The joy of giving

Our prompt for the day is 'to write a poem of gifts and joy' and is inspired by one of Rachel McKibben's posts on Twitter.

I am going to take the prompt a step further and challenge myself to write about the joy of giving, but not in the common sense of the phrase. I'm quite inspired by McKibben's post too...

The joy of giving

Today, 

I gave away a smile

and another tired face brightened

I let go of my own pain

in a warm cup of tea

as a quiet

gift to myself

I hummed

a melody in my heart

to chase away

the clouds

If

We are challenged today 'to write a poem of the possible.' In other words, we should focus on 'what might happen if the conditions are right,' writing a poem which emphasises the power of "if".

My poem is inspired by the youth of today...

If only

If they'd listen,

they would learn

If they'd look up,

they would understand

If they felt the warm sun on their faces,

they would know there's more

If they did not reek of lethargy,

they'd perhaps appreciate more

If only they could taste the fruits of labour,

then perhaps they'd get up

If only

On a whim

Today, because I am exhausted, I choose to postpone my taking up of the daily challenge to another day when I feel that my mind is more able to present better ideas.

Just for today, I choose to write on a whim. Perhaps this very notion is what I will use for inspiration!

On a whim

A song on the wind

called my name;

it set fire ablaze

in my heart

With a bag full of courage

and a leap of faith,

I answered

It answered back

I was carried away

on a whirling wind,

whose call I answered

on a whim

Now I am back,

but my heart still burns;

it yearns to hear my name 

called in a song again

Sad times

Today's challenge seems to have arrived right on cue. I am feeling rather melancholic and nostalgic this evening, and I was hoping for something in which I could immerse my emotions.

The challenge: to write a sad poem which 'achieves sadness through simplicity.' I will do my best to keep things as simple as possible, but I adore using imagery.

We are further challenged to write a sonnet, but after the draining day I have had, I am gracefully going to bow out of this part of the challenge. If you walked in my shoes today, you would understand.

The Sounds of Sadness

It's in the sound 

of a neighbour playing the piano

on a rainy day

It's in the silent embrace

of friends

as you board the train

and wave goodbye

It's the high notes

of voices

as they sing sad songs

It's a muffled giggle

at a silly photograph

as you remember

It's the unsteady beat

of your broken heart

as you try to forget

Points in time

Today's challenge is to write a poem which 'involves a story or action that unfolds over an appreciable length of time.' A suggestion is made to focus on imagery, sound, emotional content, or all of the above. I love this challenge, so I am going to try and do just that!

My attempt is write about a stroll through my favourite city...Edinburgh in Scotland, of course!

I even pay homage to William Wordsworth's I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (I recently covered this poem with my grade 8 students, so a two-word phrase slipped into my poem. Can you spot it?)

Oh, but to wander

 I long for the manifold days

far beyond the sea

where Curiosities are commoners

and Culture stands on every corner

I miss strolling aimlessly

past History,

sometimes stopping to scrutinise her,

ever wondering what secrets she keeps

I ever wish to stop,
to gaze – and gaze –

 upon the daffodils,

to sip on forbidden sunshine

with the damp green grass 

beneath bare feet

I yearn to turn towards home

as the rain spits on my boots

and in my face;

to perch on the window sill

as I listen to the afternoon gulls,

close my eyes

and breathe the air of Serenity

Questions, questions...

Today's prompt is based on Claire Wahmanholm's poem The Meadow, The River. We are challenged to write a poem which 'similarly resists closure by ending on a question, inviting the reader to continue the process of reading (and, in some ways, writing) the poem even after the poem ends.'

Challenge accepted! Again, I am not sure I am able to meet the standards of the above mentioned poem.

Independently dependent

I found courage in my heart,

but fear in my mind

Yet I stepped out into the unknown,

tripped,

but got back up

and stood my ground

out of defiance of my own doubt

I fell,

hit rock bottom,

but was lifted higher

because I trusted, prayed –

In my independence

I would never be alone.

Do you believe in God?

How to...

It's that time of year again! Global Poetry Writing Month (GloPoWriMo), otherwise known as National Poetry Writing Month, or NaPoWriMo.

I usually enjoy challenging myself with the prompts on the NaPoWriMo website. Today is no exception.

Our first prompt is to write a poem that provides 'the reader with instructions on how to do something'. The prompt was inspired by January Gill O'Neil's poem How to Make a Crab Cake.

Our prompt broadened to include a play on 'the notorious unreliability of instructional manuals,' or a poem 'that tells a reader how not to do something'. Additional inspiration was given in the form of John Ashbery's The Instruction Manual.

I would like to take inspiration from the latter: a poem on how not to do something, but perhaps in a tongue-in-cheek manner. The calibre of my poem is, however, nowhere nearly as sophisticated as that of the above mentioned poets!

How not to procrastinate

When you feel the notion to avoid

any work at all,

keep busy

Write or read or sing

Instead of washing dishes,

Or garden

Instead of sending that email

If you really have to,

fold washing 

while watching a movie,

but never exert yourself

Busy people

are not lazy;

they are active

in every way,

getting things done

at their own pace