Poetry Friday–Good morning Haikus

Happy Poetry Friday & Happy June!

Take a morning peek into my garden…

good morning
rose bud bursts—your spirit’s
contagious!
© 2023 Michelle Kogan, draft

good morning
morning glories—you lift
away all worries
© 2023 Michelle Kogan, draft

good morning
jacob’s ladder, your petals
wisp like fairy wings.
© 2023 Michelle Kogan, draft

good morning
false indigo—how
delicate you glow…
© 2023 Michelle Kogan, draft

Tricia Stohr-Hunt at her blog, The Miss Rumphius Effect is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Tricia, be sure to stop by.

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Poetry Friday–Ghazal Challenge

Happy Poetry Friday

Bearded Iris and buds, © 2023 Michelle Kogan

We were invited to try on a Ghazal Poem form for the month of May, by the Poetry Sisters. Thanks to all the Sister’s for this stretching challenge,  Laura,  Tanita,  Mary Lee,  Liz,  Kelly,  Tricia,  Sara, and Andi.  Find more of these poems tagged with #PoetryPals. I have written at least one other Ghazal maybe two at the most–they’re a good challenge, and unfortunately I had only a wee bit of time… Here’s my very drafty Ghazal.

RELATIONSHIPS–STAGNATE OR CHANGE

Countries advance but stagger emotionally,
Equilibrium sandbagger short on balance.

Familial cries breakthrough and arise hope,
Best keep those hopes in low-key, wee-size balance.

Earth’s stewardship struggles with each breath
Hurry wake world stupor-troubles or lose all earth’s balance…

Bearded Iris wouldn’t budge her forgone-fudged bloom
though transplanted into sun she shines with beauty in balance.

Hey time, won’t you s-l-o-o-o-w down a bit…
Let folks like Michelle unfurl their whirl and center their balance.

© Michelle Kogan, draft

Here’s some music to remember Tina Turner, thanks for all you gave us!

Patricia J. Franz at her blog Reverie is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Patricia,—She’s celebrating Cento’s be sure to stop by!

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Poetry Friday-May Earthiness…

Robin in garden by bleeding hearts, © 2023 Michelle Kogan

Happy Poetry Friday!

I’m in with a wee short post, as I’m still helping my mom pack, 6 days left before the move…

robin, catbird
earth tilled joy— poke, prod—um, yum
garden solace pride.

©2023 Michelle Kogan, draft

Janice Scully at her blog Salt City Verse is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup this week, thanks Janice. She’s sharing the wonders of storms… be sure to stop by!

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Poetry Friday–Mother’s Day

Detail: Spring Milkweed, WIP, ©2023 Michelle Kogan, Oil on linen.

Happy Poetry Friday and Happy Mother’s Day!

Still busy and filled-to-the-gills, so popping in with a 4 x 4 poem and brief Mother’s Day post for all feathered and unfeathered Mom’s all around…

FEATHERED MAMA’S

Flutter–fly–by
Omnipresent
On ground and sky.
Cooing crooning

Bath ker-splashing
Flutter–fly–by.
They mostly care
For young nearby.

Rear another,
Will they stay or 
Flutter–fly–by?
Perhaps they’ll try…

With space they may
Even let you
Watch… Before they
Flutter–fly–by…

© 2023 Michelle Kogan, draft

Robyn Hood Black at her blog Life on the Deckle Edge is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Robyn, I’m looking forward to your post!

Cabbage White, Ladybug, and Tulips, ©2020, Michelle Kogan, pen and ink and watercolor.

Ah, to be lollygagging away in May…

Wishing all a Happy Mother’s Day whatever you may be up to…
My mom and I will be together–packing.
Cheerio to all!

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Poetry Friday–Welcome May & New Card

Happy Poetry Friday & Happy May!

MAY GRATITUDE & MARVELS

Gazing up
through my 
window
pillowous clouds
merge into 

shape-shifting form…
Patches of 
light washed 
cerulean blue sky
excite me with
goose-bumpy 

wonder… And
spring’s young 
greengold leaves 
and ochreish 
dingle-dangle 
seedlings 
tempt my longing 

for warm filled days 
warmer embrace, 
as they gently 
wrap around us
and steady 
our pace

© 2023 Michelle Kogan,  draft

May Flower, public domain Wikimedia.

MAY-FLOWER
by Emily Dickinson

Pink, small, and punctual,
Aromatic, low,
Covert in April,
Candid in May,

Dear to the moss,
Known by the knoll,
Next to the robin
In every human soul.

Bold little beauty,
Bedecked with thee,
Nature forswears
Antiquity.

Just added this Spring Card to my Online Etsy Shop…

Asclepias and Bees in May (Milkweed), ©2023 Michelle Kogan, watercolor and watercolor pencil.

To all my Poetry Friday friends, apologies for missing so many posts recently I’ve been helping my mom looking for an apartment, preparing to move, selling her condo, and her moving date is coming up in May, hooray–one big part accomplished! Looking forward to a wee bit more time in June…

My friend and poet Linda Baie at her blog Teacher Dance is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Linda! I’m looking forward to her post, be sure to stop by!

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2023 Progressive Poem Finale!

“Write me a story that ends with sudden clarity.” Mary Lee suggested… As we began our 2023 Progressive Poem. So here we are at the closing of National Poetry Month and the closing of our Progressive Poem, that originated a wee bit back by Irene Latham and then picked up by Margaret Simon, many appreciations to you both!

Our few rules include:
–Composing a poem written for children
–Keeping the day-before-poet’s line intact, and only making changes with their permission

Here’s our poem from start to fini, with my ending line!
Though we need a title…

Suddenly everything fell into place
like raindrops hitting soil and sinking in.

When morning first poked me, I’d wished it away
my mind in the mist, muddled, confused.

Was this a dream or reality, rousing my response?
The sun surged, urging me to join in its rising,

Rising like a crystal ball reflecting on morning dew.
I jumped out of bed, ready to explore the day.

My feet pull me outside and into the garden
Where lilies and bees weave…but wait! What’s that?

A bevy of bunnies jart and dart and play in the clover.
A dog barks and flash, the bunderstorm is over.

I breathe-brave, quiet. Like a seed,
as the day, foretold in my dream, ventured upon me.

Sunbeams guided me to the gate overgrown with wisteria
where I spotted the note tied to the gate.

As I reached the gnarled gate, pollen floated like fairy dust into my face. Aaah Choo!
Enter, if you must. We’ve been waiting for you.

Not giving the curious note a thought, I pushed the gate open and ran through.
Stopped in my tracks, eyes wide in awe—can this really be true?

Huge mushrooms for tables, vines twined into chairs,
A flutter of fairies filled flowery teawares 

With glazed nut cakes and apple blossom tea,
I heard soft whispers from behind a tree. Oh my! They had been “waiting for me!”

Still brave, but cautious, I waited for them.
Forested friends filled the glade. “You’ve arrived! Let the reverie begin!”

I laughed as my bare feet danced across the dew-soaked grass,
matching the beat of paws, claws, and wings—around me, above me.

Tea cakes and hugs, twice all around, then silly games and races ’til the sun slid down,
Moon shared a warm wink, and showered moon-seeds over earth’s precious ground.

Dear Moon with Showering Moon Seeds…© Michelle Kogan, brush pen and watercolor.


And here are the 2023 Progressive Poem, participants and their blogs:

April 1 Mary Lee Hahn, Another Year of Reading
April 2 Heidi Mordhorst, My Juicy Little Universe
April 3 Tabatha, The Opposite of Indifference
April 4 Buffy Silverman
April 5 Rose Cappelli, Imagine the Possibilities
April 6 Donna Smith, Mainely Write
April 7 Margaret Simon, Reflections on the Teche
April 8 Leigh Anne, A Day in the Life
April 9 Linda Mitchell, A Word Edgewise
April 10 Denise Krebs, Dare to Care
April 11 Emma Roller, Penguins and Poems
April 12 Dave Roller, Leap Of Dave
April 13 Irene Latham Live You Poem
April 14 Janice Scully, Salt City Verse
April 15 Jone Rush MacCulloch
April 16 Linda Baie, TeacherDance
April 17 Carol Varsalona, Beyond Literacy Link
April 18 Marcie Atkins
April 19 Carol Labuzzetta at The Apples in My Orchard 
April 20 Cathy Hutter, Poeturescapes
April 21 Sarah Grace Tuttle,  Sarah Grace Tuttle’s Blog,
April 22 Marilyn Garcia
April 23 Catherine,  Reading to the Core
April 24 Janet Fagal, hosted by Tabatha, The Opposite of Indifference
April 25 Ruth, There is no Such Thing as a God-Forsaken Town
April 26 Patricia J. Franz, Reverie
April 27 Theresa Gaughan, Theresa’s Teaching Tidbits
April 28 Karin Fisher-Golton, Still in Awe Blog
April 29 Karen Eastlund, Karen’s Got a Blog
April 30 Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting, and Writing

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Poetry Friday–#PocketPoem & Pablo Neruda Challenge

Happy Poetry Friday

& Happy National Poetry Month!

I’m sharing my poem from Thursday’s Poem in Your Pocket Day, and my DIY process for it. I folded my poem into a kinda flower to keep it safe in my pocket, here’s my process…

Fold in half vertically, unfold
Fold in half horizontally
Grab center and fold in like a pinwheel
Fold triangle flaps over, towards eachother
Fold last triangle on top on top of similar size triangle

All folded and ready for my pocket
Partially folded
Partially opened flower

I also attempted the Poetry Sister’s April Poem Prompt which was to write a poem in the style of Pablo Neruda—A tall order for a very full month… Thanks to all the Poetry Sister’s for this daring challenge, Laura,  Tanita,  Mary Lee,  Liz,  Kelly,  Tricia,  Sara, and Andi.  Find more of these poems tagged with #PoetryPals.

I’ve been studying Pablo Neruda’s poem OPEN SEA, and have the beginnings of a poem I hope in his style… He’s quite a mentor to study from.

SACRED EARTH

A call so deep in me, of floods, and droughts,
The Earth sends me her signs to coax her cause
Shall I accept her plotting pleas of
Strength,

Years of alert and anguish soiled imprint—
A nature liken deity, O Earth,
Neglect transfers decade’s untold abuse,
While wisdom dives too deep beneath Earth’s soil.

Caught in a moment before all unknowns,
When poisons start to penetrate around…
The crumbled soil that every sole does see
Trapped by the glove of poli-power–Ow.
Too full, too fast, slow down, reign in these blows
The swirl of plagues blind peeps and masses too
What hour, what day, awake where have we come
Disaster strikes with death all seasons round
Lost Habitat,
Lost old growth forest faugh…

The tramped on, moves upward,
Transplants love-compost by worm-tunnel-ways and human-thumb
tips,
A loam of fragrance lifts off ground, 
Seed-sprouts soil-fueled, poke through

© 2023 Michelle Kogan, draft

To be continued… at least for a few more lines…

Looking forward to May, though I have no idea where April scurried off to…

And a friendly reminder Mom’s Day is upon us, here’s a few selections of cards from my online Etsy Shop.

Geranium and Big Bee Mother’s Day Card

Azalea Mother’s Day Card

Lavender and Geranium Mother’s Day Cards

Sunday I will be hosting the last and final line to the Progressive Poem so come on by.

Ruth Bowen Hersey at her blog There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Ruth! Ruth’s inviting us to “pull up a chair and sit a while.” But remember she’s in Uganda and they are seven hours ahead of US eastern time so, perhaps bring along a book and read a spell till she joins us…

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Poetry Friday- Earth Day & Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly

Hine’s Emerald Dragon Fly Concrete Poem, © 2023 Michelle Kogan, brush pen and watercolor.

Happy Poetry Friday, Happy Earth Day, and Happy Poetry Month!

HELP US!

Look into my Hine’s Emerald dragonfly compound eyes and
discover our gem-like history… Pooled within our 360 degree vision you’ll find
we’ve been here since the Triassic and Jurassic times, that’s about 252 million years ago.
In our prehistoric period our wing span was a wowing 29 inches. But, today we are…
ENDANGERED!
FLY OVER TO MY WINGS AND FIND OUT WHY…

Our 2 pair of membranous wings won’t shield us from our habitat destruction, pollution, and quality water we require. We’re only found in 4 U.S. states–Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Our ideal habitat has “calcium rich, spring-fed marshes and sedge meadows.” Here us males fly around and defend our breeding area–while our females find shallow water for egg-laying. Our hatchlings are called nymphs and have gills–so they can live in water, which they stay in for 2-4 years. There they shed their skin and molt many times, and eat insects till they’re adults. When we’re adults our wings are over 3 inches long–We live for 1 month, mate and start our lifecycle all over again…

© 2023 Michelle Kogan, draft

I’m running a wee bit short on time, so… I may not have time to make the Poetry Friday rounds this week. I’m in the midsts of finishing up a material list for my Summer Plein Air Class at the Chicago Art Institute…

Karen Edmisten at her blog *The Blog With the Shockingly Clever Title, is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Karen, be sure to stop by!

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Poetry Friday—Sky Nesting and Thanks!

Cooper’s hawk pair, Michelle Kogan, © 2023

Happy Poetry Friday, Happy Poetry Month, and Happy Sky Nestings

SPRING RITUAL

Birds are building nests everywhere…
Sparrows, Robins, Cardinals, and
high above a pair of Cooper’s Hawks
contemplate their next move…

Female Cooper’s Hawk in Nest, © Michelle Kogan, 8-12-23

Eh eh commence

spring nest building
look up into
bare branches for our
brood’s beginnings.

Hop on top–Eh
fly up sail down
try again and
fly off for now–

Perceptive eyes
can you capture
our nest up high
watch, hatch, surprise.

Patience rewards
wonder-filled weeks
small heads rising
cycle complete!

© 2023 Michelle Kogan, draft

In between all this nest building I was doing a little gardening and…
my foot took a turn the wrong way while carrying a big bag of mulch–ouch. I had thought about using our wheel barrel, but too late. I’ve got a lovely black boot for a couple of weeks while my sprained cuboid bone takes a breather and heals up, ah forethought… Now I can take in the bit of flowers that are coming up, and the rest of the leaves will have to wait…

Hope it’s okay I’m sharing a couple of lovely Poetry Month postcards, thanks Linda Mitchell and Irene Latham! And some thank you poems below from me to each of you!

This card is from Irene and the beautiful art created by Melanie Mikecz.

hippo happiness
holds birdie delight–breathe in
at calm school crossroads…

© Michelle Kogan, draft

These two lovely, layered, collage cards are from Linda Mitchell.

penning poet’s
twinkle with star-words morning,
noon, and into night.

©2023 Michelle Kogan, draft

Jone Rush MacCulloch is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at her blog by the same name, thanks Jone! For #National Poetry Month, in addition to offering us interviews, she’s also sharing wonderful poem videos made by her ‘graduate students enrolled in a “Poetry for Children and Young Adults” course at Texas Woman’s University,’ be sure to stop by!

Here again is my #ClimatePoemProject where students, educators, and all are challenged to write an Endangered Pollinator poem . I’m participating in this activity for National Poetry Month, and the #ClimatePoemProject is organized this year by Laura Shovan, thanks Laura! Hope to see some poem responses percolate up on my post…

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Poetry Friday–Passover & Poet Adah Isaacs Menken

Hyacinths Opening, WIP, © 2023 Michelle Kogan, pen and ink and watercolor en plein air.

Happy Poetry Friday! Happy National Poetry Month! Happy Passover!

I gave myself a tall order in this short poem… to spin out the Passover story in a short etheree.

PASSOVER PRAYER-STORY

Green
grows out
of earth, thoughts
ponder rebirth,
renewal. Though thoughts
recall enslavement, plagues,
Israelites’s doors passed-over,
released, exodus. Yet still chased–
trapped—But sea has get-away path. Live,
Celebrate Passover with gratitude!

© 2023 Michelle Kogan, draft

Adah Isaacs Menken, as French Spy, from wikimedia.

Hunting for some new poems I found the poet, artist, actress, and writer Adah Isaacs Menken. She’s originally from New Orleans and has quite an interesting, unfortunately short life story, read more about her here.

ASPIRATION
by Adah Isaacs Menken

Poor, impious Soul! that fixes its high hopes
    In the dim distance, on a throne of clouds,
And from the morning’s mist would make the ropes
    To draw it up amid acclaim of crowds—
Beware! That soaring path is lined with shrouds;
    And he who braves it, though of sturdy breath,
May meet, half way, the avalanche and death!

O poor young Soul!—whose year-devouring glance
    Fixes in ecstasy upon a star,
Whose feverish brilliance looks a part of earth,
    Yet quivers where the feet of angels are,
And seems the future crown in realms afar—
    Beware! A spark thou art, and dost but see
Thine own reflection in Eternity!

This poem is in the public domain

INFELIX
by Adah Isaacs Menken

Where is the promise of my years;
    Once written on my brow?
Ere errors, agonies and fears
Brought with them all that speaks in tears,
Ere I had sunk beneath my peers;
    Where sleeps that promise now?

Naught lingers to redeem those hours,
    Still, still to memory sweet!
The flowers that bloomed in sunny bowers
Are withered all; and Evil towers
Supreme above her sister powers
    Of Sorrow and Deceit.

Read the rest of the poem here.

Mosey on over to Margaret Simon’s blog Reflections on the Teche, for she’s hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Margaret! In addition to hosting, she has a bevy of poetry activities there including the #Progressive Poem’s next line, and her writing group, The Inkling’s next challenge. Be sure to stop by and ponder on many more poems!

If you didn’t get to stop by, here’s my #ClimatePoemProject where students, educators, and all are challenged to write an Endangered Pollinator poem . I’m participating in this activity for National Poetry Month, and the #ClimatePoemProject is organized this year by Laura Shovan, thanks Laura!

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