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April 8, 2026

11:32 am

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Happenings, NPM, Part and Poetry


crowded table

Imagine
holidays
by Hallmark –

color-drenched
celluloid.
Realism

is crowded:
just space for…
…everyone.

There’s a song by The Highwomen called “Crowded Table” that was on my mind this morning (we’re doing a double quartet choral version sometime later this Spring, and the chorus is an incredible earworm), and it seems appropriate, as yesterday the niecelet informed the family group text that in a couple of Sundays at brunch she’ll be introducing us all to Someone Important. My little sister is buying matching hoodies with her Someone Important (they are tooth-achingly sweet), and it really does seem like in the next year or so the family will grow by two. There’s already seventeen of us for dinner when we’re all there, so… time to actually buy extra seating instead of making do with the piano bench and various office chairs.

It’s so different from when I came home from college with Himself – they’re well into their thirties and not shaky twenty-year-olds cringing in advance of the inevitable judgment. They’re giving us a chance to be part of their lives, not hat-in-hand asking for… anything, really, but their due: being treated like grown women with their own business to mind.

Vive la différence. You go, girls.

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April 7, 2026

11:14 am

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General Coolness, Musings on Extemporanea, NPM, Part and Poetry

Five Stars

Rehearsals,
Auditions –
Life holds none.

Though *nightly
curtains rise
on “Sunset.”

Unrehearsed,
The light drains
brilliantly.

Driving home the other night, the hills looked like black paper cutouts. Spring sunsets stretch longer as the light seeps more slowly. I thought “this light deserves a poem,” and though colored pencils don’t really convey the shade of peach just above the hills, I’m loving the quick scribble format of three. Though speed is not the point, this was both faster and more fun.

And yes, I wrote “daily” and meant its opposite, but them’s the breaks when you’re lettering in indelible ink. 🙄

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April 6, 2026

11:31 am

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Happenings, NPM, Part and Poetry

morning calm

insistent,
raucous song,
repeating

while light slides
slow rainbows
down siding…

loud silence
morning brings
opposites.

Today seemed a good day to try again with the original prompts brought to me by Grant Snider’s POETRY COMICS prompts. As in his first example, I looked for a window to draw… Of course, because I’m difficult, my first window is the dining room’s glass door. (And nope, I couldn’t figure out how to draw the spherical prism hanging outside, either.)

I tried to let the poem come to me, rather than chase it or impose myself upon it, keeping in mind I also was trying to both be present and not succumb to the nagging feeling that I Ought To Be Doing Something more important than writing an imperfect poem. (Laundry. Dusting. Groceries. Novel word count…)

Sunday afternoon I watched a great little video on… practicing. We’re all acquainted with the idea, and we’re really good at telling children to do so, but it’s astonishing how bad we can be at just… consistently trying as adults. For myself, a few years ago I was so relieved to have a name and a diagnoses for my spatial perception (etc. etc.) issues. Whew, it’s a learning disability, I don’t have to try anymore! Which hasn’t made my desire to be able to stitch an even seam, visually judge distances, estimate distance and time, parallel park, use a sewing machine, draw straight lines or round circles, or to do All The Things that so many others do with such thoughtless ease. I’m having to try, armed with the knowledge that I will have specific kinds of failures – plus others I don’t even know to expect. Though this is daunting, if I merely accepted my brain’s limitations, I’d stay exactly where I am – wistful. And, eventually, resentful.

Thus this month I practice being better at being in the moment and letting poems come to me. I will dismiss my self-discipline and wordplay brain and just… sit. And color. It’s both entertaining and excruciating. Contradictory – the story of my life, and probably everyone’s.

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April 3, 2026

11:33 am

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Happenings, Musings on Extemporanea, NPM, On Writing, Part and Poetry, Poetry Friday


In Service of Shadows

Tenebrae:
ritual
requires

all candles
extinguished.
Acknowledge

in darkness
this planet,
this grieving.

I’m continually fascinated by how some people – communities or individuals – can make space for grief … and how some others relentless insistence on ‘this’ being some Part Of The Plan or Lesson. Sometimes awful things like pandemics, fascists, genocide, and war happen. Who wouldn’t weep? Who hasn’t?

(It also occurred to me after the drawing was done that it might have made more sense to draw the candle in grayscale, since tenebrae means shadows… but, oh well.)

Poetry Friday is hosted today at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme. Thanks, Matt!

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April 2, 2026

10:55 am

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Happenings, Musings on Extemporanea, NPM, On Writing, Part and Poetry

mandé

mandatum
“Commandment”
in Latin.

A brick word –
Unyielding.
Requiring

Adherence,
Demanding
Charity.

Not having been raised with liturgy, I am the girl who’s always wondering, “Wait, what’s this about?” Our ensemble was asked to sing for “Maundy” Thursday. Could say MUCH MORE on the history of the medieval/traditional connection between the day and charitable behavior, but… won’t.

I hadn’t envisioned using crayons for this project, but boy are they faster. Additionally, they (and just scribbling on any old piece of paper, including old planners) help me remember the imperfection I’m meant to embrace within this practice — quick art and poetry made of and in the moment. I literally am requiring myself to let go of the rules for just a tic, scribble and post, the end. Meanwhile, this article on how art makes people healthier gently nudges me to keep going.


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April 1, 2026

1:25 pm

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Comix, General Coolness, NPM, Part and Poetry

And So It Begins

Holidays –
Holy Week,
Passover

Colliding,
Colluding,
Combining…

Liturgy
Requires
Stamina.

I can already tell that the poetry and the panels will be a challenge. I’ll need to sketch much faster with far less detail! It’s hard to wean oneself away from perfection. Additionally, for a tricube, I really only needed three panels… I don’t know what I was thinking, except somewhere in my head all comics require four panels? Anyway – onward into the marathon week of rehearsals and services and why not pick up a daily poetry and drawing practice this week as well? It makes perfect sense!🙄

P.S. – I really do have a bizarre medieval animals calendar with a crowned cat on it. @medievalistmatt – an Instagram account run by a history professor at Ohio Dominican University – is responsible, as his hilarious account is the reason I have these silly calendars… as it appears that most of the monks clearly had never been outside, much less even seen a horse, and they drew worse than I do. Anyway, happy Wednesday, happy April – and remember, you are well-loved.

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March 31, 2026

2:23 pm

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Musings on Extemporanea

NPM ’26 ♦ Sing On, O Mighty Pen

In 2007, my friend Sarah and I saw artist, author, puppet maker, and all-round personified avatar of art Yuyi Morales in San Francisco. (It was at Alma Flor Ada’s Reading the World conference, a single day event put on by the International & Multicultural Education Department of the University of San Francisco from about 1998 – 2009. It was life-changing, and I don’t say that lightly. That year we also heard from the glorious Ashley Bryan of blessed memory, and the incisive and intimidating Jane Yolen). During her talk, Artista Morales spoke about creation as an act of faith, and how her act takes belief in herself, persistence and determination. On a handout with some of her drawings, she shared her prayers to Señor Tlalocan, the Aztec god of rain, lightning, and fertility who “makes things sprout.” Her hope and determination that her creativity and her art would flourish have stuck with me, all these years later. And so I think of Sra. Yuyi today this month as I write my “O, mighty pen” project. Because, even if I feel like an imposter as a poet, my pen is mighty, and with it, my creativity has – and will – sprout.

Of course, I feel like even more of an imposter as an artist.

…and yet, I’m lifting my mighty colored pencils this month and taking on one more challenge. In 2023 as part of his classroom visits to schools, poet and illustrator Grant Snider put up a Substack called How To Make Poetry Comics. He reposted it last year, and I was intrigued. It is brilliant in its simplicity – and very direct about what poetry comics are, and are not to him. I’ve seen Grant Snider’s work and followed his Instagram for quite a while now, and I really like how he takes concepts and mulls them over in such a small space, so… thoughtfully and lyrically. Looking at his work, I’ve felt like four small squares – or three small panels – are surely not too much to fill, even for a person with a visual-spatial difficulty… right?

So, that’s this year’s project. Poetry + Art. Poetry Comics. Words and doodles.

Despite Grant Snider’s instructions, sometimes my art will be illustrating my poems instead of the other way around, but other times, I’m going to try and let the form direct the focus. To begin with, I’ll take it easy on myself, and just share a few of the tricube and haiku poems that strike me during the incredibly busy (!!!!) Easter weekend ahead, but later I’ll make sure and use all of his prompts – Four Senses, Here & Now, Horizontal/Diagonal/Vertical Movement, Zooming In/Zooming Out, Poem + Comic, Haiku – and then as I get braver, I’ll see where my pens and pencils take me from there…

O, Mighty Pen, don’t fail me now.

As always Jama-j has the full National Poetry Month in Kidlit rounded up here.

{pf: poetry peeps offer up the ovillejo}

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March 27, 2026

6:07 am

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Musings on Extemporanea, On Writing, Part and Poetry, Poetry Friday, Seven Sisters

Welcome to another Poetry Friday Adventure!


Poetry Peeps! You’re invited to our poetry challenge for the month of MARCH.

Here’s the scoop: we’re writing ekphrastic poems, which might pair beautifully with your plans for National Poetry Month (I’m attempting poetry comics). Ekphrasis is a Greek word which means “description,” and you’re invited to choose your own image from anywhere – personal pictures or otherwise. Are you in? Good! You’ll have the month to craft your creation and share it April 24th in a blog post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We hope you’ll play along!

From Process…

Greeting, Poetry Friends! If this form was a challenge to you – well, I can’t exactly say ‘mea culpa,’ but I will own that this month, this form is one I chose…possibly unwisely, since, once again, I based my choice on cleverness and appearance… Or, in other words, because, it looked easy. I mean, it had Rules! A clear Rhyme Scheme. There was Meter and Boundaries! Except for that bit about the quatrain written in trochaic tetrameter, it was even straightforward. What could possibly go wrong?

Well… the first issue was my assumptions. Spanish is a romance language, so surely this form, first popularized in Spain, was going to be a lyrical, dance-y walk in the park, no? Er… no.

The second issue was time – and just how much this form insisted on consuming… in terms of how long I spent thinking about trochaic tetrameter and remembering what that was.😂 It’s been a minute since grad school, and I can’t honestly say when last I spelunked into the cavernous depths of poetic meter. Perhaps as an undergraduate…? In any event, a quick search reminded me – of Blake’s Tyger, of the fairies and the witches speeches in Shakespeare’s Scottish play and in “A Midsummer’s Night Dream,” and of the hard syllabic pulse of Hiawatha, which Longfellow likely meant to mimic Native American drums. The skip-stumble “falling” cadence of tetrameter in lieu of the more regular pentameter might have been second nature in 16th century Spanish, which is the original language of the ovillejo, but it was afterthought enough that I decided against attempting to use it consistently, feeling that the redondilla refrain at the end was difficult enough. The final line of the quatrain wherein previous lines are recycled came with difficulty, and the Poetry Sisters discovered during the group write that if one did not give any thought to it ahead of time, it would All Go Very Badly. We all agreed on the wisdom of beginning the poems there…

…To Poetry

…so, I did. The first time. But, I admit that I’m contrary enough to have tried just writing the poem straight out – surely that’s what Cervantes did? Writing the poem straight out required a lot more piecing things together and fussing, and revising, revising, revising – but both poems had some dissonance, written from front or back. This poem was 9/10ths revision – and I’m grateful to like pieces of both, but this was not the unqualified win that I assumed. Which, given assumptions? Is my own fault. 😂

In the spirit of applying maximum rules in order to achieve some measure of success, I tried a theme-focus first. Twilight – whether civil, nautical, or astronomical – is one of those fascinating liminal periods that lend themselves well to poetry. Since our Poetry Friday hostess is already celebrating her book of the same name, I tried to lean in as much as I could to that changeable transitoriness. The other Poetry Sisters went other directions, of course. Sara’s poem leaned into answering a question. Mary Lee joined in on theme. Laura’s fierce poem is here, while Liz’s exploration is here, and Tricia’s offering is here. You’ll find Karen’s poem here, and Denise’s poem is here. Michelle K’s poem is right here, and Margaret’s ovillejo is here. Linda B’s poema is here, and Carol V’s ovillejo offering is here – and Carol L joins us here. It’s so nice to see so many participating! More Poetry Peeps may offer their own ovillejos throughout the weekend, so do pop by for the full roundup.

The next poem I tried to come to with fewer expectations. It obviously needed to be… the opposite of liminal. I wanted it to be unsubtle, blatant. High noon, no shade. I also decided to pry my grip off of the rules for this one. In spite of this, the second poem still has elements of twilight (which happens twice a day, despite many of us only acknowledging the evening one) and took a ton of revision and probably more time than I would normally give a poem that is meant to just be a challenge. …I’m still not fond of the dissonance the form created, so stubbornly, I kept polishing. Eventually I discovered that enjambment is actually a saving grace of this form, and I was able to move away from trying to make a workable rhyme scheme towards focusing on a smoother poetic arc and making more meaning. This is where I quit:

“NIGHT SONG”
for Marci Flinchum Atkins

Light slips its leash and starts to slide –
Eventide.
In slate and *mauve, dusk’s shadow grows.
Afterglow
Veils twilight, takes its light inside,
Beautified.

Day breathed its last, and night replied
A lingering note. As warm light drained,
Cool starlight rose up in refrain:
Eventide. After glows, beautified.

(Mauve here is pronounced the way I learned it – in French, so its long /o/ matches ‘stove.’ And, no, I don’t know why it matters.)

☀️MERIDIAN
Near solid, nourishing seeds, slow,
sun seeps, then glows.
Light tips. Sparks, shaken out and stirred –
The living, served.
No shade, just brightness unconfined
in “Sunshine.”

A subtle scent – soil, blade, and vine,
The warming earth and air duet
at Equinox. Its minuet
Sweeps and grows, and serves up sunshine.

Despite the second image not matching the poem (pictures of noon are …somewhat boring), this has been a fun project. An excuse to dig into snapshots from the past – that picture of Keflavik is one of my favorites – an excuse to try a new form – a good time, even when it doesn’t go as I envisioned – and an excuse to do poetry in community with my peeps and the Sisters. I’m looking forward to taking this viewpoint of the harmony between words and images into my NPM project next month. And however you plan on moving through April – in anticipation of renewal and hope, through a steady, measured practice of daily poetry, or in an exuberant exploration of simply sipping poetry from all corners, I wish you warming winds and calm skies, elegant elucidation and resonant rhymes. Happy National Poetry Month to come! Remember, you are well-loved.

©2015, David T. Macknet