Dreams

I have a few recurring dreams which all have specific meanings that actually make sense somehow.

Today, we are to write entries for an imaginary dream dictionary. We are to pick one or more words from a given list and write about what it means to dream of these things.

I have chosen the words 'seagull' and 'rowboat'. I often dream of the sea, and love everything related to the sea, so I find these words most fitting to write about.

I'd like to give my poem a dream-like quality, hiding the dream's meaning within it...

To drift along the shore,

seagulls soaring,

crying out for 

your attention

One lands in your rowboat

as you leap across the waves,

as if to protect you

from the chaos

He lifts off,

lands in the water

beside you

as the calm sea

lets you float 

into oblivion –

You could care less

about the squawking shore

A phrase in any other way...

Our challenge today is to write a poem 'in which the words or meaning of a familiar phrase get up-ended'. Give me a few minutes while I search for a few idioms which I could potentially turn topsy-turvy, inside out and upside down...I'll try and include more than one. Let me know what you think.

She touched the sky, 

feeling 

on top of the sunny day;

The sun encircled by a golden lining

Chaos to her serenity

opposed compliment to cure

But not having

thought mind to mind,

She thought it best

To pull the cotton from their eyes,

waking sleeping cats 

and

jumping from that work horse.

Haibun: A second attempt

We have been challenged once again to write a haibun. I do not think I got it right in my previous attempt. Hopefully, this time I will be closer to being on the mark...

I'll begin with two verses of what I deem to be prose poetry (please correct me if I'm wrong) and end with a haiku.

Grassy knolls and barley fields

roll by unnoticed 

by un-wandering eyes

that only see what is inside

When will we open our eyes 

to the beauty 

of what passes us by

on journeys 

to far off places?

Though trains do not stop

for us to gaze upon small

wonders, we can look

The future and beyond

The challenge of the day derives directly from an interview with poet Kwoya Fagin Maples. It is to write a poem which addresses the future, answering the following questions:

• What does y(our) future provide?
• What is your future state of mind?
• If you are a citizen of the "union" that is your body, what is your future "state of union" address?

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what the last question entails, but I guess that's the beauty of poetry - we each have a different interpretation when reading it, so why not different interpretations of the same prompt?

I do not want everything,

only that which I need;

though so much overwhelms

my mind

due to man's greed

Two things too many

I really have to stretch my mind for today's prompt: to write a poem in which multiple events are occurring simultaneously. I think I'm going to stick to two events in a short poem! I may just play with a few other devices while I'm at it though...

He sat in front of me in class,

His apple

f

  e

   l

    l

and r o l l e d

towards me

We both 

                 reached out

Our-eyes-met

Was there tension

or

an apple

between us?

Size it up

My poem for today will include something big and something small, according to the given prompt. I've been inspired by the feeling of being small and lost, but utterly content in a foreign city.

Her size-three feet

walked the streets

in search of unknown dreams

Windows peered down

at her tiny frame

as she wandered here and there

Castles stood proud

on hills above her

as her mind became lost in the mist

The magic of poetry

I adore fairy tales, folklore, fantasy...That is why today's prompt is especially exciting. We are to write a poem in which mysterious and magical things occur. I can't help but employ a little old-fashioned language...and perhaps a bit of humour too.

Outside her window

stood a tree;

the tallest tree

that e'er could be

Upon one night,

there shone a glow

upon a branch

Nay high nor low

To her window

was she beckoned;

the light - a fairy

she did reckon

And so out of window

clambered she quickly,

the footing - 

it was rather tricky

But soon she did 

hold out her hand,

upon which the fairy folk

could stand

The winged whispered

in her ear 

all that little girls

should hear

It took all night,

but by dawn,

the secrets

of girls' lives were drawn

Now that she's grown,

ask her this:

What is the secret

to our bliss?

She'll only smile 

if you're a man.

For tell you?

Only fairies can.