POEM A DAY – APRIL, 2026
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
