Poetry Friday, Week 48: Gratitude Poems, What I Heard Poem, and and Invitation

© Graphic by Amber Fleek

If you celebrated yesterday either with family , friends or new adventures, I hope it was a wonderful day,

​Buffy at Buffy Silverman: Children’s Author
has a wonderful interview with Suzy Levison today. She has a new book out.

I had an opportunity to share poems from Thanku: Poems of Gratitude by Marlena Myles in a fourth grade class on  Wednesday.  Then they created a gratitude heart ala Georgia Heard and used it to write poems. The class was sparse as it was a district make up day for days lost at the beginning of the year.  And a few students forgot to give me their poems.

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What I Heard Poem

The Poetry Sisters’  challenge for November was to compose an ‘Eavesdropped & Overheard’ poem in tribute to our pal at the long-running Chicken Spaghetti blog, Susan Thomsen. 

I got the part about finding lines I overheard. I'm not sure I wrote in the style of Thomsen's poem.  

The photo shows the list I created.
​But I think I have lines that could be poetry fodder later.  
These came from having lunch in a little hole in the wall place near my home.
​I wrote a shadorma.

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From the line: "I've seen what a branch off a tree can do..."

Branches crack--
splinter off the maple
I watched
it transform--
a magical fort
We hide, escaping the world.

​© Jone Rush MacCulloch, 2025 (draft)

An Invitation: ​Please Join Us for the 2026 Poetry Postcards

​poetry postcards
brings tiny new year wishes
amid the bills

© Jone Rush MacCulloch

It's 34 days until 2026 begins! This means time to sign up for the poetry postcards.

Also, as far as I can tell, this may be the TENTH year of hosting.  Woohoo!

Send five, send ten or send to all?
In Japan, it’s called Nengajo, a Japanese custom of ushering in the new year.​  
How It Works:

• Choose to send five or ten postcards.
• Create a postcard:  you can buy a postcard and write a poem on the other side or you can create one postcard to send to everyone (I use Walgreens or Snapfish)
• Once you get the names, send by February 17, 2026 (start of the Chinese New Years and someone's bday. wonder who?)
• If you choose, you can work in the Chinese animal for 2026: The year of the Fire Horse. It is not required. 

Please sign up by December 20 on HERE.

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