The Versesmith

    Welcome to Day 1, or Day   A , of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge !  Each day of April, with Sundays off, I'll be posting artwork from my collection A to Z with a few short lines about the work and an A to Z poetry form.  So, on with the Challenge! The  A rtist was painted by my father, Winstead D. Smith, in 1962.  I didn't know until I was in my 50s, when my brother told me, that this was me! The A quarian  is an invented form created by Mari e Mazz.    * Syllabic, 2-4-6-2 syllables per line, any number of   quatrains * Unrhymed lines within each quatrain I sit at the table too intent on my work to see. He stands behind, silent, sketches for a painting to come. Hanging in my bedroom, at last I learned the trut h. I t’s me! ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved  

  That sound you hear is drum rolls across Blogger-Land as authors reveal their 2026 April Blogging from A to Z theme!   http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2026/03/theme-reveal-blog-hop-atozchallenge.html My theme is The A to Z of Artwork with Poetry Forms A to Z .  The artwork comes from my collection.  Most are thrifted or at least secondhand, in fact 21/26 are.  The A to Z is either the artist title of the work, or what I call it.  I think X pushes it a little, not a title, but the image of X.    On my other blog This and That: A Blog  I will be sharing the same art without the poetry. So, make plans for April and pick a theme!  Make a post about it and link it on the theme reveal page linked above.  

dVerse's Haibun Monday : " A Life on Mars " Tribute  Write a haibun that alludes to the themes of the excerpts from Tracy K. Smith’s “ Life on Mars .” Tina says what if dark matter is like the space between people When what holds them together isn’t exactly love, and I think That sounds right—how strong the pull can be, as if something That knows better won’t let you drift apart so easily, and how Small and heavy you feel, stuck there spinning in space.            Tracy K. Smith, “ Life on Mars ” Graywolf Press, 2011, p. 37 One of my brothers died around this time last year, although we didn’t find out until late autumn. My remaining brother and I don’t know exactly when he died. No one does. We can only go by the date on the death certificate. We know he died at home, but don’t know who found him, or how long he’d been gone by then. He lived alone, and lived a lonely life. He’d alienated himself from the rest of our family over the y...

 Poets and Storytellers United Friday Writings #216: Just Dance " ...   this week's theme... writing about dancing (a specific style or dancing in general) "  trees sway in the wind dancing in and out of view moon joins in the game ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved  

Writer's Workshop : February 24, 2026 This week's prompts: Here are this week’s prompts: Write a post based on the word  predictions . Write a post in exactly 10 sentences. Write about an encounter with a very difficult person. Tell us a story about an allergic reaction. Talk about a moment when you felt especially proud of yourself. What was the spiciest food you ever ate? How did you react when  you ate it? Choose one of the prompts (or as many as you want) and write a post on your blog that addresses that prompt. When you have published your post, leave a comment on this post with the URL of the post on your blog. I chose to write 10 sentences.  It had been raining. It was currently raining. It was going to keep raining for the forecastable future. The rain poured down in proverbial buckets. If raining cats and dogs were an actual thing, the buckets would  be  overflowing with calicos and Cocker spaniels. As it was, all that overflowed were the house...

 Poets and Storytellers United  Friday Writings #215  For today’s optional prompt we are asked to write poetry or prose that explores one of Terry Pratchett ’s quotes:  “ There was a light at the end of the tunnel, and it was a flamethrower .”  For me, the quote brought to mind how things aren't always what they seem, and the various expressions that express this.  All that glitters is not gold, nor will you find that treasure potted up and waiting at the end of the rainbow. Appearances are mere mirages, mirrors and smoke. Imperfect reflections, misdirections reflecting our imperfect selves. You may travel the world in search to find an empty sack full of empty promises. The legerdemain’s bag of tricks. ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved