F.E. Greene's Blog

She Hates Me Not, the first book in my bestselling Richer in Love series, is only 99 cents today through Sunday. It’s available for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple readers.

Use the links below to grab your copy while it’s on sale. Feel free to share this information with anyone who enjoys a sweet contemporary romance! (Sales links are also available at www.fegreene.com.) Buy now, enjoy later!

AMAZON/KINDLE
APPLE BOOKS
KOBO
BARNES & NOBLE NOOK

Happy Spring Break, and thanks for reading!

While I forge ahead on three writing projects – a fantasy series, a romance novel, and my next poetry collection – I am thrilled to be included on the 2021 Chatelaine Short List for Romantic Fiction! It’s a true honor to see In the Sweet Midwinter listed among books from so many other talented authors. If you’re looking for a good romance read, this is a great place to start!

SEE THE ENTIRE SHORT LIST OF ROMANTIC FICTION FOR 2021

My second Wow of the week? I’m a featured author at Randomly.Shop, a site that helps readers browse Amazon’s bestseller lists (which can be overwhelming). My interview went live on Wednesday. Use the link below to read it and see what else the site has to offer.

CHECK OUT MY FULL INTERVIEW AT RANDOMLY.SHOP

ICYMI last month: Have you purchased The Never List in ebook from Amazon since it was published in 2015? If so, Amazon KDP is providing a FREE UPDATE to all readers who own the book on Kindle. It fixes some buggy formatting and aligns the book with its sequels. (No word yet if Nook, Kobo, etc. will provide an update also.)

AMAZON HELP PAGE INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOW TO UPDATE YOUR COPY OF THE NEVER LIST FOR FREE ON YOUR AMAZON KINDLE

And finally… I survived a wind chill/real feel of ZERO degrees during my recent trip to New York City! I had hats on under my hats. The Music Man was amazing, and I didn’t let the cold weather stop me from taking a tour in an open-top bus (so cold!) or visiting the 9/11 Memorial and Museum (a truly moving experience). I hadn’t been to NYC in over 20 years, so it was a treat to reunite with the Big Apple.

I hope your week is full of Wows, too! Thanks for reading!

I hope everyone’s new year is off to a great start! With 2021 in the review mirror, I’m focused on finding the good in 2022 – and doing my best to DO good also. For so many people, the last two years contained plenty of challenges. Small moments of joy, however tiny, can make a big difference during difficult seasons. 

For me, a BIG moment of joy last November was when I learned In Days Divine won second place in the 2021 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards (poetry category). Because I focus primarily on fiction writing, I was surprised and delighted to receive this honor! 

Although I originally intended to publish In Days Divine as an ebook only, I’ve decided to offer in it paperback as well. It is available to order for only $6.99 through Amazon.

PURCHASE YOUR PAPERBACK COPY FROM AMAZON

Here’s another bit of good news. Have you purchased The Never List in ebook from Amazon since it was published in 2015? If so, Amazon KDP is providing a FREE UPDATE to all readers who own the book on Kindle.

This update fixes a number of formating glitches from when digital publishing was still relatively new. It also aligns the book with its sequels (which I hadn’t originally planned to write). No matter when you purchased The Never List from Amazon, you can update your copy today! (The only exception might be folks who bought it in the last month or so because they own the newest version.)

I’m still communicating with other digital publishers to see if updates can be made available there. This includes Nook, Kobo, and other platforms. I’ll let you know if and when it happens!

AMAZON HELP PAGE INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOW TO UPDATE YOUR COPY OF THE NEVER LIST FOR FREE ON YOUR AMAZON KINDLE

There is a lot on my author horizon for 2022 including a new fantasy series that I’m writing now. I’m also planning to publish another book of poetry by next December. Add to that an upcoming trip to New York to see Hugh Jackman in The Music Man, and I’m feeling good vibes about 2022! I hope you have good things to look forward to as well!

Happy New Year, and thanks for reading!

As promised in my previous blog post, here is the final set of poems I’ve written for the 14th annual Poem-A-Day Challenge as organized by Writer’s Digest. Even though every day has its own unique prompt, I am focusing on “travel” as an overarching theme because I’ve missed traveling so much this past year.

Day 26 PAD Prompt: “Take the phrase “(blank) World,” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem.”

THIS TRANSITORY WORLDCling to those peoplewho don’t cling to you—but lightly as if the strainmight break them.You don’t need them,nor they you. Need isn’tthe issue; it can’t bein this transitory world.Love lives in the releasing—all of us conceived toembrace love and justice,contentment and peacebuilt for those better actsfrom the fabric that forms us,the Hands that weave us,sketch us, flood us with colorslike kites sailing blithelysharing the sky unstrung.We are made to cling—but lightly.Poetic Form of Choice: Free verse with alliteration and assonance© 2021 F. E. Greene “Tap Root” by Holli Mae Thomas (Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved by the artist for duplication.) Enjoy more of Thomas’ work at https://www.infraredheadart.com/

Day 27 PAD Prompt: “Today is our final Two-for-Tuesday prompt: Write a believe poem and/or write a don’t believe poem.”

DISBELIEVINGHow can you believe?they ask.I do not believe,I tell them.I listenuntil truth speaks.Then, I do not believe—I know.Poetic Form of Choice: Free verse© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 28 PAD Prompt: “Write a remix poem. Look over what you’ve written this month and pick something (or many somethings) to poem out in a new way. Maybe your free verse becomes a sonnet or your sestina transforms into haiku. Or take a line or phrase from each of your poems this month and work it into a cohesive new creation.”

IN THE GARDEN(a naani)Your construct of colorsoutshines any others—a great cathedralbeneath alabaster skiesPoetic Form of Choice: A naani has exactly four lines with a total syllable count of 20 to 25. This poetic form originates in India.© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 29 PAD Prompt: “Write an evening poem. The evening can be a quiet and contemplative time, a stressed or fearful time, or, well, party time. Evenings can be lonely or romantic, cool or humid, inspirational or numbing.”

WHY I TALK TO TREES WHILE I’M WALKINGEvery evening, I pass a lone willowbillowing amid a row of stiff-spined pines.When I greet the pines, they only stare past me at the bayou where a snowy egret stalks minnows.As I approach the willow, she flounces and frills, leaves capering in the breeze.She always says hello first.Politely, I reply.After all, she’s lived here longer than me, enduring floods, droughts, hurricanes and infestations I wasn’t around to see.Serenely attentive, she susurrates wisdom, her canopied limbs fringed in spring green.Those pine trees, she sighs.They take themselves too seriously.I glance back. Perhaps they do.And you, she continues.I see you ambling each twilight back and forth on this footworn path, weighted down, gaze to ground.Let the eventide soothe you. This is the hour of absolution.I glance ahead, then above. I know the willow is right which is why I talk to trees when I’m walking.Poetic Form of Choice: Free verse with alliteration and assonance© 2021 F. E. Greene A willow tree along the banks of the River Avon in Stratford-upon-Avon, 2017

Day 30 PAD Prompt: “Write a goodbye poem. Whether leaving for a holiday or going to get groceries, many people find themselves in positions of saying goodbye to each other. This feels like an appropriate way to close out this year’s challenge…until we meet again.”

GOODBYETo say goodbye requires of usboth faith and fortitude.The first curtails our sorrow whenwe leave those whom we love.The second wills us to depart,or we might never move.How can a word so commonplacecontain such magnitude?And here’s a last-day BONUS poem! A little something extra for fans of Shakespeare and/or puns…[Exit, pursued by a bear.]‘The Winter’s Tale’ would have us thinkgoodbyes are never kind.Antigonus exits the stagepursued by the ursine.Perhaps some days, we might believeto leave is to decline,but most goodbyes are bearable—something to bear in mind.Poetic Form of Choice: Octaves (eight-line stanza) with abcdedfb rhyme pattern and alternating syllable count of 8/6/8/6/8/6/8/6.© 2021 F. E. Greene Statue of Bear and Ragged Staff (the heraldic emblem of Warwickshire) at Kenilworth Castle, 2017

Follow this link to the Writer’s Digest website and see the details for the 2021 PAD Challenge.

As promised in my previous blog post, here is the fifth set of poems I’ve written for the 14th annual Poem-A-Day Challenge as organized by Writer’s Digest. Even though every day has its own unique prompt, I am focusing on “travel” as an overarching theme because I’ve missed traveling so much this past year.

Day 21 PAD Prompt: “Take the phrase “(blank) Me,” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem.

REMIND ME……what it was like to rise early—house martins twittering busilyoutside my open window whiledawn crawled up the eastern sky,cool air faintly infused withold loam and dew-damp grass…of those unabridged mornings—unrushed and puttering about the houseuntil nine-thirty (or maybe ten) whena half-hour’s drive down the A452found me traversing castle gates,imagination igniting…how it felt to cross the inner courtand climb the northwest tower—Warwickshire broadening before me,its montage of poppies, cottages,drowsy cattle and country lanes snakingbetween fields ripe for walkingPoetic Form of Choice: Free verse with alliteration and assonance© 2021 F. E. Greene View from the northwest tower at Kenilworth Castle, 2017 (photo by F. E. Greene)

Day 22 PAD Prompt: “Write a nature poem. Write about the natural world if you like, but don’t be afraid to delve into human nature or the nature of love.”

Listen to me read the Day 22 poem by playing this sound file.A CONVERSATION WITH C. S. LEWISCHIEFLY ON THE MALVERN HILLSFrom your prep-school days,you strolled these slopes,a fact I learned onlyafter I discovered them,grew to love them.No, not love.Venerate. Revere.In fact, I observed that lone gas lampflocked with ferns – a paradoxof location, if not purpose –without knowing you noticed it, too,immortalizing the mismatch ofmetal and grass in your storiesof wardrobes, fauns, and winters.Did you worship here also?Find sanctuary among the bogsand hollows? Wander with aimlessintent across pebbled trails tippinglike roller-coaster rails into oblivion?Did you? I do.Alone, mostly.Alone, I can listen until thestories emerge, adventures whisperingthemselves into existence amidclefts and divots sequesteredbeneath the beacons stippled withbedstraw and foxgloves strunglike bells from sturdy stalks.Were you captured? Haunted?Inspired? I was – even beforeI learned you walked here, too.Poetic Form of Choice: Free verse with alliteration, assonance, and consonance© 2021 F. E. Greene The Malvern Hills, 2012 (photo by F. E. Greene)

Day 23 PAD Prompt: “Write an appointment poem. My first thoughts with appointments conjure up visions of doctors, dentists, and parent-teacher conferences. But there are also business meetings and romantic dates.”

FATE’S DIARYWhen we make an appointment,We make a pact with Fate;We trust saints will preserve usTill that specific date.Although we vow to honorEach earnest guarantee,Fate makes a pact with no one—Who knows where we shall be?Poetic Form of Choice: The style of Emily Dickinson© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 24 PAD Prompt: “Write a question poem. You can make the title of your poem a question and use the poem to answer it. Or make the title the answer and the poem the question. Or end your poem on a question.”

A VAIN INQUIRYHow didthe moon replywhen the monuments ofhumankind asked her to shine lessbrightly?Poetic Form of Choice: Cinquain (five lines with syllable count of 2/4/6/8/2)© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 25 PAD Prompt: For today’s prompt, write a thought poem that captures a thought or random ramblings running ’round your cranium. It doesn’t have to be a rambling poem, but that’s one thing. Another possibility is having two people share their thoughts with each other and/or NOT share them.

SEASIDE IDYLLProne to overthinking,I now must think some more.Truthfully, I’d ratherramble along the shore—quench my cogitationschurning endlessly,surrender introspectionsas ashes to the sea;allow the halcyon chorusof ever-cresting swellsto dispel my musingslike sedimented shells.Poetic Form of Choice: Ballad quatrains with ABCB rhyme scheme, alliteration, and assonance© 2021 F. E. Greene BEACH WITH STORM IN THE DISTANCE (painting by F. E Greene)

Follow this link to the Writer’s Digest website and see the details for the 2021 PAD Challenge.

As promised in my previous blog post, here is the fourth set of poems I’ve written for the 14th annual Poem-A-Day Challenge as organized by Writer’s Digest. Even though every day has its own unique prompt, I am focusing on “travel” as an overarching theme because I’ve missed traveling so much this past year.

Day 16 PAD Prompt: “Write a city poem. You can make the title of your poem the name of a city and write your poem. Or you can mention a city in your poem. And, of course, you can just set your poem in a city without naming which one it is.”

GALVESTONIn Galveston, where gulf greets land,waves crest and ebb against the sandwhile tanned beachcombers nurse their beersand tourists scrounge for souvenirsin offbeat shops along the Strand.A greedy seagull’s shrill demandcompetes with music from a bandas locals fish off seawall piersin Galveston.But there is more to understandfrom neighborhoods both plain and grandbuilt and rebuilt across the years.Through hurricanes, life perseveressustained by human heart and handin Galveston.Poetic Form of Choice: English rondeau, a thirteen-line poem divided into three stanzas of 5, 4, and 6 lines with only two rhymes throughout and with the opening words of the first line used as a refrain at the end of the second and third stanzas (aabba aabR aabbaR)© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 17 PAD Prompt: “Write a waiting poem. It can involve any interpretation of waiting. Waiting in line at the store or for a package in the mail or whatever else someone (or something) might wait for.”

ANTICIPATIONThe hardest part of doing iswhen nothing can be done,but the task is not yet finished,and the race is far from run.We hover at the starting mark.We languish in the queue.Is life a series of delayswe’re meant to suffer through?We cross days off our calendars.We pace the waiting room.But isn’t life its own sojournbetween cradle and tomb?If I am waiting, let me waitlike waiting is the prize— one eye upon the timepiece,one eye upon the skies.For the sweetest part of waitingis anticipation,and the task is never finisheduntil the race is run.Poetic Form of Choice: Ballad quatrains with ABCB rhyme scheme© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 18 PAD Prompt: Write an ekphrastic poem which is a poem based on another work of art (painting, photograph, sculpture, mixed media, etc.).

THE WATER LILLIESIt isn’t justyour construct of colors –abstract dabs, subtle brushstrokesdefining a lane, a lake, a haystackor a bridge spanning a garden pond.It’s also howyou noticed the glow,a luminosity in what’s commonwhere light elevates the everyday,each masterpiece concealed in a moment.Poetic Form of Choice: Free verse with alliteration and assonance© 2021 F. E. Greene The Japanese Footbridge, Claude Monet, 1899

Day 19 PAD Prompt: “Write a poem with an animal in the title. Titles like “Counting Sheep,” “Beside the White Chickens,” and “Horse” would all qualify.”

A CAT’S (DIS)ADVANTAGEI would not wish for nine lives,not even two or three—one is enough to comprehenda life’s complexity.One life to learn my lessons,to wake and work and tire;one life to celebrate and mournis all that I require.Poetic Form of Choice: Ballad quatrains with ABCB rhyme scheme and alliteration© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 20 PAD Prompt: “For this Two-for-Tuesday prompt: Write a love poem and/or write an anti-love poem.”

ASPECTS OF LOVE (in three cinquains)I lovedthose long summerstime spreading like the seaalways someone to help or hug –agape.~~~~~You leaveyour door openeven when you are outoffering respite in your home –xenia.~~~~~We talkabout nothingthe rest would understandbut to us, it is clear as day –philia.Poetic Form of Choice: Cinquain (five lines with syllable count of 2/4/6/8/2)© 2021 F. E. Greene

It’s still not too late for you to join in the fun! Follow this link to the Writer’s Digest website and see the details for the 2021 PAD Challenge.

As promised in my previous blog post, here is the third set of poems I’ve written for the 14th annual Poem-A-Day Challenge as organized by Writer’s Digest. Even though every day has its own unique prompt, I am focusing on “travel” as an overarching theme because I’ve missed traveling so much this past year.

Day 11 PAD Prompt: Write a poem that incorporates a prime number. You could include a prime number in the title of your poem or use one in the poem itself. Or write a poem that has a prime number of lines per stanza or for the entire poem. A list of prime numbers up to 100: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97).

UNDECIDEDI can’tsay if Ihave a favoritelocation, destination,or particular holiday, a momentthat outshines any others – the prettiest vista,the grandest day out, a favorite route or footpath to ramble down.To scrutinize, to label, to rank would downplay the brilliance of each visit,all differently nuanced – the time of day, the conversation, the cascade of light on the hills,what flowered in the garden, the big news, the lost tooth – with subtle changes that make every moment its own masterpiece.Poetic Form of Choice: Lines with a syllable count in ascending prime numbers up to 29 (forced formatting may cause the longer lines to overflow)© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 12 PAD Prompt: Write a poem using at least three of the following six words: convict, great, play, race, season, and voice. Extra credit for using all six words.

LUNCHTIME IDLINGIn the shade of a great cathedral, I sitwhile children play on its steps intemperatures strangely warm for the season.Ice cream tracks trickle down their chins.Overhead, pigeons race in a gyrating cluster,orbit compressing until they settle around mein conspiratorial fashion. With bobbing heads,they imply – what’s mine is theirs. Do share.Their coos fuse to one voice to convict meof my greed as I refuse to relinquishmy sandwich. The children frolic closer.The flock reshuffles, flutters, erupts into flight.Poetic Form of Choice: Free verse in quatrains with assonance and consonance© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 13 PAD Prompt: For this Two-for-Tuesday, write a lucky poem and/or write an unlucky poem.

LUCKLuck must arrive unbiddenOr won’t arrive at all;Like a recalcitrant feline,It scarpers when we call.Luck slinks and skirts, observingWith concentrated eyes—Only when we have ceased to lookWill it materialize.Poetic Form of Choice: The style of Emily Dickinson© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 14 PAD Prompt: Write a poem inspired by your immediate surroundings. This can include pencils, characters in books you can see, or things out the window.

DAILY REFRAINI gaze outside my windowon this revalescent day.One year ago, I sat here;since then, not much has changed.But still the world feels altered,foundations cracked and strained,the old routines disrupted,old habits un-sustained.Although my view is loopingthrough the hazy windowpane,collections and deliveriesrecurring in refrain,I know I’ll leave this room soonto abandon the mundaneand the view outside my windowon this revalescent day.Poetic Form of Choice: Quatrains with repeating end rhyme© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 15 PAD Prompt: Take the phrase “(blank) Story,” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles include “Toy Story” and/or “Same Old Story.”

A RAMBLING STORYGolden stalks glimmerbeneath alabaster clouds—twilight burnishes the field,hedgerows enshrouded.Charlie rambles down the path;contentedly, I follow.Poetic Form of Choice: Sedoka (six lines with syllable count of 5/7/7/5/7/7)© 2021 F. E. Greene Charlie and I on an evening walk in Coleshill, Warwickshire, England.

It’s not too late for you to join in the fun! Follow this link to the Writer’s Digest website and see the details for the 2021 PAD Challenge.

As promised in my last blog post, here is the second set of poems I’ve written for the 14th annual Poem-A-Day Challenge as organized by Writer’s Digest. Even though every day has its own unique prompt, I am focusing on “travel” as an overarching theme because I’ve missed traveling so much this past year.

Day 6 PAD Prompt: Today is the first Tuesday of the month which means it’s time for our first Two-for-Tuesday prompt. You can pick one of the prompts, combine prompts, or write one poem for each prompt. For this Two-for-Tuesday prompt: 1. Write a change poem and/or… 2. Write a don’t-change poem.

CHANGE“Change is sometimes the same as rest,”A bookseller told me,And who am I to quibble withSuch keen philosophy?Yet, change churns like the wild riptides;Rest idles like the shoals.Can such converse occurrencesBe interchangeable?For change does rent, and rest does mend.One settles; one upsets—If change must come, then I desireA change disguised as rest.Poetic Form of Choice: The Style of Emily Dickinson© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 7 PAD Prompt: Write a villain poem. You could write a persona poem from the perspective of a popular villain (like Count Dracula, Thanos, or Dolores Umbridge). Or write a poem with a person doing a villainous thing (like eating the last piece of pie or littering).

OFF-PEAK FAUX PASPlenty of seats upon the train;You claim the bay for fourThough you are traveling alone,And I am with three more.Poetic Form of Choice: Ballad quatrain© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 8 PAD Prompt: Write a metaphor poem. A metaphor is when something is something else (I am a tree). Take a moment to consider possible metaphors and then poem them out.

LONDONAn old friendtoo rarely seen yetknown so well; you tellstories ofconquest, disaster,victory; I sitat your feetsavoring those talesin your ancient voice.Poetic Form of Choice: Modified haiku with syllable count of 3-5-5© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 9 PAD Prompt: Write a persona poem for an inanimate object. A persona poem is written in the voice of someone (or in this case something) else – a pair of scissors, a picture frame, smart phone, or another inanimate object.

LOST LUGGAGEI don’t mind the wait.I’m used to it. Most daysI sit in your closetwedged between shoeboxesand workout equipment.(Bit dusty in there, I’ll admit.)So, this change of venueis, frankly, refreshing althoughI’m sure you’re anxiousfor us to reunite. After all,you have plans tonight, and thatlittle black dress won’t wear itself.Until then, I’ll be on this shelf.I feel certain the airline willsort things out, and I’ll join youat the hotel before yourdinner reservation. (It will be nice to see another location.)Poetic Form of Choice: Free verse with internal rhyme, assonance, and consonance© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 10 PAD Prompt: Take the phrase “Get (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles include: “Get Smart,” “Get Incredibly Overwhelmed by the Beauty of Spring,” and/or “Get This Poem Written.”

GET AWAY FROM IT ALLIsn’t that the bottom line?Leave it all behind. Unwind.Pack only what you need –no assignments or deadlinesno one more thing before I go…Just winding shoreline drivesalong the coast – away fromthat host of inconveniencessaturating your bandwidth –no let me check my messages…Ocean on the left, sunset overheadreminding you of the infinite –the unsaid. What’s familiar ceasesto interfere with what lies before youand what is right here.Poetic Form of Choice: Free verse with internal rhyme, assonance, and consonance© 2021 F. E. Greene

It’s not too late for you to join in the fun! Follow this link to the Writer’s Digest website and see the details for the 2021 PAD Challenge.

As promised in my last blog post, here is the first set of poems I’ve written for the 14th annual Poem-A-Day Challenge as organized by Writer’s Digest. Even though every day has its own unique prompt, I am focusing on “travel” as an overarching theme because I’ve missed traveling so much this past year.

Day 1 PAD Prompt: Write an introduction poem. Introduce yourself, introduce a friend, or introduce a stranger. If you don’t wish to introduce yourself, consider writing a persona poem (a poem in which you write from someone else’s point of view). You could also introduce a problem, solution, or situation.

CHECKING INI greet you like a friendI’ve never metbut know so well –familiar already with yourconveniences and dimensions,amenities and deficitsas you know mine, vaguely,from the endless parade of others –unpacking and repacking,coming and going,leaving unique variationsof disarray in their wake.I won’t be so negligent.I swear it. I’ll leave you as neatlyas I found you – toiletries gathered,detritus collected, souvenirs corralledinto carry-ons, and plastic bottlesclustered near the trash canwith the hopeful guaranteeof reuniting someday,you and me,in that first blush of discovery –the heady freshness of expectation –alone in this hotel room, together.Poetic Form of Choice: Free Verse with Alliteration, Assonance, and Consonance© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 2 PAD Prompt: For today’s prompt, I want you to answer the question, “What does the future hold?” Then, make your answer the title of your poem and write your poem.

UNKNOWNI know not what the future holds.I only know today;And yet my mind so often dwellsOn where I’ll make my way.I dream of journeys far afield,Past hills and lakes and moors.What would I give? What might I riskTo rove those distant shores?To wander freely has a costI should too gladly pay;But I know not when that shall be—I only know today.Poetic Form of Choice: The Style of Emily Dickinson© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 3 PAD Prompt: Write a communication poem about different ways people can communicate: text message, letter, signs, and even speaking dialogue. Of course, there are other forms of communication as well because people love communicating.

WISH YOU WERE HEREAt the carvery on Coleshill’s High StreetI sit (pen in hand) tucked into a boothsculpting sentences onto cardstock rectanglesembellished with teacups or Westiesor the Queen (not quite smiling)while my hasty words fail to encapsulatethe affirmation, gratitude, joy I feelat returning to my home away from home.I’ll concede – postcards are passé, obsoleteas superfluous as sunscreen in Englandas slow as the post office queue.I might email you this evening(send a text in mere seconds)but neither of those can be affixed to the fridgeand remain on display as clear evidencethat I do (in fact) wish you were here.Poetic Form of Choice: Free Verse with Alliteration and Assonance© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 4 PAD Prompt: For today’s prompt, write an active poem. This can be a poem comprised of active (vs passive) verbs. It can also be about exercising, playing a sport, or keeping your mind active.

THE ROSE TREE RESTAURANT,BOURTON-ON-THE-WATERWe lounge at the round wooden table,its pine-green umbrella shielding us fromwhat sunshine slides through the clouds.Across the sidewalk and grassy bank,children wade and splash in the Windrush;mothers huddled by their prams gossip softly.We chatter, too – three friends, two of us sisters –trading tales after a lengthy separation withthe artless ease born of affection and trust.This lazy Saturday yields a feast of activity,none of it rushed or taxing, and I marvel athow doing next to nothing can mean so much.Poetic Form of Choice: Free Verse with Alliteration, Assonance, and Consonance© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 5 PAD Prompt: For today’s prompt, take the phrase “The First (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles include: “The First Kiss,” “The First Day of the Month,” and/or “The First Time I Rode a Bike”

THE FIRST RETURNINGShe takes her first London taxi down Marylebone Road and drinks her first cup of tea on the Virgin train. She disembarks at the Birmingham Airport to hire her first car of the summer. She concentrates during her first half hour of driving on the left side of the road. She tags along with her host for her first visit to the ASDA Walmart in Minworth. She relishes her first excursion to Kenilworth and her first ramble along the Honiley footpath. She attends her first church service, exchanges first hugs with others, and joins them for her first Sunday lunch.mundane things becomemagical when returningafter an absencePoetic Form of Choice: Haibun - a combination of prose poetry and haiku. The prose portion describes a natural scene in an objective, detailed manner. The haiku portion (with the traditional syllable count of 5/7/5) reflects on what has been described.© 2021 F. E. Greene

It’s not too late for you to join in the fun! Follow this link to the Writer’s Digest website and see the details about the 2021 PAD Challenge.

April is National Poetry Month, and I’m excited to announce the publication of my latest book – Rhyming Brighter – just in time for the celebration!

This portable paperback is available at Amazon for only $7.99. It’s filled with 31 days of poetry prompts along with lined pages for writing. Every prompt comes with a detailed explanation and sample poem as well as a glossary of frequently used terms. Readers can work through the exercises at their own pace and in whatever order they choose.

Rhyming Brighter is an excellent gift for the poet in your life! It’s also a wonderful tool for homeschool teachers and students who want to explore poetry in a convenient and interactive way. The next book in the series – Rhyming Even Brighter – hits online bookshelves in a few weeks!

Let’s celebrate National Poetry Month together! Why not join me in the Writer’s Digest PAD (Poem-A-Day) Challenge? It’s no cost, no fuss, and no risk! You don’t have to share your poems with anyone unless you choose to. I’ll be posting my daily poems on my Facebook page and publishing them once every five days on this blog.

My recently published poetry collection, In Days Divine, took root when I lived in England and entered a series of online poetry challenges. I’d never done anything like that before and was surprised to find that I loved writing poems with directions and a deadline. I won’t say they were all diamonds, but the process definitely made me a better poet.

Touch here to find out more about the 2021 PAD challenge from Writer’s Digest. I hope you’ll consider participating and maybe posting your poems on the WD site? Or you can simply drop in to read what others are writing. No pressure – just poetry!

Above all, I wish you a happy National Poetry Month, and thanks for reading!