2013 Poetry Challenge: Day 14

Sunday is siphoning drops of pollen from lung fibers. And Benadryl is a springtime miracle. It is time for another writing prompt in our attempt (yours, not mine) to make a poem a day during the month of May. Our prompt today comes from NaPoWriMo.

Write a persona poem — that is, a poem in the voice of a particular person who isn’t you. But I’d like you to choose a very particular kind of person. How about a poem in the voice of a superhero (or a super-villain)? Comic book characters are very much like mythological characters — they tend to embody big-picture values or personality traits. Good or bad. Loyal or disloyal! (Heck — some comic book characters are mythologial characters — think of Thor). And like mythological characters, superheroes and supervillains let us tap into deep-seated cultural tropes. So go for it. Whether you identify with Batman, Robin or – gulp – the Joker, let’s hear your poems in another voice. If you’re like me, you will want to fashion your superhero or villain out of antihistamine or tree pollen.

Be creative!

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About NaPoWriMo: NaPoWriMo, or National Poetry Writing Month, is an annual project in which participating poets attempt to write a poem a day for the month of April. NaPoWriMo was founded in 2003, when poet Maureen Thorson decided to take up the challenge (modeled after NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month), and challenged other poets to join her. Since then, the number of participants has gotten larger every year, and many writers’ organizations, local, national and even international, organize NaPoWriMo activities.

Need more information? See the Wikipedia entry for NaPoWriMo!

 

 

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2013 Poetry Challenge: Day 13

This prompt is perfect for a lazy, bright Saturday (I hope your Saturday is lazy and bright, or at least peaceful even if you are under a foot of snow). It comes from NaPoWriMo.

Your prompt for today is simply to take a walk. Make notes — mental or otherwise — on what you see on your walk, and incorporate these notes into your poem. A bit more serene and observational than yesterday, and hopefully a nice, calming poem to begin your weekend with.

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About  the April PAD (Poem-A-Day) Challenge: it is designed to help poets do one thing and one thing only – write more poems! The process of revision may go on for weeks, months, and years later, but this challenge is all about getting that first draft.

Writing prompts courtesy of Poetic Asides by Robert Lee Brewer. Visit Writer’s Digest to join in the conversation.

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2013 Poetry Challenge: Day 12

It is so Friday and I am going to attempt to write (and more to the point, post to this blog) over the weekend, but the promise of weekend sunshine has me desiring to remain out of doors.

For today’s prompt, write a broke poem. The poem could be about a broken record, broken relationship, or someone who is just flat broke (no money).

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About  the April PAD (Poem-A-Day) Challenge: it is designed to help poets do one thing and one thing only – write more poems! The process of revision may go on for weeks, months, and years later, but this challenge is all about getting that first draft.

Writing prompts courtesy of Poetic Asides by Robert Lee Brewer. Visit Writer’s Digest to join in the conversation.

Make a poem, be a poem.

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2013 Poetry Challenge: Day 11

Thursday already. This week has gone by so quickly. Well, let’s get down to writing…

For today’s prompt, take the phrase “In Case of (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write the poem. Possible titles could include “In Case of Emergency,” “In Case of Oversleeping,” “In Case of Snoring,” or something else.

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About  the April PAD (Poem-A-Day) Challenge: it is designed to help poets do one thing and one thing only – write more poems! The process of revision may go on for weeks, months, and years later, but this challenge is all about getting that first draft.

Writing prompts courtesy of Poetic Asides by Robert Lee Brewer. Visit Writer’s Digest to join in the conversation.

Gratitude and good writing.

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2013 Poetry Challenge: Day 10

Happy hump day! It’s warm here and all the bugs are alive and scrounging. Today’s poetry prompt is directly aligned with my disdain for bugs and excessive summer heat. Today’s prompt is courtesy of NaPoWriMo.

And now, the (again, optional) prompt. Many of us have read and even written love poems. But have you written an un-love poem?

An un-love poem isn’t a poem of hate, exactly — that might be a bit too shrill or boring. It’s more like a poem of sarcastic dislike. This is a good time to get in a good dig at people who chew with their mouth open, or always take the last oreo. If there’s no person you feel comfortable un-loving, maybe there’s a phenomenon? Like squirrels that eat your tomatoes. (I have many, many bitter feelings about tomato-eating squirrels). There’s lots of ways to go with this one, and lots of room for humor and surprise as well. Happy writing!

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About NaPoWriMo: NaPoWriMo, or National Poetry Writing Month, is an annual project in which participating poets attempt to write a poem a day for the month of April. NaPoWriMo was founded in 2003, when poet Maureen Thorson decided to take up the challenge (modeled after NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month), and challenged other poets to join her. Since then, the number of participants has gotten larger every year, and many writers’ organizations, local, national and even international, organize NaPoWriMo activities.

Need more information? See the Wikipedia entry for NaPoWriMo!

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this is happiness

Phonto

if you know me, you know i love flowers. i would keep a flower garden if i weren’t allergic to bees, but i am, so i don’t. the flowers in the photo were laid out for the taking (picture of) – well cultivated to line the center divider of a street near Atlanta’s symphony hall. the good thing about Sunday is there’s little traffic on this particular midtown street. i pulled into the left turning lane (opposite direction from my intended destination), put my car in PARK, turned on the hazard signal, jumped out of the car, and hovered over the bevy of flowers. of all the shots, this one is my favorite.

i am so happy for photography right now. these flowers remind me of my daughter, and interestingly, of being young and married. my wedding flowers were arm-held crimson tulips with stems so thick and long that the floral consultant insisted i practice holding them prior to walking down the aisle. i purchased red tulips for the house every week for that first year of marriage – never any other flower. only red tulips for the vase on the coffee table – both wedding gifts from a good friend.

for a long time after getting divorced, i refused to buy tulips. as though the marriage had leaked its ill fate into the cup-shaped flower. funny how that works. i’m a visual person. my heart takes its cues from what i see and, at times, my brain takes off sprinting down the path laid by nostalgia.

i think the world is an ounce better when i am loving tulips. and that makes me a little bit happiness (and maybe even an ounce better too).

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2013 Poetry Challenge: Day 9

Today’s National Poetry Month poetry prompt comes from NaPoWriMo.

I’m a sucker for a good mystery novel, especially the hard-boiled noir novels of the thirties and forties. There’s always a two-timing blonde, a city that keeps its secrets, and stuck in the middle, a man who just can’t help but rabbit after truth. Today I challenge you write a poem inspired by noir — it could be in the voice of a detective, or unravel a mystery, or just describe the long shadows of the skyscrapers in the ever-swirling smog. After all, “you know how to write a poem, don’t you, Steve? You just pick up a pen and you write.”

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About NaPoWriMo: NaPoWriMo, or National Poetry Writing Month, is an annual project in which participating poets attempt to write a poem a day for the month of April. NaPoWriMo was founded in 2003, when poet Maureen Thorson decided to take up the challenge (modeled after NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month), and challenged other poets to join her. Since then, the number of participants has gotten larger every year, and many writers’ organizations, local, national and even international, organize NaPoWriMo activities.

Need more information? See the Wikipedia entry for NaPoWriMo!

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2013 Poetry Challenge: Day 8

For today’s prompt, write an instructional poem. Your instructional poem could list instructions. Or it could capture an instructional moment.

About  the April PAD (Poem-A-Day) Challenge: it is designed to help poets do one thing and one thing only – write more poems! The process of revision may go on for weeks, months, and years later, but this challenge is all about getting that first draft.

Writing prompts courtesy of Poetic Asides by Robert Lee Brewer. Visit Writer’s Digest to join in the conversation.

Happy Monday and happy poeming.

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2013 Poetry Challenge: Day 7

Okay, okay. I’ve missed a couple of days of posting writing prompts for National Poetry Month. But weekends are made for flowers and berries. So here is one to start the week off.

This prompt today is courtesy of NaPoWriMo.  Write a poem in which each line except the last takes the form of a single, declarative sentence. Then, the final line should take the form of a question. With any luck, this will result in poems that have a sort of driving, reportorial tone, but with a powerful rhetorical finish. Let’s hope so, anyway!

About NaPoWriMo: NaPoWriMo, or National Poetry Writing Month, is an annual project in which participating poets attempt to write a poem a day for the month of April. NaPoWriMo was founded in 2003, when poet Maureen Thorson decided to take up the challenge (modeled after NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month), and challenged other poets to join her. Since then, the number of participants has gotten larger every year, and many writers’ organizations, local, national and even international, organize NaPoWriMo activities.

Need more information? See the Wikipedia entry for NaPoWriMo!

 

 

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2013 Poetry Challenge: Day 4

For today’s prompt, take the phrase “Hold That (Blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and write the poem. Possible titles include “Hold That Thought,” “Hold That Space,” “Hold That Poem,” or whatever else holds your attention.

About  the April PAD (Poem-A-Day) Challenge: it is designed to help poets do one thing and one thing only – write more poems! The process of revision may go on for weeks, months, and years later, but this challenge is all about getting that first draft.

Writing prompts courtesy of Poetic Asides by Robert Lee Brewer. Visit Writer’s Digest to join in the conversation.

Poems abound!

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