My tribute poem to Mom was just published by Grief Book Club. The anniversary of her death was April 3. Mom, I remember You were at my side when I was paralyzed with encephalitis & recovering from the coma I cried in your arms after school each day, learning was so challenging after encephalitis, & the... Continue Reading →
Reliving Grief at Poetry Readings
Mom and me Sensitive Content: Abortion and Miscarriage I’m busy with final preparations for a major reading from my poetic memoir, Three-Penny Memories. the reading will also include a PowerPoint presentation about why my poetry book reads like a novel. I've been working on this presentation for months and even gave a version last October... Continue Reading →
Grief and Joy Ride the Smiler
Photo of a Roller Coaster by Pixabay on Pexels.com Grief and Joy Ride the Smiler The wacky 14-loop roller coaster ride invites laughter and loss. Grief screams and hangs on to Joy as though proposing. The reeling, a dance of ups, downs, ins and outs. Twists and turns. Joy loses her lunch on Loop 8,... Continue Reading →
Poems Published in Various Places
I hope you enjoy this menagerie of poems. Rose Petals by Paal Joachim Romdahl is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0 On November 10: “Homeless Woman Applying Makeup on the Patio at Eatwell Grocery” was published on Hotel Masticadores USA. I wrote this poem while observing the woman one morning on the outdoor patio at Eatwell Grocery.... Continue Reading →
“Woman” by Barbara Leonhard is up on Chewers & Masticadores!!
Thank you, Nolcha Fox, for publishing this poem from Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir! As much as I knew about my mother, she was also a mystery to me. I wish I knew more about her life routines. Although I knew the highs and lows, I never asked enough questions about her friends, schooling, hobbies,... Continue Reading →
“No Words” by Nolcha Fox and Barbara Leonhard
This collaboration by Nolcha Fox and me is heartfelt. Like many people, we are traumatized by yet another mass shooting this week alone. The poem speaks for itself. We have grief, anger, worry. No words. You can access the poem, which published on MasticadoresUSA today, by clicking the link below. I’m just an old lady... Continue Reading →
“Mischief” by Nolcha Fox and Barbara Leonhard — Hotel
Thank you, Juan Re Crivello, for publishing this collaborative piece by me and Nolcha Fox. We are so delighted! The gremlins ate my links for lunch, I cannot get to Amazon. Now they’re eyeing photographs I stored on my computer. Social media may be next. Will I be erased? They spoon stuporinto my coffee.Stir in... Continue Reading →
A Love Letter to Mom: an Ameri-Ku by Barbara Harris Leonhard — Hotel
Juan Re Crivello, the Director and Head Editor for Masticadores, has a new Masticadores blog called Hotel Masticadores House. It is open for submissions for works on grief. I just happened to be working on another poem, an Ameri-Ku, about me and Mom, so I submitted it. Thank you, Juan, for publishing my poem! Submit to Juan... Continue Reading →
“Happiness is an elephant” by Nolcha Fox (and My Review of Fox’s Book, ‘Memory is that raccoon’) — MasticadoresUsa // Editor: Barbara Leonhard
Nolcha Fox is a prolific and entertaining poet! I was honored to review her book “Memory is that raccoon”, which contains the poem featured here. Enjoy! https://read.amazon.com/kp/card?preview=inline&linkCode=kpd&ref_=k4w_oembed_mGs735zp8njRe2&asin=9395224622&tag=kpembed-20 Happiness is an elephant sitting in the best chair, hogging the remote. I can only feed him peanuts and vacuum when he goes to the refrigerator for a... Continue Reading →
“I Fear Me This – Is Loneliness -”
I have a new poem up at Spillwords today. You can find the link below, but first, some background. While sheltering from COVID exposure last winter, I was able to hear the neighbor children playing in the park after a new snowfall. From my study window, I could see them fashioning a sled run down... Continue Reading →