Postcards and memories

The challenges this year are certainly some of the most creative received thus far!

Today, we are to draft a prose poem in the form/style of a postcard. As travelling is one of my absolute favourite things to do, I love this challenge!

My dearest friend

If you were here,

you'd love the ever-changing sky

of which McCall Smith so fondly speaks.

You'd love the smell of malt

that hangs in the air on a cold day,

and the crisp mornings;

the cry of the seagulls

and the toll of St Giles' bell at midnight.

I really wish you were with me,

to pinch me,

to make sure that this is indeed my reality.

I miss you and love you,

but there's nowhere else I'd rather be;

I'd rather have you here with me.

Time is of the essence

As I do not believe in tarot card readings, I do not keep any. Therefore, today's challenge is not meant for me. However, instead of picking a card and writing a poem inspired by it, I will write a poem inspired by an image on my randomly thrown Rory's Story Cubes®, which act as prompts for stories when one is feeling uninspired.

Below is an image of the dice after being thrown. I have chosen to write a poem inspired by the clock die. Enjoy!

Rory's Story Cubes®

If time did not fly

If time did not fly,

I'd sit and stare more;

stare at nothing 

and think more

If time did not fly,

I'd be silent more often;

listening,

observing more

If time did not fly,

I'd read more;

I'd smell the pages

and savour each word

If time did not fly,

I'd sip my coffee;

I'd smell the roses

and look up at the sky

If time did not fly,

I'd learn more;

I'd be wiser

and live more

The senses sense

Today, we're to write a poem which includes images that engage all five senses. We're challenged to try to be as concrete and exact as possible regarding the "feel" of what the poem invites the reader to see, smell, touch, taste and hear.

Here follows a fitting poem in honour of two of my favourite things, which also form part of this blog's title.

The salty sea foam sweeps the sand,

Leaving pockets and bubbles

on its surface

Waves splash and spray

against rocks

The cool breeze brings

the sweet scent of frangipani

and sticky citrus clings to my fingers

like sea sand to my toes

Cold ice cream

drips from chins

and seagulls cry out

for your dregs

Then the orange sun sets

and all is silent

but the ever tumbling waves 

of the ocean

Beware!

This is going to be fun! Today's challenge is to write a poem that takes the form of a warning label...for ourselves! Here goes...

Warning

Too much cheese will lead to:

body fat and high cholesterol,

but pure bliss*

Too much coffee will lead to:

hypertension and heart palpitations,

but you'll not get through the day otherwise*

Too much binge watching series will lead to:

hours seen as wasted by everyone else,

but important 'me time' for yourself*

*Because why should you not enjoy the simple pleasures in life?

To my friend

Again, I really can't believe that April is almost over. The next Global Poetry Writing Month can't come quick enough!

Today's challenge is to write an elegy. This is no mean feat as it requires, in my opinion, doing someone you miss and love justice in but a few words and with a conclusion of hopefulness.

As my grandparents' deaths are still far too raw, I'm going to write an elegy for a friend. I doubt it will be any easier though...

Moon boy

You once told me the crescent moon

looked like a banana in the sky,

that I should toast marshmallows there

You showed me your art with pride –

an abstract waterfall

on your bedroom floor

I glimpsed a piece of your heart

in your midnight poetry

and birthday cards

Your kindness and love

shone in your eyes;

your life told a story

But you left a legacy, an example –

big shoes to fill

and a hole in our hearts

Now you toast marshmallows 

on your banana moon –

 one day, I will join you

Sounds like...

The challenges this year are really flexing our creative muscles, but I like it! Today's challenge is to write a poem based in sound. It could, for example, read like spoken language sounds, or incorporate overhead language, a song lyric, or language from something often heard spoke aloud (a prayer, pledge, motto, etc.). We could perhaps even use a regional or local phrase that we don't hear anywhere else.

Let's see how much Scots I remember from my time in Edinburgh...

'Spare some change please, love?'

said the dirty homeless man

All that he wanted 

was a wee tot, a dram

To wash away his sorrows,

To drive away the rain

'Ye numpty,'

said a lad

'A dinna ken who ye mean by "love;"

A gonny tell my dad!'

The lad clicked his tongue

and walked away, mad.

But the dirty homeless man

kept holding out his hand

When the impossible is possible

I love today's challenge! We're to choose one of six statements of impossibility. We're then to write a poem in which the impossible thing happens.

I have chose the following statement: 'The sun can't rise in the west.'

The day the sun rose in the west

The day the sun rose in the west,

the clock's hands ticked anti-clockwise

and the water went down the drain 

in the wrong direction

People started walking backwards

and laughed when they should have cried

I wore the wrong shoe on the wrong foot

and forgot to brush my teeth

But then I remembered 

It was Monday morning

and I'd woke up at the bottom of my bed

Nothing is right 

on a Monday