listen - day 23

    

As I strive to become a better listener and to connect more with my sense of hearing, National Poetry Month 2026 finds me writing daily, handwritten, index card poems inspired by sounds and listening.. I have begun a new notebook to collect the sounds I notice throughout the month, and I will reflect on them in short poems. My ears - and my heart - are open wide. 

 

I invite you to join me in this project, on any of my projects from the past 16 years, or on a project of your very own. To do so, simply write a poem each day of April in any way you wish. Share or don't share, as you wish. Your poems are your poems. Your projects are your projects. And if you wish learn a bit more about writing poetry, I welcome you to the short lessons in the tab above: COAXING POEMS VIDEOS - 2024.

 

National Poetry Month 2026 Poems

April 1 - listening, listening

April 2 - clicking kitty

April 3 - spring morning 

April 4 - tea

April 5 - team

April 6 - from far away 

April 7 - on a day of April snows 

April 8 - breakfast

April 9 - beep beep beep 

April 10 - now

April 11 - but why?

April 12 - winter warmies

April 13 - better than a touch screen  

April 14 - swish of the brush 

April 15 - heartbeat 

April 16 - robin? sparrow? 

April 17 - a good meal 

April 18 - their notes 

April 19 - the show 

April 20 - performance

April 21 - grandfather clock 

April 22 - our maillady zooms 

 

Here is poem 23 - 

 

Students - It is funny to think about how different foods make different sounds. Milkshakes and soup and spaghetti are slurpy, potato chips and pretzels and certain cookies are crunchy. This poem celebrates the crunchiness of potato chips and also how LOUD potato chips are in my head. I thought of four different words to describe the sound of the chips (onomatopoeia), and I took the photograph with a pile of veggie chips as this is all we have in the house right now.

 

Today's poem ends with a question. Have you ever ended a piece of writing with a question? It can be an interesting way to leave a wonder hanging in the air. The wonder might be a serious wonder, or the wonder might be a bit of a silly wonder as mine is here.

To learn about many of the wonderful National Poetry Month projects happening online this April, visit the generous Jama Rattigan at Jama's Alphabet Soup. 

 

Listen to your food. What is your food telling you?

 

xo,

a. 

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Tucked Twinkie and Writing Endings

Snack Time!

Photo by Amy LV

Students - I think the idea for poem came from this week's Chevy's Super Bowl commercial. Funny how one little thing sticks in one's mind, isn't it? In the first couple of drafts of "Tucked Twinkie," the ending lines rhymed right along with the rest. But when I asked my children to read the poem aloud, each looked at me and said, "I don't get it." If someone says "I don't get it," after reading your writing, it's a sign that you need to revise.

So I did.

I went back to the Twinkie-writing-drawing-board, and I played around a bit more until I came up with this abrupt ending. And it made my daughter Georgia crack up. So I kept it. Sometimes keeping a rhyme pattern going, lulling the reader along, and then dropping her on the floor makes for a good surprise ending. Please let me know if you give this a try as I would love to read your work.

Speaking of Twinkies, Hostess has filed for Chapter 11, and so soon the Twinkies will disappear. Here are a few ways you can enjoy the last boxes that may ever exist. For the truly strange among you, consider making a Twinkie Weiner Sandwich. If you would like to make your own Twinkies, check out this recipe at Top Secret Recipes. Or if you would like to make an organic, vegan version of Twinkies, visit instructables. If you just want to deep fry some Twinkies, check out food.com to learn how. We may actually do this on Saturday, and I'll keep you posted if we do.

Perhaps you are not very interested in EATING Twinkies. In that case, you might wish to check out some science experiments involving Twinkies from npr. Or maybe you'd just like to hear opera singer Hai-Ting Chinn doing her part to help Hostess by singing all of the ingredients in a Twinkie.

Would you call this a found poem?

Teachers and grown up friends - it is time to register for Spark 15, a wonderful opportunity for artists, musicians, and writers to swap work and inspire. This will be my fourth year participating, and I encourage you to consider joining the free artistic fun! Later this year, I plan to help Amy Souza and Jamie Palmer begin a small version of Spark for Kids.

And in case you, too, thought that Twinkies will last forever...you find out their real shelf life here at Snopes.

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