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.