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Poetry Friday– Moon & Weather Pause…

Posted on January 22, 2026 by Michelle Kogan Art, Illustration, & Writing

carview.php?tsp= — *Crescent Moon in Early Evening Sky,* © 2026 Michelle Kogan

all knowing moon
help us mend our ways—guide us
crescent orb

Happy Poetry Friday!

Wow, wow, wow, it keeps on coming, but in the midst of the world feeling like it may be on the brink of collapse, we still need our Happy Poetry Friday! So let’s take a short pause, take in some poetry, some nature, some art, some music, and then keep going!

WEATHER, CAUSE, PAUSE…

It’s still only
9°F in Chicago
what’s it like
where you are?

We are all
interconnected
in this web around
the world
yet we’re
still so
—f-a-r—a-p-a-r-t—

Do you remember
what it was like
before smart phones
before internet…

We had time,
eons of time,
but, we didn’t
know it

Have they stolen
all our time—
or have we
voluntarily
given it away,
moments of
quiet
momentarily
may bring some
centering back

Maybe 9°F
brings centering,
what do you
think?

Mosey on over to talented poet, author, and artist, Tabatha Yeatts’ blog The Opposite of Indifference where she’s hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Tabatha!

Take a Pause and then say something.

Posted in Children's Illustration & Writing, Haiku, Home, Nature, Nature photos, Poem, poetry, Writing | Tagged #artist, #Cause, #centering, #ChicagoPoet, #haiku, #MichelleKogan, #Moon, #Music, #Nature, #Pause, #poems, #PoetryFriday, #reflections | 17 Comments

Poetry Friday-Etheree-some good…

Posted on January 15, 2026 by Michelle Kogan Art, Illustration, & Writing

rhododendron red—
windowsill winter bloom
veils sky and thoughts

Happy Poetry Friday

I’m sharing another poem, an etheree from my writing notebook that was patiently waiting to be completed…
An etheree is a 10-line poem form that begins with one syllable in the first line and increases to ten syllables in the tenth line.

STILL

in
between
classes and
lecturing and
preparing for what’s
next… I’ve paused and pondered
our US misplacement of
democracy, though somehow still
remember there’s some good, some hope, some
human desire to unite for justice.

Mosey on over to talented poet and author Jan Godown Annino’s blog Bookseed Studio, where she’s hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Jan! She’s sharing a rich “Love” post on Martin Luther King Jr. and song. Be sure to stop by and fill up on lots more poetry!

Posted in Children's Illustration & Writing, Haiku, Home, Nature, Nature photos, Poem, poetry, Writing | Tagged #artist, #ChicagoPoet, #Etheree, #haiku, #Hope, #Justice, #MichelleKogan, #OLW, #Pause, #rhododendron, #somegood, Bookseedstudio, Jan Godown Annino, nature, naturelovers, poems, poetry, Writing | 10 Comments

Poetry Friday– Poem Notebook Surfing & Hellebores

Posted on January 8, 2026 by Michelle Kogan Art, Illustration, & Writing

rosey hellebores
soothe US daily terrors,
compassion amiss

My haiku reflects on the shooting of Renee Nicole Good.

Happy Poetry Friday!

I did some notebook surfing to complete my poem below, TOGETHER. I often have poems in my notebook that are WIP, waiting to be completed. I decided to take a trip through the pages and pick one out… This poem checked off two areas, first it’s using my OLW pause, and second it’s a Zeno poem form and I’ve been wanting to revisit it.
The zeno is a verse poem form created by J Patrick Lewis. It has ten lines with the following syllable line count: 8, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1. It also has the following rhyme pattern: abcdefdghd.

TOGETHER

Can we gift each other/ourselves
some compassion
some peace
pause,
Can we pause and
feel our
flaws
then work towards
a just
cause…

Mosey on over to talented poet, and bird connoisseur Ruth Bowen Hersey’s blog, There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town, where she is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Ruth! Ruth is sharing a bird poem from the book Sparrow Envy by J. Drew Lanham, be sure to stop by for lots more poetry!

Posted in Haiku, Home, Nature, pen sketch, Plein Air Art, Poem, poetry, Writing | Tagged #art exhibit, #artist, #compassion, #haiku, #Hellebores, #MichelleKogan, #Nature, #naturelovers, #OLW, #Pause, #poet, #Poetry, #PoetryFriday, #reflections, #RuthBowenHersey, #together, #Writer, #Zeno | 15 Comments

Poetry Friday–One Little Word for a Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2026 by Michelle Kogan Art, Illustration, & Writing

Happy Poetry Friday!

I’m officially introducing my one little word with the start of a New Year…

Pause…

This word was easy to find, I think it found me, I hardly had to look. I’m ready for many a journey with pause, and it has many rhyming words that come along with it, which brought me to my poems this week. So come along and join pause and me as we explore each other as the year unfolds…

NEW YEAR WARNING…

Pause and cause and flaws
with cowardly claws
and backwardly laws
that draw dagger-like gnaws
but reluctantly pause…

ZERO O’CLOCK by BTS, a song about resetting, beginning again.

Oh, do be careful, pause can be a bit pernicious. But I think that together, we can calm that instinctive tendency… Just remember to take a step back, pause, and let a breath out.
Take pause’s lead with a gentle pause.

I will probably be taking a period of pauses as I begin my teaching semester again…
Though, pause, and I will return sometimes together, and sometimes soloing.
Looking forward to seeing you when I can.

Happiest of New Year Wishes to All!

xox, pause, and Michelle

Visit talented poet and educator Catherine Flynn’s blog, Reading to the Core for this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks for hosting Catherine!

Posted in Cards, Children's Illustration & Writing, Holidays, Home, Nature, Painting, pen sketch, Poem, poetry, Writing | Tagged #art, #artist, #HappyNewYear2026, #MichelleKogan, #Nature, #Naturelover, #OneLittleWord2026, #Peace, #Pen, #poems, #poet, #PoetryFriday, #watercolor, #Wordplay, #Writer, Catherine Flynn | 13 Comments

Poetry Friday–Light Hope & Peace Prompt

Posted on December 25, 2025 by Michelle Kogan Art, Illustration, & Writing

Happy Poetry Friday!

I’m joining the Poetry Sisters’ prompt for the month of December, the challenge was to compose a poem containing Light Hope and Peace. Thanks to all the Poetry Sisters’ for the prompt, be sure to stop by their blogs and read their poems too: Tanita, Laura, Mary Lee, Liz, Sara, Tricia, and Kelly. Find more poems from this prompt tagged with #PoetryPals!

And by the way, last week my post was full of Peace and Light, you can find it here.

Walking Towards A…

Pause for Peace
Pause for Hope
Pause for pondering
Before our New Year.
Pondering light
filled with hope
Pause for pondering
In our New Year.
Pause for Hope
Pause for Peace
Keep on pausing
throughout the year!

Hint, Hint, for my One Little Word, I think…

Mosey on over to talented poet, and writer, Tricia Stohr-Hunt’s’s blog, The Miss Rumphius Effect, where she’s hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Tricia!

Wishing all well and adieu till next year…

Posted in Children's Illustration & Writing, Holidays, Home, Nature, Painting, pen sketch, Plein Air Art, Poem, poetry, Quick Sketches, Sketchbooks, Writing | Tagged #artist, #Chicago, #Hope, #Light, #MichelleKogan, #MIlkweed, #Nature, #naturelovers, #Onelittleword, #Pause, #Peace, #Penandink, #PleinAir, #poet, #poetrypals, #Ponder, #seeds, #sketches, #watercolorpainting, #Winter, #Writer, Tricia Stohr-Hunt | 10 Comments

Poetry Friday– Roundup with Peace & Light is Here!

Posted on December 18, 2025 by Michelle Kogan Art, Illustration, & Writing

Happy Poetry Friday!

Welcome, I’m hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup, and hoping to spread a bit of calm, yearning for connection, light, and Peace! I recently visited the Yoko Ono exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art here in Chicago. My pics are from Yokos’s rich and intriguing exhibit, come and take it in if you can. Two of my poems are also inspired from the exhibit.

Please add your links to Mister Linky:

I may not be connecting with you right away as I’m having some major dental surgery on Friday, however, know that I will reemerge and visit your posts as soon as I can.

DREAM-KEEPING

If with our one life, we All
join together, come together, and We
all help each other, we Are
headed toward Saying
“Give Peace a Chance.” There Is
so much we can share and Give
to one another, and if Peace
possibly brings hope, A
hope for possibility, let’s “Give Peace a Chance!”

Golden Shovel poem with striking line, All we are saying is give peace a chance. From the song, “Give Peace a Chance” by John Lennon, originally credited to John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and friends.

Yoko offered us a puzzle piece full of sky and cloud, and I’m offering this poem…

I offer you
a piece of sky
a piece of peace
a possibility
to comprehend and
connect with each other

Participatory art created by visitors attending the exhibit in the interactive Mending Room.

I’ve been celebrating the Festival of Lights with my family this week,

Happy Hanukkah to all Celebrating!

And Happy almost Winter Solstice!

WINTER’S EVE

seven
nine
flickers of light
like my nightlight
shining bright

poking
through
from blue above
like dove wings
fluttering love

sparkle
rays
sprinkle afar
solstice dances
stirring each star…

Sending thoughts and prayers to all connected with the tragedies at
Bondi Beach, Brown University,
and Rob and Michele Singer Reiner

Posted in Children's Illustration & Writing, Exhibits, Holidays, Home, Nature, Painting, pen sketch, Poem, poetry, Writing | Tagged #ChicagoArtist, #ChicagoPoet, #Cometogether, #Dream, #Hanukkah, #Jointogether, #MCA, #MichelleKogan, #Paintings, #Peace, #Penandink, #Poetry, #PoetryFridayRoundup, #reflections, #Stars, #watercolor, #Wintersolstice, #YokoOnoExhibit | 33 Comments

Poetry Friday–Polar Bears & Fleeting Time…

Posted on December 11, 2025 by Michelle Kogan Art, Illustration, & Writing

Happy Poetry Friday!

I pulled out my Polar Bear friends with the coming of winter and all the snow we’ve been having in Chicago… I created these bookmarks a while back because I was very concerned about the Polar Bears and their shrinking habitat, and unfortunately the situation seems even bleaker today. You can read more about the specifics on the Polar Bears and their habitat at the World Wildlife
Here’s a link to my Polar Bear Bookmarks in my Etsy Shop.

And a link to a terrific animated short film, Snow Bear by Aaron Blaise:

https://youtu.be/xOXolSQcEb4?si=0XQtTqSZxi26MZck

Thinking about slowing down the changes to our environment, I circled around again to another poem on time, which seems to be ever present on my mind…

SECOND HAND S-L-O-W-D-O-W-N

Tick-tock, tick-tock
hold that second hand
make it stop.

Times
fleeting
ticks away…
Hold it
Embrace it
Wrap it
around you
inside you—
Remember
times fleeting
like warmth
of a sunny day
only to
s-s-slip
away

© 2025 Michelle Kogan, draft

Mosey on over to creative and talented Linda Mitchell’s blog, A Word Edgewise, as she is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Linda! And she’s sharing a holiday-inspired Mash-up poem!

And come on back next week, for I will be hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup!

Posted in Cards, Children's Illustration & Writing, Haiku, Holidays, Nature, Painting, Poem, poetry, Writing | Tagged Acrylic Painting, Art, artist, Bookmarks, chicago, Climate Change, Fleeting time, Help Polar Bears, Michelle Kogan Etsy Shop, nature, Painting, poems, Poet, poetry, Polar Bear Bookmarks, Polar Bears, reflections, Slowdown, time, winter, Writer, Writing | 12 Comments

Poetry Friday: Overheard & EXPO Holiday Show…

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Michelle Kogan Art, Illustration, & Writing

Happy Poetry Friday

I’m here with another poetry prompt from the Poetry Sisters’ to close the month of November. The challenge to compose an ‘Eavesdropped & Overheard’ poem in tribute to our pal at the long-running Chicken Spaghetti blog, Susan Thomsen. Thanks to all the Poetry Sisters’ for the prompt, be sure to stop by their blogs and read their poems too: Tanita, Laura, Mary Lee, Liz, Sara, Tricia, and Kelly. Find more poems from this prompt tagged with #PoetryPals!

This was an interesting challenge… First you had to find bits and pieces to discreetly listen to, and then assemble some of these bits into a poem. It’s been a busy month, though here’s my try…

WHICH IS VERY GOOD…

He taught me stuff, um
to do 5 synonyms
Oh ya, interesting…
Ya—
It reminds me of
choices of verbs
dissuaded, etc.
Ya.
They have word games,
were you word genius’s
or something like that?

You can do synonyms
they have all these complicated words
Ya,
…a lot did not have extensive vocabulary
Yes, I know.
This one guy
thought he knew everything—
If I taught him a word
he would use it
5 times
It’s ridiculous.
I taught him the word
bombastic
and even where it came from,
he used it a bunch of times.
I was looking it over
OMG—
it’s embarrassing.
I said,
do you realize
how bombastic
this sounds…

I’m in the Evanston Art Center’s 2025 Winter Arts & Crafts EXPO
Running through December 20, 2025
Evanston Art Center
1717 Central Street, Evanston, IL
https://www.evanstonartcenter.org

Here’s a new print, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Fan-like Flowers recently added to my online Etsy Shop.

Hope all my US friends had a Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m on the night-before as I write this post as I will be busy cooking the day of…

Meander on over to talented poet, author, and nature photographer Buffy Silverman’s Blog for this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks for hosting Buffy!

be well, take a breath
smell some flowers inside or out,
imagine and dream…

Posted in Children's Illustration & Writing, Exhibits, Haiku, Holidays, Home, Nature, Nature photos, Painting, pen sketch, Poem, poetry, Writing | Tagged #poetrypals, Art, artist, Bookmarks, Buffy Silverman, Christmas, Evanston Art Center's 2025 Winter Arts & Crafts EXPO, family, Giclee Prints, Greeting Cards, Hanukkah, Holiday Cards, Michelle Kogan, nature, Overheard poems, Painting, poem, poems, Poet, poetry, prints, reflections, Watercolor, winter, wintertime, Writing | 16 Comments

Poetry Friday—”Poem to Remind Myself of…”

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Michelle Kogan Art, Illustration, & Writing

I’m joining Susan Thomsen in her poem prompt this week, where we are writing from Donika Kelly’s poem, “Poem to Remind Myself of the” Natural Order of Things”as a mentor poem. However I took some liberties with another area, which was to write from a video that went viral. As I didn’t have a lot of time, and I couldn’t find one that spoke to me— I’m writing in connection with all these ICE notices that have been filling up My Neighborhood texts for the last 2 months while ICE has been unjustly targeting and abducting immigrants in Chicago. Probably 90% or more of these notices were related to working people, teachers, gardening/lawn workers, all employed and contributing to the betterment of society in Chicago. Thanks Susan!

“Poem to Remind Myself of the” Unnatural “Order of Things”

Observe the strong Chicagoans,
holding bullied, bludgeoned ground firmly,
for their fellow immigrant neighbors:

Armed with whistles, wits, and wisdom—
many were pepper sprayed, pepper balled and
doled out unjust daily treatment by ICE.

Chicagoan’s make our hearts proud,
you should be revered.

O Michelle, you should be painting.

After Donika Kelly’s poem, “Poem to Remind Myself of the Natural Order of Things”

https://poetrysociety.org/poems-essays/in-their-own-words/donika-kelly-on-poem-to-remind-myself-of-the-natural-order-of-things

Some Music to celebrate the leaving of ICE… at least for now…

Isn’t she lovely—
Don’t forget to stop and…
There’s still a few out there,
waiting…

Mosey on over to talented artist and poet Carol Labuzzetta’s blog, THE APPLES IN MY ORCHARD for the Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks for hosting Carol!

Posted in Home, Nature, Nature photos, Poem, poetry, Writing | Tagged #artist, #Carol Labuzzetta, #Chicago, #ICE, #Justice, #Mentorpoems, #Nature, #poet, #PoetryFriday, #reflections, #Susan Thomsen, #Whistles, #Writer, MichelleKogan | 15 Comments

Poetry Friday–Time

Posted on November 6, 2025 by Michelle Kogan Art, Illustration, & Writing

Coming in with a short poem, reflecting on elusive time…

Talented poet and author Laura Purdie Salas, at her blog is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Laura! She shared that her new book, Flurry, Float, and Fly! is coming out next week on Tuesday, and she’s also sharing a wintery poem, be sure to stop by!