Seek Happiness - #FFFC #kimo #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Today is my first day back at work. It's an optional teacher planning day, but since they pack our official planning days with meetings, today and tomorrow are my only real days to set up my classroom and prepare lesson plans before the official start of school next Thursday. 

For this week's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge, Melissa shared the photo below and asked us to let it inspire us. At first, I couldn't see anything but the giant rubber duck. Lol! Then, it dawned on me that no one else paid it any attention. I decide to write a kimo, which is a poem of three lines with a syllabication pattern of 10/7/6.

(image courtesy of Vitaly Mazur on Unsplash)

weary crowds, heads down, focused on next task

hamster wheel of exhaustion

stop and seek happiness

Would you like to write a poem about this image? Join us here.

A Walk in the Woods - #dVerse #PoetsPub #taiga #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Today is my last vacation day before I return to work, and my renovations still aren't done. Workers are supposed to come today, and I am hoping they can complete what is left to do, but I'm not getting my hopes up. They've disappointed me many times already, so I'll just wait and see.

For this week's dVerse - Poets Pub, Lillian invites us to take a walk in the woods. I am a huge nature lover. I feel most at peace when I am surrounded by nature, whether it is at the beach or in the woods. I love going camping. It allows me to completely disconnect and reset my system. So, when I saw this prompt, I knew I had to write a poem.

I decided to write a taiga, which is a picture with a tanka written on it. I took this photo on one of my camping trips. We enjoy walking and bike riding nature trails. 

Would you like to write a poem for this prompt? Join us here.

Summer Cruise - #TankaTuesday #taiga #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! For this week's #TankaTuesday challenge, Willow invites us to write a taiga, which is a haiga, but instead of writing a haiku, we write a tanka. Taiga poems are embedded on black-and-white images. I chose to use a photo I took while on my cruise this summer. I absolutely love sitting on the balcony and reading, so I focused on that moment.

vacation at sea

balcony breeze soothes my soul

invites slower pace

summer sun creates diamonds

on rolling waves as I read

Would you like to create your own taiga? Join us here.

Simplicity's Death - #WDYS #dVerse #HaibunMonday #haibun #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I finally finished revising my WIP. It has been years in the making, and I feel relieved that I kept my promise to myself to finish before school started again. As soon as the book cover is ready, I'll plan its release. I'm hoping to do a blog tour for it, so I now need to start putting together posts for that.

Today, I've chosen to combine two prompts. The first is Sadje's What Do You See? prompt. She provided us with the picture below and one other image, but this one resonated with me most. The second prompt is dVerse's Haibun Monday. Frank J Tassone is hosting, and he wants us to use the word silver within our haibun. For those not familiar with a haibun, it's a paragraph of prose and a haiku.

(image credit; Hirz Maulana @ Unsplash)

Simplicity's Death

I often wonder what life would be like if the first computer was never invented, if advanced technology never existed. Sure, some of the comforts I have become accustomed to would disappear, making tedious tasks take longer. Still, if it had never been created, I wouldn't even know what I was missing. Without technology, society would live more in the moment. Children would spend more time outdoors, making connections with neighborhood kids. Our minds would not feel the need to mass produce and multi-task, even in our sleep. Computers, the internet, AI, our phones...it's a constant demand for attention and production, and it's exhausting. Sadly, technology isn't going anywhere, but there is a silver lining: we can still choose its role in our lives.

fast-paced world consumes

butterflies oblivious

life's speed is chosen

Would you like to a poem for one of these prompts? Click the links below:

What Do You See? prompt

dVerse's Haibun Monday

Wanderer - #XplorationChallenge #tanka #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Happy August, beautiful readers! July was a very stressful month for me with all the renovations. Yesterday was probably the most stressful as I'm dealing with a dishonest contractor. I'm so close to this project being done, and I just want it finished. I go back to work next Thursday, so I'm feeling a lot of stress about whether the renovations will be completed by then. Plus, there is still so much I want to do before the teacher planning days start. I'm trying to focus on one day at a time, but it isn't always easy.

Anyway, for this week's Reena's Xploration Challenge #392, Reena invites us to focus on how one sees oneself in the future. She shares this video for inspiration. I'm nowhere near retirement, but when I think of my future, this is what I see. I've written a tanka for this challenge.

(courtesy of @Edmund_AUT at Pixabay)

vacations galore

rejuvenate my spirit

avid wanderer

emotionally at peace

excited for new journeys

Would you like to write a poem for this prompt? Join us here.

July 2025 Book Reviews #bookreview #books #amreading #readingcommunity @DLFinnAuthor @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I have been working on editing my WIP. I'm happy with the progress I've made and hope to release it before this year is over. I tried to separate time to read this month, but with all the home renovations, I haven't really had time to relax and read. Here is the one book I managed to finish this month, and it was a great one. All the reviews I share are for books I've rated with four or five stars.

Gratitude & No Fairy Tale (Just Her Poetry, Book Three)

by D.L. Finn

Genre: Motivational & Inspirational Poetry eBooks

Pages: 171

Book Blurb:

Explore D. L. Finn’s poetic journey, from her newest to earliest works. Part One immerses you in a combination of her photography and symbolic poems. Peaceful winter days, forests, and sunsets illuminate her search for the magic of life. Part Two retraces her journey from her first poems. Her life is revealed through free verse poems and photographs that were featured in her memoir, No Fairy Tale. She discovers gratitude on her path to happiness. Join her as she explores her reality through emotions and nature in this special collection.

My Review:

This was another wonderful collection of poetry. I have been blessed to own one of the calendars that this author creates from photos she has taken and poetry she has written. The first section of this book included many photos and haiku, each brilliantly combined. She also includes freestyle poetry on many different topics. Some of my favorites were "Beautiful," "Trees," "Ice Beauty," "Rain," "The Door," and "Fear." The imagery is beautiful and her words evoke so many emotions. If you love reading poetry, you will definitely enjoy this book.

Have you read any great books this month? I'd love to hear from you. :-)

A Gnome Donsy- #W3 #dVerse #Quadrille #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I saw a bit of progress on my kitchen today, just not as much as I was hoping for. The electrical outlets are complete, but the plumber didn't show. The cabinet guy came but only installed a few drawers. He'll be back on Saturday. I go back to work next Thursday, so I'm just hoping it's all done before then.

I've decided to combine two prompts today. The first is Wea've Written Weekly (W3). Dennis shares the photo below and invites us to write a poem in twenty lines or fewer about what we imagine is happening. We also must use the word donsy in our poem. It means group or gathering. It also must have some kind of pattern or structure, so I added a rhyming pattern.

The second prompt is from dVerse's Quadrille #228. Mish asks us to write a quadrille using a version of the word fish in it. For those who are unfamiliar, a quadrille must have exactly 44 words. 

(photo credit: Victoria Baker, Donnybrook Visitor Centre)

A Gnome Donsy

they gather every summer

eagerly awaiting their creator

children selfishly search for shade

newer gnomes make friends and play in the glade

the elderly happily reconnect with friends

to gossip about the new garden trends

and reunite with ale

under summer solstice's magical veil

Would you like to write a poem for either of these prompts? Click the link below:

Wea've Written Weekly (W3)

dVerse's Quadrille #228

Angry Mom - #TankaTuesday #seox #metaphor #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! For this week's #TankaTuesday, Robbie invites us to write an implied metaphor within our poem. She explains that an implied metaphor is when a word/phrase is connected to an object/action though it is not literally applicable. I've decided to write a seox, which is a poem with a syllabic pattern of 3-7-6-5-4-3. I've bolded and italicized my metaphors.

(courtesy of @JuliusH on Pixabay)

angry mom

child nothing but punching bag

her words cut to the bone

never a kind word

loveless childhood

bleak future

Would you like to write a poem for this theme? Join us here.

A #Haiga - #FFFC #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! For this week's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge, Melissa shares the photo below and asks us to use it for inspiration. I decided to create a haiga, which is a combination of visual art with a haiku.

(image courtesy of Peter Thomas)

Would you like to write something inspired by this photo? Join us here.

Generationally Defunct - #WDYS #tanka #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! For today's What Do You See? prompt, Sadje shares two pictures with us and invites us to use them as inspiration. I chose the image below and wrote a tanka to go with it. My sister and I have been talking about generational wealth and the importance of setting up our children and their children for a stronger financial life. I guess my mind connected that with the picture...sort of. Lol!

(image credit; Christian Crocker @ Unsplash)

Generationally Defunct

seeking ancestors

mysterious heritage

new revelations

descendants of kings and queens

money, power died with them

Would you like to write a poem for this prompt? Join us here.