Tag: W3

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

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

Ode to a New Daily Planner

Sally11 Comments

Oh 2025
You stretch before me
On unwritten pages
Clean
Fresh
Full of hope

I wrote a prayer in you
To start things off
Opening you
Pressing you flat

Birthdays and
Other reminders
Are scattered throughout
But I know
(as do you)
There is more to come

By December 31
You will be full
Of occasions
Good
Bad
Happy
Sad
Momentous
Minute

Life
In a book
Written by me

Dear 2025 planner
Come with me on my travels
Bear witness to my events
Remind me
Always
Of what is important

This is my response to this week’s W3 prompt: write an ode.

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

What to Be When You Grow Up

Sally9 Comments

From
All your
Ev’ry day
Experience –
Choose that which you love
Or that thing which inspires
More than mediocrity.
You have your own unique talent
Lurking, waiting for discovery
From all your ev’ry day experience

This is my response to the W3 prompt this week. The challenge was to write a Dectina Refrain, a poem which, syllable-wise goes 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, but that last line is the first four lines put together in one line. Got it?

Oh — and the theme was “free” in any form. I went with free as in autonomy.

I’ve been thinking a lot about jobs and careers and that sort of thing. I’m so proud of all my children. I encouraged them individually to pursue that which they love. That way work is work but it isn’t really work because you mostly love it, right?

Autonomy in the workplace can be the key to truly loving a job. When you can do what you do, without someone breathing down your neck, micromanaging everything you do — well, THAT is amazing. Then work really isn’t work, just passion and, ultimately, a job well done.

poetry

Stains

Sally9 Comments

Boy! Mustard,
Oil, gum, grease, tar. I’m flustered!
Nothing can remove this shirt
Dirt

It’s the W3 challenge. The PoW challenged us to write an Acrostic Poem using the word “BOND”. As a theme, she wanted the poem to be about something or someone we are bound to or share a bond with. Alternatively, we could write about two or more things that are bound together.

Can you think of a tighter bond than stains and fabric? Okay, okay — I’m sure there are lots, but still, a stain has quite a bond, right?

This is yet another Deibide Baise Fri Toin, 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.

Honestly, I put my poem in the same category as the following poem which appeared in an old Adventures in Odyssey episode about a boy who was struggling with poetry assignments in school — you know, all that symbolism and metaphor nonsense. He was a brick and mortar type kid. He wrote the following poem about pants.

 I put on pants every day.
To go to school or to play.
I like pants.

Sometimes I wear pants of blue,
Or brown to go with my shoe.
I like pants.

Sometimes I feel sorry for ants.
Because they can’t wear pants.
I like pants.

Pants cover my legs so that I can go.
Without them I would be cold I know.
I like pants.
I like them so.

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.