The passing of Pope Francis has had a touching impact on people from all levels of society and all religions. He was a gentle and honest man who chose to live without ostentation or wealth. Although as pope, he had no special political power, during his lifetime he was welcomed by political leaders from around the world and by leaders of most religions. Thus, his funeral was attended by leaders, kings, queens, and other royalty as well as by many of his followers and admirers. Today the papal conclave began to choose the new pope as the world awaits in anticipation. At the end of the day, the smoke emitted was black, indicating that a new pope had not yet been selected. Even though I am not Catholic, I admire the life and work of Pope Francis and look forward to a new leader with a heart as big as his. Even after his death, his impact will be felt by the people of Gaza to whom he requested that his popemobile to be remade for medical service.
My favorite movie over the past year was Conclave which featured Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini. I thought the acting was splendid. The setting and the costumes were beautiful. I was disappointed that it didn’t win every category at the Oscars but appreciated that fact that the Screen Actors Guild awarded the cast The Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Award in 2025. If you haven’t seen Conclave, now is the perfect time to view it.
My Writing Goals for 2025
- Continue to develop my poetry and connections with other poets:
- Bardic Trails: The Talking Gourds/Bardic Trails is a monthly Zoom presentation of poets, followed by an open mike, which is broadcast from Telluride, Colorado. This month, the presentation took place on May 6. Two poets presented their work: Ellery Akers who has published multiple books of poetry and whose A Door into the Wild won the 2024 Blue Light Book Award and a silver medal in the 2024 North American Book Award in Poetry and Benny Manibog who won the 2024 Cantor Prize for his poem, “Honeycombs.” I genuinely enjoy the Bardic Trails open mike session as the poets who read are excellent. This month, I read my poem “Winning Horses” in the open mike session.
- The Colorado Poetry Center: In April, Michael J. Henry, who is the Executive Director of Lighthouse and who has published two collections of poetry, No Stranger Than My Own and Active Gods, and a book of nonfiction, Mountain Biking the Colorado Trail, read at the CPC evening session at the Boulder Bookstore. I enjoyed the open mike readings that evening as well.
- The Boulder Writers Alliance Poetry Circle featured Lorrie E. Wolfe. Her second chapbook, The Language of Crows, won the Middle Creek Press 2023 Fledge Chapbook Award and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Lorrie’s work has been widely published in journals and anthologies. Lorrie was also named Poet of the Year at the Ziggies Poetry Festival in Denver.
- My poetry project goals: I managed to write a new poem every week over the last month and plan to submit one to a contest.
- Finish my first novel and query agents (IW): I attended a BWA Silent Writing Group session and discussed my synopsis at my critique group.
- Finish my second novel (G): Nothing accomplished.
- Continue to work on my third novel, (PW: Nothing accomplished.
Continue to develop a network of kindred spirits in the world of writing and publishing:
- Boulder Writers Alliance: I was unable to attend the BWA’s Writers Who Read discussion of Butcher by Joyce Carol Oates, led by Gary Alan McBride. This was a difficult book for me to read. I had to reread the first three parts three times to make my mind focus on the story. It is rare that I dislike a book and almost throw it across the room but I did not like this book.
- Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers: I read the newsletter and various emails. I also started a draft of a potential submission to the anthology.
- Women Writing the West: I read the newsletter and attended our critique group. I do plan to attend the online/virtual WWW Conference this year.
- Document my writing progress through my blog and post it on the seventh day of each month, one blog per month in 2025:
Today is May 7, 2025. I am posting my fifth blog for this year. When I was a child, on May Day, we prepared little May baskets for older ladies in the neighborhood and left them on their doorstep as a surprise. It was fun to know that they didn’t know who left them. Once as an adult, I had someone leave me a May basket which was a pleasure and brought back memories of my childhood. I never discovered who left it! This month, I have had visitors from abroad which has been a delight.
A Poem for May
May Baskets
—Annette Wynne
In other lands the children bring
May baskets for the first of spring,
And hang them on a lady’s door
To say that spring is here once more;
And when the lady comes to see
What all the sound outside may be,
She’s glad; that’s the way
The Swedish children keep the May.
But we can do kind things and sing
And tell our way the joy of spring.
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