It's April and I'm giddy about writing more poetry. I have posted my April poems for the last 2 years in the Poetry section here. Also you will find poems from 2016 as well. This year I am going to try to keep up and post a poem a day here. They will be transferred to the poetry secion when the month is finished. Some of them may be familiar to you. A lot of the April poems have been published in anthologies, magazines, and in my book, You'll Probably Forget Me: Living with and Without Hal. I am hoping to publish a second book of poetry soon. Also not poetry related but some of you may be waiting to hear about my second YA book in the Mill Valley High series: Who Is Jennifer Taylor? Details will be coming out this week I also hope. 

Enjoy the recent poems here. Check back each day to read a new poem.

Day 1

Prompt: Write a seed poem

Emerging Seeds

While snow covered the soil

Tiny seeds began to grow

Their pods expanded and grew fronds

Tender and green and soon these pushed up

Rising on strong stems and bearing flowers

Flowers that brighten our day and create fuel

For the earth’s constant living cycle

The beauty of this delightful yellow daffodil

That pushed its way up to face uncertain April

Its roots firmly planted in the moist soil

Bringing hope for a hopeless time

The peace of its presence enhances our lives

Bringing joy to mundane places

Like the Stop sign where neighborhood events

Are advertised and campaign banners poked into

The ground in front of the usual greenery

But now there are daffodils announcing 

Though winter may still try to creep back

And life is in a winter stage of existence now

We have the buoyancy of Spring waiting for us.

Copyright 2026 by Barbara Ehrentreu

Day 2

Prompt: Write an express poem

Express Yourself

In the world we are told to express ourselves

As children we slop paint all over our hands

Then plop them down on a pristine white paper

Our hands glide over the paper creating designs

They call this finger painting

It’s the most expressive way to show who you are

When all you have is your hands

But people express themselves in so many ways

In their clothing and their facial expressions

Their cars tell a lot about people too

I always prefer a red car, though those are too valued

But even the simplest things are a way to express yourself

The brightly colored scarf you add to your dull wardrobe

The rhinestone barrette you wear in your hair

And the shoes if you can wear them, that you pay hundreds for

All show who you are and what you want people to see

We are all just fingerpainting through life.

Copyright 2026 by Barbara Ehrentreu

Day 3

Prompt: Open----

Open Door

Once we had an open door policy

We let everyone who wanted to come into our country be here

An open door to all who wanted the freedom we had here

Was it perfect here? 

No, but compared to the world we were Disneyland

The land of opportunity where they could change their lives

We offered them a freedom they would never have

And we glided along with the belief we were helping the people who came here

And we kept our door open for any who were in need

Then suddenly a dark wind arrived, and this door slammed shut

It was no longer easy to get in

And for some who had come it was no longer easy to be here

And for some Americans their lives turned into a nightmare

For they no longer felt safe in their own homes and neighborhoods

The land they had thought was free was no longer welcome to them

But in this same country many did not believe the door should be shut

Or that those who entered it should be punished and thrown out

They believed that these new people and their families deserved to be here

And they fought the ones who tried to push them out

They fought with their courage and bravery and protected the ones who needed it

And they fought sometimes with their own lives

Two of these fighters, brave to the end, were mowed down in cold blood

 But the hearts of the people of this country stayed open

Even though life was harder, and it seemed impossible

Yet they persisted and though now it seems the door will not open again

At least there is hope that those who entered will have the life they envisioned

When they first set eyes on the open door of this country.

For freedom and the right to live your life the way you want 

are what built it in the first place

And they are the cornerstones of this unusual place.

Copyright 2026 by Barbara Ehrentreu

Day 4

Prompt: Write a friend poem

The Essence of A Friend

To be a friend is to care for another

as if they were family

Like your sister or brother

And being there for them when the road gets gravely

No matter how long you have lost touch

And the distance is far between you

If a friend needs you so much

The distance means nothing – if your friendship is true

A friend picks you up when you are down on the ground

Feeds  you chicken soup

To help you become sound

And stays with you to help you regroup

But a friend is for the good times too

When you say and do silly things together

For these are the times of me and you

You cherish the thought you are birds of a feather

This is why I only have a few friends

For a friend is someone you have to trust

It’s a person for whom you will go to all ends

And above all in friendship this is a must

Here’s to all my friends from today and the past

We may not see each other every day

But our memories together will last

And the joy of our meetings will always stay.

Copyright 2026 by Barbara Ehrentreu

Day 5

Prompt: Write a poem about safety

I Miss Him

Though it’s a dozen years since I lost him

I still miss many parts of our life

One important part is the safety of his arms

The feeling of complete peace when I lay my head

Against his shoulder and he put his arms around me

The comfort of that moment brings me back to the first time

When I placed my head on his chest and felt safe

A feeling I had never had before

As if I had suddenly found my own comfort zone

The place where nothing mattered except his arms 

And the feeling we were in a cocoon of love

Spun by unseen feelings from each of us

And in that safe space I felt protected from anything

Barbs and sharp jagged shards of comments

Anger felt minutes ago

Tears that needed drying

Nothing penetrated that barrier

If you were here now I would tell you that

Though we fought there were always your arms 

Open and there for me

My safe space against you, with you

The warmth of your body and the beating of our hearts together.

Copyright 2026 by Barbara Ehrentreu

Am I Safe?

Into the normal life of a settled country

Inserted into the existence of a calm people

A force invaded as if an army

With their masks and flack jackets

Descended into a city

Not my city but I saw it

Was I safe?

Watching these automaton robotic like figures

Grab people out of cars and throw them on the pavement

Shoot at many and kill two innocent people

Storm into homes and grab unclothed people

Arrest a US Senator

And think nothing of it – in fact be praised for it

Reminds me of another country

Where peace ended and a whole group of people

Were marked with giant Jewish stars

Then forced into camps or gassed

A  deranged man who caused all this

Stirred it up and waged war on the rest of the world

Brings a chill of remembrance

History in its worst form repeating itself

People thrown into detention facilities

Flown out of the country

War fought without our consent

War fought on the streets of cities

My heart aches for the group attacked

All they wanted was a new life

Now our safety is destroyed by the callous

Disregard for anyone except the cronies of this leader

But a surge of pride runs through me

There is a fighting spirit

This spirit will keep us safe

For it is permeated throughout the country

No one messes with our freedoms.

Copyright 2026 by Barbara Ehrentreu

Hi everyone. It's been a couple of months but one author cancelled and the other postponed. So, for the rest of March and beginning of April, I am happy to introduce you to a new author you will love. 

Welcome Wendy Blanton!

I met Wendy during a Zoom writing group and I started reading her fantasy dragon series that will capture you immediately. 

INTERVIEW WITH WENDY BLANTON

Where were you born and where do you live now? 

I was born in Flint, Michigan. I live near St. Louis, Missouri now.

Who or what influenced you to begin writing? 

I've been telling myself stories my whole life. I was your typical daydreaming kid. I excelled at creative writing in school, but I didn't decide to be an author until after I separated from the USAF and was finishing college.

Besides writing, do you have any occupation? Do you have any hobbies? 

I work at our church as the pastor's assistant, which I love. I like to read and cook, and I dabble in different things. My little ADHD brain likes to try new things, and I go all in, and then I get bored and move on. I tend to circle back to crocheting and knitting every few years, but I haven't done anything advanced.

What made you decide to go into the Air Force? 

I enlisted for GI Bill education benefits. I spent the first 5 years as an Aerospace Ground Equipment mechanic, and then transferred to an admin position in the jet engine shop.

Wow,my father did the same thing during the war. 

Did you see any combat and how did it affect you? 

No, I served stateside.

Have you put any of your personal experiences into your writing? 

Not really. Real life military doesn't translate well into dragons and magic. The mindset was helpful, but that's about it.

Please describe a typical day of writing for you. 

I don't usually have typical days. I write in short spurts between other things--before work, at work when it's slow, sometimes in the evening.

How did you get interested in writing about dragons? 

I was writing short stories for one of the Blackbirds anthologies, and I asked for ideas on Facebook. My friend posted something like, "Fire streaked across the sky. The dragons were back." That became a short story, and then another. I'm up to three books, and am working on both a prequel and a sequel.

What was the path to publication of your first book? 

I went to a Realm Makers conference and met the publisher. We corresponded for several months when he offered me a three-book contract, which I happily signed. A book and a half in, the honeymoon was over. He was trying to get me to write the book in his head, not mine. I got my rights back and formed Coffee With Dragons to publish independently.

You were lucky to have found that out before you got too involved in publishing. There are a lot of dangers out there for writers.

How did you come up with that name? I didn't, actually. Stephen Bagley gave me the idea. Dragons represent the challenges in our lives. We all have them. You can try to kill them, but they don't die. It's easier to learn the lessons they are trying to teach. Sitting with your dragon with a cup of coffee is more pleasant than trying to kill it. 

I never thought of dragons in that way but I will read your books with a different mindset now. And Stephen comes up with a lot of great ideas to help writers.

Do you feel it’s more important to build your world first or to develop your characters when you are writing a fantasy? 

I do them simultaneously. It's pretty messy, but it's a thing of beauty when it all pulls together.

·      Have you written about other things besides dragons? 

I have several short stories in anthologies.

How can our readers reach you? 

www.wendyblanton.com

Facebook: Coffee With Dragons

Finally, the last question I ask all my guests: Are you a plotter or a pantser? In other words, do you plot out your stories or do you just write? I'm a plotter, working toward plantser (the hybrid between the two). Writing is the only area of my life I can't plan well, so I'm working to find ways to streamline my messy process.

Hi everyone! It was time for a change and so my blog looks a little different. Thank you to my web designer who did this for me. My blog is now part of a new website where you can see my books and my editing business. 

One other important announcement is Book 2 of The Mill Valley High series will be available next week, February 16 -22nd. It will be launched from Griffin Publishing on Zoom. Here is the book cover:

Since I don't have an author yet for this month I am posting two poems. One is published in TheNortheast Coast and the other is in response to the awful killing of Alex Pretti. I wrote mine without seeing any of the others that were written. It came from the anguish I felt when I saw that killing.

Until their words don’t hurt me,
my ears will pretend they can
bounce words like rubber balls,
fling them over the fence like
unwanted weeds.

My feet will stay planted on the
ground I know, and my body will be
a wall protecting the fragile underside
of my soul,

unaware of the barbs from
the scars of those fierce words
as they are pitched out willy nilly,
tearing the corners of
my clamoring ego 

that tattered and pieced together
puts its brave face to the world.
And ignores the mean spirits
as if they were feathers in the
air of my life.

 Copyright 2026     –Barbara Ehrentreu

 Here is the video that shows me reading it:

Blood On the Flag: The Killing of Alex Pretti In

First of all, thank you to all the readers who commented here and on the Facebook post on my October blog post. So glad you were all able to meet Cathy Horn and appreciate her work.

November is here and I am introducing you to another great poet and author, Cynthia Sharp. She is an exceptional poet and author as well as outstanding human being. I have known Cynthia for almost ten years. We met through our love of reading and listening to poetry on World Poetry Open Mic and formed a friendship and bond through only Messenger, Zoom, and phone calls. We have never met but she is a good friend. 

Let's learn more about her before the interview:

                                BIO:
Cynthia Sharp is a well-known and respected poet, author, educator and speaker. She holds an MFA in creative writing and an Honours BA in literature. With twenty years experience teaching and tutoring language arts, creative writing and English as a second language, Cynthia’s positive energy and compassionate approach to learner-centered education make her sensory writing, photo journaling, chapbook and editing workshops a huge hit. She is sought out regularly as a workshop leader, panelist, host and author presenter for organizations and festivals such as Word Vancouver, the Delta Literary Arts Society, Art & Words on the Sunshine Coast, the Canadian Authors Association, the Federation of British Columbia Writers, the Burnaby Writers Association, PEN America, Girl Guide groups and college and high school classes, as well as to guest lecture in North American colleges and universities. She regularly coaches grade 12 writing students from Fraser Academy as part of their work placement component to graduate.

Cynthia loves to organize and host events, helping communities, individuals and partners in the literary world connect. As the Greater Vancouver Regional Rep for the Federation of BC Writers, she organized a highly successful 2018 Books Alive publishing fair in conjunction with the Vancouver Public Library, which Jamie Broadhurst of Raincoast Books, one of the panelists, called “impeccably organized.” As a regional rep, she also facilitated quarterly local Meet ’n’ Greets, book launches, readings and joint events with other art communities such as Artists Helping Artists (AHA) in Burnaby. In 2017 she organized and hosted a satellite version of the Denver Poesic Fest poetry and music gathering, broadcast live from the Tipper Restaurant in Vancouver, featuring performers from around British Columbia.

Cynthia is a full member of the League of Canadian Poets, as well as The Writers’ Union of Canada and was the City of Richmond, British Columbia’s 2019 Writer in Residence where she taught poetry, flash fiction and screenwriting. She is the WIN Vancouver Poet Laureate and regularly judges contests, such as the 2020 Pandora’s Collective Poetry International Contest, the 2024 North Shore Writers’ Contest and the 2025 Bharat Award for Literature. Her poetry, creative nonfiction and reviews have been published and broadcast internationally in journals such as CV2, Prism, The Pitkin Review, Friday’s Poems, Haiku Journal, Lantern Magazine and untethered, nominated for the Pushcart prize and used in classrooms throughout the world. Her resource book How to Write Poetry, with over 60 five-star reviews on Amazon, was named Best Poetry Ebook by Book Authority, a list featured on CNN and is being re-released in October, 2025. Keep an eye out for it! 

INTERVIEW: