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December 17, 2015

Poetry Friday--The Round-Up is Here!


I wrote this back in July and have been holding onto it until the time was right! It's one of the Sketchbook Project angel poems. It could just as easily have been a descriptive paragraph, there's really nothing all that poetic about it except for the division into stanzas, still, it was was fun to write and illustrate. Consider it my gift to you, and, I'll consider your indulgence a gift to me.

Click on the image to enlarge for easier reading. © Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.

If you're here for the Poetry Friday Round-Up, this is the place to be! Add your link to the comments below.

Okay, here we go...The first Round-Up comment arrived at 9:09 PM from cbhanek. You'll find a cute Christmas eve acrostic and a Christmas blessing. I'm sure there will be a lot of Christmas poetry shared on the Round-Up this week.

Sally is with us from the land down under. I can never keep it straight, is it the next day already in Australia? Check out Sally's original anticipatory poem, "Too Many Sleeps."

Jama's post will have you craving honey sweetness, but may also stir up memories--some that you might not wish to deal with--by way of a poem from Barbara Crooker.


Laura Salas has a rhyming acrostic, "Things to Do in Science Class," to share with us. The poem is one of eight that Laura has in The Poetry of Science: The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science for Kids!

Robyn Hood Black is featuring ME today! We were swap partners in the Winter Swap set up by Tabatha Yeatts.

Tara is bemoaning the lack of snow in NJ. I can't say that I agree, but I do agree that she has an excellent poet to share with us today--Patricia Fargnoli!

Bridget at Wee Words has a little ditty about magazines that makes you wonder what exactly it is that they're selling!

Laura shares her Winter Swap poem collage from Irene Latham, and, a poem from her new book which is poised to make it's official appearance! All the best, Laura!

Visit Matt, my fellow New Hampster, for a sweet little poem titled, "What the Snow Clouds Know." (And by "sweet" I don't mean syrupy, but what my son means when he says, "Sweeeet.")

At Beyond Literacy Link, Carol is teasing us with promises of her upcoming Autumn's Palette Gallery. Don't miss it when she publishes it (maybe next week, Carol?)--it is a inviting mix of pictures, poems, and music.

Our poet friend, Jone, had surgery yesterday, so let's all send her healing thoughts. She managed to prepare a pre-op post on her experience with the Spark challenge. She shares the inspiration art she received and the poem she wrote in response.

Violet Nesdoly introduced me to a new voice--Carolyn Arends, a singer songwriter. Take a listen to "The Sound" and see if she doesn't impress you, too!

Teacher Dance has a haiku by Linda, which, with only six words, proves that "less is more."

It is hard to lose a loved one during the holiday season--all the memories. Kathryn a.k.a. Katswhiskers takes her memories, and her grandmother's recipe, and mixes them together to make a pikelet poem.

The lady who sets up the poem swaps for the lucky participants, Tabatha Yeatts, shares the poem and gift she received from her swap partner, Liz.

(Tabatha neglected to say that she gave the participants the option of using the Monet painting as a poem-starter. I attempted to use it, but my poem went off in a direction not so pleasant. I may post it in the future, but first I have to pull it back from the pit of darkness!)

A Year of Reading has turned into a year of writing haiku for Mary Lee, and she's done an admirable job! We get to be spectators at the game of haiku tag that Mary Lee has for us today.

Myra's back at Gathering Books to bring us Carol Ann Duffy's poem, "Who Loves You." Here's a teaser: "Every day people fall from the clouds, dead." Whoa! Now you've got to go check it out!

A poem by Billy Collins, "While Eating a Pear," may be found at Reading to the Core. Catherine's sure picked a thought-provoking humdinger for today--imagine a world of things without names.

Donna, too, is sharing her swap poem and gift. You'll find it at Mainely Write. The swapsters have outdone themselves this time round!

At Reflections on the Teche, Margaret is sharing poems in response to the Won Ton stories by Lee Wardlaw. Meow.

Dori's choice for today is one section of a poem called "Seventeens" by Amit Majmudar. Be sure to click on the link to the complete poem!

Irene is working her magic by celebrating kindness for 12 days. Today she has a quotation from Kahlil Gibran, and also a poem, in two languages from Julie Paschkis.

Katie has compiled a list of 2015 poetry books for kids at The Logonauts. I'm a second round judge for the Cybils Award for Poetry, so I'm sure to be seeing many of this titles up close!

Okay, here are two lines that I love: "Blossoms of babies/Blinking their stories." What pictures they bring to mind! They're from the poem, "Handfuls," featured today by Little Willow at Bildungsroman.

If you've read the swap poem at Tabatha's blog, you'll enjoy comparing it to another poem inspired by Monet's poem. Liz Steinglass has it here, as well as an explanation of how Tabatha's gift poem evolved.

The Miss Rumphius Effect has a Lawrence Ferlinghetti poem, "I Am Waiting" originally published in 1958, but so well representative of the thoughts of many today!

Janet Squires looks at one of the dozens of books of poetry and art by Douglas Florian, Poetrees. His work is always unexpected.


Poetry For Children
is full of poems and recommendations from Sylvia (and Janet). Today the featured poem is "Christmas Tree" by Joseph Bruchac.

Julie Larios shares a little poem by John Clare that is alive with winter birds. I delight in the joyful noises birds make despite winter weather.

Keri's recommending one of her work-related videos this week. It's a food-related parody of "The Night Before Christmas." Look for the elf who most looks like a script writer--that's Keri!

Karen Edmisten has a houseful of writers! She celebrates them by posting Richard Wilbur's much-loved poem, "The Writer."

Well, it's now after 1:00 PM and I've been at this since 7:00 AM, so...It's time for lunch, and a quick run to Christmas Tree shop for some gift bags I forgot to buy earlier. I hope there are some left that don't depict Spongebob or that are full of barely-glued-on glitter. I'll be back later to catch the stragglers. Please, if you noticed a link that doesn't work, or some boy-are-you-dumb errors, let me know!

I noticed Heidi from My Juicy Little Universe hasn't made an appearance, so I'm taking the liberty of adding her link. She has the words to "Deck the Halls" and a video of a madrigal version.

Here's a version that I like for its majestic cold-weather vibe:



Last, but not least, Amy at The Poem Farm treats us to a crunchy cookie treat! Angels are finding their way on many a blog this week! Some just happen to be edible.

78 comments:

  1. What a wonderful early Christmas present! I love your realistic sense of four-stanza humor! Thank you! God bless you! It's been a long day and I'm happy to end it smiling (and posting!--thank you for the early opportunity).

    I've written about kids, too! Christmas Eve wishes of wee ones, captured in a Christmas acrostic. Thank you, again, so much for hosting!

    http://cbhanek.com/2015/12/18/wee-ones-christmas-eve-wishes/

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  2. Merry Christmas Diane. I love your Christmas humour - so accurate! I'm in this week with a Christmas poem of my own. http://sallymurphy.com.au/?p=1648

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  3. Hah! Leave it to you to provide some humor just when we need it most. Wonderful poem!

    For my last PF post of 2015, I'm sharing Barbara Crooker's "Making Strufoli" with her grandmother's recipe (post goes live at 6 a.m.):

    http://wp.me/p1GE6P-4vF

    Thanks for hosting, and Happy Holidays to you!!

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    1. I look forward to reading it in the morning, Jama. And, learning about struffoli. I can't imagine rolling hundreds of little balls of dough and frying them all. Sounds like a lot of work. Delicious work.

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  4. The peanut butter! Hysterical. Even though the language is straightforward, what you left OUT of the telling makes it feel like a poem. Thanks, Diane, and happy holidays! I've got the PFA for Science and my rhyming acrostic, "Things to Do in Science Class," at http://laurasalas.com/poems-for-teachers/poetry-friday-anthology-for-science-remix/. Thanks for hosting!

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    1. I'm glad you think it's a poem, Laura, as I said, I had my doubts!

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  5. Spiderlings in the Christmas Pageant! Love it.

    And I especially love my post today, because it features my amazing Winter Poem Swap Wonderfulness from... Daine Mayr! http://www.robynhoodblack.com/blog.htm?post=1015861

    Thanks so much for hosting, Diane, and for scattering some of your your inspired light in my world. Merry Christmas!

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    1. Spiderling is such a fun name for the teensy arachnids. I once wrote an easy reader about spiderlings. It also had a cat in it!

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  6. Spiderlings! I love the humor in this poem, the Christmas pageant stuff that makes us smile. I'm thinking of winter, which has not yet arrived in New Jersey, and which I miss (for now):
    https://ateachinglifedotcom.wordpress.com/2015/12/18/poetry-fridaywinter-grace-by-patricia-fargnoli/

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    1. Winter's not here in New Hampshire, either! Pat Fargnoli was our Poet Laureate several years back. A nice lady!

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  7. Hilarious, Diane! Fantastic poem - spot on with Sister Mary Gerard. In my 12 years of Catholic school I've met this nun and witnessed this tableau. =)

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    1. I think we all have if we've had any Catholic background!

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  8. Diane, when my husband's Italian grandmother was alive, we always had that dessert on Christmas Eve. Gorgeous and delicious!

    I'm counting down to 2016, my debut year as a middle grade author. For the Poetry Friday holiday swap, Irene Latham sent me a poem of welcome "Into Arrival," worked into a beautiful collage. I'm so glad she let me share it with you! http://authoramok.blogspot.com/2015/12/poetry-friday-counting-down-to-2016.html

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    1. I've never been to an event where struffoli was served. I'm feeling deprived...

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  9. I certainly think you can label this prose poetry - and a fun example, at that! Today I'm sharing a poem I wrote last January, but I felt was appropriate, since winter is to arrive soon - with or without the white stuff! http://wp.me/p2DEY3-1oP

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    1. Ha, ha, Matt, no white stuff in the forecast. Cold, wet, rain today.

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  10. Diane, you never cease to amaze me. The humor in this poem takes me back to my K-12 days of Catholic education with the nuns. Now that the season of autumn is almost officially over, I am preparing my latest gallery, Autumn's Palette, for a soon-to-be unveiling. http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2015/12/grand-finale.html

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    1. How soon is soon, Carol? Will we receive it as our Christmas gift?

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  11. I love the juxtaposition of the slapstick with the sacred in your Christmas poem. Isn't that what the sacred is, after all--the divine touching life in its most real places? I also always enjoy your presentations--graphics and fonts so suited to the subject.

    My post this week is a few lyrics from a favourite songwriter, and a YouTube of one song from her last year's Christmas album. "Hush Now Listen" is here: http://wp.me/pC77F-zS (post goes live 4:00 a.m. Pacific time tomorrow)

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    1. I like your definition of sacred, "the divine touching life in its most real places." So true!

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  12. It's wonderful, Diane, makes me remember wearing a chenille bathrobe as one of the shepherds one Christmas pageant long ago. I have an original haiku today, inspired from our big snow this past Tuesday. Thanks for hosting at this special time. http://www.teacherdance.org/2015/12/poetry-friday-snow-and-memo.html

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    1. I always get a kick out of photos of patio furniture covered with snow. It's a visual joke if ever there was one!

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    2. It's always my 'go-to' picture to show how much snow, without the wind drifts. This time, so smooth and perfect, and thus the poem.

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  13. There are so many things that can go gloriously 'wrong' when working with children. You've captured it, Diane.

    My poem isn't Christmas related. I had thought to have a new poem/post for today, but it hasn't happened, so I'm linking to a poem I posted earlier this week, written (belatedly) for my Grandma. It's something I've never tried before - a combination of parts and a recipe, with a whole lot of memories mixed in. I shared it at my Grandma's funeral on the weekend - and was touched at the memories (and emotions) it stirred for my cousins. And others who I hadn't expected to be so affected. You're welcome to drop by for some of Grandma's Pikelets.
    https://katswhiskers.wordpress.com/2015/12/15/grandmas-pikelets

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    1. The thing with working with children is not to expect ANYTHING to go right, then, you can be pleasantly surprised is something does!

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  14. You found the perfect illustration to go with your hijinks, Diane! Love it.
    I'm sharing Liz Steinglass's winter swap poem for me today: http://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-winter-wish.html
    Thanks for hosting!

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    1. What were you doing up at 4:46 AM, Tabatha? I barely made it up at 7:00. Unless, of course, you were still up, then I would have to assume insanity or insomnia.

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  15. What a perfectly humanly imperfect tableau! I'm a little in love with Penelope!

    I played haiku tag this week...with myself.

    http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2015/12/poetry-friday-haiku-tag.html

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    1. I think we like Penelope because she's us. Ya think?

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  16. Thank you so much for hosting this week. Here is my contribution at GatheringBooks - Carol Ann Duffy's "Who Loves You"
    http://gatheringbooks.org/2015/12/18/poetry-friday-7/

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    1. Thanks for rejoining the Poetry Friday party, Myra!

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  17. Love this, Diane! I can just picture the whole chain of events.
    Today I'm sharing "While Eating a Pear," by Billy Collins. Thanks so much for hosting!
    https://readingtothecore.wordpress.com/2015/12/17/poetry-friday-while-eating-a-pear/

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    1. Nothing better than a just-ripe pear! (Well, maybe a just-ripe peach.)

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  19. Cute and oh, so easy to imagine being there! Kids and pageants, a recipe for disaster!
    I am in sharing the Winter Swap from Dori Bennet today.
    http://mainelywrite.blogspot.com/2015/12/winter-swap-and-more-silver-birch-press.html

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    1. It's always more fun to watch then to corral the performers.

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  20. As someone who has helped with many a Christmas pageant, your poem made me laugh out loud! Thank you for early morning joy. This week I'm sharing CHANGES by Charlotte Zolotow, published in what would have been her one hundreth year.
    http://carolwscorner.blogspot.com/2015/12/changes-by-charlotte-zolotow.html

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  21. My students and I wrote stories in haiku after Won Ton and Chopstick. https://reflectionsontheteche.wordpress.com/2015/12/18/a-story-in-haiku/

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  22. No need for indulgence from me. I loved your poem. I laughed out loud. Wonderful remembrances of Christmas pageants past!

    I'm sharing a poem from Amit Majmudar at DoriReads.
    http://dorireads.blogspot.com/2015/12/merry-merry-merry.html

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    1. Holiday pageants may be a thing of the past, but I hope they make a comeback.

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  23. Oh, the spiderlings! Thank you for your poem, Diane. :) I'm continuing my 12 Days of Kindness and also sharing a poem from FLUTTER & HUM by Julie Paschkis. http://www.irenelatham.blogspot.com/2015/12/12-days-of-christmas-day-five.html
    Thank you for hosting! May your days be merry and bright. xo

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    1. With our rainy grey skies, maybe not so bright! I'll try to keep up the merry end, though.

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  24. Thanks so much for hosting, hooray!

    I am sharing my favorite children's poetry books of 2015 over at The Logonauts.

    http://www.thelogonauts.com/2015/12/poetry-2015.html

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    1. As a librarian, I always appreciate lists of books!

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  25. Happy Holidays! Thank you for hosting.

    I posted Carl Sandburg's "Handfuls" at my blog, Bildungsroman:
    http://slayground.livejournal.com/822626.html

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    1. Handsful? Handfuls? There's always that debate. I guess Sandburg decided handfuls was best for his poem!

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  26. Hi Diane,
    Thanks for hosting. Tabatha's image sent me in a dark direction too before I got myself in a better frame of mind. If you're feeling a little grumpy about winter you might enjoy "Winter," the poem I've posted today.
    http://elizabethsteinglass.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4058&action=edit

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    1. Well, I'm glad you did change frames! I needed a total change of scenery.

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  27. Hi Diane!
    Happy Friday to you. Thank you for sharing your poem. It made me laugh. The next time I sing it I'll be thinking of spiderlings.

    I'm in today with a poem on waiting.
    http://missrumphiuseffect.blogspot.com/2015/12/poetry-friday-i-am-waiting.html

    Thank you for hosting!
    Best,
    Tricia

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    1. I found a great quote in the Ferlinghetti poem that I'm going to post some future Friday on KK's Kwotes! Thanks!

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  28. Thanks for hosting.
    My selection is "Poetrees" by Douglas Florian.

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    1. Thanks for sharing his work. Clever poems, clever illustrations, clever layout.

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  29. Thanks for hosting, Diane, and for sharing your fun poem with a twist! I have a Christmas poem up today-- by Joseph Bruchac from our CELEBRATIONS anthology. Wishing you very happy holidays!
    Sylvia
    http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-christmas-poem.html

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    1. I always enjoy a twist in a poem! (Haiku are noted for them.)

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  30. Oh, I love that poke in the nose with cardboard wings. Diane!

    I'm late this morning with my Poetry Friday post! Over at The Drift Record, I'm sharing my favorite winter poem, John Clare's Emmonsail's Heath in Winter. Here's the link: http://julielarios.blogspot.com/2015/12/poetry-friday-john-clares-emmonsails.html
    Happy Holidays to you all!!!

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  31. Hello darling -- I love your poem! I am late to the party -- I was waiting on the link to be posted at work. :-) I'm in with a video & poetic parody at Keri Recommends:

    http://wp.me/p4P49X-fT

    Joyous greetings to you, with much laughter wished for the new year!

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  32. Ah, Christmas pageants. Just finished our annual reread of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. :)

    Thanks for hosting!

    I'm in with Richard Wilbur this week, here.

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  33. Ah, "The Writer"--a good poem always is worth rereading!

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  34. No post for me this week, but wanted to thank you for the laugh--glory to the spiderlings is going to go through my head every time I hear Hark the herald..

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  35. P.S. from me: Just watched and listened to your Julliard video - all trombones!! How WONDERFUL.

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    1. Glad you liked it! There are quite a number of trombone choirs and videos on YouTube.

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  36. I'm with Julie -- amazed that an all-trombone group has such variety and depth of sound!!

    Thanks for hosting!

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  37. Thank you Diane and other writers of poetry for wakening me up to the beauty of poetry after not being interested in poetry for the past 82 years. Thank you.

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  38. Diane! Thank you for looking after me and all the other spiderlings this week. I did rush away to school and forget to post my link, so I appreciate your rounding me up anyway.

    I enjoyed the pageantry of your and appreciate the old-school roundup with editorial commentary. Happy holidays to you and yours!

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    1. I know how it is to have to rush off to work! Happy holidays, Heidi!

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  39. This is a beautiful Christmas poem - celebrating children and spiderlings and all as we are. Thank you for the reminder and the giggle. Beautiful! I'm really late, but I am here with some cookies. Happy Poetry Monday, and thank you for hosting with such good humor! http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/2015/12/decorating-short-and-sweet.html

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    1. Let's just say it's Poetry Week, so you're right on time!

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  40. What a fun and festive host you are, Diane! Just stopping in briefly to say hello and thank you for the words and wonder.

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    1. Glad you checked in! Happy holidays and we'll see you on the 8th!

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