MY BEST DAY EVER

Howdy, Campers, and Poetry Friday!

I'm kicking off our first series of 2025  ~ Happy New Year! We've decided to borrow the 2025 Tournament of Roses Parade's theme, "My Best Day Ever!"

For more about the parade's theme, read this article.

At first, I was going to post about the fantastic time I had at the NCTE Convention in Boston this past November. There were numerous Best Days that week, one of which was when I was on my way to hear the opening speaker...and the sheer pleasure of attending a huge convention (7,500 attendees) for the first time in years. What. A. Blast!

But as I was hiking with our 1-year old pup Sadie, on New Year's Day, it became clear. I had to tell you what my favorite hike does for me.  This particular trail, which I've named The Courageous Trail, takes about two hours. It's a steep hike, the footing is tricky, and I rarely run into anyone on it.  I hike it at least once a week, often more. I'm always, always happier (often ecstatic) as soon as we're greeted by the pepper trees near the trailhead, and I'm definitely the Queen of Bliss when I make a point of touching the post at the end of the trail: we did it!

pepper trees greet us 
at the beginning of trail 

When I hike this trail, grey skies clear, Vitamin Green calms, heals, and softens me...and poem ideas jump up from their hiding places shouting, "SURPRISE!" 

Remember those pocket breath strips that would dissolve on your tongue? For me, brilliant ideas are like that. So, to make sure I don't forget, I send each idea from the trail. The subject line is simply: Poem: [whatever I just thought of]; I leave the body of the email blank.

Here are a few examples of those subject lines:

• Poem: the toe has no nose but it knows; my eyes have no clothes but they're closed
• Poem: I'm so glad I married this trail
• Poem: HIKING PRAYER: I am here I am here
• Poem: the wind leaves leaves. The leaves win.
• Poem: as much as I love pepper tree leaves, I am developing an affection for the green spoon, the blue rubber glove, the empty whiskey bottle near the trash can at the end of this trail.

Yes. I love personification.

Some of the ideas turn into poems, some of them wander over to my husband's worm farm in the backyard. Apparently, old ideas are delicious.

For me, every day I hike--is my Best Day Ever.

Below are three poems related to nature and dogs.

I wrote the first one when we'd just adopted Sadie—my husband was healing from a major accident, I was recovering from whatever I was recovering from, our wonderful old dog Eli had died a few months before (Kitty was in deep mourning--she wouldn't sleep in our room, and refused to purr). A gloomy fog filled our home. You know what I'm talking about.

AND GOD SAID...
by April Halprin Wayland

Done. You’ve asked, I’ve granted. Now go
Out there and laugh, laugh, laugh!
Give all the love you’ve been saving to your new furbaby.

BLESSING
by April Halprin Wayland

I’m listening—
sometimes it’s clear,

sometimes I hear
a healing balm.

It whispers soft:
my word is calm.

We breathe in green.
It’s healing both my dog and me.

DOG PARK SPRING QUARTET
by April Halprin Wayland

1.
Dogs frisk in dust,
birds choir on wires.

2,
The sparks of spring
bring racing things
on paws
and wings.

3.
Dog’s full-stretch yawn.
The chill?  It’s gone.
Instead, the crazy sting
of spring.

4.
Our park is full of
barks that mean g’morning, howdy, hi!
My heart is full of wagging tails
and hope and song and sky.

poems (c)2024 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

Regarding the last poem:

Sometimes I get flashes on a topic. Pieces of a puzzle that don’t fit together with that satisfying click no matter how I rearrange the pieces.  Most days I discard all but one and work out a poem from that. But the day I wrote this one, I wanted to keep them all.  This is one way to organize ideas.  Bring 'em all on board! Then the poem's like a strobe light, flashing on one idea at a time in a black room.

It’s your turn. Pick a big topic–spring, love, Paris, mother–whatever it is, scribble down metaphors, words that sound like your feelings about the topic, etc.  Create a quartet of poems.  And remember to breathe.

Sit, Sadie...

Oh--I almost forgot! A different kind of Best Day Ever is teaching! 

Do I still get nervous when my classes begin? You betcha. 

But the moment I can tell that my students and I are in that flow--that's the Great Gift.

So, come join my next one-day, 3-hour UCLA Extension's Writers' Program class, INTRO TO WRITING THE CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK ~ A Workshop for Absolute Beginners 

many thanks to Barney Saltzberg for this illustration

Guess what?!?! 
UCLA Extension offers it FREE! 
Enrollment begins January 22nd--this class fills FAST!

* * *

Thank you for reading this post. 

Now, it's your turn. What's your Best Day Ever? (And if you've forgotten how the Tournament of Roses defines that, read this article.)

Thank you, Mary Lee, for hosting the first Poetry Friday of 2025 at A Year of Reading !

I believe that the Kidlitosphere will bring hope to this beautiful, sorrow-filled world. 
It's going to take time, humanity, art, humor, community, committment, poetry, and a few good songs.

posted by April Halprin Wayland
with help from Sadie and Kitty

PS: I just read that hashtags can be added to Blogger...so here goes

(and please let us know in the comments section if you found us via a hashtag--and which one!):

#newyear #wedandothis #wesing #wewrite #wecreateart #weteach #welaugh 
#poetryforchildren #writingchildrensbooks #poemsaboutdogs #poemsabouthiking #poetryfriday #BarneySaltzberg #Icouldgoonandon #dohashtagsmakemelookfat