Creative Fun with Friends

Poetry Collaboration

I love having an excuse to write something different and outside of my usual wheelhouse. I also love a good challenge. Recently a good friend who is also a writer and blogger suggested we try a new kind of writing collaboration. Jan Stoneburner, who writes “That’s Good to Know”, a lighthearted blog about finding humor in aging, is a former high school and college English teacher and she has a treasure chest of writing exercises that she used with her students over the years. So when she messaged me with a fun idea, I was excited and super curious how it would turn out. We agreed to write a couple of joint poems (not poems about joints, but a back and forth style of composition) and share them on our individual blog pages. Jan started the poems and then sent them on for me to add the next lines, then back to her and so on. It took us a few weeks to accomplish these poems as we are surprisingly busy for a couple of retired young-at-heart girls.

And of course, we also took the time to just message back and forth about life because that’s what friends do! Since I found Jan in an online writing challenge back in 2022, I have had the joy of coming to realize how much we have in common, how much we think alike, and have enjoyed every single online conversation we have ever had. One day we hope we can spend time together in person. Some people you just have to meet!

This project was so much fun and we learned more about each other in the process. It didn’t take us long to figure out themes and capitalize on what we knew about each other’s interests and values. Playing off of the other’s lines and rhythms was a challenge as we write quite differently, but once we found a pattern, off we went. I am delighted with how creative the finished products are and how much they highlight our unique personalities that managed to blend to create something that reflected both of us. Jan is a big lover of theater and stage plays and I am very much into being out in nature. I think you can see how both of those things play out in the poem about the seasons. We are also both spiritual people who have a shared faith and experience some of the same feelings and questions about life that are reflected in the second poem. These two poems could not be more different and one thing that surprised me is that we both knew when they were “done”. We never talked about how many lines or how long to make them, but we both felt when enough had been said to make these poems feel complete.

The warm hues of orange thread through the darker days of fall
While tangerine sunsets hide trees shedding their saffron robes.
No shame or fear of being exposed, tossing off their copper jewels,
Offering up bare tawny branches, sacrifices of season’s curtain call.
Terra cotta foliage blankets trunks full of storage
As winter winds whistle at the celebratory boughs. 
The undressed limbs flirt with frigid frosty teases
Reaching for a fluffy white covering under which to slumber. 
Resting, letting go, welcoming the dreams of renewal,
Bright green buds suddenly spring into unique possibilities. 
The stage is set for newness and growth in shiny shades of green,
Redressing in delicate petticoats of chartreuse and shamrock.
Propping up Gaia's alluring costume of Queen Anne's lace.
Solstice appears, songbirds whistle from their evergreen perch. 
A summer coronation invites the flora to flaunt its summer swagger.
Abundant leaves wave a welcome in warm summer breezes.
After Blazing Stars embrace the magical Monarch’s return,
Equinox cues the fade to warm hues of amber and green. 
Creation takes a bow as the seasons celebrate their performance
And make way on life’s stage for the encore yet to come.  


I'm scared
Afraid of the unknown
I’m frightened
Of ending up alone.
I'm sure
God has a plan
I’m trying
To trust what He began.  

This little project reminded me how much I enjoy collaboration. Teamwork brings a whole different level of brainstorming and cooperation and when you do it with someone you really like, it’s a joyful undertaking. I spend a lot of time writing but part of the fun of collaboration is that another creative person fills in the holes, enhances the story, and brings a different perspective into view. You have to hold your style and process a bit more loosely to give room for another’s creative input, but it’s fun to see how it all manages to come together.

I hope you enjoy our “joint” poems. Have you ever collaborated on a creative project? Did you enjoy the process and were you happy with the end result? I remember a few school group projects that were not nearly as much fun as working alongside Jan. Check out Jan’s blog post about our project: That's Good to Know - I Can Do It If You Show Me. Then check out more of Jan’s delightful work. Once you read some of her posts, you’ll know why this was so much fun! Be sure to subscribe to her page so you can have a smile on your face once a week.

Winter finally made an appearance here in Eastern Washington so as I’m posting this, I’m enjoying the beauty of a fresh snowfall out my window. This photo reminds me of the “fluffy white covering under which to slumber” in our first poem. Hope you’re finding the beauty in the seasons wherever you are in the world!