wednesday Whims of Poetry. It’s that beginning of a new month where I encourage reflection from the month before…before it’s gone. Time moves like a sleepless night. It flows whether we’re caught up or ready, and tirelessly we move forward because it’s the only direction to go. But […]

June Poetry Celebration ~ Letting Words Live, by Celaine Charles The first Sunday of June welcomes with a poetry celebration. Beginning this ritual in March of 2018 has become my own monthly therapy check in. As you know, I post a new poem every Wednesday to my “Wednesday Whims of Poetry” page. What do I like about this page? It’s me. It’s raw. It’s whatever is on my mind at […]

I think November may be the shortest month in the year. I know this isn’t true technically, but for me, it feels that way mentally, emotionally, even physically. I blame the inspiration that sparks with the coming of fall. My day-job as a teacher starts up, and so of course motivation to work on all my other writing endeavors fights for attention. Busy doesn’t begin to describe… November arrives, beckoning […]

The day I dropped my first daughter off to college was the day I grew smaller. I used to be five feet-seven inches, quite an average height. Now in my forties, the doctors keep measuring me at just over five feet-six inches. Of course, they encouraged calcium supplements and I got serious about my Pilates classes (check out The Balanced Life, by Robin Long, contact below). But I know it’s […]

Happy Anniversary! It’s been exactly one year since I began posting about my writing journey in this blog, Steps in Between. I have succeeded in some of my goals, reworked a few others, and still have a handful waiting for retrieval. But what I’m most excited about… YOU! Blessings are overflowing when I think of the writing community I’ve been fortunate enough to interact with. I’ve written before about the […]

I celebrated National Poetry Month as a writer, teacher, and reader this year. What a thrilling April 2018 it has been. Between two of my own poems published in honor of this whimsical month, and my third-grade students blowing me away with their abilities for our “Poem in your Pocket” day at school, my heart was full. My poems are at the bottom, but first, I would love to share […]