2026 Poetry Challenge - Generational - Humor - Poems

New Kid

Day 1: 
Level Up, New Chapter.
Fresh buttermilk pancakes.

New outfit:
skirt hem, shoes and hair
all Mom-vetted-and-approved.

Photo time:
Posed candids on
the house front steps;
proof of milestone.
Session ends predictably,
upon the first "Mom stop!!!"

Transport time:
Ride in to a new building.
Enter through the front doors.
Cluster around new faces.
Stare around at new sights.

Schedule time:
Await instructions
from someone
who looks like they
know what they're doing.

Intake time:
Take another photo.
Get a lanyard.
Meet the new class.
Get assigned a desk.
(No, can't switch with a peer.)

Back-to-school vibes;
New Kid on the Block:
NKOTB.
Drop-off Day of summer camp.

New Girl:
Day 1,
brand-new role,
exciting organization.

Here’s to free will
and free snacks
and lunch buddies
and bold projects
and a fresh routine.


Poet, writer, photographer and slightly distracted day-dreamer who muses on (gestures at everything) from the petty to the profound. On a semi-serious, fully earnest search for meaning in the mayhem. Perimenopausal, melanin-deprived, irony-enhanced recovering perfectionist Type A+ millennial woman. She balances the ever-continuing quest to Know Better/Do Better, with the distinct ego-death of parenting a smart, full-throated child who was raised to know the power of her voice. Mothering a teen means catching a side-eye in almost every interaction. Diana navigates the minutiae of everyday life through seeking the magical in the mundane. Follow along and laugh with her as the world flames out!

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