Poetry and Inspiration Podcast

Hear a poem about Canada Geese caring for an injured gosling. Shouldn’t we do the same?

Listen to my podcast where I read a poem called The Grid and talk about how we know what “true north” is.

How do you unwind in the summer. Do you go somewhere special, or cut down on your activity level, or do you increase your busy-ness? Listen to this podcast to hear a poem about my special place to relax and find myself amidst all the hubbub of living.

Tune in to hear me read a poem from my latest book, Please Use This for Children, and Not for War and Guns. The poem is called “Manna” and is about the flannel quilts my grandmother used to make. What “manna” do you have in your life?

Listen in to a podcast about June wildflowers, strangers and my poem “Questions on a June Morning.”

Here's an example from nature of birds caring for one another. Can we do as well? I read my poem "Migration" and compare the caring of Canada geese with the care my husband got after his car accident. This poem is in my just published book: Please Use This For Children and Not for War and Guns (Blooming Twig Books, 2010.)

It's the week after Easter and I read a poem about redemption, how something "not right" can be "redeemed." This is a poem about the farm that was given to my Grandmother as a gift from her step-father, who bought it when the neighbor lost it in the depression. What does love have to do with making things right?

It’s flooding in the northern U.S. and it brings to mind a poem I wrote about the “flood of the (20th) century” when I lived in St. Paul, MN. What does a flood suggest to you? Being overwhelmed? What does the word “reclamation” mean to you?

February is the month when we think about love, all kinds of love, for children, parents, friends, lovers. What does love have to do with the security of your home? Who makes your home secure? And do those feelings of security travel with you where ever you go?

What do you think of winter? Does it strengthen us or deplete us of energy? Is it friend or foe? Tune in to my reading of the poem, “Winter” from my long-awaited poetry book which will be coming out in the spring.

Tune in to hear me read my poem called Beginning Again. How is January a time of new beginnings for you?

Tune in to this podcast to hear the poem I wrote for my granddaughter’s first birthday. It’s called Finding Day. What will you find on this one precious day?

Tune in to hear a poem about sibling bullying. How did your sisters and brothers treat you? Did your parent intervene? What can be done?

Listen to the story of the sick-a-war tree of Middleville. Are you sick of war, fighting, hatred? Listen in!

This is a children’s story I wrote using dozens of homonyms. See how many you can find.

This is a story full of onomatopoeia, writing down the sounds I hear. Enjoy! Try writing down your favorite sounds.

Listen to the story of the “Firefly Who Wanted to be a Fire Fighter.” It is a children’s story I wrote for the month of July, written using alliteration of the letter “f.” It asks, “What is your dream?”

Tune in to hear my poem, The Whole-Day-Life-of-A Lily, about how day lilies live their entire life in one day’s sun cycle. How does that relate to your life, and where you are in the cycle?

Listen to a children’s poem I wrote called “I Can’t Stay Inside on a May Day.” I discuss what the month of May brings as well as the conflict with the end of school.

Listen to Cynthia reading a poem about Tulip Lulu, a children’s poem about spring and new beginnings.

Listen to a children’s poem about how the March wind feels like a bully, and the discussion about bullying.

How do we cultivate inner strength when the world is exploding around us? Listen as I read my poem, “Under Nature’s Wing,” and discuss finding that strength and freedom to follow your own chosen path.

Tune in and hear Cynthia read a poem about Christmas and the color red. What does Christmas mean to you?

Tune in and hear a poem about the grid in your brain that allows you to instantly know where north and south are, even in unknown places, and metaphorically what that means for the way we see the world.

What are you thankful for, not only the easy, apparent things, but the things that were difficult, but changed your life in a positive way? Listen to my Thanksgiving poem, and then write one of your own.

Tune in and hear me read a recent poem about biking. Biking gives a light eco-footprint, and a great place from which to watch the earth around you.

Listen to how “Marty” from my book “Bully: The Big Book about Bullies and the Bullied” learns about being assertive, and in the process learns about self-worth.

Another aspect of bullying is explored here. Discrimination due to gender, race, age etc are all ways of bullying. Also explored is the topic of where art comes from.

What are the consequences of lying about another person’s character? Is it a form of bullying? Has a lie affected your life?

Here is a Mother’s Day meditation where I read a poem I wrote about my mother and bring up questions about what it means to be a mother.

Are you mostly happy, or mostly sad? Is it a choice or inheritance? In this podcast I read a poem I wrote about my grandfather, whom I hardly knew, but was largely responsible for my mostly happy outlook on life. But it is far more than just inheritance.

Tune in to hear me read a poem from my book Bully: The Big Book for Bullies and the Bullied, about how we respond to being bullied. What is a healthy way to respond?

Are you ever a conversation bully? Do others dominate your conversations? Listen to the poem and decide.

What do our feelings have to do with bullying?

Listen to a discussion about how to think about your own father on this Father’s Day.

Try this exercise to help you understand who you are becoming.

Listen to the podcast and hear me read a new song/poem I wrote for a musical in the works. Marty feels as though he melts under pressure, just like a piece of chocolate. How do you respond to pressure? How do you respond to bullying?

Tune in and listen to an exercise to help you remember those precious moments with your mother, grandmother, daughter.

Listen to a poem I wrote about displaced wrens (birds) and where they built their nest. Have you ever moved? How did you make the new house into a home?

Tune in to hear the poem “Split Ends” and ask questions about what is asked of you, and who you really are?

Tune in and find out how yoga and poetry are related, and how you can learn to reach the unreachable places in your body, mind and spirit.

Here is a preview of a poem from my new book coming out in January. This podcast asks what do you hunger for? When was there a time when you felt satisfied? How can you get back there?

Tune in to hear a new poem read from my book to be published in January, about transplanting flowers from my mother’s house when she died.

Tune in and hear a poem about an old photograph of my mother. What does it tell? What doesn’t it tell?