The Hunt for True Love - #TankaTuesday #dVerse #hexastitch #prosery #poem #poetry #poetrychallenge @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Last night, my power went out for about half an hour. I cannot remember the last time we had a power outage not related to a hurricane, so it felt quite odd. I immediately grabbed my kindle to read for a bit. It helped the time pass quickly enough. Luckily, it came back on before I had to shower and go to bed. I was not looking forward to a cold shower. Lol!

Today, I am combining two poetry challenges. The first challenge is #TankaTuesday's Poetry Challenge where Colleen invites us to write a hexastich. This form of poetry has six lines with a 8-6-10-6-8-2 syllabic pattern with a rhyme scheme of axbaxb.

The second challenge is dVerse's Prosery: Toni Morrison. Mish invites us to write a prosery using the following quote from Toni Morrison: "Lips forget what they have kissed." A prosery is a piece of prose of 144 words.

As I did with my previous poetry challenge, I'm stretching the rules just a bit. I've combined the prose with the hexastitch, like a modified haibun.

(courtesy of @Bingodesigns on Pixabay)

The Hunt for True Love

I've kissed a lot of frogs in my lifetime. Recently, a friend and I went down memory lane, and I realized my memory has blurred the details of my past. Were they insignificant or did they cause such heartbreak that it is best I don't remember? Whatever the reason, I trust that my brain is taking care of me in a way the heart cannot. The heart wants to feel and clings to hope like static on freshly dried clothes. It focuses on pretty petals, ignoring the poison within until it's too late. So, I will keep searching for my imperfect prince. Hopefully, his kiss will be worth remembering.

my lips forget what they have kissed

soul needs such protection

when the heart wants love to fit like a glove

but love's a 'hit or miss'

until I kiss the perfect lips...

real love

Would you like to join in on one of these challenges? Click the links below:

#TankaTuesday's Poetry Challenge

dVerse's Prosery: Toni Morrison

False Murals - #FFFC #tanka #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Today is a holiday for me, so I'm enjoying a relaxing day at home and catching up on my 'to do' list. For this week's Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #360, Melissa provided us the image below. There was such a contrast in the background and foreground, and I felt such melancholy. So, I wrote a tanka for it.

(image courtesy of @Takashi Sakamoto)

wishful images

happy murals decorate

rundown town's falsehoods

why dream of a better life?

time will fade away the lies

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

The Immortal Changing Seasons - #XplorationChallenge #W3 #haiga #poetry #poem #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I hope you are all well. I was finally able to make it to the beach yesterday. It was a bit chilly when the sun hid behind the clouds, but it felt so great to be there again.

Today, I'm combining two prompts. Reena's Xploration Challenge #417 asks us to write a poem about immortality. W3 Prompt #198: Wea've Written Weekly asks us to write a haiga, which is a hiaku or senryu with a visual art form. Svenja encourages us to "reflect the long-awaited shift from winter to spring." I stretched the idea a bit, I know, but the seasons are immortal. They happen every year without fail (so far), and some of us enjoy one season while despising another. So, this is what I created:

(image courtesy of @ciaorioris on Pixabay)

Would you like to write a poem to one of these themes? Click the links below:

Reena's Xploration Challenge #417

W3 Prompt #198: Wea've Written Weekly

Sweet Endearment - #FFFC #TankaTuesday #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity #love @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! The weather is finally behaving appropriately in my area. It's still chilly in the mornings (50s), but it jumps up to the 70s by mid-day, so I'll take it. 

As this is Kindness Week and the week of love, I've decided to combine two prompts focused on love. The first is Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge which provides the image below. The second is #TankaTuesday's challenge where Willow invites us to write a poem using a synonym of love or passion. I've bolded and italicized my synonym.

(image courtesy of Birgith Roosipuu)

coffee made for me

sweet receipts of endearment

his little love notes

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

Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge

#TankaTuesday

One with Nature - #W3 #erasurepoem #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I hope you are all well. I spent the weekend surrounded by different friend groups, celebrating life and companionship. And then I enjoyed a great Super Bowl game and halftime show. It was wonderful watching the Hispanic culture, my heritage, be celebrated in such a beautiful way. 

My mother is receiving excellent home health care. A nurse visits twice a day, and she has access to an online medical team at all hours. There is very little improvement, but healing takes time.

Today, I chose to participate in Wea've Written Weekly's prompt. Shaun invites us to write an erasure poem. I chose to use my favorite poem, Two Roads in a Yellow Wood by Robert Frost to create my poem. I have always loved this poem, and I'm happy with the new meaning I've created with my erasure poem.

Here is the original poem:

(image taken from Poetry Foundation)

Here is my erasure:

And finally, here is my new poem, a haiku:

in a yellow wood

one traveler leads with a sigh

a wood and I - one

Would you like to write an erasure poem? Join us here.

Octopus Love - #dVerse #FFFC #simile #poem #tanka #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! We are still dealing with abnormally cold weather in Miami. It should be warming up soon but not soon enough for me. I need my beach weather back! Lol!

Today, I've combined two different prompts. The first is dVerse's Poetics: The Smile in the Simile where we are asked to include a simile in our poem. The second is Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #358, which provided the image below. I chose to write a tanka.

(image courtesy of Sigmund)

tentacle suctions

like a clingy boyfriend's arms

an iron-clad grip

holds on tight to what it wants

interests wane; he lets go

Would you like to participate in either of these challenges? Click the links below:

dVerse's Poetics: The Smile in the Simile

Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #358

Cleansing the Heart, the Home - #TankaTuesday #tanka #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Thank you for all the prayers and healing energy for my mom. She is not out of the woods yet, but she is on the mend. It is freezing cold in Miami. It was in the 30s for the past two nights. Yesterday was the worst of it. I woke up to ice on my windshield. In Miami! This is crazy! Today's temps are going from the 30s to the 60s in one day. Normally, the 60s are cold to me, but I am looking forward to it. Perspective. Lol!

I am hosting again at #TankaTuesday, and this week I proposed that we write a poem focused on cleansing. Usually, I start every new year by saging my home. The intent was there, but for one reason or another, I didn't get around to it until this past weekend. Maybe the universe knew I still had a few things to deal with in January before ridding my home of all that negative energy. 

(image courtesy of Microsoft Bing)

wisps of burning sage

all dark energy removed

purification

fresh, new beginnings welcomed

peace and harmony commence

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

January Japanese Micro Seasons Challenge - #TankaTuesday #haiku #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Colleen Chesebro at #TankaTuesday created a January 2026 challenge to encourage us to follow the Japanese micro seasons. She is also writing a haiku a day, so I decided to join her in the practice. I won't share every haiku I've written, but I will share a few in addition to the ones written for the micro seasons. Let's start with the micro seasons:

January 1-4

wheat sprouts under snow

determined to live despite

harsh circumstances

~~~~

January 5-9

in milder climates

tasty parsley flourishes

to decorate dish

~~~~

January 1-14

nebulous waters

spring's thaw weakens hardened ice

life returns again

~~~~

January 15-19

pheasants start to call

a warning that hunters come

run instead of fly

~~~~

January 20-24

butterburs bud soon

medicinal but toxic

wisely use caution

~~~~

January 25-29

ice thickens on streams

a protective barrier

for life underneath

~~~~

January 30 - February 3

hens start laying eggs

warmth of inside pens protect

precious future lives

~~~~

Here are a few of my other haikus:

a winter sunset

pastel art strokes across sky

Gaia's fave hobby

~~~~

a walk by the lake

nature in all its beauty

peaceful mindfulness

~~~~

cerulean sea

lures me in with calm waters

deceptive siren

~~~~

blue jay hops about

hidden worm stays very still

lives to see new day

~~~~

wading in water

flamingo sees reflection

among soft ripples

~~~~

marching army ants

create new trails ev'ry day

true dedication

~~~~

waves crash against rocks

steadfast barrier holds firm

angry symphony

~~~~

frigid winter laughs

my teeth chatter, bones shiver

Florida girl needs heat

I hope you enjoyed some of my January poetry. Join us in February for a month of poetry. :-)

A Betrayed Heart - #W3 #tetractys #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! It is fr-fr-fr-freezing in South Florida right now! I am not built for 30-degree weather. It's a hibernating day for me. Lol! I've never turned on the heater in my a/c, so I don't even know if it works, but I may just have to try it out today.

For this week's Wea've Written Weekly (W3) prompt, Svenja invites us to write a double tetractys, which is a 10-line poem with a syllabic pattern of 1-2-3-4-10-10-4-3-2-1. The theme is a little spicy or naughty, so I did a 'little' of both.

(image created from Microsoft Bing)

A Betrayed Heart

one

small touch

caresses

my tender heart

teasing me with false, lofty promises

but his lies unravel quickly enough

and I am left

healing my

broken

heart

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

Overcoming Grief - #TankaTuesday #grief #choka #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! It's been a bit of a rough week for me. My mother now has pneumonia, and I've been dealing horrible headaches. So, writing poetry was put on a shelf this week (except for my daily haikus, and even those have suffered...lol!). I hosted at #TankaTuesday this week, so I am going to attempt to create a poem this week.

My prompt focused on mental wellness or the lack thereof since this month is National Mental Wellness Month. I decided to write a choka, which is a nine-line poem with a syllabic pattern of 5-7-7-5-7-5-7-7-7.

(image courtesy of @JosepMonter on Pixabay)

Overcoming Grief

a broken heart mourns

haunting questions of what if

feelings of unworthiness

depression sets in ~

I let go of what once was

embrace harmony

allow past to rest in peace

rebuild confidence in self

enter my future with hope

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