Prompts R Us: Friday Freeforall

7:34 a.m. — Atlanta

Hello, all. Well! Clearly you were all sitting around and waiting for a can of worms question to be tossed into the crowd. Rather than answer each comment, which would require my stopping life as I know it, for a few days, I think what makes sense is for me to synthesise the comments and report to you in a week. That does not mean you should not go and read the responses, if you have not. A couple of people have gone back to look at other responses and written further. Meanwhile, let’s set up the writing week.

We start with Donna and The Poetry Mixtape where she shares with us the Decemberist song “Red Right Ankle”. We have the lyrics to read and to listen to. I read first and, while I listened, found myself impatient to return to reading the song again [I am highly visual]. I love Meloy’s structure and am excited about trying a poem based on “Red Right Ankle”. Head over to read the lyrics and see what Donna suggests we try.

Joseph Harker’s Reveries sends us on a memento hunt and gives us a process to do so, rather than saying, find ten memories… Joseph reminds us that One of the challenges of poetry is to use your emotional/memory connection to people, places, things, concepts, etc. to articulate the reaction they summon in you — and then to summon it up in other people. Not  an easy task this writer thing. Visit Joseph to read the whole prompt.

The Music In It: Adele Kenny’s Poetry Blog, challenges us to recall times in our later lives that recalled the childlike wonder of a special “first” or “first times/first experiences”.  To find out more, visit.

This week on Poetic Bloomings we have a photograph and the title of the prompt to give us a start. To find out more and to read our hosts’ poems, head over. Hey, Marie Elena and Walt, can you believe you are bearing down on your site’s one year anniversary?!

At The Sunday Whirl, Brenda says, this week’s words were selected at random from your contributions, then I added one more for a baker’s dozen. Visit to see the wordle and to read what others have done. As always, we have a fun group of words to work with.

Carry On Tuesday gives us the opening line of Auden’s “Funeral Blues”. To read the line and for a link to read, and hear the poem in a clip from Four Weddings and a Funeral, head over.

Go to Mad Kane’s Humor Blog for her Limerick-off Mondays and a lot more besides. Go for the laugh. It’s healthy. It doesn’t much matter if you don’t want to write a limerick; reading them brightens a day. Fact. I smile as soon as I see the site next on my list.

Over at Jingle Poetry At The Gooseberry Garden the theme for one more week is the military, soldiers, veterans, or poetry dealing with physical, mental, and emotional healing. The caretakers of the Garden are taking a three-week break and suggest that we post at any time during that period. They will return refreshed, March 1st.

Visit Magpie Tales for our image prompt. This week’s image invites us to play with colour, if we wish, in addition to the possibility of story. Head over to see what we have.

Poetry Jam provides us with a prompt from Peggy, this week. She asks us to consider the opening stanza of Williams’ “The Red Wheel Barrow” as a jumping off point. Go on over to see what else she says.

For you alliterationists out there, visit ABC Wednesday. The introduction is particularly Funny this week, as we are given the story of Francine and her Frolicking.

The three words this week for Three Word Wednesday are cancel, elastic, and labor. Remember that it’s all about the three words working together. You might try writing down the first thoughts that come into your head as you read these words, before you go on to visit the site for their definitions. They have a particularly good source and I often get ideas from the definitions rather than the given words. Reading the definitions allows me to see possibilities and connections.

Over at imaginary garden with real toads we get two for one visit. Kenia offers a fascinating Wednesday Challenge which says, Write a poem that keeps a dialogue with another poem, or poet. Head to the Garden to read the rest of the prompt. We also have Mary’s Mixed Bag. Mary offers a strategy that is useful to have in the arsenal when the muse is wandering far afield.

We Write Poems stays with nature but offers a challenge to us: in your descriptive images the challenge is to use terms not the usual or obvious for that subject. Head on over to read the rest of the prompt.

At Poets United, we are asked to consider all the strings in our lives. Think about it, then for the rest of the prompt head over.

Over at dVerse, they want to introduce you to the poet you know as Blue Flute.  He has written an article for us today comparing Japanese and Chinese poetic forms and discussing how these can be adapted into English. The essay is fascinating and the challenge at the end, looks like fun. After all, we all do images, right? Now we are asked to write a connected series. Head to FormForAll to read the essay and the prompt.

Over at Patricia K. Lichen, Author her Weekend Haiku & Limericks gives us seven options, this week. One of the options offered us, is a speaking acquaintance with a tree. Visit for the other six possibilities.

The final posting is an offer for those among you who write, or are trying out, flash fiction. I love the photograph over at Flashy Fiction, and the post’s title offers one possibility for a direction in which to take the poem.

That should keep you busy and writing. If you think anyone else would enjoy these, click on the buttons below. If you have questions, ask. If you write in response to any of these, the people whose blogs you visit would love to read your responses. So, post!

Remember: If you have a topic you want me to discuss, tell me. I’ll take on just about anything and if it’s beyond me, I’ll find sources. What niggles? As you saw, this week, if we offer the right ‘niggle’ everyone comes out to play. What have you wanted to ask, or know? If you have an announcement you want posted, send it along for Your Serendipity at Thursday Thoughts.

See you Tuesday for an image prompt on place; next Thursday for a synthesis of yesterday’s comments; and Friday for the next roundup of prompts.

Happy writing, everyone.

 

Your Serendipity and Thursday Thoughts

9:29 a.m. — Atlanta

Hello, everyone. I am a trifle late getting started. There ought to be a rule about dental appointments at 7:30 in the morning. At least it’s behind me. Ahead, an announcement, a request, two questions for you to ponder and respond to, and a couple of interviews to check out.

1] Julie Catherine has this : I will be announcing a special writing contest for Friday February 24th — ending Friday March 2nd:  ”First Line, Best Line, Worst Line”  There will be 2 prizes of a FREE copy of Stephen Francia’s eBook, “Free Dive-Beyond the Blue Curtain”.

Also, just a reminder of my special guest feature blog for March, which I’ll be posting on March 1st; and the Medal of Humor challenge Mar 12th to 16th.

Keep an eye out for the announcements.

2] The request comes from Barbara, aka Briarcat, whose husband has offered her any workshop she can get into. She says: So I’m looking for suggestions.  I did a long weekend last year here in Nashville, (it was at Scarritt-Bennett, pretty place)  and came out of it really energized, but I’d love to find a longer one, at least a week.

I’d like to see what comes in [especially as I have the same offer], so any of you out there who have been to a workshop and loved it, or have heard good things about a workshop, let us know. A link would be champion, but a name will do fine. It might be a good thing to keep a list and I am happy to curate one.

3] The first of two issues I want to throw out there for thoughts, and even lively discussion, speaks to the problem of comments that don’t seem to fit with what an individual is seeing when reading a poem. I heard from a writer, recently, and have received this question in the past:

When visiting other poets in the blogosphere, what if you read a person’s poem and you do not understand it at all?  But you notice that other people before you are giving it high praise?   Should you just ‘jump on the bandwagon’ and give it high praise as well or admit that you really do not understand it?   Or, even if you are the only commenter, should you ever be honest and say you do not understand it?  If not, what should you say?

I suspect all of us have been in this particular boat. I struggle with the issue on two levels: poems where I do not understand what the poem is about, or what it is conveying; and poems that are so-so in quality. The comments, however, rave. What now? I would love to hear from everyone on this as it affects all of us. How much truth do we as writers want, and how much truth should we as readers give? What do we do if we feel we should comment, don’t want to criticise, necessarily, but have a hard time obfuscating [beating around the bush].

4] The second issue is to do with Blogger and its new security verification, using CAPTCHA. I don’t know about you young ones, but I cannot read the scrawled word. I had to skip commenting on someone’s blog this week because she has the new word verification. I would hate to lose the ability to join all of you in the commenting rounds because I can’t read one word. Visit this site for a good tirade on the topic. What she says is my stand, unfortunately.I am curious as to reactions from Blogger bloggers and from the people who visit Blogger blogs.

5] Poetic Bloomings has an interview with writer Claudette Young. To quote Marie Elena quoting Claudette: “I took up writing at the age of 12. I gave up writing to be a “Real Person” during my early adulthood and middle years. Then I learned what “real” actually meant to me and began writing again. Using words set me free. Making sentences, that’s the hard part.”

The second interview is at Poets United, where Sherry interviews Rene Foran. I love how she answers the final question: A Perfect Day Off?

75 degrees
A little sleep
A little writing
and lunch at Great Harvest Bread Company.
I’m not too hard to please.

My kind of person.

I shall see you tomorrow for the roundup; next Tuesday for an image prompt; and next Thursday for whatever comes down the pike. This is the third time I have tried to publish this. I hope it’s sitting in your inbox.

Happy writing, all.

 

Three Trials: Tuesday Tryouts

7:50 a.m. — Atlanta

Hello everyone. It’s weird how some mornings the time feels earlier than other mornings. We have been on a marathon of place over the last few weeks. We have a couple more to go, before we shift our focus to self. Prepare yourself.

Writer Peter Huggins articulates the importance of place in poetry, far better than I, so let me give you a few of his words: “In painting, chiaroscuro, the use of light and dark, provides definition, contrast, the heightening or lessening of emotion; in addition, I would argue, it allows viewers a way into the painting. In poetry, place serves a similar function: readers can enter the particular world of the poem; however, if readers languish in the general world of no place, then nothing will happen for them, neither the excitement and explosion of language nor the complex connection of realized experience.”

“…I would suggest that these poems arise from these places and are rooted in these places just as day lilies or tulip poplars are rooted in the places from which they spring. I would even go so far as to suggest that these poems would not exist (or would exist in a radically different and probably diminished way) apart from their respective places. Place provides form, shape, and being to these poems…”

“Whenever I find myself having difficulty with a poem, I resolve that difficulty when I see the poem taking place in a particular place.”

Keep in mind that place isn’t just a house, a city, the ocean, but also can be a closet, inside a Jaguar [the car, not the beast, although that would make an interesting poem ], a roller coaster car… Go back over your own poetry [this one may take you a while] and note the poems that are rooted, or connected, to place and the ones that are not. What do you notice about the poems that you have set, however briefly, with details of place? Do you have a tendency that you notice about your own writing [e.g. you always have a type of tree in your poems, your poetry tends to be connected to more rural scenes]? How about the poems with no connection to place? Are they as clear, as strong as your other poetry?

Today, we have options. I know: Whoo hoo! The first, is to take a poem of yours that is not connected to place and is not working particularly well. Perhaps its rootlessness makes it vague; perhaps it’s a series of images with no connecting thread; maybe, you got started and then the poem went nowhere. Rewrite the poem as if it were a new idea, but first consider how you might set it, or connect it, in place. What kind of details can you give the story you want to tell, that ground the story for us?

The second, is to find a poem, or a short piece of narrative, that possesses a strong sense of place for you. How has the writer accomplished the sense of place? Take over that place and write your own poem. Perhaps you will focus on one aspect, maybe you have a story that will fit the place, or you might copy the structure, as some of you did for “Lying in a Hammock…”.

Third and final, whatever your idea, or story, start with the larger landscape, say Interstate 10. Within the poem, zoom in to one shot, inside the cab of a truck belonging to Dillon’s Farm Produce. Think of what you are doing as a word version of Google Earth. You may stay in the cab, or you can zoom out again. You can also reverse the process. Start in the truck cab, zoom out to Interstate 10 [which you can locate specifically, or not] and end, or zoom back in.

I know, you’ll need to reread those. My ideas aren’t always as clear on paper. Remember that there is no wrong. You may certainly ask for clarification, but your own interpretation of any of the prompts is valid. Remember, too, that every poem is a draft. Don’t worry about it. Fiction writers, I have not forgotten you. Any one of my prompts, unless to do with form, can be adapted to prose. Oh, and, of course, you may write to any and all of the prompts. Remember to post and to wander back in a couple of days to read the poems of others.

I shall see you on Thursday for a couple of interesting questions for you to ponder and respond to, as well as a request; on Friday for the roundup; and next Tuesday, when we will try an experiment for our image prompt.

Happy writing, everyone.

 

 

Poem in Response to Wordle #44

Hello all. I hope wonderful Sundays are being had. I almost didn’t have a response. I forgot to copy the words when I got them, which starts my process. I’m not thrilled… but I am here.

Scorched

Tonight the ghosts are nestled
all except one, a restless ghost
which seeps through shadowy
recesses, leaving its smudgy
prints. I whistle for it to come
out from those dark places
where it has worn sores on my soul
like tight straps wearing furrows
into my skin. I know — when I call
this one ghost, this bizarre,
unsettled, heart-searing ghost,
and face it — that for a time I can
redress the balance of my heart.

See you on my rounds, or yours.

 

Posting Poetry Prompts: Friday Freeforall

7:32 a.m. — Atlanta

Hello, all. I hope everyone is well, as we sashay into another weekend. February is flashing past. We have two new entrants to try, one poetry and one flash fiction [thank you, Paula].

We start with Donna and The Poetry Mixtape where she shares with us an Elizabeth Bishop poem. Reading a Bishop poem is reason enough to visit and Donna’s suggestion for writing asks us to do some dreaming… maybe some wishing.

And I thought last week’s ‘Reverie‘ might be intimidating. Wait ’til you read this week’s. Joseph has us trying Viking verse. If you read it and fled, let me reassure you: yes, it is difficult and yes, you might pull some hair, but, like the phonetics exercise [and all the exercises Joseph gives us], what we learn from the struggle outweighs any frustration. If you haven’t tried yet, do. Don’t we all have a secret Viking in us? If you have and are shy to post, go read the ones that are there and remember: everything is a draft until you say it isn’t.

The Music In It: Adele Kenny’s Poetry Blog, is new this week. The prompt changes Saturdays, so visit quickly. This week’s prompt is intriguing as it asks us to think about things which haunt us. To find out what sorts of things and to explore the blog, visit.

This week on Poetic Bloomings Marie Elena and Walt ask us to consider morals. No, not ours, but those with which writers deal. To find out more and to read our hosts’ poems, head over.

At The Sunday Whirl, this week’s words come from Brenda’s husband and the true crime book he is reading. Visit to see the wordle and to read what others have done. As always, we have a fun group of words to work with.

Carry On Tuesday gives us the opening lines of Angel, by Sarah McLachlan. To read the line and for a link to hear the song, head over. Like last week’s line there are several possibilities, to include dividing the line, or using it as a refrain. You might want to avoid reading the lyrics until you have your own idea down.

Go to Mad Kane’s Humor Blog for her Limerick-off Mondays and a lot more besides. Go for the laugh. It’s healthy. It doesn’t much matter if you don’t want to write a limerick; reading them brightens a day. Fact. I smile as soon as I see the site next on my list.

Over at Jingle Poetry At The Gooseberry Garden the theme for the next few weeks is the military, soldiers, veterans, or poetry dealing with physical, mental, and emotional healing. The caretakers of the Garden are taking a three-week break and suggest that we post at any time during that period. They will return refreshed, March 1st.

Visit Magpie Tales for our image prompt. I don’t know about you, but I look forward to my weekly visit with great anticipation for what the magpie will bring in. This week’s image is fascinating. I had quite a visceral reaction to it. If you have not seen the image yet, be ready to jot down your immediate reactions/thoughts.

Poetry Jam provides us with a prompt from Chris, this week. She asks us a simple question about something that we, as poets, should be particularly aware of.

For you alliterationists out there, ABC Wednesday gives us several things to play with aside from the week’s letter. The intro is an interview with Roger, one of the many contributors [and co-designer of the interview questions] and Roger gives us a couple of links for our Enjoyment. One is the most gorgeous photographs of hamburgers I have ever seen; the other a link to a song. If you are trying to avoid something, this will help you.

The three words this week for Three Word Wednesday are angelic, foster, and ruin. Remember that it’s all about the three words working together. You might try writing down the first thoughts that come into your head as you read these words, before you go on to visit the site for their definitions. They have a particularly good source and I often get ideas from the definitions rather than the given words. Reading the definitions allows me to see possibilities and connections.

Over at imaginary garden with real toads we get two for one visit. Grace offers a Wednesday Form which gives us a discussion of Haiku. While we seem to drown in haiku, sometimes, this is a good essay which Grace makes newly interesting because of her style and viewpoint. We have A Word With Laurie. This may have changed by the time you get to the Garden, as it is a Friday prompt, or she may be up earlier than I and have changed it already. To discover the word and the prompt, visit.

We Write Poems is taking us back into nature. Trees. So much we can do on the subject of trees. Head on over to read the rest of the prompt.

At Poets United, Ella is helping Robb out with the ‘Thursday Think Tank’ and suggests we write about home, this week. For the rest of the prompt head over.

‘Meeting the Bar’ over at dVerse, offers us a look at heroes with an interesting discussion, some things to look at regarding the writing about, and ‘Ulysses’ by Tennyson as an example of heroic form. Visit for a good read and the challenge.

Over at Patricia K. Lichen, Author her ‘Weekend Haiku & Limericks’ has the usual three options. Despite needing to get this post written and out, I always find myself checking the links for the three options. I mean, cannibalism and insect urban legends? Don’t you have to find out what else? It might be fun to connect the three choices in a poem.

The final posting is an offer for those among you who write, or are trying out, flash fiction. If you visit Flashy Fiction, you will find several names you will recognise among the contributors. While I was exploring, I found the variety of images offered fascinating and fun to see who chose what. Go on over and say hello and give it a try.

That should keep you busy and writing. If you think anyone else would enjoy these, click on the buttons below. If you have questions, ask. If you write in response to any of these, the people whose blogs you visit would love to read your responses. So, post!

Remember: if you have a topic you want me to discuss, tell me. I’ll take on just about anything and if it’s beyond me, I’ll find sources. What niggles? What have you wanted to ask, or know? If you have an announcement you want posted, send it along for Your Serendipity at Thursday Thoughts.

See you Tuesday for a prompt on place; next Thursday for announcements; and Friday for the next roundup of prompts.

Happy writing, everyone.

 

Photograph Bazaar: Your Serandipity at Thursday Thoughts

7:38 a.m. — Atlanta

Hello everyone. How are you? I am feeling particularly good because I am listening to the original version of “The Rock Island Line”. God, I love music! I don’t usually turn it on ’til later.

Today, we have no outside announcements… if I missed something, someone yell at me. I thought I would mention a couple of sites I use for photographs… oh, yeh, “Hawaiian Superman,” by Iz. Who needs coffee when there is music?!

1] One of my favourite sites, both for its extensive archives and its Flickr Photostream, belongs to the Smithsonian Institution. Aside from the site belonging to the Smithsonian — for me, like blowing bubbles and Crayola crayons, the Smithsonian retains the magic it has held for me since I was a child — I like the categorizing of many of the photographs into sets, as the sets comprise stories. Other than the sets, we have 129 pages of miscellaneous photographs to wander through.

If, when you arrive at their page, you scroll down the column on the right, you will see at the bottom More Sets. Click on it and you will be transported to all their photo sets. Belize Larval Fish Group anyone? Who wouldn’t check, right? I clicked and found myself looking at 45 tropical fish specimens, at least, colourful sections of tropical fish. When I clicked on a thumbnail I was taken to a page with the whole photograph and details. William H. Johnson’s World on Paper? I clicked and was surprised into an out loud ‘Wow!’. Talk about colourful art. Field Books of Waldo? I had no idea, but there was something about the title. Turns out Waldo Schmitt was a zoologist and collector and, ‘Images cover underwater collecting in Antarctica, specimens and their habitats, expedition participants and crew, and informal moments during field work‘.[Field Books of Waldo LaSalle Schmitt (1887-1977) Smithsonian Institution Flickr sets]

There is a certain amount of opening and closing of sets, as some of them are collections of people not doing anything particularly interesting, but if you are in treasure hunt mode, you won’t mind.

Another arm of the Smithsonian Institution Archives is their blog, The Bigger Picture, which is kept by several people. There you will find a number of interesting paths to explore through the visual archives, enough to keep you entertained for a long time, not to mention all those ideas for poetry and fiction. If you visit today, and notice yesterday’s ‘Sneak Peak,’ that would be my daughter’s name you see, not mine. [Beaming with pride? Oh yes.]

What’s more, the Smithsonian has boards on Pinterest, not as many as I have, mind you, but they’ll get there. The boards are put together from their incredibly extensive collections and might be an interesting source for us.

Thirty minute break… son calling with update on about to be first grandchild. It’s going to be a long two weeks.

2] Let me introduce you to P. J. Kaiser, pjk, and her blog Inspired by Real Life. She has one of the few blogs I subscribe to [there is only so much time] because of a weekly feature called ‘Inspiration Minute‘. The inspired minute sometimes focuses on a couple of images and sometimes a series of photographs. I have bookmarked so many, now, as possible poems, that I gave PJ her own folder. The latest series is one I have on an open tab until I have trained myself to check each day. Of it, she says: How would you like a site that has a new picture each day related to some story in the news?  Well, I’ve got one for you.  The Guardian has a feature called “Eyewitness” that has just that. Visit PJ for the link and explore back posts of ‘Inspiration Minute’.

…la da da dah… Jimmy Buffett and ‘Volcano’…

3] The next is a collection of seriously weird black and white photographs, but of strange things can poetry be made. The photoblog is called Black & WTF. Take a gander.

4] Finally, we have Shorpy ‘Always Something Interesting’. The site has a join for free, but that’s for people who wish to upload photographs. I have explored extensively without having to join. The archive has 600 pages, so far, and focuses on historical photographs.

Anyone still with me? I have a vision of all of you already lost in the collections. Enjoy. And then, write.

I shall see you tomorrow for Friday‘s roundup of prompts — we have a new entrant; next Tuesday for another facet of place; and next Thursday for more announcements. You are allowed to brag on Thursday’s announcements, if you wish. If you are shy, I’ll do it for you. After all, if you win a contest *cough Mark Windham*, or have a poem published, and really want to be excited with your cyber-friends, then tell me.

Whoa! San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in your Hair) by Scott McKenzie… flashback. Even better than music, or coffee? Music and coffee. I’m there as soon as I hit publish.

Happy writing, everyone.

 

 

Blood Will have Blood: Response to Reverie Six

Hello again. If this is the first post you see from me today, my regular posting is a couple of hours earlier, with attendant prompt.

I am posting in response to Joseph Harker’s ‘bloody Vikings‘ exercise. And, he’s not kidding: there are body parts and blood all over our part of the cybersphere. The least frightening part of his instructions says: You should be able to read your poem aloud and feel the music of waves crashing on rocky shorelines, storms overhead and a roar building in your throat. That’s the goal, at least.

Process: I think if I had to write the first one from scratch, you would not be hearing from me. I went back through drafts and found one whose topic seemed to suit this form. Then, upon advice, I went for the alliterations. I tried, gamely to keep syllables roughly within bounds, have what I think are caesuras, and have lifts [although not necessarily where they should be].

What I know is that now I can try one from scratch. And I shall be able, maybe, to include the all-important kennings.

 

The Changing of the Guard: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

On a grey ghost day || a gull flown day,
crowds wait, stand silent || the only sound stillness.
Black birds fly over || wheel back in formation
for soldiers unknown || to stillness surrendered.

 

Yes, I do encourage everyone to throw themselves into the exercise[s] [all of them]. I am learning so much about writing, just from my attempts. Read the whole and do what you can. We will be all over the place in our abilities to do the exercise, but it will be great to see how we each do.

 

Heart and Soul: Tuesday Tryouts

7:24 a.m. — Atlanta

Happy Valentine’s Day, all. You were perhaps hoping I would ignore this particular theme as you are being swamped by cupids and hearts and red. In a way, I am. I am offering a challenge. I want you to write a love poem without using the word love, or any endearments. You may write to someone, or about the topic.

There’s more. Traditionally, a love poem is written in form. In fact, because love was considered that weighty a matter, that integral a part of life, love poems were, classically, written as sonnets, sonnets being considered the Queen of all forms. For those of you who love writing sonnets, have on. For those who think maybe I’ll try, don’t be constrained by the rules, rather work within them, as Keats will tell you. He wrote a sonnet with fifteen lines, once, and Shakespeare had the occasional eleven syllable line, where needed.

However, we have other forms to choose from. Many of you enjoyed writing idylls. If you think of love as place, metaphorically, you can write a love poem. An etheree, in the direction that unrolls from one to ten, or a double etheree, might be fun. For those who love repetition, a cascade would work, as would the quatern form being introduced by Robert Lee Brewer, on Poetic Asides. There is even a Viking form, you can try, over at Joseph Harker’s Reveries. Now, that might be a lot of fun. You have many forms to choose from… haiku? A haibun might be interesting.

If I still don’t have you, how about writing the poem to something instead of someone; or, make the someone from history, or the movies, or fiction.

If you don’t know where to start on such a vast topic, decide who, or what, you will write to, or about, first; list factors that cause your love, or thoughts on love. Remember to include specific details and sensory imagery, in which to ground the poem and the reader. Decide on format.

Don’t forget to post a link in comments so we can all enjoy the poems written. I am looking forward greatly to what you come up with and hope you have fun coming up with it.

I shall see you Thursday for announcements — send them along if you have any; Friday for the roundup; and next Tuesday, we are back to place.

Happy writing, everyone.

 

Prompts: Friday Freeforall

7:25 a.m. — Atlanta

Hello, all. Yay! Weekend! Yay! Well, Yay! Almost weekend! Yay! does not have quite the same punch. I’m preparing. I’m preparing. Here we go.

We start with Donna and The Poetry Mixtape where she shares with us Katie Ford’s poem “Colosseum”. As Donna says, here is a successful long poem, one that I read and then reread. Very few long poems hold me for one reading. The exercise is fun and can be done in a shorter poem, so don’t feel overwhelmed by the length of Ford’s. Head over to read the poem and see what Donna suggests we try.

Joseph Harker’s Reveries may have some of you shaking your heads, but I promise you, that if you work your way through and give it a try, the exercise is an important and worthwhile one. Joseph asks us to write a poem, as short as possible, using every sound in the language. The post looks intimidating because of the phonetic marks. Ignore them [the linguists out there may revel] and concentrate on the sounds we are asked to reproduce. If you can only manage a few, that’s fine; you will get the idea of what needs to be considered. By the time you read this, we might be into Reverie #6. Go back and try the phonetics, if you haven’t.

I was hoping that dVerse would have their new Poetics prompt up. Alas. Instead, I am sending you to look at their form for this week, which is French Ballades II, a little less cryptic than last week’s FB I, as a clear step by step is offered. The examples, by Dudley Randall and Dorothy Parker, are wonderful.

This week on Poetic Bloomings Marie Elena and Walt ask us to consider the concept old. To find out what they suggest as possibilities, head over to read the full prompt and our hosts’ responses. While there, check in on this week’s form which is a cento, something many of us love tinkering with.

At The Sunday Whirl, this week’s words come from the poem “Kalashnikov Staccato,” by Matthew Kaler. Visit to see the wordle and to read what others have done. As always, Brenda has picked a fun group of words to work with.

Carry On Tuesday gives us the the first few words of “In the Park,” by John Koethe. To read the line and for a link to read the poem, head over. The line is fun, in the sense that there are several possibilities, to include dividing it at the comma.

Go to Mad Kane’s Humor Blog for her Limerick-off Mondays and a lot more besides. Go for the laugh. It’s healthy. It doesn’t much matter if you don’t want to write a limerick; reading them brightens a day. Fact. I smile as soon as I see the site next on my list.

Over at Jingle Poetry At The Gooseberry Garden the theme for this week is the military, soldiers, veterans, or poetry dealing with physical, mental, and emotional healing. The caretakers of the Garden are taking a three week break and suggest that we post at any time during that period. They will return refreshed, March 1st.

Visit Magpie Tales for our image prompt. They are featuring a grave at the Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow. If you have not seen the image yet, be ready to jot down your immediate reactions/thoughts. I’m keeping myself in check until this post is finished before I see what else I can find from that cemetery.

Poetry Jam provides us with a prompt from Mary, this week. Between the photographs and her words she had me salivating. Think food and drink, or maybe not. You had better visit to find out what.

For you alliterationists out there, ABC Wednesday presents us with a music video to watch and listen to, Ozzy Osbourne’s Dreamer. For the rest of the alliterative intro, head over.

Over at imaginary garden with real toads we have Kerry’s Wednesday Challenge which offers a prompt to do with magical realism. Head over for an explanation and for some interesting illustrations, each of which can be a prompt. I need to go off and study some more to see where this and surrealism bleed into each other.

The three words this week for Three Word Wednesday are control, flesh, and razor. Remember that it’s all about the three words working together. You might try writing down the first thoughts that come into your head as you read these words [creepy are they?], before you go on to visit the site for their definitions. They have a particularly good source and I often get ideas from the definitions rather than the given words. Reading the definitions allows me to see possibilities and connections.

We Write Poems asks us to look at our hands, more specifically, Hands are a place where fingers take bloom. That’s such a lovely image. Visit to read the rest of the prompt. You might, during one day, list every thing you do requiring fingers. Uh huh. I think the only reason we sleep is so fingers can.

At Poets United, we have no Thursday Think Tank this week. Instead I shall link you to their night owl prompt, as you can post anytime during the week. The Midnight Snack is a photograph. There’s something about it… Visit and see.

Over at Patricia K. Lichen, Author her Weekend Haiku & Limericks has the usual three options. Despite needing to get this post written and out, I always find myself checking the links for the three options. It might be fun to connect the three in a poem. This week’s seem to go together particularly well. The photograph of the flower, as always, is stunning.

That should keep you busy and writing. If you think anyone else would enjoy these, click on the buttons below. If you have questions, ask. If you write in response to any of these, the people whose blogs you visit would love to read your responses. So, post!

Remember: if you have a topic you want me to discuss, tell me. I’ll take on just about anything and if it’s beyond me, I’ll find sources. What niggles? What have you wanted to ask, or know? If you have an announcement you want posted, send it along for Your Serendipity at Thursday Thoughts.

See you Tuesday for a prompt [not mysterious; undecided at this moment]; next Thursday for announcements; and Friday for the next roundup of prompts.

Happy writing, everyone.

 

Your Serendipity at Thursday Thoughts

8:20 a.m. — Atlanta

Hello everyone. Come in, come in. I have an assortment for you to browse, today.

1] First up is Julie Catherine: Muse-Sings, Poetry & Art of Julie Catherine, who says:

I will be doing a special Valentine’s Day posting that will be released February 11th.

I’m planning to do a Humor poetry post once a month – I’ve designed a nifty medal to give to anyone who posts a humorous poem in my blog, probably the second week of each month.  And my special Feature blog is a monthly one too, that I post on the first of the month — I have guests planned up to June right now, and others that are in the works, but am always looking for new and interesting people to feature.

2] Joseph and Tessa have Curio Issue #3 live. Hard to believe isn’t it? As a measure of time passing that one seems to catch my attention. We are told on the main page: the changes we threatened alluded to last time have yet to come to fruition. But fret not: they will be here soon, as the year has eased up a bit and we need to grow into a more developed magazine. Intriguing. Breath bated, we await. Meanwhile visit Curio to read the latest issue, and remember to submit your own poetry for consideration.

3] This week’s interview, at Poets United, is with Bren, who writes as Daydreamer Too at Soul Speak. Sherry, with her inimitable style, gives us another wonderful ‘life of a poet’. If you know Bren you will want to read this, and if you don’t know Bren you will want to read this. She has had, and has, an incredible life.

4] While trawling the Internet, I came across a video of Margaret Atwood giving a talk to an audience comprised of techies, at the ‘Tools of Change’ Conference, 2011,  in NYC. The talk addresses some of the problems that come with change and is titled “The Publishing Pie: An Author’s View”. You will need thirty-three minutes, so grab your coffee [I realise there are other things, but this is my world], or set your laptop up wherever you are putzing around, and have a listen. I love to watch Atwood, so I had to go the coffee route… three times. I was fascinated by what she said, how she said it, and the reactions of her audience.

5] Finally, do I have a toy for you! If you have not heard of Pinterest you should visit. I am giving you the link to my boards. Ignore, or not, the personal ones and have a glance at the boards I have set up for my writing. I know: What are you talking about? Tell you what, take a momentary break. Visit. I’ll be here… Yes, OMG! Those who wish to play, let me know. I think joining is still through invitations. I am happy to send out as many as they will allow. Warning: Browsing new material on the site, never mind stuff on the rest of the Internet, is terribly, terribly addictive [I even used two adverbs].

Quite a diversity for you to play with. Enjoy and I shall see you tomorrow for the week’s roundup of prompts; Tuesday for a non-place related prompt  [form? self? crazy easy?]; and next Thursday for more announcements, if we have any.

Happy browsing, everyone.