10:30 a.m. And so our month of verse draws to a close. I have a few things to get done today, including the newsletter for my store, but this has been a poem that’s 30 days coming, basically. That’s a good amount of time.

And the only thing I can think of for a theme is that I want it to sum everything up.

So what was this month about?

• My corner of the world.
• Making things better?
• Complaining less.
• Exploring different poetic forms.
• A conversation in a way, since I wrote the poems “live”.

10:36 a.m. So, let’s give it a try:

Lay your head down for rest,
feel the world fall away.
Are you comfortable now
that you're out of the fray?

I know I've done my best
to take the cares of the world.
I've dressed them up, sent them off
changed the way they unfurled.

I hope that I have passed the test
and turned your worries into verse.
Admit it, you're glad I did it,
or at least you know it could be worse.

10:55 a.m. Not quite freeform. Interesting rhyme scheme. A/B/C/B, A/D/E/D, A/F/G/F. I may like to rhyme, but you gotta admit I don’t always rhyme the same way. Let’s title and polish.

Change
by Michelle Garren-Flye

Lay your head down for rest,
feel the world fall away.
Are you comfortable now
that you're out of the fray?

I know I've done my best
to take the cares of the world.
I've dressed them up, sent them off,
changed the way they unfurled.

I hope that I have passed the test
by turning worries into verse.
Admit it, you're glad I did it—
or at least you know it could be worse.

11:04 a.m. Goodbye for now.

10:55 a.m. I’m hoping to make a book with some of these poems. I do it every year. Sometimes I use all the poems I write in the month of April, sometimes only some of them.

I imagine this will be one of the “only some of them” years.

In all seriousness, I am always happy to have the abundance of poetry that April leaves me with. So today I’m dedicating my poem to the theme of abundance.

Abundance
by Michelle Garren-Flye

We pray for it, for enough—
or just a little more—
and when we get the stuff
we will be happier than before.

It's something that we know—
or something that we feel—
whose elusiveness may bring us low
because it's all too real.

Take my hand as we whirl on—
a continuous everlasting dance—
work our way through life's echelon
in endless search for abundance.

11:24 a.m. I thought it was a sonnet, but it ended too soon.

11:32 a.m. Took a break to answer texts. I’m back. Let’s go over and rewrite a couple of rough patches.

Abundance
by Michelle Garren-Flye

We pray for it, for enough—
or just a little more—
because when we get the stuff
we will be happier than before.

It's something that we know—
or something that we feel—
whose elusivity may bring us low
but we'll seek on with zeal.

Take my hand as we whirl on—
a continuous everlasting dance—
we'll work through the echelon
in endless search for abundance.

11:51 a.m. I think the rhythm is better. Of course, “dance” and “abundance” rhyme is a stretch. Hope you enjoyed! We have one more tomorrow. Let’s see what we come up with.

12:22 p.m. Today I get my first ever dental filling. I’m not even nervous, but it is a little irritating to have to use part of my day to do this. And they told me to eat ahead of time, and I’m not hungry lol.

Full disclosure, I started thinking of this one about half an hour ago. I was locking my door. It’s a gray day, but it felt brighter for a moment.

A moment in the sunlight
but not quite—
the light just brightened
a bit
and I thought I saw a shadow
cast on my door
like the clouds had broken
but it was just a token
of what will be tomorrow.

12:26 p.m. Not quite what I was thinking of but I like it.

Let’s hope for sunlight tomorrow.

10:22 a.m. Iris season is almost over, I guess, but man was it a good one. Purple, yellow, blue, white. I saw them all. The flowers look too big to stand up on the stalks. Almost like they float.

10:47 a.m. Took a break to chat with some nice people who stopped in. Let’s see if we can write a sonnet about irises.

Iris season is nearly over
filled with blooms vibrant in color
yellow, blue, purple amidst the clover
without them, our days may be duller.

fat purple blossoms made me laugh
yellow buds always brightened my day
wispy white whirl atop green staff
whimsical but now about to go away.

An empire falls in my garden
the beauty of spring is laid low
summer's approach begs no pardon
it's all just a part of the flow.

so enjoy the iris only within reason
they'll be gone with the change of season.

11:00 a.m. That took a few. Let’s do a quick cleanup.

Fall of the Iris
by Michelle Garren-Flye

Iris season is nearly over;
'twas filled with blooms vibrant in color:
yellow, blue, purple amidst the clover.
Without them, our days may be duller.

Fat purple blossoms made me laugh;
yellow buds always brightened my day.
Wispy white whirl atop green staff—
whimsical but now fading away.

An empire falls in my garden.
The beauty of spring is laid low.
Summer's approach begs no pardon;
it's all about going with the flow.

So enjoy the iris only within reason;
they'll be gone with the change of season.

11:05 a.m. Hope you enjoyed it!