He presses Himself to the wall. Guesses She won’t see him out of view — Boo!
So surpised! You! she yells, giggling disguised As annoyance, but she’s not Hot
She’s laughing! The fun is telegraphing A bond they share. It’s such prime Time.
’cause sometimes I think being scared (oft-times) Is half the fun… More than half! Laugh!
This is my response to this week’s W3 prompt. POW, Violet, gave us three quotes to choose from to incorporate into our poem — all having to do with “The Human Condition.” I chose a quote from Krystal Sutherland, House of Hollow: “Sometimes I think being scared is half the fun.”
I used a Celtic form called Deibide Baise Fri Toin. Syllable counts per line are 3-7-7-1. Lines 1 and 2 rhymes on 2 syllables. Lines 3 and 4 rhyme on one.
The truest love involves more than giddy peaks, It’s listening, really listening, when the other speaks
Words are words are words. Heck, anyone could say them When there’s honest listening – that’s where love comes from
Words hit heart, hit home, when one looks between Beyond simple listening we sees what words can mean
To listen we must step aside and hear with more than ears Listening in that way leads to love that lasts for years
A sally is a jaunt off the beaten track And love is really listening even when words lack
This is my submission to the W3 challenge this week. The challenge was to write a Ghazal on the theme of Love. Here are the instructions for a Ghazal:
Made up of a chain of couplets, where each couplet is an independent poem;
It should be natural to put a comma at the end of the first line of each couplet;
The Ghazal has a refrain of one to three words that repeat, and an inline rhyme that precedes the refrain;
Lines 1 and 2, then every second line, have this refrain and inline rhyme;
The last couplet should refer to the author’s name;
The rhyming scheme is AA bA cA dA eA etc.
I read and read and read the instructions and, in the end, did only half of them. I wrote couplets, I had a refrain (though not at the end of the line), and the last couplet refers to my name. But the internal rhyme and the rhyme scheme? – Meh.
So shattered Everything that mattered Broken, unfixable, trashed Dashed
One person Opts to better, not worsen Fashion, build, construct, un-break Make
When you might think all is lost That all pieces should be tossed Giving up has higher cost
This is my response to this week’s W3 Challenge. Here are the guidelines given by the Poet of the Week:
THEME: Write a poem to encourage someone not to give up—urging them to persevere, try again, or push forward for just one more time or day;
STRUCTURE: Use no more than 11 lines;
Choose any form or rhyme scheme you prefer;
Optional Inspiration:Consider drawing inspiration from the image and/or statement by artist Glen Martin Taylor above;
If you do include Glen Martin Taylor’s statement or repost the image, please give proper credit to the artist.
There’s an unpronounceable Celtic form called Deibide Baise Fri Toin. Syllable counts per line are 3-7-7-1. Lines 1 and 2 rhymes on 2 syllables. Lines 3 and 4 rhyme on one. So I wrote two of those plus three more 7-syllable lines that all rhyme with each other. Total lines = 11.
From the window seat on the plane, plain Stretches out. And sometimes I see sea. Sometimes it is a sandy beach. Beech Trees with maple, birch, hemlock wood would Populate my view. Back row aisle, I’ll Say that my view is, of course, coarse Economy class — deaf to my pleas: Please, I need the window but I know no One cares! [sigh] Be there in a few. Phew!
This is my submission to the W3 Challenge. This week we are challenged to write an “Echo Verse” which means the last syllable is repeated at the end of each line. It was a fun challenge.
When I fly, which isn’t often, I truly am a window seat person all the way.
Some things on my “to-do list” that never get done Sleep all night Lose 10 pounds Go out for a run
Other stuff on my “to-do list” that I keep passing by Clean the house Clean out the barn Weed the garden — beautify!
What I want on my to-do list instead of all that stuff Daydream Moodle Sketch or doodle Make some art with pasta noodles Play the flute Or trombone Spend two weeks without my phone Call old friends To just say “Hi! I’m thinking of you! Okay, bye!”
To-do lists are a tool, that’s all Whether long or whether small Crossing items off feels good Instead of focusing on “should”
The title of this post was a prompt that showed up in Jetpack.
Snowy prints Down the ramp Whose are they? Some wild scamp
Perhaps fox Or wild cat — Which of you Would do that?
‘Cross the street Off you’d go River-ward Through the snow
While I slept There you trod All unseen But by God
But, by God, Prints reveal You exist You are real
You are close You are bold I must ask Aren’t you cold?
Today’s roll of the dice: JOYFUL, POEM, NATURE, STRANGER
I decided to write a Cethramtu Rannaigechta Moire, an Irish poetic form that requires 3 syllable lines in quatrains. The second and fourth lines rhyme.
Also, I decided to look back at the photos on my phone for the first nature photo that wasn’t the moon and use that as additional inspiration.
I am perpetually cold this time of year. It was -7 when I first looked at the temp this morning. Hence the last line.
In the shadow of the forest In the shadow of this wood In the shadow of one maple In the shadow there I stood In the shadow am I hiding? In the shadow I’m abiding In the shadow, in the shadow – all is good
THEME: Explore the contrast between light and darkness;
Use metaphor to reveal hidden truths or surprising insights;
FORM: Each line must begin with the phrase “In the shadow of…”
LENGTH: Exactly 7 lines;
TONE/IMAGERY: Create vivid imagery that evokes a sense of mystery or revelation;
Aim for a narrative arc that transitions or oscillates between themes of obscurity and clarity.
I got the 7-line part right, so I should get partial credit for that — but no metaphors or vivid imagery. Sorry. Just the thoughts of an introvert who has had a rough week.
This is my submission for the W3 Challenge this week:
Theme: The bittersweet, painful, or unsettling aspects of the past and its hold on the present;
Optional Challenge: Use imagery of shadows, cracks, or reflections to add depth to the theme;
Form: A “square” (e.g., 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, or any other pattern you choose);
“Rows” represent stanzas;
“Columns” represent the number of lines in each stanza;
For example: 3×3 = 3 stanzas of 3 lines each; and 4×4 = 4 stanzas of 4 lines each.
The idea of a “square” poem intrigued me. I wrote 3 stanzas of 3 lines each. I went a step further, though, and made each line 3 syllables — does that make it a cube?
Well, I just wrote a long post of gratitude yesterday and I saw two of my grandchildren today. I’m going to take that “FREE” cube and run with it.
This coming week, on Thursday, we’re having a Robert Burns celebration as part of our senior program. I’m excited and terribly anxious. I ordered haggis for it, then came into work one morning last week to see the box of haggis sitting beside the front desk. It had arrived after I left the previous day. It was clearly labeled, “PERISHABLE. REFRIGERATE IMMEDIATELY.” But there it sat in the lobby.
I was so upset that I couldn’t even open the box, so one of the custodians did it for me. Everything was still frozen inside. It was packed in styrofoam and ice packs. I’m still amazed that it was so cold.
Today, though, I worked on my own version of “To a Mouse” which I may share at the Burns event. In Robert Burns’ version, he’s apologetic for disturbing a mouse’s nest while plowing. I am slightly less kind. The first two lines are all Rabbie Burns’. The rest are mine.
Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie Oh, what a panic’s in thy breastie! I ken, I ken — ye smelt the yeastie in discarded bread But would it be too much to ask ye go somewhere else instead
Ye leave yer jobbies* and I find them On the counter, near a bread crumb Or by the garbage, where ye oft come to find a treat or two I recognize where jobbies come from they cause me to say “Ewww!”
Today I grant ye sweet release** Across the street — and wish ye peace Instead of plotting yer decease I will allow ye live May yer domestic tribe decrease Today’s nibblin’s I forgive
But tomorrow, oh tomorrow I may wish ye endless sorrow Ye come into my home and borrow That which is nae yers Mousetraps are set those places ye go BAM SNAP! – yes, death occurs
*Jobbie is a Scottish term for excrement.
** Yes, I release mice that are alive across the street in our compost pile.
(Ph)lying up higher and higher Hole-ness comes amidst the fire Once upon a time, to cope Every child learned the myth, the trope New the stories of death, loss, hope Icarus failed and fell to earth xineohP rose from ashes in rebirth
This week on W3 the poet of the week (PoW) Sarah David challenged us to write a poem of up to 12 lines on the theme of hope or renewal. Poets can use this image (or another one) of a phoenix for inspiration if they like.
I decided to write an Acrostic, but, darn it all, the words wouldn’t cooperate. If Phoenix can begin with a ph, I gave flying permission to do the same. And that wholeness of life rising from ashes? Well, the w just wouldn’t work! New/knew — whatever. And X? Fuhgeddaboudit!
