Snow - #FFFC #dVerse #TankaTuesday #MarianneMoore #poem #poetry #poetryconnection @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! It's been a cold several days for this South Floridian here, and I don't like it. Lol! I want the warmth of the sun back. I honestly don't know how those of you who live up north can handle the cold. 

Today, I'm combining three poetry challenges. The first is from dVerse's Poetics: New Year Snow where Kim invites us to write about snow. Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #356 provides the perfect photo for this challenge.

And the last prompt is from #TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge. Melissa invites us to mimic one of Marianne Moore's complex stanzaic patterns. I chose to follow the 1-3-9-6-8 pattern that she used in her poem "The Fish."

(image courtesy of Logan Weaver on Unsplash)

Snow

snow

falls quickly.

       unexpected guest at our campsite,

       bundled in three layers,

            hoping for better tomorrow

snow

glistens bright.

       brilliant diamonds reflections of sun

       without the vibrant heat -

            perfectly beautiful artwork

Would you like to join one of these prompts? Click the links below:

dVerse's Poetics: New Year Snow

#TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge

Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #356

Missing Road Signs - #W3 #cherity #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Today was a teacher planning day, so I was able to leave a bit early, which gave me time to dive into poetry. Yay me!

This poem was inspired by Wea've Written Weekly (W3)'s Prompt #194. Nolcha invites us to write a cherita, which is a three-verse poem that tells a story or tale. The traditional cherita has one verse of one line, one verse of two lines, and one verse of three lines. For my fictional poem, I rearranged the order so the verse lines follow a 3-2-1 order.

(image courtesy of @StockSnap on Pixabay)

Missing Road Signs

I jumped in your car without a second thought,

heart racing as we sped down love's highway,

throwing caution to the wind.

I must have missed the yield sign as we sped by

and the warning sign trying to steer me away

from your toxicity and bad driving.

Luckily, the exit sign welcomed me onto a safer, happier road.

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

Dreams of Lunch - #TankaTuesday #FFFC #dVerse #Quadrille #oxymoron #smile #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! My mother is really struggling with Shingles right now. She has several autoimmune issues, and the nerve pain from the Shingles is unbearable. Please send her healing energy and keep her in your prayers. I truly appreciate it.

I'm combining prompts again. These three just melded so easily together, which I'm happy about since it means I can participate in all of them. The first prompt is from #TankaTuesday where Robbie invites us to use an oxymoron in our syllabic poem. 

The second prompt is from dVerse. De Jackson invites us to write a Quadrille (a poem with 44 words) that focuses on the word smile (or a word with the same meaning). And the last prompt is from Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction which provided the image below.

(image courtesy of Diego Cancino on Pexels)

Dreams of Lunch

The Florida Everglades are full of wild animals. One who always captures attention is the massive crocodile who sunbathes at the marina's dock. He rests on the ramp, observing all of us.

lazy crocodile

grins at all who pass him by 

beware gentle jaws

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

#TankaTuesday

dVerse

Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction 

Midlife Crisis - #TankaTuesday #WDYS #XplorationChallenge #Puente #poem #poetry #poetrychallenge @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I hope you've had a great first full week of 2026. My son returned to his university today. While I'm sad to see him go, I'm grateful for the time we were able to spend together. I am so proud of the young man he's becoming.

For today, I'm combining three prompts. My weekdays are very busy, especially since I'm trying to go to bed early to make sure I am well rested. I still want to participate in as many prompts as I can, and these three seem to mesh well.

The first is from #TankaTuesday, where Willow invites us to write a Puente poem about new beginnings. A Puente poem has three stanzas. The first and third stanzas are separate thoughts. The second stanza contains a quote.

The second challenge comes from Reena's Xploration Challenge #412. Reena shares lines from two poems. In the poem by J.R.R. Tolkein, I found my quote.

The last challenge is Sadje's What Do You See? prompt where she shares the adorable picture below.

(image credit; Eirik Olsen @Unsplash)

Midlife Crisis

an adult life rut

hamster wheel goes round and round

mud becomes quicksand

"Still round the corner there may wait

A new road or a secret gate" ~ J.R.R. Tolkein

find your inner child

many adventures await

for those who wander

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

#TankaTuesday

Reena's Xploration Challenge #412

Sadje's What Do You See? prompt

New Beginnings - #FFFC #dVerse #HaibunMonday #haibun #epiphany #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Welcome to a new year of poetry. I'm attempting to write a haiku each day. So far, so good! I'll share some of those at the end of each month. I'm also participating in Colleen Chesebro's Japanese Micro Seasons Challenge, which will be posted at the end of the month as well.

For today, I'm combining the image from Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #354 and dVerse's Haibun Monday Challenge where Frank J. Tassone invites us to write a haibun around the idea of an epiphany. 

(photo courtesy of Cristy Birdie on Pexels)

New Beginnings

I have been out of the dating scene for many years. With my son now in college, I've decided it's time to open myself up to new possibilities. It's impossible to meet anyone naturally nowadays, so it's all about the dating apps. I know several people who have met their happily-ever-after on one of the apps, so I decided to give it a try. So far, I've learned there are a lot of men that I'm not interested in. Am I being too picky? Should I change my parameters? After days of swiping, I still haven't found what I'm looking for. And that's when it hit me! I'm not lonely. I have a fulfilling life, and I want someone to complement it, but I'm not desperate. So, I will keep searching, but I won't be settling. Never again.

heart's frigid fortress

cold eventually thaws

more room for warm hugs

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

Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #354

dVerse's Haibun Monday Challenge

My 2025 Year in Books #readinggoals #GoodReads #booksread @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Happy new year! I love how Goodreads keeps track of all the books I've read each year and even provides some stats about the books. Below is what Goodreads shared with me. My goal was to read 30 books, and I read 33. I enjoyed each of these stories and can recommend them all without hesitation. You can see my reviews here. Consider adding them to your 2026 challenge. 

I hope to do more reading in 2026, but knowing how busy my life is, I will most likely leave my goal at 30 books. I can't wait to see what great reads I discover this year. Happy reading, everyone! :-)