Oldest daughter as infant--See poem below

The journey to writing your book is not a single straight path. Many authors share their thoughts in a blog first. Others create articles and submit them to article directories. Then there are the brave ones who write poetry. If you’re inclined to practice your writing by creating poetry, National Poetry Writing Month is a great time to jump in.

National Poetry Writing Month, started by Maureen Thorson in 2003, coinciding with National Poetry Month,  is underway throughout April.  Patterned after National Novel Writing Month, participants register at and are encouraged to write a poem a day throughout the month of celebration.

If you’re up to the challenge, get the details for NaPoWrMo and jump in, submit your website and enjoy the fun.

If you don’t remember ( or never knew) the difference between iambic pentameter from trochee, or couldn’t spot a  if your life depended on it, then it’s best for you to start with Ted Kooser’s  The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets, who makes it clear  at the start, “You’ll never be able to make a living writing poems.” Drawn from decades of experience, Kooser shares tools and insights to help aspiring poets hone their craft.

Another way to approach your poetry writing is as a spiritual practice. Robert Mc Dowell, author of Poetry as Spiritual Practice, advocates using poetry in your daily rituals, aspirations and intentions. He believes that poetry makes you  into a “tuning fork of the divine.”

If you are not inclined to commit to daily poetry writing,  there are other ways to join in the fun to help stimulate your writing ideas.

• Carry a poem in your pocket on Poem in Your Pocket Day, April 26, 2012
• Check out a book of poems from the library
• Download the Poem Flow App for your iPhone

Don’t worry about your poem being brilliant or clever. Just share what you think and feel or talk about what’s going on around you. That’s what I did during my own childhood and throughout the years of raising my four kids.  Here’s a poem  I wrote 42 years ago about my first born. [See her photo above, and don’t tell her I posted it. Sh-h-h-h!]

FIVE WEEKS OLD

I’m five weeks old and look at me
I’m quite a bundle of ecstasy.
And what do you think I can do?
Why, I raise my head, I smile and coo.
My eyes explore this brand new world.
So much to see that’s yet unfurled.
And I have something you do not—
Free maid service ‘round the clock!