#TankaTuesday #Poetry Challenge #Ekphrastic #PhotoPrompt @ColleenChesebro #Ekphrastic #poetry

Hello, beautiful readers! Life as a teacher has left me with very little time to read and write. With the new school year commencing, I'm trying to adjust my sleeping patterns as well as reorganizing my time around work and my son's busy football practices. So, if you don't see me commenting on blogs as much, please know I'm still helping to promote them on Twitter. I just need to pick and choose where to give my time. 

This week's Tanka Tuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge is an Ekphrastic prompt. Reena has provided us with a beautiful piece of her own artwork to inspire us. 

I've chosen to write a cinquain. Truthfully, I chose this form because the first word that came to me when I saw this art has two syllables in it. Lol! So, I found a form that would allow me to start with that word. I hope you like what I've drawn from her work. (Thank you, Colleen, for the title suggestion!) :-)

Chaos Tamed

chaos

unravels me

life is messy sometimes

we can choose how to handle it

now, calm

Do you want to try your hand at writing poetry? Click here! Join the fun! :-)

#TankaTuesday #Poetry Challenge #SpecificForm @ColleenChesebro #4-11poem @gmplano #change

Hello, beautiful readers! I've missed a few poetry prompts because life has been busy, but I wanted to make sure to get this one posted. Last month, Colleen Chesebro chose my poem to highlight for the Specific Form week, and then she asked me to choose a form for this month's Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge. 

I wanted to try something different, and I remembered that Colleen had asked us months ago to create new poetry forms, so I perused that site and found this amazing form by Gwen Plano! She calls it The 4-11 because it consists of eleven lines of four syllables each  with the first line repeating at the end. I'm happy I chose this form because the poetry everyone is creating is amazing! You can check it out here.

As I previously mentioned, my life has been very busy. With school about to commence, it just got busier. For those of you who don't know me yet, I am a middle school teacher with a son who plays high school football, so there is never down time. Lol!

In my neck of the palm trees ;-), this week is when teachers start preparing for school to start. At the end of last school year, my classroom started dripping water from the a/c unit in the ceiling. It still hasn't been fixed; in fact, it's gotten much worse. 

So, I am now having to move classrooms while they start working to repair it. My anxiety disorder really hates change, so yesterday was quite overwhelming for me. I'm focusing on one hour at a time and reminding myself that it's just temporary. So, as I sat looking at my new empty classroom and meditated, this is what came to me:

I embrace change

it's not easy

sometimes I cry

frustration hits

overwhelms me

I can't give up

just take a breath

pause and reflect

to grow, to thrive

I must take risks

I embrace change

I head back today with renewed positive energy, ready to make my temporary classroom feel warm and inviting, not just for my students but also for me. Wish me luck! :-)

Do you want to try your hand at a new form of poetry? Click here!

It's Time for the #RRBC 7th Annual Writers' Conference & Book Expo! #WCBE22 #writingcommunity #writers #authors #readers #writersconference

Hi, beautiful readers! It's that time of year when the Rave Reviews Book Club hosts their annual Writer's Conference & Book Expo! If you have never attended one of these conferences, you are in for a treat. Not only are there author booths to visit and win prizes, there are also raffle tickets that you can purchase to win $100 Amazon gift cards/gift baskets and games to play! 

Take your lunch break and check out what all the hype is about! While you're there, check out my author booth. Leave a comment and you just might win one of my books for free! See you around the incredible conference! :-)