Barbara's Meanderings

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