Recently, I held a special online event to celebrate the publication of my new edition of Awakening the Heart. I invited three amazing guests: incredible poet Naomi Shihab Nye (who wrote the foreword for Awakening) and the talented Kandell Brothers. Their presence filled the virtual room with creativity, inspiration and love.

Back up a few months ago when I received an email from the Kandell Brothers whom I had taught poetry to when they were sixth graders at the Iolani School in Hawaii. They wrote to thank me for bringing poetry into their lives as it had inspired them to become poets and writers as grown-ups (they wrote the beautiful screenplay for Disney’s animated film Moana).  In their email, they used a metaphor from science called The Butterfly Effect (which means small actions can have big consequences, like how a butterfly's wings can create a ripple effect across the world).

Their message reminded me of the power of our words. So, I asked our poetry community to share their poems for this blog. All the poems I read were beautiful and unique. To everyone who shared their words, thank you. (I’ve included ALL of your poems here in alphabetical order). Your poems are like butterflies, spreading hope and joy to those who read them. Let's keep sending our words out into the world, knowing they can make a difference, no matter how small.

 With gratitude,

Georgia

Poems

How To Be a Book of Poems by JG Annino 
Hold my heart
massage my mind
look luscious
taste terrific

Page after 
page after 
page, as I read
You, again.
Website: Bookseedstudio. https://bookseedstudio.wordpress.com

InstaG: https://www.instagram.com/jganninoauthor/

Bio: A coaxer of avocado and lemons in her N. Fla. yard, JG Annino is a practicing poet fortunate to be published by Birmingham Arts Journal & Tiny Seed Literary Journal Her p. b. bio is from Scholastic/National Geographic.

The Impending Eclipse: Sun’s Op-Ed by Marcie Flinchum Atkins

The moon and I have an agreement:

I am the star of the day

he is the light of the night.

 

But the moon is no respecter of routines—

you know this if you’ve seen his slivered body

against a blue sky in the middle of the day.

 

Every few years, moon comes between Earth and me

which is quite a feat

considering he’s a fraction of my size.

 

It’s bad enough that his light

comes from my reflection,

but when he eclipses me in broad daylight

 

birds stop singing,

squirrels scramble to their nests,

and flowers fold up their blooms.

 

Thank goodness all of this nonsense only lasts a few minutes.

I’m tired of playing a supporting actress

in the solar eclipse show.

 Bio: Marcie Flinchum Atkins is a teacher-librarian by day and a children’s book writer in the wee hours of the morning. She holds an M.A. and M.F.A. in Children’s Literature from Hollins University. She’s the author of numerous nonfiction books including WAIT, REST, PAUSE: DORMANCY IN NATURE (Millbrook Press, 2019). Her poetry has been featured in several anthologies for adults and children. Her debut historical fiction verse novel, ONE STEP FORWARD is forthcoming in 2025 (Versify). Her next nonfiction picture book WHEN TWILIGHT COMES will be published in 2026 (Chronicle). For more information, check out her website: www.marcieatkins.com.

At Right Angles by Cassie Bentley
Whale: Human:

I sleep vertically.

I walk vertically

I swim horizontally.

I sleep horizontally.

I sleep with one eye open.

I sleep with both eyes closed.


We are opposites.

Night and day, our activities are opposite.

At right angles
Is how we
Live.

Bio: As a former school librarian, I loved working with students and reading poems for two voices.

Nature's Salon by Susan Bickel
After morning dew
Dandelion's mane stands up
Gelled by summer sun.

Reset by Pamela Clark
a mother and child pass under 
the arched branches of the birch
silhouetted against the moonlight
casting shadows on the sidewalk

What clandestine action is here?

eyes alight
fingers reach high 
pointing 
floating between two limbs

It hovers

intricately woven
twigs 
tendrils of dog fur 
dried grass

Like an enormous cocoon  

bursting with life anew
the promise 
of a new beginning
returning birdsong

Renewed rhythm

Website: https://pamelak2023.wordpress.com/

Bio: Pam Clark is a teacher and writer who lives in a climate where the change of seasons promises renewal of mind, body and spirit. Pam finds tremendous joy in other’s expression and fulfillment as writers and believes our words can build connection in our communities and ignite positive change.

 

WEDDING BLUES by Sally Wahl Constain
At her wedding, fifty years ago,
my lovely cousin, Lenore,
married her high school beau.
It was a fancy affair.
Fresh pink roses all around
providing an intoxicating aroma.
A popular band played really loud,
"Hey, Jude."
The room began to vibrate,
jarring the rose bouquets.
Pink petals fell like tears,
foreseeing the future
of a match that did not last.
The mood had changed 
from pink to blue.
It became a sad song
which did not get better.
"Hey Jude."

Bio: Sally Wahl Constain is a retired teacher and librarian from Astoria, New York, living in Ponte Vedra, Florida. She is the author of her debut novel, 'The Keys to Fanny,' a work of historical fiction. She is also an award winning poet, having her poems featured on a variety of websites and in poetry journals. Sally has written several chapbooks and a memoir, 'Random Reflections."

CONFESSION by Cynthia Cotten
Dear Mother,
we have abused your generosity,
used you without stopping.
We have taken, taken, taken.
Our thoughts have been on ourselves, not our children.
Our eyes have been on now, not the future.
We have scarred your beauty,
toppled your trees,
poisoned your water, your air.
Now we watch as you tremble, weep torrents—
as your anger burns.
We ask, “Why?”
We ask “How?”,
reluctant to accept our part in your pain.
Mother,
are there arms wide enough to comfort you?
Is it too late for forgiveness?

Website: www.cynthiacotten.com

Facebook Profile: Cynthia Cotten (profile pic says 'Well behaved women rarely make history')

Bio: Cynthia Cotten is an author of fiction and poetry for young people. She has published several critically-praised picture books, including Snow Ponies, This Is The Stable, and The Book Boat’s In, and has poems included in numerous collections, including America at War, Jumping Off Library Shelves, and World Make Way, all edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins. She lives in Lockport, NY, in a house beside the historic Erie Canal.

The Fault by Clare Fay
No I do not resent you
It’s my fault
It always is
I let you do this to me
I am disgusted with myself
I hate how i let you tear me apart
Like scrap paper
Always used
But never kept
Never permanent 
Always temporary
I resent myself
For I allowed these actions
To come in contact with me
I gave permission for the pain
To enter my body
Promised help
But given damage

Bio: Hello, I am fourteen years old and have used poetry as a way to express not only myself, but society’s expectations and thoughts on certain topics.

By Myself by Carol Coven Grannick

Please teach me how to swing so high,
to bend my legs and pump—
I promise I’ll hold on so tight!
I promise I won’t jump!
I really want to learn the way
you get the swing to fly,
to back-and-forth it by myself
while staring at the sky!

Your Website: https://carolcovengrannick.com

Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/carol.grannick

Bio: Carol Coven Grannick is a poet and children's author with fiction and poetry published and/or forthcoming in Cricket, Ladybug, Babybug, Highlights, Hello, The Dirigible Balloon, and anthologies CHASING CLOUDS (UK Yorkshire Press) and OUTSIDE/INSIDE (Paddler Press). Her middle grade novel in verse, REENI'S TURN, debuted in 2020.

Being Turquoise by Missy Hernandez
In a world of sky blue
Ain’t easy on you 

Three steps ahead 
Down your own avenue
Baby you don’t have a clue

Who is really you 

A worn down puzzle
With missing pieces
Bound by crazy glue

Is he crazy for you

This world of sky blue
Ain’t easy on you
It blends you with hues 

A sad song of blues

Facebook Profile: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100076663682631&name=xhp_nt__fb__action__open_user

Small Solace by Molly Hogan
The female cardinal
perches in the tangle of wisteria.
Is she searching for the male
who just yesterday,
window-stunned and defenseless,
was lost to the flurried muscle
of a hunting hawk?

I brave the brutal cold
to refill the feeder.

It’s all I have
to offer. 

©Molly Hogan

Website: www.nixthecomfortzone.com

Facebook Profile: Molly Hogan

Bio: I'm a second-grade teacher who lives in an old farmhouse in mid-coast Maine. I love sharing my wanderings and wonderings in writing and in photographs. I've had a number of poems and personal essays published, and had a solo gallery show of photographs and poems entitled "On the Brink of Wonder.”

Poem of Now by Lynda Josenhans

When your mind keeps
Pushing you to remember
What your heart begs you
To forget,
And your soul is caught
In between,
Take a look at
That now clock
Looking so serene. 

When your mind keeps
Pushing you to fortune tell
What your heart begs you 
To ignore,
And your soul is caught
In that trap,
Take a good, long look
At the now
And let the present unwrap. 

Now. 

Now is the only place 
Where you truly reside
In unison with your
Heart, soul & mind. 

Here and now. 
This is where
Your peace is
And where your 
Pieces become one. 

Here and now. 
Breathe it in. 

This is where 
Your power is. 
This is where 
Your light is. 
This is where
Your life is. 

Breathe it in. 


Texas Horned Toad: A Misnomer Poem by Lynn Katz

(Scientific name: Phrynosoma cornutum)

 Don’t be fooled by my name, I’m a lizard, not a toad,

hanging out in the desert, my favorite abode.

 

I’m a wizardly lizard. When a predator tries

to make me his meal, I squirt blood from my eyes.

 

Cool horns on my head will scare some folks away,

as I trick enemies and eat red ants all day.

 

Life is good, here in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma.

I’m living the dream where the buffalo roama.

Website: www.lynnkatzauthor.com

Facebook Profile: Lynnkatzauthor

 Bio: Lynn Katz is a former teacher, curriculum specialist, and school principal. Her middle-grade novel, Chester and the Magic 8 Ball, was published in February 2023 and received a Kirkus Review (starred review.) She has published poetry for adults and children including a poem in Awakening the Heart, Second Edition.

Pillow Adventures by Kitty Kaczmarek

When darkness creeps upon the day
and all life’s troubles fade away,

my pillow is a sailing ship,
a bullet train, a line to zip.

Balancing on a fine high wire
or dousing raging forest fires.

Closing your eyes and braiding tales
of green giraffes and purple whales.

My pillow’s a magic carpet ride
to exotic places far and wide.

I never know what to expect
crossing borders, passport unchecked.

Revisiting familiar places past
or pirates lashing me to their mast.

Exhausted by these escapades,
moonlight wanes, in sleep wades.

Close your eyes, turn out the light,
you too can travel, just hold on tight.

Website: kkaz5424@gmail.com

Facebook Profile: Kitty Williams Kaczmarek

Bio: Teacher and lover of books, poetry and words.

And Quietly by Molly Lorenz
It waits on my doorstep
until day has departed.
And quietly, without fanfare
NIGHT appears.
There is a calm, a pause.
And with a wave of its wand
each little star ignites,
illuminating my sky
and the heavens that are yours.

Bio: A retired art teacher and language arts tutor, I currently write poetry for children, quilt, paint and garden. I have poems published in Things We Do, Things We Wear and What Is A Friend? by Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell and in Georgia Heard's book, Awakening the Heart.

DYLAN’S PRAYER by Donna Macaluso
Dearest Dylan, forever living in Heaven,
From our daily thoughts and aching hearts
we always speak your sweet name.
Throughout our home, gardens, lake, roads…
we seek your sweet smile, husky hug, and deep voice.

May your days flow freely with infinite health, joy, and peace
laughing with your grandpas,
comforted by your dogs,
fishing with your friends,
and proudly watching your loved ones below.

Give us guidance and strength to continue
and do His work, 
until we are together again.

Bio: Wife, mother, reader, writer, gardener, animal lover
Grade 5 language arts teacher
Student Council Advisor
Library Board Trustee

Lesser Moons by Jone MacCulloch

We walk barefoot, waiting for moonrise 
In grandmother’s garden
Below us, beets, the lesser moons grow
In the loamy soil between our toes

In grandmother’s garden
We search for slinking nightcrawlers
in the loamy soil between our toes
We pummel the grass with watermelon seeds

We search for slinking nightcrawlers
as slugs harvest zucchini flowers
We pummel the grass with watermelon seeds
Stars glimmer from a celestial colander

as slugs harvest zucchini flowers
Ursa Major points us north each night
Stars glimmer from the celestial colander
The fragrance of evening primrose floats

Ursa Major points us north each night
Below us, beets, the lesser moons grow
The fragrance of evening primrose floats
We walk barefoot, waiting for moonrise

Website: https://www.jonerushmacculloch.com/blog

Facebook Profile: Jone Rush Macculloch

Bio: Jone Rush Macculloch is a poet, photographer, and mixed media artist from Oregon. Her works explore family lore, nature, the seasons, and the unusual.
Her works have appeared in several children’s anthologies as well as literary journals including The Poeming Pigeon and The Southern Arizona Press.

Unleashed by Karen Moore
Puppy’s frenzy, twirling delight 
Typhoon’s fury, swirling fright

Resentment’s stony, bitter wrath 
Grief’s murky-muddy, keening path

Love’s whimsy unfurling, inspiration 
Freedom’s soaring spirit, exhalation 

Faith’s undaunted, disarming belief 
Life’s boundless beckoning, then Burden’s relief

Bio: Karen Moore, MA, MDiv. A retired healthcare chaplain. Delighted and inspired by poetry, prayer, writing, any form of reaching through words; slow stitching art in fabrics and threads; practicing piano and choral music; and enjoying nature and pickleball. 
.

March Morning by Kate Moore
Out of the shadows, just before 
light breaks, just before spring wakes –
two silent grey foxes slow dance across the yard
in practiced choreography

Step, step, freeze…they steal
to the bird feeder by the back door 

Invisible treetop birds wait. I wait.

Scene change. Two black-tipped tails 
lifted like sails, soar over the fence

Disappear like a foggy dream…

Website: https://linktr.ee/katemccarrollmoore

Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/kate.moore.75491

Bio: Kate McCarroll Moore is a life-long educator and the former Poet Laureate for the City of San Ramon, California. She is the author of two novels for children, Elinormal and New Girl: The Further Adventures of Elinormal. Her debut picture book, Chelsea Skye, Nature Spy was recently published. Kate also has published poetry collections for adults; her most recent collection is Alphapoetica: A Poetry Primer for the Everyday Poet. She holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership for Social Justice, and she continues to promote poetry as a tool of transformation and healing.

Summer’s List by Moe Phillips
Waving daisies 
Golden breeze
Birds dancing in the trees
Berries bursting on laden limbs
Honeybees humming hymns
Fireflies are shooting stars
Twinkling in old jelly jars
Hammock every afternoon
Ice cream sundaes
Wooden spoon
Wildflowers on the path
Cool shower 
Cooler bath
Umbrellas pop at the beach
Sticky chin
Juicy peach
Sand speckled salty toes
Pink cheeks on every rose
©2024MoePhillips

Website: moe.phillips@mac.com

Facebook Profile: Maureen Phillips

Bio: Poet/writer/filmmaker Moe Phillips has been published in over 40 anthologies and magazines for children and adults. Moe’s latest creation The Feisty Beast -is a poetry audio content series she pens and produces. The elements and elementals are Moe’s inspiration.

My Father’s Sweatshirt by Janie Reinart 
After his death,
my Mother folded 
his gray sweatshirt.
Placed it
under her pillow.
Embraced it every night.

For eight years
she held him again...
in her dreams.

I hold on tight
to a pillow
made from his shirt.
Gray arms
folded in a hug.

Clinging
to them both.

Website: wwww.janiereinart.com

Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/janie.reinart/

Bio: I am a word gatherer. I can sweet-talk a phrase here and surprise a pun there—finding the words to hold a feeling. I revel in playing with words for the sheer joy of writing. My passion is cultivating the heart-to-heart writer/reader connection. I am a Teacher Consultant with the National Writing Project (NWP) and an invited member of the NWP Writers Council.

Entreaty to the Incensed Skunk on the Sidewalk in Front of Me and Ray Blocking Our Way by Joan Riordan
“Don’t spray,” 
I pray most ardently.
“But if need be,
spray Ray, not me!”

Facebook Profile: Joan Riordan

Bio: Joan Riordan is an educator with decades of experience. She enjoys writing for children, baking and taking long walks. You can see more of her poetry in print in Things We Eat, What is a Friend?, What is a Family?, Autumnatopoeia (Little Thoughts Press), Food (The Toy Press) and online in the Dirigible Balloon and Tyger Tyger magazine.

Sleeptalking by Pamela Ross
When all the world seems fast asleep
When darkness falls at last
I wonder why I'm left alone,
eyes bloodshot, broken-glassed.
Why I refuse to raise my arms,
surrender to the night.
But tell me can I sleep in peace
when I have words to write?

Website: https://pamelarosswrites.com/

Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/writerross/

Bio: Pamela Ross writes poetry and prose, awake or in her dreams. She loves crosswords, Bruce Springsteen, and her family. She wrote two books for the educational market. Her work has appeared in poetry anthologies and as greeting card copy. She is a law school graduate but is still not sure why.

downhill skiing at seventy-five by Alice Rothchild
they say 
it is all downhill from here

that my old body 
clanking with replacement parts 
has no more mountains 
to climb 
channels 
to swim

but what if 
the cold spray in my face 
icy wind reddening my nose 
poles tight against my body
startling white against the silhouette of dark evergreens

is really a ski slope 
and I am just picking up speed 
for my next big jump?

Website: www.alicerothchild.com

Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/alicerothchildmd

Bio: Alice Rothchild is an author, filmmaker and retired obstetrician-gynecologist. Her poetry has been published in Extraordinary Rendition: (American) Writers on Palestine, Ariel Chart, Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, and Writers Resist, and her memoir, Inspired and Outraged: The making of a feminist physician, written in free verse, will be published in late 2024. She has also written three books on health and human rights issues in Israel/Palestine, and a middle grade novel, Old Enough to Know, and a young adult novel, Finding Melody Sullivan. She directed an oral history documentary, Voices Across the Divide.

Pinecone by Lisa Roullard
This little, wooden tree 
has many sturdy branches 
springing
from its deep, dark trunk.

Grab your magnifying glass.

Perhaps you’ll be the first 
to spot
the tiniest squirrel family, 
leaping 
and chasing limb
to brown limb amongst
the miniature twitter-song,
the teeniest ruffle  
of discoverable 
birds.

Website: lisaroullard.com

Facebook Profile: Lisa Roullard

Bio: Born and raised in Seattle, Lisa Roullard writes for children and adults. She loves baking and traveling and currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, daughter, and Onyx the black cat.

Forever Deep is Our Love by Vera Sokarda
You are the moon,
and I am the sun.
We rise, and we fall,
as the tide.
Your words break like the waves,
“I see His love in front of me,
Looking into the sun.
Painful and blinding,
I have no choice
But to close my eyes, and turn.”
Turn back, as the tide in the ocean.
You say you have little to offer.
The brine has overwhelmed your soul;
The billows have stirred up anxiety
From years of false hopes
And pointless wanderings.
Why must the current pull us away
And then push us back?
Buried deep is our love,
Beneath broken and jagged shells
Washed ashore by decades of storms.
Foolish, our choices.
Graceless, our ideals.
And still…
You remain the moon;
I remain the sun.  

SEASONS by Janice Scully

The cusp 
between seasons— 

when spring rain 
heralds summer heat,

when summer dons 
a cardigan for fall,

when fall shivers
into icy winter,

and winter dissolves into 
flowery spring, 

It’s the cycle of change
that thrills me the most.

It sneaks up behind me
like last year’s ghost. 
© Janice Scully 2024

Website: http://janicescully.com

Facebook Profile: Janice Marie Scully

Bio: Janice Scully lives with her husband, Bart, in Syracuse New York and finds her most favorite places are libraries. Her poems have been published on line and in several anthologies.

Prayer of the Praying Mantis by Buffy Silverman

I fold my arms. I kneel in prayer. 
I’m hidden by my leafy lair.
I sense a twitch—a tiny shake.
She’s creeping closer. Quiver, quake.

I focus raptly on my prize,
ten thousand lenses in my eyes.
My vestment hides me in plain view,
as dinner nears my sacred pew.

I raise my arms and pray my prey 
will find my altar, come to stay.  
With patience of a saintly priest,
I bow my head and I bless my feast.  

She’s almost here. Another stride
will bring my banquet to my side.
And now at last, she’s reached my trap.
I raise my arms. I strike. I snap!
--Buffy Silverman

Website: www.buffysilverman.com

Facebook Profile: www.facebook.com/buffy.silverman

Bio: Buffy Silverman’s fascination with nature inspires much of her writing. Her recent book, On a Snow-Melting Day: Seeking Signs of Spring, received a star from Kirkus Reviews and was an NCTE 2021 Notable Poetry Book. A companion book, On a Gold-Blooming Day: Finding Fall Treasures, was an NCTE 2023 Notable Book in the Language Arts. She lives near a swampy lake in Michigan where she enjoys outdoor time with her dog, watching and photographing nature, and writing poetry.

SPRING'S SURPRISES by Pam Taylor

Spring 
Promises
Renewal
In
Numerous
Golden Guises

Website: https://pamelabtaylor.com

Facebook Profile: Pamela Berg Taylor

Bio: Formerly in the classroom, Pamela now writes quirky animal stories and poems. Her poetry found a home in several anthologies by Vardell and Wong and Hey Hey Books. LADYBUG Magazine and The Dirigible Balloon also feature her work. You can find her at https://pamelabtaylor.com

Life is a Mess by Shirley Thacker (2024)

Sometimes life is a mess
A pile of yarn, thread, lace, 

Scraps of old material
Stacked in drawers or on closet shelves

Why save such a mess
There is a reason. . .

Hope that one day
A beautiful garment

Will appear
Days of work, sweat, tears

A perfect fit
Made from a mess

Hope, perseverance, faith
Save each pile of mess

A promise for a better day
A gift. . . .

Facebook Profile: Shirley Thacker

Bio: Shirley Thacker found writing joy later in life when she wanted to write the story for hospice of her husband’s struggle with cancer. Since 2006, Shirley has experienced joy in daily writing: children’s books, poetry, teaching, memoir, and inspirational short stories. As an elementary teacher, she has encouraged children to look for joy even on the dark days and to be joy for others. Shirley believes that God has given her this talent and she gives all her profits to charities: Testicular Cancer Research/Dr. Lawrence Einhorn,IU Medcenter, Grateful Rescue and Sanctuary, Brighter Path, LLC/equine therapy for veterans and children, CommUnity Church Latchkey, Veterans Matter/housing homeless Veterans, Delaware County Senior Citizens Coffee Club/Veterans Breakfast Club, and Wes-Del Elementary. Her books can be found on Amazon and Kids at Heart Publishing in Cambridge City, Indiana.

No. Matter. What. by Elisa Waingort

I write, even when I’m terrified of the blank page. 

I will go anywhere my three children happen to be.
How long before they don’t want us around anymore?

Teaching is my passion, 
but lately I’ve been wondering 
if it’s time to move on.

Going to the gym, with Gino or alone, 
has become my obsession.
Can you believe it?

I love ice cream, carrot cake, mami fries and sushi.
I love plátano maduro, pizza and tostones.
I love the sobre mesa conversations 
after a meal, though my stamina for that outlasts everyone else’s.

I love hanging out with Pia and Nina.
Listening to their stories and reading books with them.

I love watching movies with JJ and laughing at silly things together.

But most of all I love the life I’ve built, 
the love that surrounds me 
and the family that is always there, 
No. Matter. What.

Website: elisawaingort.com

Bio: Elisa is currently a grade 4 teacher-writer in the Calgary Board of Education in Canada. She writes even when she thinks she's not good enough.  

  
The Story
by Matthew Winter

Waves of words
surge
from the author’s mind.

Break
onto the page.

Ripple and roll
into the reader’s

heart.

Facebook Profile: Matthew Winter

Bio: I have been an elementary school teacher in New York City for 21 years. I live with my poodle-son Bailey.