For National Poetry Month, The Academy of American Poets www.poets.org celebrates with a National Poem in Your Pocket Day. This year it’s Thursday, April 21^st. The idea is to clip a poem, put it in your purse or pocket and share it with others at the grocery, library, or coffee shop!

My friend and artist, Howard Hardt, sent me the poem I shared last week, “Thorns In My Roses” attached to one of his original photos. It was so lovely, I’m reposting it, along with a couple other original poems.

Hope your taking advantage of your inner bard and jotting down a few of your own.

Poetic Injustice

On My Way

Brown spots step along the veins,
blue streaks on withered hands.

Daffodils fall from my grasp
float in the muddy river.

Brown spots step along the veins,
Once long fingers, knarred and bent.

Yellow dots bobbing, wave bye
on their way to the sea.

It’s National Poetry Month. I’m celebrating the occasion this week by posting several original poems. Hope these simple offerings inspire you to pick up your pen.

For more encouragement sign up for a prompt everyday from Robert Lee Brewer – Poetics Aside Blog – http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides

This first poem, I had to reach back to my old laptop and 1997…

Thorns in My Roses

God waits for no mom
And neither do children.

Evolving sleepless bundles
Scream reality,

While smiling dreamers
Lullaby serenity.

A Tigger bounce
From suckers to sex.

Winds change like clothes
Scattered on the bathroom floor.

Time lapse photography
Grows the budding rose.

Fast forward metamorphose
Unfurls God’s creation.

Cold Front 

May winds whip the Sycamore.
“No,” the tree shakes back and forth.
Large hand-sized leaves slap the North wind.
Twisting and hissing,
“It’s too late for a cold front.”

Gray dawn illuminates my page.
Chill spinning round bare ankles
despondency drips from my pen.
The normal arid Austin sun
obscured by Mother Nature’s joke.

“Not funny.” The cactus lay broken,
prickly pear spilled crying on the ground.
Knock-out roses bleed sympathy,
peddles rain red across the lawn.
Spring tears unsprung blur the glass.

Tomorrow 

knotted green shoots

burst yellow dessert smiles and

birds call morning – another day.

April is National Poetry Month!

To honor the event I’m posting a poem a week for the month of April.

Check out www.poets.org and have some fun.

The Laugh

Something was said.

Something funny.

I heard her laugh,

so clear the sound.

Mom? I turned to look,

that laugh—its ME.

That was funny.

I still recall

that laugh I heard.

A memory sweet

I turned to look, but

she’s been gone ten years.