Three Word Wednesday

"And the time came when the pain to remain tight in the bud became greater than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin

Today, my creative juices were tweaked from Three Word Wednesday ...Brandish...Forbid...Manage....three words which best describe my experience last night with my young son.

Thunderstruck!
Lost in the roll,
Brandished by forbidden fear.


Manage to find peace
In the place of the witness.

Happy Mother's Day!

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother. ~Oprah Winfrey

Look at that, it's been almost 2 years since my last post... I have started up again because I have missed writing my poetry, and I am now taking some time to do what I love. I have no special plan for this blog other than to weave my life through the poetry I write. I continue to heal as I parent my trauma ridden child....it is a daunting but fulfilling experience.

Today I am using the word prompt from Weekend Wordsmith which is LOCK

clouds slide apart

freedom erupts as rays burst

unlocking the darkness

One Single Impression

The sources of poetry are in the spirit seeking completeness. ~ Muriel Rukeyser


I have missed my weekly participation in one single impression...so here I am again.

This week's word is TOLERANCE given to us by Gina of Kilauea Poetry.

I have written a haiku...

a veil of droplets

spread tolerance to spaces

open to receive

15 Words or Less

Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary. ~Kahlil Gibran

With the above quote I would also add...thesaurus, as I use it a lot when I write poetry.

Anyway...this week Susan Taylor Brown is hosting 15 Words or Less...it's a great photo, easily stimulating one's imagination. Head on over and join in...everyone's welcome.

Here's my contribution:


Puzzle pieces
placed upon
nature's background.

One Single Impression

This week on OSI the prompt is WORD...a word close to my heart, as my husband is unable to use them at this point...so it brings many emotions and thoughts to mind...here is what I came up with.

Silent Words

your eyes speak
words,
your hand speaks
words,
I listen...
frustration mounts,
you slouch,
I say your
words,
you listen...
your eyes
smile,
I understood your
silent words.

Life's Decisions

"Life is a process. We are a process. The universe is a process." ~ Anne Wilson Schaef


Today, my quote is about life rather than poetry as that is what has been happening in my days...LIFE...so much so I have had little time to write, other than personal poems...which by the way gets me through my life. With my current situation of being a care giver to my husband and my youngest very high needs son my writing time is limited, so....

I am in the process of prioritizing my writing and have found that blogging, both reading and writing them, and dealing with emails, takes up far too much of the free time I have allocatied for writing. In other words, I am getting very little 'real writing' done...you know the kind that potentially can earn me money and/or recognition.

So... I am going to be doing less blogging, less constantly checking emails, and reading other blogs...Starting tomorrow I will focus on my 'real writing' projects and get lots of things submitted... :>)...including additional intro packages to educational publishers and other poetry and fictional work.

Oooh...I feel elated about this process. Have you ever noticed that the process of making a decision is the difficult part...actually making the decision is the peaceful and exciting part!!!!

I will be blogging, just not as often...only as time permits, and I will be keeping track of my writing time on slimtimer and posting weekly on my writing blog...time permitting, of course ;>)

See ya' around...yee haw!!!!

One Single Impression

A poet must never make a statement simply because it is sounds poetically exciting; he must also believe it to be true. ~ W.H. Auden

These week's prompt at one single impression is LISTEN, and here is my lanturne...head on over and join in

Paint

wild strokes,

spring sprouting,

nature listens,

peace.

Poetry Friday

Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason. ~Novalis


I know...I know...I'm late with today's lanturne. I have decided to write one to help promote my online teacher and friend, Laura Purdie Salas' new book, to be released this Monday April 6, 2009. Her book is titled, Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School.

Wild

poems!

Stampede your

way to the store.

Read!

It looks like it's going to be a great book, based on it's wild cover and the few tastes of her poems I've read at jama rattigan's alphabet soup.

15 Words or Less

"The eye is the notebook of the poet." ~ James Russell Lowell







Today's photo at 15 words or less is a fan, and in keeping with my daily lanturne for national poetry month...read on and you too can participate, and link up at readwritepoem.

fan

sweeps space,

splashes breeze

upon glistened

face

One Single Impression

Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits. ~ Carl Sandburg

To start off National Poetry Month I am using the prompt from One Single Impression to write my lanturne. The word this week is SMOKE... and as the picture at OSI depicts I have written mine with the thought of incense, as I love the smell of it...

Twirls,

upward,

the sweet smell

encircles with

love.

National Poetry Month

Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese. ~G.K. Chesterton

Tomorrow is the dawn of National Poetry Month and there will be tons of poems to read and or receive throughout April.

I plan to write a poem-a-day in the form of a Laturne. If you're interested in participating by writing a poem every day for the month of April (weekends included, I assume:>)) you can sign up at readwritepoem, and from there you will be able to read many poems on many blogs.

You can also receive a poem-a day by email. Sign up at poets.org.

I am also going to read a poetry book a day and post it on the my side bar.

Even if you don't think of yourself as a poet, give it a try. It'll be fun and you will definately learn a little, if not a lot...so come along for the ride, and you could even write a poem about cheese (see the above quote)!

Weekend Wordsmith

To see the Summer Sky
Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie -
True Poems flee.

~Emily Dickinson



Weekend Wordsmith's writing prompt is JUMBLED. I like that word and all it conjures in my frazzled brain. So this is what I came up with midst the jumble of my life :>)



Jumbled

Juggling the jumble of
Piles protruding,
Lists lengthening,
Time trumpeting,
Jingle jangle...

gotta start somewhere!

Stampede to an online Launch Party

"Poetry lies its way to the truth.” ~ John Ciardi

This morning's post is to invite you to Laura Salas' online launch party for her new book, about to be released, Stampede! To Celebrate the Wild side of School!

Let's join her in celebration on April 6, 2009!

Poetry Friday

"Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never quite equal the experience behind them.” ~ Charles Simic

A few days ago, I picked up a poetry book written by an 11 year-old boy. His name, Mattie J.T. Stepanek. He began writing poetry at the age of three, to help him deal with the death of his older brother. Mattie had a rare form of muscular distrophy, and somehow this young soul was able to feel and see life for what it really was...living our lives listening to our heartsongs. The Journey through Heartsongs, the book I read, has poems written by a very young Mattie, age 3 to age 11. There is much to be learned by his poetry...I would hope that I too will listen to my heartsongs...

Here is an excerpt from a poem written by Mattie, age of eight, in his book titled, Journey through Heartsongs..

Swinging

So high. . .
Wind tickles my tummy
Plays with my feet
Gives my hair a ride.
So high. . .
Grab a leaf from a tree
Reach a so-far-up branch
See over the edge of my earth.
So high. . . read the rest..

Julie Larios is hosting Poetry Friday today. Check out the roundup here.

Three Word Wednesday

"Poetry...tells of capturing a moment...because it's going to live." ~ Nikki Giovanni

This weeks 3WW had me stewing. I wanted to write something for children, but that just wasn't coming out of me. And besides the words weren't really kids' kind of words, but I did come up with something but I couldn't quite get it done and it was time to move on to other projects with self imposed deadlines...so the following is what came out, instead (and it's not intended as a children's poem :>))...

The three words are: earnest, layer, reactive.

Beneath the layers

emotion sleeps,

standing at attention

for the moment

of reactive fear

to plunge me into

earnest tears.

"Never let the mud puddle get lost in poetry--because in many ways the mud puddle is the poetry." ~ Valerie Worth



It's been a while for me but here I am once again ready to write a poem from One Single Impressions prompt, which this weeks is 'equals' representing March 20, the vernal equinox, when day and night were the same length.

In my minds eye I saw the sun sinking into the horizon to give night an equal share, and wrote the following haiku...

day leaves, shaking hands

with night, sun sinks out of sight,

moon's light takes over.

Weekend Wordsmith

"Poetry is indispensable --if I only knew what for." Cocteau, Jean

This weekend's Weekend Wordsmith is Passport.

I was finding myself stumped. Throughout Saturday I had tried several times to come up with a poem (because that's what I like to write from my prompts). Nothing was coming, so this morning I remembered something I learned in a poetry course...add an extra word to a poem to give it some more depth.

Well I added two extra words to the prompt, Red and Trampoline, and before I knew it words flowed, and out came a poem of sorts. Not only that, similes showed up, too. This was a great exercise for me, and reminded me of the usefulness of continued education :>)

Bouncing from city to city
Like a trampoline,
Eyes as red
As delicious apples,

Feeling as used
As a passport,
Announcements unfiltered
Like a rock concert,

Will it ever end
Like a book?

Yes

Smiles greet me
Like open envelopes
Hugs as welcoming
As…well hugs

Home at last…

15 Words or Less

"Writing is a delicious agony."~Gwendolyn Brooks

Ahh...my favourite poetry day, photopoetry Thursday and 15 Words or Less...today's pciture is...well...peace provoking. Head on over to Laura Salas' blog and join in...for the fun of it...


Here's mine for this week, P for peace...


P for Peace

petals protruding
persuading
the world to
embrace
Peace

My Peace Poems

A smile is the beginning of peace.~~ Mother Teresa

You may have already seen the letter below floating amongst writers blogs regarding the gathering of peace poems. Please feel free to participate and help in your own way to bring peace into your life and others, as well as help Judy reach her goal.

Here are my poetic contributions, one is an acrostic and the other a diamante


Perpetual
Essence of
Acceptance
Cradled for
Eternity

War
fearful, hostile
struggling, battling, conforming
bloodshed, survival, tranquility, freedom
understanding, accepting, embracing
harmonious, serene
Peace

3-1-09

Dear Family and Friends of mine,
Peace and love are on my mind now all day, everyday...Do you remember the story of Sadako the little girl who died as the result of the Hiroshima bombing? Her goal was to fold 1,000 origami cranes before she died, an act of hope and
peace. She died before she finished, but since then, children from all over the world continue to send thousands of colorful peace cranes to the Peace Museum in Hiroshima. Thus, they show their support and faith.

I traveled for two weeks in November with Patch Adams and 25 other clowns on their 24th annual humanitarian clowning trip to Russia. We visited sick or abandoned children in hospitals, orphanages and home hospices, clowning and sharing love, laughter and peace.

Action: I am gathering poems, quotes and prose pictures about peace* from writers around the world, of all ages and backgrounds, published or not. They will be arranged in a book, the proceeds of which will go exclusively toward building in West Virginia, the world's first silly hospital, a proto-typical model of health care delivery. See www.PatchAdams.org; Patch Adams: Gesundheit (Patch Adams & Maureen Mylander); Housecalls (Patch Adams).

This one-of-its-kind hospital will treat patients free of charge using the most modern medical technology and alternative methods including humor, drama, art, music, playful architecture and old fashioned family-doctoring. There will be no insurance required or accepted.

Arnold Adoff, Maya Angelou, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Zilpha Keatley Synder and Jane Yolen have already contributed their poems. Honor Moore will help. I have asked the Obama Family, Patch Adams, Robin Williams and Shel Silverstein’s publishers to participate in 1,000 pieces of peace. Would you please join us?


What: send one or more peace pieces *
When: DEADLINE: March 30
Where: judy.fisk.lucas@gmail.com
Why: To do something for peace

Thank you from the center of my heart,
Judy Lucas, M.A.
SCBWI Member & CSUCI writing student
Camarillo, CA

Poetry is not always words. ~Audrey Foris

Ah...it's Thursday again...15 words or less day over at Laura Salas' blog. I have great fun writing poetry from pictures. I find it very inspiring and all kinds of ideas pop into my head from a photo. Head on over and try it...it's for fun, no pressure. Today's photo is titled 'Secret Door'. Doesn't that just make you want to take a peak???

Here's my creation:

Squirreled away
Bark hair drapes the curved archway
Awaiting new life