Treasuring Poetry – An introduction to the poetry of Lindsey Martin-Bowen and a review

Posted: March 18, 2026 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Book Review, Collection, Interview, Poetry, Review, Treasuring Poetry | Tags: #poetry, #RobbieCheadle, #TreasuringPoetry, Book Review, Interview, Lindsey Martin-Bowen, Treasuring Poetry, Where Water Meets the Rock, Writing to be Read | 21 Comments

A riverbed with stones, water, and grasses. Text: Treasuring Poetry with Robbie Cheadle and KAye Lynne Booth

Today, I am delighted to host talented poet Lindsey Martin-Bowen as my March Treasuring Poetry guest. Lindsey is a fellow contributor to Writing to be Read and you can read her latest post here: https://writingtoberead.com/2026/03/04/lindseys-writing-practice-out-of-this-world-writing-exercise/

Interview with Lindsey Martin-Bowen

My poetry journey: How I became a poet

I must admit as a child, I wrote more stories than poetry. And the poems I wrote then were sentimental and trite. (During grade school (from third or fourth through sixth grade), I compiled annual Christmas books containing “Christmas” stories I wrote—but each year, the manuscript also included a Christmas poem (or one about winter) and a Christmas tale from Readers Digest (which influenced me to compose Christmas books). I also illustrated the books with colored pencils the first year and I gradually moved to water color illustrations (which I sometimes marked with felt-tip pens). My sixth-grade teacher (Mrs. Ferguson) introduced us to Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg, whom I liked, but I liked Emily Dickson the best when I attended elementary school—and I still consider her one of my favorites today. (Unfortunately, at the time, I was too naive to pickup on her style (and skills).

Being the nerd I was in high school, I opted to take a journalism classl. There, for the Christmas issue (of our high-school newspaper), I wrote a humorous Christmas poem from the staff, which I illustrated with an ink sketch of Santa , his gift-filled sleigh (which included B/W head-shot photos of each new-staff member )

and eight reindeer flying through skies above my sketches of Victorian two-stories. (Even then, I preferred old homes to the contemporary ranch styles where most my classmates and I lived.)

Also in high school, I continued writing in my diary, which I used to create short stories (from events in that diary). And I submitted those stories in English classes when a teacher requested them. But my poems were overly sentimental and personal. And basically about teen angst. (For example, one was entitled “Alone.”)

In fact, during my senior year in high school, my English composition teacher enjoyed my short stories and offered encouraging comments. I wouldn’t have shared my poetry, but she’d asked to see it. So I submitted the dreary poems I’d written (mainly centering on unrequited love). She read them and returned them without comment. I mean—absolutely NO comments. No encouragement. So I figured I was no better poet than I’d been a violinist. Sigh.

Thus, my true poetry journey did not take flight until my sophomore year at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, when fellow student Robert (“Bob”) Haynes and I became close friends. Even then, he was an excellent poet—and he boosted me along the journey to poet-hood. He shared not only his poems, but pointed out many contemporary experts who’d been gaining attention in the early 1970s, , such as W.S. Merwin, Galway Kinnell (both born the same year as my father: 1927), Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Alan Ginsburg, popular in the late 1960s.-and who gave a reading at UMKC. Bob also introduced me to surrealists Kenneth Patchen and Kenneth Koch, who inspired my frenzies, (which I didn’t write until fifty years later.) I discovered James Tate, who I’d include as a “surrealist,”too. Shortly thereafter I enrolled in the university’s poetry writing classes taught by professors Dan Jaffe and David Ray, who introduced me to an array of well-known contemporary poets, including Diane Wakoski (whom Dan Jaffe brought to UMKC to give a reading), James Dickey, Etheridge Knight, Denise Levertov, John Berryman, David Ignatow, Randall Jarrell, William Stafford, Robert Lowell, Thomas Merton, Later, I also started reading Adrienne Rich, Denise Low, and Mary Oliver.

And, I did improve—enough that my senior year, Dan Jaffe asked me to read a few of my poems at a poetry reading on the UMKC campus for the public. He also published two of my poems in an anthology he compiled, one that included many professional poets.

Favorite poem by another poet

O my goodness—I’ve read so many poets and poems, this one is a tough question. Along with the previous set of poets I mentioned, I’ve always admired Emily Dickinson’s style and work, along with William Butler Yeats (especially his “The Second Coming.” And T.S. Eliot: His “Wasteland” is remarkable, but far too long to include here. And the sounds in that poem make it come alive so much that it’s best to listen to a recording of it. Even his “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a bit long to include. Thus, I’ll share Yeates’s “The Second Coming,” which not only inspired one of my poems that I’ll share later, but also remains relevant to our current world situation (a century later).

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

The second Coming! Hardly are those words out

When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi*

Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert

A shape with lion body and the head of a man,

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it

Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again; but now I know

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,

And what rough beast , its hour come round at last,

Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?

1920-1921

Favorite style of poetry and why

Although I love my surreal frenzies, I also like other forms of poetry, including sonnets, when they come “naturally.” (The two times I’d written sonnets but didn’t realize it until I re-examined them, tweaked them here and there, and voila! I’d written two sonnets without trying—the best for me). Those two appeared n my second published poetry book (the first full collection) Standing on the Edge of the World (Washburn University/Woodley Press 2008).

I’ve also fallen in love with the Japanese tanka form. (Haiku doesn’t allow enough syllables for my poems. 😉 ) Thus, I created a section of tankas in my last collection, CASHING CHECKS with Jim Morrison (redbat books 2023). More about that later.

Moreover, I generally write in “free verse” with sounds and rhythms and internal rhymes (not at the end of a line), that flow so smoothly, the rhyme doesn’t “hiccup” or stop the reader. Why is this usually my favorite form? As I’ve mentioned in a number of my bios, “poetry is my way of singing.” Thus, in most poems I write, I strive to use sound so they have somewhat the same effect that a song does.

Favourite poem of my own

O so many poems—so little time. I cannot name one favorite poem. But three of them come to mind. First, here’s my response to “The Second Coming,” which I wrote in response to the violence occuring in Ferguson, Missouri:

Re-reading “The Second Coming’ by W.B.Yeats

after Ferguson, Missouri\

No one listens anymore. No one works

in tandem. No horses pull this cart.

Now trembling, it falls apart.

The center hub’s blown, exploded.

Rioting in city squares—rioting along beaches.

Is this anarchy—or something more?

The blood of victims rushes onto shores.

Innocents no more, their lungs fill

till they can’t speak—can’t breathe.

Their passions now sneseles, uneasy—

bringing the strange revelation:

the Second coming lies on the horizon.

It’s the day, it’s the day—

O yes, it’s the holy day—

it’s the Day of the Dead.

A wide-winged beast rises above—

eyes black and gleaming, onyx

glistening through bone.

O Momma, Momma,

come back, come back

again. The world’s too cold.

No lion-bodied beast alouches

toward Bethlehem. It’s a creature

with a jackal’s head, a jackal’s soul.

Where Water Meets the Rock, p. 30 (39 WEST PRESS 2017)

Two other poems I must also count as favorites, because they seemed to write themselves.

The words came to me without me planning them. It was if they suddenly appeared in my brain, and I had to scramble to pen them onto paper before they evaporated.

The first, I wrote during the months that revealed my father was not to stay much longer on this earth. (This was when the frenzies started coming to me. Many of the frenzies are absurd—but comical. This one’s more serious. (And I’ve included it in three of my books: It must be a favorite.)

It’s Never Like the Movies—

for my father

this dying, no background chords

rising to a crescendo,

no adagio of strings.

You watch these ants instead,

trickle across peonies

They disappear. And you

can’t keep your grip

on that granite wall of reason

but slip downstream

into some wild current

till you run aground .

There, you search

for the deserted place, a Holy Land,

where Ekijah met God.

Even if you’re hiking

the Appalachian Trail, up

Standing Indian Mountain,

you watch vultures circle

in and out of clouds festering

into some murky, yellow soup.

And when lightning hits,

Father Davis says Hail Marys—

and there, on the horizon,

you see wovoka whirl

in his dance of ghosts.

Standing on the Edge of the World, p. 85 (Washburn U/Woodley Press, 2008)

Inside Virgil’s Garage, p.52 (Chatterhouse Press, 2013)

The Book of Frenzies, p. 76 (Pierian Springs Press, 2022)

And “From the Emerald City to the Mountain of Quaff” is special to me because it came to me in pieces—often as I was awaking from sleep. At the time, it seemed to be one of the most imaginative poems I’ve written. Perhaps that’s why one of my former poetry professors, David Ray selected it to run in an anthology he assembled (Whirleybird Anthology of Kansas

City Poets, 2012).

From the Emerald City

to the Mountain of Quaff

(or This Must Be Kansas)

Go out and get that long face lost, you say,

Bury me in Jerusalem, I reply.

I want to be one of the first to rise,

like yeast on a rock in the desert,

among iron stones, hills filled with brass,

in a land of olive oil and honey—

wrapped in silver and gold,

where water eats fire

and fire drowns water, and the angel

of the presence outlasts them both.

Or, if poetry must be delirious and weird,

or even a prophetic frenzy,

then bury me in absurdia,

where the lemons bloom.

Inside Virgil’s Garage, p. 7 (Chatter House Press 2008)

Kansas City Voices (October 2007)

Whirlybird Anthology of Kansas City Poets, Whirlybird Press (2012).

The BOOK of FRENZIES, p. 66 (Pierian Springs Press 2022)

About CASHING CHECKS with JIM MORRISON

This book has a strange history. Although it resulted in being a sequel to CROSSING KANSAS with JIM MORRISON (Paladin Contemporaries 2016), it wasn’t exactly planned. I wrote the first collection in about six months. It was odd, too, because it took two years for me to write and revise the book’s initial poem entitled “Crossing Kansas with Jim Morrison, which, of course, became the book title. Yet—once that poem came together, I wrote the rest of the book within six months and entered it into the 2015-2016 QuillsEdge Chapbook Contest, Although it didn’t win, it was a finalist. Concurrently, Thorny Locust literary magazine ran three poems from the collection, and Amethyst Arsenic, another lit mag, took one more.

And the Jim Morrison poems kept coming to me. So I added them and others that fit into the collection, to make a complete book, which Paladin Contemporaries published that summer. On Amazon, the book made it to number 23 or so on the top 100 Poetry Books by Women list—and stayed there most of the following year. (Inside Virgil’s Garage was on that same list concurrently, but it didn’t rise as high Crossing Kansas w/JM did.

About two years later after Where Water Meets the Rock was published, I put together CASHING CHECKS, designed around the themesof actual money becoming obsolete. (Checks, along with credit cards, debit cards, and other contemporary methods of payment don’t include actual money, correct? It money going the way of the manual—or even electric typewriter?) That collection, of course, included other sectons centering around the tanka form and the frenzies. (At present three of my collectons include a section of “frenzies,” and of course, The BOOK of FRENZIES contains solely frenzies, some less zany than others).

In short, after accruing more Jim Morrison poems—I mean, Jim just wouldn’t hush, but kept popping words into my brain—I considered merging the new Jim Morrison poems with the CASHING CHECKS book.

When I submitted both versions to redbat books, both the publisher and her editor preferred the collection containing Jim Morrison. So that’s where we went with it.

What’s next?

What’s next? I’m now working on a manuscript, named for a 10-stanza poem (which can be set in five pages or in in ten, whichever works best) that’s appeared in three publications. I’ve been adding to it and hope to complete a full collection within a few months. The DARK HORSE WAITS in BOULDER, my fourth novel (third on Amazon) is scheduled to be released this spring—so that will precede the poetry book release. At present, I have one more poetry collection I’ve started but don’t see it going anywhere for a year or more. That one may be my last poetry collection, too. (Three more novels and one short story collections are ahead of that poetry collection.) And then, what may be my last novel—now in a VERY ROUGH state-of-being—just may allow the likely last poetry collection to supercede it .But who knows? Rock star archetype Jim Morrison may hop into one or the other manuscript and upset the entire scene.

My review of Where Water Meets the Rock

Picture caption: Cover of When Water Meets the Rock by Lindsey Martin-Bowen

I enjoy reading poetry collections that include a common thread that links all the poems together. The common thread for this collection is loss and recuperation. This theme is relatable to everyone as we all suffer loss in various forms throughout our lives and we are forced to recuperate whether we want to or not.

The collection is divided into three sections: Erosion which explores the slow build up to loss; Frenzies which seeks to unravel the immediate chaos and emotion that follows loss; and On the Shore which delves into the slow path to acceptance and continuation.

The poems are unique and make use of various techniques to either exaggerate or bring out the humorous side of deep emotion and complex thought patterns relating to loss.

A poem that resonated strongly with me in Erosion is titled Psyche in the Suburbs. For me, this poem exposed the conflicting emotions of love, resentment, and self sacrifice that arise when caregiving for aging relatives.

This is the final stanza in this poem:
“Now, lavender scents fill the air,
sending me to the Aegean Sea.
When I step onto the asphalt,
I remember the bottled water.
I must go back. Without it,
the world will know her face
grows old. And she’ll blame me.”

Another poem in this section I especially related to is entitled My Bones are Glass. I have often thought this same thing when dealing with the elderly and aging. The poet includes an apology to Mark Strand, one of my favourite poets, so the style also worked very well for me.

Section 2: Frenzies, includes a lot of humour relating to people’s eccentricities and wants in their final moments. The poems also touch on the need for the observers to fulfil every desire and make the passing easier – perhaps to alleviate the guilt of survival. I enjoyed the poems although humour in poetry is not my personal favourite style. This section lifts the tension in death and loss and will appeal to most readers.

Section 3: On the Shore was very compelling for me. It explored inevitable change and endings coupled with new beginnings of a different sort. I reminded me that we move from one phase to another in our lives without even realising it until we look back and the end and beginning stand out in stark reality. The poem I enjoyed the most in this section was Two Mothers with Kids in Winchell’s. Perhaps because my children are now adults and have both finished school so I can understand and appreciate this poem through the lens of a soon to be empty nester.

This is one stanza in the poem that I strongly related to:
“The Winchell’s mothers nod, talk in buzzing hums,
eye their toddlers, who hop, slide on linoleum.
The kids scratch glass, balance on window ledges.
The pregnant one smooths seersucker. “Guys,” she says,
“They don’t like that here. Come, be quiet, Sit down.”
Like seatbelts, her words rein them in. I frown,
wonder how she renders her voice firm but not loud.”

As a mother who always worked, this stanza fills me with thoughts about what might have been had my own path taken me along a different path. What kind of mother would I have been had I not always been struggling to balance work and home demands. A writer who can introduce such reflections has to be great.

I highly recommend this compelling collection.

Where Water Meets the Rock is available from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Water-Meets-Lindsey-Martin-Bowen/dp/1946358053

Lindsey Martin-Bowens Amazon Author page is here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lindsey-Martin-Bowen/author/B00JA31KW0

About Lindsey Martin-Bowen

Picture caption: Author image of Lindsey Martin-Bowen

Lindsey Martin-Bowen’s CASHING CHECKS with Jim Morrison has just been released this fall (2023) by redbat books (a La Grande, Oregon publisher) as part of its Pacific Northwest Writers series. She serves as a Literary Consultant for Pierian Springs Press, which published The BOOK of FRENZIES in April 2022 (hardback copy in December 2022–BEFORE she became its Literary Consultant). She has taught Criminal Law and Procedure (online) at Blue Mountain Community College, Pendleton, Oregon since January 2019. Until August 2018, she taught writing, literature, and Criminal Law at MCC-Longview and taught literature and writing at the University of Missouri-Kansas City 18 years.

A Pulitzer-Prize nominee, her fourth full-length poetry collection, WHERE WATER MEETS THE ROCK (39 West Press 2017) contains “Vegetable Linguistics,” which received an Honorable Mention in the Non-rhyming Poetry category of Writers Digest’s 85th Annual Writing Competition (2016). Her third collection, CROSSING KANSAS with Jim Morrison, won the “It Looks Like a Million” Award for the 2017 Kansas Authors Club competition. The book is an expansion of her chapbook named a finalist in the 2015-2016 QuillsEdge Press Chapbook Contest. “Bonsai Tree Gone Awry” from INSIDE VIRGIL’S GARAGE (Chatter House Press 2013) was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. This collection was also runner-up in the 2015 Kansas Authors Club Nelson Poetry Book Award. Woodley Press (Washburn University) published her first full-length collection, STANDING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, which McClatchy newspapers named one of the Ten Top Poetry Books of 2008. Paladin Contemporaries released her novels RAPTURE REDUX (2014), HAMBURGER HAVEN (2009) and CICADA GROVE (1992). Her work has appeared in NEW LETTERS, I-70 REVIEW, THORNY LOCUST, FLINT HILLS REVIEW, PORTER GULCH REVIEW, SILVER BIRCH PRESS, COAL CITY REVIEW, PHANTOM DRIFT, TITTYNOPE ZINE, BARE ROOT REVIEW, , AMETHYST ARSENIC, THE SAME, THE ENIGMATIST, ROCKHURST REVIEW, BLACK BEAR REVIEW, LITTLE BALKINS REVIEW, KANSAS CITY VOICES, LIP SERVICE, 21 anthologies, and others.

With Dennis Etzel, Jr., she edited GIMME YOUR LUNCH MONEY: Heartland Poets Speak out against Bullies (Paladin Contemporaries 2016). She holds an MA in English (creative writing emphasis) and a Juris Doctor degree.

Before focusing upon teaching and writing poetry and fiction, she served as a full-time journalist and magazine editor for THE LOUISVILLE TIMES, the Johnson County SUN, MODERN JEWELER Magazine, and THE NATIONAL PARALEGAL REPORTER. She also worked as a legal editor for the Office of Hearings and Appeals (USDI) in Washington, DC.

She has two brilliant children and contends with super Chihuahuas Chia Maria La Rue and Chico the Man, her canine companions. And often, she spars verbally with poet Carl Rhoden.

About Robbie Cheadle

Picture caption: Robbie Cheadle author picture

South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated sixteen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

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Poetry Treasures: https://books2read.com/PoetryTreasures

Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships: https://books2read.com/PT2-Relationships

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Poetry Treasures 4:In Touch With Nature: https://books2read.com/PT4-Nature

Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures: https://books2read.com/PT5-SmallPleasures

Treasuring Poetry – Meet poet and author, Laura Lyndhurst, and a review

Posted: February 18, 2026 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Collection, Interview, Poetry, Review, Treasuring Poetry | Tags: #RobbieCheadle, #TreasuringPoetry, Book Review, Interview, Laura Lyndhurst, Poetry, Robbie Cheadle, Social Climbing and Other Poems, Treasuring Poetry, Writing to be Read | 31 Comments

A riverbed with lillypads, water, and grasses.
Text: Treasuring Poetry 2026 with Robbie Cheadle and Kaye Lynne Booth

Hi everyone, today I’m thrilled to introduce you to Laura Lyndhurst. Laura is an accomplished author and poet and is also a new member of Story Empire blog which is a great resource for writers. You can read Laura’s first Story Empire post here: https://storyempire.com/2026/02/10/sowing-the-seeds-of-a-story/

Welcome Laura!

Tell us a bit about yourself and your poetry journey. How did you come to be a poet?

I never intended to write poetry. At school it was my least-favourite of the three prose-poetry-drama disciplines, and I didn’t like many of the poems that we studied. It was the same at university, when I finally got there in my forties. I was obliged to study Romanticism for my first-year core module, and I hated it. Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelly; I wasn’t keen on them, although I was okay with some of Keats’s work. In the second year I couldn’t help but study more poetry, and I didn’t mind John Donne at all.

As to my own work, it was when I joined a Facebook writing group that it started. The group leader decided to post a picture every day for the month of October, inviting the group members to write a few paragraphs of prose around them. I sat with the first picture, thought, wrote—and what came out was poetry. The leader and members liked it, and thereafter I challenged myself to write poem every day from the picture prompt. At the end of the months I decided to publish them in a book, to claim copyright on them as much as anything. I called it October Poems, after the month in which I wrote them, and three more little collections followed in the next year or two.

What is your favourite poem by another poet and why?

That’s difficult. I like poetry more now than I used to, and there are several poets whose work appeals. I tend to listen to Leonard Cohen’s songs more than I read his poems, but he does have a way with lyrics; I mean, ‘the place is dead as Heaven on a Saturday night’ is so great. Hardy’s ‘The Darkling Thrush’ is up there, along with ‘This Be The Verse’ by Phillip Larkin. ‘Pity me not because the light of day’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay and ‘Rubbish at Adultery’ by Sophie Hannah attract, from the serious and the not-so as well. Choice for today, however, has to be ‘Refugee Blues’ by W.H. Auden. It never gets old, unfortunately, and although it’s written around one specific ethnic refugee group it can be applied to the myriad groups in existence before and since it was written; and now, in the 2020s, it feels massively relevant. You can find it here: https://allpoetry.com/refugee-blues

What is your favourite style of poetry and why?

Another difficult question. I don’t have a favourite style as such. I’ll read many different poems, some I’ll like and some I won’t, but the style of writing doesn’t have much bearing on why I like them or not. I do have an author friend, Thomas Leverett, who writes extensively in haiku form, and I loved his E Pluribus Haiku, which feels like travelling around the USA in haiku form. It’s on the link below, if you’re interested.https://www.amazon.com/Pluribus-Haiku-Anthology-3487-ebook/dp/B08X2YRQB2

Which is your favourite of your own poems?

I love them all, some more than others, it has to be admitted. I’ll choose the last one I wrote, however, because it is the last one and about ‘the end’. It’s from Social Climbing and Other Poems, and inspired by Clive Thompson’s photo of the altar of a Greek Orthodox Church.

Due Process

Your case has been a lengthy one; eighty-four years it’s taken, to

observe your less-than-perfect deeds and gather evidence to

aid the prosecution. But now you’ll have your day in court and

the jury gathered here, the Twelve, will finally decide, for or

against, whether you stay righteous here or whether you go down.

You wish to conduct your own defence? No, really, that won’t do, you’ll

be given representation. One of these saintly suits here gathered,

yes, that’s right, the ones with haloed wigs, will intercede for you.

Sorry for the delay; we understand that it’s a real nerve-wracking time for

you, but we can’t begin until His Honour gets here to take His place there,

in the big chair. The witnesses are here for you, plus jury, twelve good men

and true, not to forget the female sex, the immaculate, to try to push

your sins aside and hide you ‘neath their garments of compassion.

But nothing can occur until the God-Father is here; He’s judge

and jury all in one, Divine Justice in person. So please don’t fret,

or maybe do, for He knows you as well as you, and maybe better.

This whole set-up is just for show, to satisfy the need to see the

wheels of justice set in motion; your sentence fixed already,

your judgement day is here.

And here Our Father approaches now.

The court will rise …

Tell us a bit about your book, Social Climbing and other poems – what is the inspiration for the collection?

At the time I was friends with a photographer, Clive Thompson, and one of his pictures inspired a poem – ‘So This is Christmas’, which I recently published on my blog. Clive then allowed me to put together a book of my poems written to the prompts of some of his pictures.

What’s next for Laura Lyndhurst in the world of writing?

No more poetry, I’m afraid; nothing planned, at any rate, but if something occurs then I’ll be putting it together. At present I’m editing my latest novel, a whodunnit of sorts; a new departure for me, sort-of, because although I like adding a bit of a mystery to some of my stories this will be the first time I’ve brought the police in to investigate. It’s more focussed on before the murder, the personalities involved and their potential motivations. After that I’ll see what else occurs to me.

Many thanks for interviewing me. I’ve enjoyed it very much.

My review of SOCIAL CLIMBING: and Other Poems

Picture caption: The cover of Social Climbing and Other Poems featuring a pair of shiny, red high heeled shoes against a white background inset into a red background

When I saw the cover of this collection, the shiny, red high heeled shoes against a white background, it reminded me of the movie, The Devil Wears Prada featuring Merril Streep and I was completely fascinated. I was not disappointed as this interesting collection of freestyle poems is a head on collision with an array of social situations, many of which are uncomfortable.

“The sit inside and watch the show, these Parisian fans of opera; but we,

lacking the means to buy the tickets for the red-plush, well-upholstered

seats and ornate murals, gilt-decked swirls and whirls of rococo decor,

prefer to take our entertainment in quite another way. Out here in the street”

from Street Theatre

Laura slices to the heart of human emotions and frustrations and these poetic expressions resonated with me. One poem I particularly delighted over is “I don’t know much about art but I know what I like”.

“So I’m breaking out of normalcy,

gone so very Modernisth,

this El Greco’s got his paintbox out

and given life a twist.”

Honestly, this poem made me laugh until I cried. Fantastic!

Each poem is introduced with a beautiful colour photograph by photographer, Clive Thompson.

Do yourself a favour, purchase this collection and allow Laura to put your life in perspective for you.

About Laura Lyndhurst

Picture caption: Author photograph of Laura Lyndhurst

Laura Lyndhurst was born and grew up in North London, England, before marrying and travelling with her husband in the course of his career.

When settled back in the UK she became a mature student and gained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in English and Literature before training and working as a teacher.

She started writing in the last few years in the peace and quiet of rural Lincolnshire, and published her debut novel, Fairytales Don’t Come True, in May 2020. This book forms the first of a trilogy, Criminal Conversation, of which the second is Degenerate, Regenerate and All That We Are Heir To the third. Innocent, Guilty, the first of another trilogy, continues the story told in these three books and leads on to The Future of Our House, which is followed by Uphill, Downhill, Over, Out as the sixth and final book to end the series. An Honourable Institution was published as a stand-alone novel in January 2025, as was The Guilty Party in September 2025.

Laura also developed a taste for psychological suspense, which led to the writing and publication of You Know What You Did, to which What Else Did You Do? is the sequel.

Laura has also published four small books of poems, October Poems, Thanksgiving Poems and Prose Pieces, Poet-Pourri and Social Climbing and Other Poems.

Find Laura Lyndhurst

Website: https://booksthatmakeyouthink2.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laura.lyndhurst (personal profile)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauralyndhurstauthor/ (author profile)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Laura-Lyndhurst/author/B088QFJJ3Q

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20336562.Laura_Lyndhurst

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyndhurstlauraauthor/

Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/lyndhurstlaura/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alectrona47

About Robbie Cheadle

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

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This segment of “Treasuring Poetry” is sponsored by WordCrafter Press and the Poetry Treasures series.

Get Your Copy Today!

Poetry Treasures: https://books2read.com/PoetryTreasures

Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships: https://books2read.com/PT2-Relationships

Poetry Treasures 3: Passions: https://books2read.com/u/b5qnBR

Poetry Treasures 4:In Touch With Nature: https://books2read.com/PT4-Nature

Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures: https://books2read.com/PT5-SmallPleasures

Treasuring Poetry – Sunflower Tanka Dreams anthology compiled by Robbie Cheadle and Colleen M. Chesebro

Posted: December 17, 2025 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Anthology, Poetry, Treasuring Poetry | Tags: #Poetryanthology, #Poetrycommunity, #RobbieCheadle, #TreasuringPoetry, Colleen M. Chesebro, Dreams, Poetry, Poetry Anthology, Robbie Cheadle, Sunflower Tanka, Treasuring Poetry, Writing to be Read | 67 Comments

Hi everyone, this is my last Treasuring Poetry post 0f 2025 and I’m thrilled to be ending with a post about the second anthology in the Sunflower Tanka anthology series with the theme of dreams.

This wonderful anthology has 54 contributors and the variety of fascinating takes on the theme of dreams is fascinating. Colleen M. Chesebro and I are contributing editors of this collection and Colleen created an amazing cover using one of my watercolour paintings. The green-haired flower maiden is based on Meadow, a character from one of Teagan Riordain Geneviene’s imaginative stories, Atonement in Bloom. You can learn more about this book here: https://teagansbooks.com/2025/12/08/a-bloomin-snippet-for-cffc/

Picture caption: Cover of Sunflower Tanka, Dreams

Blurb

Sunflower Tanka, edited by Robbie Cheadle and Colleen M. Chesebro, is an annual anthology showcasing contemporary tanka, tanka prose, and experimental tanka. Each volume brings together a vibrant tapestry of voices—both emerging and established—from across the globe.

For 2025, our theme “Dreams” invites poets to explore the symbolic language of dreaming, where metaphors blur the line between reality and imagination. Dreams often serve as gateways to layered meaning, offering fertile ground for syllabic poetry.

This year’s contributors journeyed deep into their dreamscapes, opening portals to boundless creativity. Through the timeless form of syllabic verse, they captured visions that transcend waking life, weaving poetry that resonates with mystery, wonder, and the infinite possibilities of the human imagination.

This is the promo video on YouTube:

I am going to take this opportunity to share one of Colleen’s poems and one of my collaborative poem’s with my son, Michael, from this collection.

Writing Through Dreams (tanka Puente) by Colleen M. Chesebro

in the fog of lies

honesty outlines a path

beyond my worst fears

my dreams, a shining lighthouse

nudge out my darkest secrets

– Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. – Thomas Jefferson, former U.S. president

dreams empower me

to use my curative skills

a fresh cup of tea

affords me the wisdom to

write syllabic poetry

The End In Sight (Tanka Puente Collaboration) by Robbie and Michael Cheadle

on the brink of change

bright eyes viewing the future

my son and his friends

graduation imminent

transition to adulthood

– If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right – Henry Ford

anxiety creeps

deep despair spreads like fire

spars fear of failure

disappointing those you love

mother’s nagging tongue lashes

My review

This is a collection of beautiful syllabic poems contributed by 54 poets from around the world. All the poems centre around the theme of dreams and the range of interpretations is fascinating.

The poems in the collection comprise of tanka, tanka prose, garland tanka, tanka Puente, bussokuseki, rensaku and taiga which includes a black and white image and they collectively form a delightful poetry adventure.

The collection is introduced with an interesting overview about the inspiration for the theme and the various meanings of the word dreams. This section closes with a delightful tanka by partnering editor, Colleen Chesebro, as follows:

rain cools with sky-mist
sweet drops spark my appetite
whispering prayers
moonlight breaks through the darkness
a feverish dream of you

The collection concludes with a selection of each of the partnering editors favourite poems and the reasons why those specific poems resonated with each of them.

One of my favourite poems is by Yvette M. Calleiro:
miracle baby
you came to me in a dream
blessing from above
missing puzzle piece in life
my greatest accomplishment

I feel this way about my own two sons and so this poem has stayed in my heart.

A delightful collection of poetry that will make a lovely gift to others or to yourself.

Amazon US purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/Sunflower-Tanka-Anthology-Prose-Experimental/dp/B0G51RKG61

Tanka Tuesday

You can join in weekly syllabic poetry challenges on Tanka Tuesday here: https://tankatuesday.com/2025/12/09/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-no-42-gift-gifting-12-09-25/

About Colleen M. Chesebro

Picture caption: Author photograph of Colleen M. Chesebro

Colleen M. Chesebro grew up in a large city in the Midwest. Keen on making her own way in the world, she joined the United States Air Force after graduation to tour the world and find herself. To this day, that search continues.

An avid reader, Colleen M. Chesebro rekindled her love of writing poetry after years spent working in the accounting industry. These days, she loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction.

In addition to poetry books, Chesebro’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of her writing community on her blog on by organizing and sponsoring a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called #TankaTuesday, where participants experiment with traditional and current forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry.

Chesebro lives in the house of her dreams in mid-Michigan, surrounded by the Great Lakes with her husband and two (unicorn) cats, Chloe & Sophie.

You can find Colleen M. Chesebro on her personal blog here: https://colleenchesebro.org/

About Robbie Cheadle

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

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__________________________

This segment of “Treasuring Poetry” is sponsored by WordCrafter Press and the Poetry Treasures series.

Get Your Copy Today!

Poetry Treasures: https://books2read.com/PoetryTreasures

Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships: https://books2read.com/PT2-Relationships

Poetry Treasures 3: Passions: https://books2read.com/u/b5qnBR

Poetry Treasures 4:In Touch With Nature: https://books2read.com/PT4-Nature

Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures: https://books2read.com/PT5-SmallPleasures

Treasuring Poetry – Meet poet and blogger, Melissa Lemay, and a review of Bro ken Rengay

Posted: November 19, 2025 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Treasuring Poetry | Tags: #Bookreview, #Poetrycommunity, #TreasuringPoetry | 57 Comments

My November Treasuring Poetry guest is poet and blogger, Melissa Lemay. Melissa is also the editor of Collaborature, an online journal for poetry and fiction. You can find Melissa on her blog here: https://melissalemay.wordpress.com/2025/11/06/creating-community-syllabic-poetry-more-with-colleen-chesebro/

You can find out how to submit to Collaborature here: https://collaborature.blogspot.com/p/submit.html

Tell us about Collaborature. What inspired the idea for this on-line poetry platform and what are your aims for it going forward?

Collaborature is an online only journal for poetry and fiction. The key point of every submission is that it must be written by more than one author, or include a collaboration of two or more individuals (eg: art and poetry).

Inspiration for this idea was a result of my collaborating with various writers, like David Bogomolny, Lesley Scoble, Nigel Byng, and Lakshman Bulusu. I found that I enjoyed the art of creating poetry together very enjoyable. It was from these collaborations, along with my participation in the poetry community on WordPress and places like dVerse and Tanka Tuesday, that I turned my focus toward collaborative work.

I searched the internet and found that there were very limited options for people to have their collaborative work published. I mulled it over for a while, what this space and creating it would look like. Through encouragement of friends, and with help from Nigel coming up with the name, I decided to launch a journal in January of this year.

Submissions to Collaborature have slowed down a great deal. Initially, I scheduled one post for each publishing day. The amount of submissions I received was so great that I began to schedule two posts a day. I did this to reduce the wait time for publishing. Even now, I am scheduling a couple months out. Perhaps this was an error, and I should have kept to one per day. Now that submissions have slowed down, I have enough works to take us through January. If people aren’t interested in submitting, then unfortunately I won’t be able to maintain this publication schedule, and may even need to shut down Collaborature altogether. This is not my dream, but I accept that things are constantly changing, and that whatever there is a need for will flourish. It has been a great first year and a wonderfully engaging experience. I have gotten to know more friends from around the world and build relationships with some of the writers who submit to Collaborature.

How do you go about writing collaborative poetry? I am sure many poets would like to try but don’t know how to go about collaborating with a poem.

Initially, I wanted to host strictly collaborative poetry that was written by multiple authors at Collaborature. Even before it launched, I considered that it was such a niche market and might be difficult to gather enough submissions to have the journal running the way I envisioned. I wanted to have multiple posting days a week, preferably a couple posts per day. I realized that people may not submit enough poetry and fiction to have continued publication. So, I allowed submitters to collaborate by writing ekphrastic poetry, quoting other authors, and so on, in order to broaden the category for the journal’s purposes.

To write truly collaborative poetry in the present moment, one must have a partner to work with. People make this more difficult than it needs to be. In my experience, part of the problem is that people are hesitant to reach out to other people, for whatever reasons. Time is also a factor. I hear that from people, that they just don’t have time to collaborate.

My collaborations started via email. I think David’s Poetry Partners was a big inspiration. His is a great example of writing collaborative poetry. Poets submit a poem to him and he responds with a poem of his own, and then he publishes these pairings on his blog. This is a perfect example of how to write collaborative poetry. Well done, David!

In my mind, collaboration really can take on a broader view. Any time two people work together, in essence this is collaborative. Just as we are all connected and our actions every day influence other people around us, so do our words on the page. I don’t think it is an “easy out” to sit down and write a response poem to a poem written by someone who is deceased. You’re still working with that person’s ideas. Had they not had them, you would not have been prompted to create that response. So, I think this should be counted towards collaborative work.

However, I would love to see people truly connecting with one another. It can be as simple as you writing a line and sending it to me, then I respond with a line, then you respond with another line, and so on. Or send a short poem to a friend, and and them to respond with a short poem. There are tons of forms that lend themselves to collaborative work effectively. A lot of the Japanese forms were begun through collaborative work. Renga is a great example. This form started over 700 years ago, which tells me that people have had the desire far and wide and for a long time to engage collaboratively with one another.

My suggestion: if you have a friend and you’d like to try writing collaborative poetry (or fiction), get together in person, on the phone, or via email, and talk about your ideas. Decide how you will write, whether line by line, or maybe you’ll try a form like renga. Carol Anne and I have written acrostics together for each month of the year; we each take a letter, write a line, and alternate back and forth. You may see them all here: https://collaborature.blogspot.com/search?q=Carol+Anne+and+Melissa+Lemay

A quick internet search will return lots of results with different collaborative forms or ideas for collaborating together. Here are a few sources:

https://kristinaseyes.com/unique-poetry-collaboration-ideas/#comment-84296

https://poets.ca/collaborative-poetry/

https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/list-of-50-poetic-forms-for-poets

Tell us about Bro ken Rengay. How did this collection of collaborative poems come into being?

Bro ken Rengay came from my introduction of Rengay to Nolcha Fox and Barbara Leonhard. I became friends with both of them through submitting to different websites where they are editors, as well as responding to prompts Nolcha posted in various places. Nolcha and Barbara have published books both together and separately. I have read some of their writing and thought it would be fun to write together, so I reached out. Thankfully, they also liked the idea.

I had recently discovered Rengay, and I suggested we use this form. We were off to the races! We share similar senses of humor and thoughts about life. So, writing together was a breeze. Our voices compliment one another nicely. Bro ken Rengay includes around 30 published works. We have more in our arsenal.

Who is your favourite poet and why?

I don’t really have a favorite poet, although I have many whom I enjoy. Ai, Gwendolyn Brooks, Charles Bukowski, Emily Dickinson, Allen Ginsberg, Dorianne Laux, Sylvia Plath, Assotto Saint, Charles Simic, Dylan Thomas… There are also many WordPress poets whom I admire, too many to name, but a handful: David Bogomolny, Robbie Cheadle, Colleen Chesebro, Kim M. Russell, Kerfe Roig, Lesley Scoble, Merril D. Smith, Andrew Wilson… Okay, that’s more than a handful…

What is your favourite poem?

I have two favorite poems, and they’re both fairly short. I think they compliment each other quite well, they exhibit the tension of the duality of human existence and spirit, and I have been deeply embedded in both sides of the coin. I hope you enjoy them.

“Cause and Effect”

By Charles Bukowski

the best often die by their own hand
just to get away,
and those left behind
can never quite understand
why anybody
would ever want to
get away
from
them

“For the Sake of Strangers”

By Dorianne Laux

No matter what the grief, its weight,

we are obliged to carry it.

We rise and gather momentum, the dull strength

that pushes us through crowds.

And then the young boy gives me directions

so avidly. A woman holds the glass door open,

waiting patiently for my empty body to pass through.

All day it continues, each kindness

reaching toward another—a stranger

singing to no one as I pass on the path, trees

offering their blossoms, a child

who lifts his almond eyes and smiles.

Somehow they always find me, seem even

to be waiting, determined to keep me

from myself, from the thing that calls to me

as it must have once called to them—

this temptation to step off the edge

and fall weightless, away from the world.

My review of Bro ken Rengay

Picture caption: The gorgeous cover of Bro ken Rengay created by Lesley Scoble. You can find Lesley’s latest post here: https://lesleyscoble.com/2025/11/13/under-the-mulberry-tree-an-internal-rhyme/

I am always hugely admiring of poetry and book collaborations. These three talented poets have managed to stitch the poems in this interesting book together in such a seamless way you would not know that they are written by more than one person.

The poems cover a spectrum of topics from experiences to emotions to aging and they all inject a thread of dark humour into the mundaneness of the human condition. Let’s be honest, daily life is generally pretty ordinary except when pain or joy make their ad hoc appearances and to be able to laugh at our daily grind is a wonderful thing.

This extract from ‘Everybody Knows My Name’ is an example of this humour:
“baskets of laundry
hanging out in the hallway
calling my name

I changed my name
and I don’t speak laundry

I speak frozen custard, French vanilla
country drives to count the deer
beer and pizza on date night”

‘Pain Will Do That’ is a poem that exposes the debilitating nature of on-going pain and how we are forced to face it and deal with it as we age. This is a short extract:
“pain is the perfect weight loss plan
food tastes bitter
even cheesecake makes me flee

holding a pen too long –
my wrists ask me for Ibuprofen

if I could, I’d challenge pain to a duel
my titanium joints, my weapons
I’m a cyborg, pain, get ready!”

These poems highlight the humanity of the poets and bring the reader into their worlds of ups and downs, achievements and disappointments. This is a relatable collection of poems that will make you feel better about your own life and give you some rose coloured spectacles through which to view life.