You’ve arrived!
It’s Poetry Friday
and the Roundup is here!
Welcome!
Poetry Friday is a community of writers who poem together each week. Inspired by one another, the natural world, our messy lives, and other art-makers, we wrestle with verbs, with form, with blank space to make sense of the worlds we walk in.
If you’re looking for a community to poem with, you are in the right place!
Add your link below, read, comment, and enjoy a small spot of goodness this weekend.
ANOTHER GOLDEN HINGE
Angie Braaten offered a Golden Hinge prompt for Ethical ELA’s April VerseLove.
I tried one a few weeks ago, in honor of my mom who passed away Easter Sunday. The fun part of this form is marrying a favorite line from someone else’s poem with your own words – and seeing where it takes you.
Once again, I borrowed a line from Traci Brimhall’s “Mouth of the Canyon.”
“Let’s go be alive like that…”
taken from “Mouth of the Canyon”
by Traci Brimhall
an excerpt from her poem →
….
What do you mean the wind is not alive?
Look at the way it courts the shy juniper.
Can’t you see its reliable visits every
afternoon? Its secure attachment style
to its own wet and thunderous passions?
Let’s go be alive like that, like rattlesnakes…
I needed that line
“Let’s go be alive like that…”
after saying goodbye to my mom.
So I carried it with me for the past four days in Yosemite National Park.
Immersion
Let’s go be alive like that…
Go starswhirling in a darksky,
be sequoia’d in velvet groves,
alive in ancient rainbow mist
like the rising trail
that swallows our every “Yes!”
“Let’s go be alive like that” taken from
Mouth of the Canyon, by Traci Brimhall
poem and photos ©2026 Patricia J. Franz
Patricia Franz writes picture books and poetry. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
Wow — what a beautiful poem and gorgeous views of Yosemite! Like the compound words and use of “sequoia’d” as a verb. 🙂 Also liked Traci Brimhall’s poem (she’s new to me, so thanks for introducing me to her work). And thanks for hosting this week!
Thank you, Jama. Traci’s poem was in Ada Limon’s anthology, You Are Here. I’ve spent a lot of time with “Mouth of the Canyon”, joyfully!
Ah, beautiful, Patricia! I’m so sorry to hear about your mother and send my condolences. Traci Brimhall is new to me, too. Thank you for rounding up this week.
Hope you enjoy Traci’s offerings. I found her via Ada Limon’s You Are Here anthology.
Living our lives with joy is the greatest way we can honour our lost loved ones. I’m sure your mother’s heart would be happy knowing you are out there, living your life in this wild, wonderful world. <3
Your poem is inspired in every sense of the word, Patricia – breathtaking. Continued prayers for you and yours in this hard, hard season. I’m grateful for your mother because she brought you into our worlds. Thank you for sharing the beauty above and for hosting us all this week.
Hi Patricia! You picked such a wonderful line as a springboard after saying goodbye to your mom. “Alive in ancient rainbow mist” is lovely. I like the way you describe Poetry Friday. Thanks for all, and for hosting. xo