Tag: poetry

Queen of the Night & Vision Plan

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Queen of the Night

Hello dear Poet Voice readers,

I suppose you may be thinking that Poet Voice indulged in a rather long sabattical after we buttoned up April 2025 Poem-a-day challenge. Though I haven’t been totally resting on my laurels, I have taken a bit of a break from blogging—longer than I had really intended! I haven’t given up my creative life, however, and even wrote some short verses, one that I have shared with you now, “Queen of the Night.” Of course, I was flower-dedicated and watched the night long blooming of the Epiphyllum oxypetalum or commonly called “Queen of the Night.”

Remember that Vision Plan we started two years ago? With the Mercury Retrograde return, it seems appropriate to revisit our Vision Plans.

Now, as we are nearing that cross quarter point between summer and fall, often called Lammas (in the northern/western hemisphere of the US), there is still plenty of hot weather throughout many parts of the world. I don’t know about you, but climate change is never far from my mind!  Despite the heat, however, we can focus on our creativity if we are one of those folks lucky enough to dodge the heat inside an air conditioned home. So, let’s return to our Vision Plan!  Also, may I ask that you focus on world peace and kindness every day, so our collective energy can manifest them in our own lives and beyond.

Thank you! And, before we wrap-up July and spin around August, let us take time to check the short-term goals we set for ourselves some time ago in our personal Vision Plans. We are still experiencing Mercury Retrograde throughout the middle of August, so it is a good time to **revisit** our plans.

To refresh our memories, below is a quick review and step-by-step process of creating a Vision Plan:

Step 1: Write your vision statement. Your vision statement is futuristic and should inspire you. Mine is only three sentences long and I’ve written it in gold ink at the top of a new page in my journal.

Step 2: Next, write your mission statement which differs from but grows out of your vision statement. There are many resources on this process of writing a mission statement (search Strategic Plan) but think simply. What is it you do or want to do everyday? Focus on the present. Keep it brief.

Step 3: Now, short term goals that fit within your vision and your mission. I settled on five, but worked through several pages of writing to see the difference in the goals and the tasks it would take to accomplish them. You could focus on three, or more if you are energetic, but I suggest no more than seven. Can some of the short term goals be moved to long term goals, for example?

Step 4: The details, the tasks, the baby steps! What tasks will be needed to meet these goals? (You can break up tasks to smaller baby steps, too.)

Step 5:  Create a timeline and in January 2026, review and revise for the new year!

Now that  you have carved out the details of your Vision Plan, enjoy the full moon in Aquarius (which is also Lunar Lammas).  Collaborate and network while the moon is full in Aquarius.  And always, always, celebrate the fullness and beauty of the full moon and your own accomplishments coming to fruition over time, not unlike the Queen of the Night! 

            And remember to celebrate your vision plan for the creativity in your life!

Nothing New Under the Sun (Day 30)

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An early rendition of “Deep Purple” –
ca. 1939

For Day 30 PAD 2025, the final day of poem-a-day challenge, Maureen challenge us to “write a poem that also describes different times in which we have heard the same band or piece of music across our lifetimes.” (NaPoWriMo.net)

It was a difficult poem to write for many reasons, but here it is, a poem dedicated to my mother whose birthday is tomorrow.

Joy for What I Learned

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The prompt from NapoWriMo for Day 22 took me back to a time when I learned to play the flute.

Having come from a rural one-room schoolhouse with few resources and moving to a small town highschool as a 7th grader, I arrived without any musical background. The kids at the “city” school started music in 5th grade, so my band director (if only I remembered his name) was kind enough to try to bring me up to speed along with another student who learned the French Horn! That band director surely has received his reward in heaven!

Poet with Flute Serenading the Moon

In any case, below is the prompt and my poem for Day 22 of the poem-a-day challenge, “Joy for What I Learned.”

Also, I highly recommend you read Diane Wakoski’s poem that is embedded within the prompt, too.  It is lovely!

Prompt: “In her poem, Thanking My Mother for Piano Lessons, Diane Wakoski is far more grateful than I ever managed to be, describing the act of playing as a “relief” from loneliness and worry, and as enlarging her life with something beautiful. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem about something you’ve done – whether it’s music lessons, or playing soccer, crocheting, or fishing, or learning how to change a tire – that gave you a similar kind of satisfaction, and perhaps still does.”

Joy for What I Learned

In gratitude for having learned to play the notes on this silver

miracle, a tube with keys & springs & holes—a flute.   

My notes carry on the wind, reach the wren & chickadee who join

in when I play my tunes.  Pastoral silver sound travels far to

neighbors ‘round & curious avians who dip and flutter. When my

lips pull embouchure & fingers tap the keys just right, trills like

crystal ring the air.  Up and down the scales, a half century or

more, still bringing joy to me and the birds above. When my breath &

fingers bring to life the anthem of Ukraine, I send sound waves on

prayers across the seas to the other side of the world.

                        Jacquelyn Markham ©2025 (April 22)

You can listen to the Ukrainian anthem and download the flute sheet music (courtesy of flutetunes.com)

And below, a moving rendition of the Ukrainian National Anthem by students at Berklee College of Music.

Those Lonesome Fishing Boats

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Day 16, Poem-a-Day Challenge (a poem after Blue Bayou)

Here’s the prompt: Today’s prompt asks us to “imagine music in the context of a place, but more along the lines of a soundtrack laid on top of the location, rather than just natural sounds. Today, try writing a poem that similarly imposes a particular song on a place. Describe the interaction between the place and the music using references to a plant and, if possible, incorporate a quotation – bonus points for using a piece of everyday, overheard language.”

You can visit Napowrimo, Day 16, to learn more details. Meanwhile, here’s my poem, under the wire on Day 16 of the poem-a-day challenge for National Poetry Month, 2025!

Lime Lake, Michigan

Those Lonesome Fishing Boats

after Blue Bayou

On the green Lime Lake

where the lonesome fishing boats

slap the long low dock

while the clear waves wash

the flat grey stones. I’m pining

for a boy back home, carve initials

in the white birch trunk to

keep that southern boy of mine

in my heart near the limestone lake.

The clear spring lake, where my grandpa

built in his overalls and my grandma

dreamed in her pillbox hat &

I was lonesome all of the time

‘cause I left my baby behind.

White birch bark curled into delicate boats

like the Natives’ boats, when they

waited to get back home, a canoe

filled with fish, silver in the sun.

They were lonesome all of the time.

Shallow green, quiet waves,

rustling trees, sandy bottom rises

with our steps and fishing boats

slap against the long dock

in a rhythm with the voices

of my family in the distance, and

the smell of campfire smoke.

I’m going back some day

come what may to

the memories of the clear

Lime Lake and the White Birch bark

where I carved my baby’s name

since I left my baby behind.

Birch bark grown, covers over

my baby’s name now. Oh, some

sweet day, gonna take away

this hurting inside.

I’m going back some day

to the green Lime Lake.

Jacquelyn Markham ©4/16/2025

Image courtesy of pixy.org

Thank you for visiting Poet Voice @jacquelynmarkham.com

Where Trains Go

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Like a train a track that stretches ahead, the days blur by and we are now on Day 9 of the April poem-a-day challenge, chugging away toward the middle of the month. Below is the optional prompt from Maureen at the NaPoWriMo poetry site. This prompt is all about Rhyme & Sound which brought to my mind, a train ride.

“And here’s our optional prompt for the day. Like music, poetry offers us a way to play with and experience sound. This can be through meter, rhyme, varying line lengths, assonance, alliteration, and other techniques that call attention not just to the meaning of words, but the way they echo and resonate against each other. For a look at some of these sound devices in action, read Robert Hillyer’s poem, Fog. It uses both rhyme and uneven line lengths to create a slow, off-kilter rhythm that heightens the poem’s overall ominousness. Today we’d like to challenge you to try writing a poem of your own that uses rhyme, but without adhering to specific line lengths. For extra credit, reference a very specific sound, like the buoy in Hillyer’s poem.” Maureen Thorson

Thank you for visiting Poet Voice!

Jacquelyn ~

Cinnamon

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Kind of light and fun for a sixth day of the Poem-a-day challenge. How are you doing out there poets and writers and appreciaters of art?

Cinnamon

A dash of this spice

in my coffee, cream makes it

oh so golden

with a tingle of chai

but if it’s too heavy

it could make me wheeze

and if it’s too light

just a pinch makes me sneeze.

Like nutmeg, the benefits are great,

good for insomnia &

good for the skin.

Come fall, in the states

folks love pumpkin lattes

even if temps have not fallen.

The use of this spice goes back a long way!

3,000 years ago the sweet-smelling

spice was used to embalm the dead.

All of these uses give this spice

a noteworthy name—

until in our modern age

studies found lead in it.

Jacquelyn Markham ©2025

“Cinnamon” is a poem I wrote in response to Day 6 prompt of Poem-a-Day 2025 (30 Poems in 30 days). Check it out!

Now, dear readers, how did I come up with this odd poem? Why yes, it was the day 6 prompt that gave us so many choices and directions to go by . Please, visit NaPoWriMo to get all details, but basically, you choose a number from the chart which leads to a taste that becomes the title and two more words to work in. In my case, wheeze and golden were the words.

The poem starts out lovely with a sweet-smelling scent, but alas, like so many wonderful things in our modern world, the spice turned toxic. Not all, of course, but be mindful! Still, cinnamon has some health benefits according to some reports, like these claims from Cleveland Clinic.

And then, we may want some retro music to accompany our latte, so here it is! Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl.”

Neil Young, “Cinnamon Girl”

All poems brought to you by Poet Voice (J. Markham).

This Tango Between Us

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photo by poet

Hello lovers of art, music, & poetry!

Today, please visit the NaPoWriMo prompt for Day 5 here as it is a bit complicated, but fun:

From a chart provided, choose first a Musical notation–mine was to play like “you are about to start crying,” but I added Rubato because I love it (giving me the chance to slow down and pick up the tempo to express my emotions!).  Rubato allows performers to add a personal touch to the music, with emphasis on emotional expression.

Then, we were to choose a genre (I chose the Tango!) and finally, a few words from a list. Being a hopeless romantic, I selected moonlight & roses.

And, here’s my poem for today.

This Tango Between Us

this tango between us makes me feel like

I am about to start crying

or it could be the moonlight in rubato

as the big bright sphere floats behind the clouds

then surprises with radiance when dark puffs fall away

crescendoing from a slow sweet tango

to a wild tarantella in 6/8 time!

I still want to cry though

as roses drop from the sky

because it is so beautiful—

this tango between us.

            Jacquelyn Markham(c)2025

photo by poet

Why I am Not an Accountant

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My Triolet on Day 1 asks “where does the time go?” and we only wish we had the answer to that question. But, time does move on and our mighty leader Maureen Thorson at NaPoWriMo gives us our prompt for day 3.

She writes: “Time keeps marching on, and so does Na/GloPoWriMo. And so, lo and behold, we find ourselves three days into our poem-a-day challenge. . . and here’s the optional prompt:

Following O’Hara, today we challenge you to write a poem that obliquely explains why you are a poet and not some other kind of artist – or, if you think of yourself as more of a musician or painter (or school bus driver or scuba diver or expert on medieval Maltese banking) – explain why you are that and not something else!

Check out the poem O’Hara wrote Why I Am Not a Painter as you muse upon why you are a poet (if you are) or another kind of artist as above. Now, this one is a HUGE challenge! We must do some deep diving within.

So, my poem turned out this way as I contemplated why I am not an accountant, but instead, a poet.

Grapefruit on the Table, watercolor by the poet

Why I am Not an Accountant

I look at grapefruit & sunflowers on the table &

see constellations of stars from the button-center blooms.

I think about what goes unsaid & see cars

in a junkyard that started with an old Buick in1956.

I dream up rhymes about a naiad rising

from the rippling moon & how she made a sad &

broody lad glad on a most mad & moonly night.

I move back into memory starting with 25:

25.       It was only 25 years ago the world split open

24.       when it did, words spilled

23.        from mouths like blood.

And end with lines about my birth.

2.         Thankfully, I still remember

1.         the joy of being born.

                                    Jacquelyn Markham (April 3, 2025)

It’s April & so begins 2025 National Poetry Month!

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In the same way that Earth Day is everyday, poetry month is every month. Still, we do some extra special things in April, like attempt to write a poem a day and sometimes we use prompts from those who encourage us along the way!

Azaleas in bloom on April 1!

There are several sites who encourage us this way, and my favorite is: NaPoWriMo

Here’s what the guru behind NaPoWriMo had to say today on the start of the challenge:

Happy Tuesday, all, and Happy April 1. Today marks the start of another National/Global Poetry Writing Month!

“If it’s your first time joining us, the process is quite simple. Just write a poem every day during the month of April. 30 days means 30 poems. We’ll have an optional prompt every day to help you along, as well as a resource. We’ll also be featuring a participant each day. And if you’re interested in looking at other people’s poems, sharing links to your daily efforts, and/or cheering along, a great way to do that is by clicking on the title of each day’s post. That will take you to a page with a comment section for the day.” (Maureen)

I enjoyed the prompt for today found here: April 1 prompt:

I found a musical term that was new to me: the Rescue Opera, defined on the Naxos.com website like this: “The term ‘rescue opera’ has been used to describe operas such as Beethoven’s Fidelio, dealing with the subject of rescue, particularly, after 1789, from political victimisation.”

I think it an extraordinary time to write a poem about rescuing people from political victimisation. So, I have made note of it and will circle back around. In the meantime, I offer a triolet (one of my favorite forms because it is only 8 lines). Not to be fooled, however, (even tho it is April Fools Day) as it is not as simple as it seems with two refrains and two rhyme schemes. Here the Academy of American Poets defines the form for you: Triolet. It is a short poem with two refrains which gives it a kind of song-like rhythm and in fact is related to the rondeau.

So, because my time was short today on day 1, I’m sharing my Triolet and holding on to that first prompt for another day.

Enjoy your month of April as time does fly!

Time: A Triolet

Where does the time go?

I can certainly fritter it away!

If I knew the answer would I show

where does the time go?

Or, would I stop the clock or make it slow?

As if by doing that I could hold the day.

Where does the time go?

I can certainly fritter it away.

Jacquelyn Markham (c.2025)

Begin Again!

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Begin again. The law is clear

As geologic ages rear

     Through curling heat and stiffening cold,

     Lost ocean or fresh land unrolled,

We see the new forms still appear.

Nature’s best method triumphs here;

She builds not in one column sheer,

     But birth on birth as beads are told

     New life we find, rebuilt from old,

                  Begin again.

Each new day blossoms from the bier

Of night forgotten. Have no fear—

     Let us, who are the world, be bold,

     Take hope once more, take heart, take hold

Rise now with the new risen year—

                  Begin again.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

As we embark on the “unwritten pages of the new,” I draw on the optimism of the the writer, poet, activist, lecturer, artist, and ever industrious, Charlotte Perkins Gilman–who continues to inspire me today.

So much did she inspire me when I first discovered her large body of work that I spent another several decades collecting the poetry that was nearly inaccessible before my book (cover below). Now available at scattered US universities, such as Harvard, Columbia, Boston College, Library of Congress, as well as de la Sorbonne, The British Library, University of Oxford Library, and in Germany and Switzerland (check out Worldcatalog for more locations).

(Mellen Press, 2014)

So, dear readers, I hope you will join me in following Gilman’s inspiration. Her writings are full of poems and stories about beginning again and resolve.

“To keep my health!/To do my work!/To live!/To see to it I grow and gain and give!” (“Resolve”)

As we face the new opportunities and obstacles on our path, let’s adopt her resolve.

“Take hope once more, take heart, take hold” and “begin again”!

Jacquelyn Markham (January 3, 2025)

Dinosaur National Monument with the Milky Way galaxy photographed in the night sky. (Geologic ages explained.)

“New forms still appear”