Tag: poem

Life · poetry

Some things on my “to-do list” that never gets done

Sally6 Comments

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.

poetry

Writer’s Dice: Nature Poem

Sally2 Comments

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.

poetry

Introvert

Sally12 Comments

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

The W3 prompt for this week is as follows:

  • 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.

Can I go hide somewhere now? In the shadow?

Faith · Grief · poetry · Random Photo Monday

When he died

Sally12 Comments

When he died,
Oh, I tried
To decide

What came next —
So perplexed.
The subtext

Of my grief,
My belief,
Brought relief

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?

poetry · Writing

Writer’s Dice (Sort of)

Sally5 Comments
Moments, Grateful, Grandkid, Free

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.

poetry

Phoenix

Sally16 Comments

(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!

It’s a quirky poem, I admit.

poetry

Elbowroom

Sally8 Comments

Go into a crowd
The hustle-bustle-jostle
Of people – no – not for me

Sit beside a lake
Alone – a loon dives for fish
Eagle circles high – I sigh

This is my submission for the W3 prompt this week. POW Suzanne challenged us to write a poem in a Japanese form with the theme of Yutori — a Japanese word that means, among other things, elbowroom.

I have to confess that I don’t really feel confident about Japanese forms, so I read through the book: Japanese Poetry Forms by James P. Wagner (Ishwa) and Nick Hale that Suzanne included and settled on The Sedoka. Here’s the explanation of the form:

The Sedoka
Sometimes known as a whirling head poem is
similar to a later form of Japanese poetry called the
mondo from the Zen practice of rapid question-answer
between a master and a student or, more frequently,
between two lovers. Often the answer would be in
nonverbal form such as pointing to a natural object.
The sedoka can often be considered the combination of
two or three katuata. A sedoka is written by only 1
poet and rather than question-answer, the 2 stanzas are
often parallels, sometimes taking the form of an
internal dialogue or contemplative dilemma. This verse
can be found as far back as the 6th century.
The sedoka is:
 2 stanzas of 3 lines each
 19 syllables or less
 often 5-7-7, sometimes 5-7-5 is used for each
stanza.
 the stanzas should be parallel to each other, or
in some ways opposites without being directly
contradictory.

You can see that I am a little partial to the Celtic forms that like internal rhyme and alliteration.

poetry

A Motionless Bird

Sally10 Comments

What would you do?
He picked up the bird, threw it high
What would you do?
’twas only stunned but now it flew!
And as it climbed into the sky
My friend breathed out a little sigh
What would you do?

This is my response to the W3 prompt. It’s based on a story a friend told me. He had seen the bird crash into something and was motionless in a field. He could see it was still alive though.

The challenge was to write a rondelet. The rondelet contains a single septet (a verse of seven lines); a refrain; a strict rhyme scheme; and a distinct meter pattern. This is the basic structure:

  • Line 1: A—four syllables (refrain)
  • Line 2: b—eight syllables
  • Line 3: A—repeat of line one (refrain)
  • Line 4: a—eight syllables
  • Line 5: b—eight syllables
  • Line 6: b—eight syllables
  • Line 7: A—repeat of line one (refrain)

The refrained lines should contain the same words, however substitution or different use of punctuation on the lines has been common.

poetry

Strength

Sally2 Comments

Line: Point A to B
≠ strength. Conversely
Circle: pointless and centered

The W3 challenge this week was to write either 1) a haiku, 2) a tanka, or 3) a senryu and use the word “strength” in it.

I looked up senryu because I didn’t know what it was. “The senryu is a three-line Japanese poetic form that focuses on human nature, generally with an ironic or darkly comedic edge.” (from Masterclass) It has 17 syllables, like a haiku, but I gave up on 5-7-5. Also, I decided that ≠ is one syllable. Of course, it’s not.

This may not seem human nature-ish, and it isn’t funny, but I had read something the other day that said Jesus drew circles, not lines. It stuck with me.

A bully draws lines in the sand and taunts those on the other side. Love includes them. There’s my human nature angle. (Angle — sheesh — I’ve got geometry on the brain!)

Note to David: I’m not submitting this to the W3 because it’s really not in keeping with the rules of the challenge. It was inspired by the challenge, but not a senryu.

poetry

Reflections on the Moon

Sally11 Comments

That crescent
Half-hidden, luminescent
Resting on clouds in un-stark
Dark

Moon inspires
Because it only requires
Mass gravity sun to be
Free

It’s waxing
Now – growing, growing. Maxing
At full. Sun reflected bright
Light

Such beauty
The moon is never snooty!
It brings delight to the sky
[sigh]

My desire —
Be like the moon and conspire
To make people smile when they see
Me

This is my contribution to the W3 prompt this week. This week’s Poet of the Week, Sheila Bair, challenged us to write a poem exactly 64 words in length that incorporates the words “light” and “dark”.

Done. This is a Celtic forms, Deibide Baise Fri Toin (don’t ask me to pronounce it), an Irish form with an aabb rhyme scheme and syllable count of 3-7-7-1 for each stanza. The first two lines rhyme on a 2 syllable word and the last two lines rhyme on one syllable..

I LOVE the moon. I really do. More than once I have thought about the fact that when we see the moon, we are actually seeing the sun’s reflection. Of course that begs the question — what am I reflecting? Dear God, let me reflect things that bring joy to others.