Celebrate Poetry Month by having a poem emailed to you each morning! Just follow the link here: http://www.poets.org/poemADay.php. And from our own, Mary Rose Betten and Laura Beasley add their voice to our Poetry Month Collective!
Love Children
written by Mary Rose Betten
Who cares for my words
once they are written?
Do they go homeless
once they have been penned?
They tumble
down
the
hallways
of my mind
hooting
laughing
aimless
naked children
running
from their bath
I catch them
towel them
tuck them in
Lie with them
alone
in the dark
The Easter Bunny
written by Laura Beasley
The Easter Bunny came early this year,
But he gave me something I truly do fear.
Like an egg in my neck, they call it a mass.
It means I’ll be put under by gas
On the day the surgeon cuts into my neck
To remove the egg-mass, oh what the heck!
It could be cancer or it might be benign,
Perhaps I’ll die soon or for decades, be fine.
I’ll get a scar in my neck, something real I can feel,
Just like this pen with the ink that is teal.
I grab for my life and I try to grip hard
To all of my dreams that seem broken like shards.
My future is hazy, my future is dim.
Will I be there to love him, her, him and him?
Will I ever hold my grandbabies in arms
And swaddle them tight like burritos so warm?
If you think that it’s easy to write of these things,
Then close your mouth tight and then try to sing.
TLS Writers 
Mary Rose and Laura, I agree with Laura Hoopes, hearing you read these would be amazing! Mary Rose, I love the way you thread your poems! Laura, you are such a strong and brave woman…in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you both for being such courageous writers! xoxo Liz
Mary Rose, I loved this poem, and followed them down the hall. I too wish I could hear you read it. Laura, your comments about cancer, in poetry and prose are so touching. I’m in awe of all of you!
I enjoyed the child related, light hearted and serious, nature of both pieces. So lovely!
Mary Rose and Laura, Your poetry is so enjoyable. Laura, through the danger of the cancer egg, some of the rhythms made me think of Dr. Seuss, made me glad you came through all this not a survivor but an enjoyer of life. Mary Rose, I imagine how you would read it (Uh HUH, up, down pause!) and wish I could really hear the rhythms as you read. Someday, maybe we’ll post mp3s! XXOO Laura H
Laura, I love Dr. Seuss. I called these “my obnoxious rhyming poems about cancer” and it helped me process my feelings to write some of these almost 11 years ago. The author Jane Yolen wrote a sonnet every day when her husband was facing a health crisis. Poetry can pull us back to the center of ourselves.
Laura
Your work never ceases to amaze me.
The poem is so powerful.
You are in my thoughts and prayers.
xo
Barbara
Mary Rose
This poem is multi layered, beautiful and oh so deep.
I loved it!
Barbara
What a fun poem Mary Beth!