A Celebration of Veterans #VeteransDay #TankaTuesday #W3 #tanka #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Happy Veterans Day! Today, in America, we honor our armed forces veterans. My dad is one of them. He served in the U.S. Army for over 24 years. As it is a federal holiday, I have the day off work, so I have a bit of time to write a poem.

I'm combining two poetry challenges. The first comes from #TankaTuesday where I encouraged everyone to write a poem that celebrates our heroes. The second prompt comes from Wea've Written Weekly (W3) Prompt 237. Deanna encourages us to choose an abstract noun and write a poem that personifies it. To embrace Veterans Day, I am have chosen to personify courage. I wrote a tanka for this poem.

(my dad, many years ago)

A Celebration of Veterans

a pure, selfless love

courage prowls in the darkness

ready to defend

so others may have freedom

the ultimate sacrifice

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

#TankaTuesday

Wea've Written Weekly (W3) Prompt 237

Online Dating - #TankaTuesday #senryu #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Happy Friday! It has felt like such a long week. It's been raining nonstop over here, but today has brought the sunshine back, and I am SO happy to feel its warmth on my skin. I've got another busy weekend ahead of me, so I figured I'd try to write a poem before the crazy fun begins.

Today, I'm focusing on the #TankaTuesday poetry challenge, where Colleen invites us to write a senryu. Senryu poems have the same syllabic pattern as haikus, but they focus on love or human foibles and tend to have an element of irony in the form. They can also focus on the awkward moments in life. It can be about sexual matters, family relations, religion, politics, or anything that focuses on the emotions we experience as humans. 

I've recently opened myself up to dating again and decided to try the online dating apps. I cannot tell you how many times I've been approached by someone who wants to teach me about cryptocurrency. Lol! It's sad how many people prey on those who are honestly trying to make a connection with others, even if through an online app. Luckily, I'm too smart to fall for their schemes. So, I decided to write my senryu about that.

(image courtesy of @Sammy-Sander on Pixabay)

interested clicks

twists of a kaleidoscope

keep a guarded heart

Would you like to write a senryu? Join us here.