Another Sunday, Another Wordle

Where would we be without Brenda and The Whirl!? If you haven’t been by, make it part of your day and visit The Sunday Whirl.

A Culturally Sponsored Sacrifice

They tell her she should feel pride: her son
is a martyr for the state. All she feels
is ambivalence. She concentrates on breathing;
her soul empties of everything but
the terrible tenderness a mother feels.

They tell her God is pleased with her son;
he died gloriously. Her mind flaps and scurries —
what use are prayers, now — surely a God who is pleased
at the death of a son will sense her fear, as
faith evaporates like incense.

They tell her she is blessed. Her son
has done a holy thing. She feels as if
she is hearing them from under water. She
stands, dazed, wishing not to celebrate the death
of a Jihadi, only to grieve a mother’s loss.

The process was one of those coming togethers which I love about writing poetry. Friday night, I copied Brenda’s words, sorting them into columns, to begin the thinking. Saturday morning I read the lead-in to Chris Goan’s blog, This Fragile Tent, and jotted notes. I wanted to do a found poem based only on the lead-in. Then, I glanced at the wordle words and jotted notes there. I came back later, looked at the words, reread the lead-in and bob’s your uncle.

I would like to play with this and you all are particularly good at giving me ideas. I would love it, if you have time, if you will make suggestions, critique, tell me what springs to mind… anything.

 

The Things You Don’t Say: Tuesday Tryouts

:34 a.m. — Atlanta

Hello all. I hope everything goes well. Today, a short, and possibly simple, prompt. No, really. This time, it will be short.

What are the things you don’t say? Think over the past few days. Has there been a time[s] when you did not say something, when you could have? Past few weeks? Months? Years? Was your reason for not saying something to do with upbringing, tact, diplomacy, self-preservation…?

List as many as you can think of, jotting notes next to them as to context. Choose two or three and expand on your notes. The notes are for you to do actively, while the brain works on retrieving details. Jot place, time, situation, motivations, emotions, sensory details of what was happening around you.

Consider why you chose not to say something. Use this as your seed. Have you noticed a pattern in the things you don’t say and want to write about that? Go. Do you have a specific instance when you didn’t say something, but can now? How do you want to present that within the framework of a poem? If you wish to be more general, are there things you have noticed that people don’t say, that you want to write about?

If the things you don’t say does not strike a chord, how about the things you won’t say? You might enjoy writing a poetic commentary about what you will not say.

Remembering that the poet is never the speaker [even when it is about the poet], feel free to change details, to create a different setting, to do whatever is required by the poem to convey the truth [ironically, that often requires changing the reality].

Consider form versus free verse. Some topics lend themselves to specific forms and are enhanced by them. Consider a conversation poem for this topic.There is no wrong way, or wrong path. Write a poem and post.

I shall see you Thursday for a few announcements. If you have anything you would like me to post, send it along. Friday will be the usual roundup of prompts. Next Tuesday we will consider the opposite of idyll as a topic, rather than a form.

See: short.

Happy writing,all.

 

 

Friday Freeforall: Poetry Prompts and More Poetry Prompts

12:23 a.m. — Walnut Creek

Hello all. I hope you have had a good week and will have a relaxing weekend.

We start, as always, with Donna’s Poetry Tow Truck and an interesting prompt that says in part: Today, I will ask you to take one of your “ugly” words and transform it into something beautiful.!… To find out the steps, head over to the Tow Truck and check out the rest of the prompt. Donna gives us three options to try out.

Poetic Bloomings‘ prompt centres around animal, vegetable, or mineral? How many of you played that game? Visit the site and look it over, read the rest of the prompt and the poems by the hosts in response.

The next site is The Sunday Whirl. Visit to see Brenda’s wordle and to read up on how it works, if you wish to post responses. Otherwise, enjoy a weekly wordle, the words of which come from a Wallace Stevens’ poem. And be sure to go over to see what others have done.

 

We have an interesting new entry this week: The Found Poetry Review. I love writing found poetry of all sorts and to have a prompt to suggest ideas, thrills me no end. This week’s centres around the backstage: this week, write a found poem from the tour rider of a famous musician or band. For more on the prompt, and for links to help, visit.

Sunday Scribblings’ prompt is: captivate. You might look up the root word which offers more possibilities than what we tend to associate with the word. And One Single Impression says Leo (I Rhyme Without Reason) has invited One Single Impression to the anniversary celebration of his meme, Haiku Heights. So haiku people get writing.

At Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Sunday Snaps’ Susan May James has three photographs ready for you to look at. They are all landscapes this week. If you use one, consider submitting your creation to ‘Sunday Snaps: the Stories’  a collection of 52 photos and stories/poems. The deadline is next weekend for this series.

Whether you like to read them or want to try writing one, this site is the place to play with limericks. I enjoy the whole site more every week and find myself wandering around reading and grinning at the clever limericks. Go to Mad Kane’s Humor Blog for her Limerick-off Mondays and a lot more besides.

Jingle Poetry’s ‘Monday Potluck’ offers us Painting Whispers. Remember to pop by and check the image that accompanies the prompt and Shashi’s poem in response. Next week they are giving us nature and life.

Visit Magpie Tales for our other image prompt. This week they have a mask. Mask poems can be great fun. You can write about something the mask triggers, the story behind the mask, something metaphorical, or write to the mask.

For you alliterists out there, here is ABC Wednesday‘s letter for this week: Interesting thing about A, which, unlike some other letters, seems to appear in most every alphabet, and in the beginning, no less. This is their ninth round and we start again.

The three words this week for Three Word Wednesday are early, jiggle, and quality. As always, visit them for their definitions. They have a particularly good source. How can you resist a poem where you have to use jiggle?

We Write Poems ends its prompt with: Try writing a poem using one or both of these two methods of parallelism. Head on over and find out more about parallelism.

Poets United asks us to Sit back and think of the night. Think of sunset and moonlight. Think even of the first rays of light peaking over the horizon… They always have more to help us choose possible paths, so go over and read the rest of the prompt and view the photographs, suitably dark.

Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Alpha to Omega Thursdays‘ gives us: Some playful words for the ninth week of our alpha to omega challenge.  We have hilarious and idiot. Head over to read the origins of the two words and the Greek letter with which they start.

 

And here is Mr Knowitall’s Friday Flash 55.

I want to remind people to check out Elizabeth Crawford’s discussion site Writers Speak where she asks writers of all genres to stop by and talk about the life of a writer. She will post new topics every week around Friday. This week’s topic gives us ten questions to answer regarding ourselves as writers, so if you haven’t gone over, go, before Elizabeth changes the topic! It was fun to answer the questions, but even more fun to read others.

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, both the people whose blogs you visit and I would love to read your responses. So, post! And, 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.

I shall see you Tuesday for an open prompt, Thursday I am off, and next Friday for more of the same. Happy writing, everyone.

 

Friday Freeforall: Poetry Prompts to Keep You Going

7:56 p.m. — Walnut Creek

Hello all. Yes, I am a trifle late. Mom’s day in the city. I like to accompany her. Lunch at Japantown. Yum! That was my opening last night before my mom’s internet went wonky. I learned the panicky feeling people are beset with when they have a regular blog that goes out, not to mention the emails I knew were piling up! The time is now 11:45 a.m. and I am hoping to get this posted before something else happens.

We start, as always, with Donna’s Poetry Tow Truck and a prompt that says: Today, I will ask you to take one of your “ugly” words and transform it into something beautiful. There are several ways to approach this….. To find out the ways and to see what Donna is talking about, you know what to do. If you missed last week’s because you wait until I post Friday, trawl back through her posts. You are looking for a prompt on reverse sonnets. I know! These both sound intriguing.

The next site is The Sunday Whirl. Visit to see Brenda’s wordle and to read up on how it works, if you wish to post responses. Otherwise, enjoy a weekly wordle, the words of which come from responses to the previous week’s wordle. And be sure to go over to see what others have done.

Poetic Bloomings, hosted by Maria Elena Good and Walt Wojtanik, asks us to try a Japanese form: This week our featured form is the Dodoitsu. The Dodoitsu is a fixed folk song form of Japanese origin and is often about love or humor. Visit the site to learn the structure, and read the poems by the hosts in response.

For Carry on Tuesday, we have a line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Neither a borrower nor a lender be. Play with it before going over to the site to see what others have written and for a link to read other lines from Hamlet. You will be surprised how many you know..

One Single Impression offers us respect which can be approached on many different levels. To find out more go over to the site. Check out some of the participants’ offerings while you are there.

At Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Sunday Snaps’ Susan May James has three photographs ready for you to look at. They are lovely. If you use one, consider submitting your creation to ‘Sunday Snaps: the Stories’  a collection of 52 photos and stories/poems. Susan is finalising submissions for her next book and has posted a deadline. Head to the stories’ link to read up on it.

Whether you like to read them or want to try writing one, this site is the place to play with limericks. I enjoy the whole site more every week. It is plain fun to browse. Go to Mad Kane’s Humor Blog for her Limerick-off Mondays and a lot more besides.

Jingle Poetry’s ‘Monday Potluck’ offers us Life in Free Verse. Remember to pop by and check the site. Next week they want us to focus on art.

Visit Magpie Tales for our other image prompt. The painting is by Thomas Hart Benton and if you aren’t sure what to do with the whole, pick an individual or a small group to write on. Ask yourself what story just happened, or is about to happen, here.

For you alliterists out there, here is ABC Wednesday‘s letter for this week: Gad zooks!   Can you believe we have traveled from A to Z one more time on ABC Wednesday?  Head over to read the rest of the Z prompt and for a link to zydeco music, which is great fun.

The three words this week for Three Word Wednesday are indecision, option, and fate. As always, visit them for their definitions. They have a particularly good source. I realised, this time, why what intrigues me more than the words are the definitions. A mini found poem can be written from them. When you look at the definition each week keep that in mind.

We Write Poems starts its prompt with: Elizabeth Crawford’s suggestion for our prompt is to use the dictionary (or thesaurus), find some words new to your vocabulary and use them in creating the poem you write this week! Go on over and read the rest of the prompt.

Poets United ends their prompt with: So this week we give you the prompt of loneliness. When does it strike you the most, the holidays after the family has left? When someone close to you has passed on? When you move away from your childhood home? When do you feel you’re most alone?. They always have more to help us choose possible paths, so go over and read the rest of the prompt and view the photographs. Loneliness is a powerful thing to write about.

Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Alpha to Omega Thursdays‘ says: Theta is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet and the focus of our next alpha to omega challenge. Head over to see the two words chosen and to read their definitions.

New entry this week. I know several poets try their hand at flash fiction so thought I would include a site that looks open as far as focus and topic but is there as a place to post. I haven’t quite found my way around it but you younger brains out there may be able to figure it out. Flash 55 is a site hosted by the G-Man, who posts every Thursday…I think. Feel free to let me know in comments if you know how the site works. I did look for directions.

Remember to check out Elizabeth Crawford’s discussion site Writers Speak where she asks writers of all genres to stop by and talk about the life of a writer. She will post new topics every week around Friday. This week’s topic is a series of ten questions. We may answer one, a couple, or all. Here’s a chance to get to know our fellow writers and cyber friends a little more.

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, both the people whose blogs you visit and I would love to read your responses. So, post!

I shall see you Tuesday for a new form; Thursday for a discussion of a topic yet to be decided [Hey! I’m on vacation!]; and next Friday for more of the same. Happy writing, everyone.

P.S. If I disappear it’s my mother’s internet.

 

Friday Freeforall: Poetry Prompts for That Summer Something

9:13 a.m. — Walnut Creek

Hello all. I hope you have had a good week and will have a relaxing weekend.

We start, as always, with Donna’s Poetry Tow Truck and an interesting prompt that says in part: We are talking word families here, words that are related through etymology!… To find out the steps and read two examples, head over to the Tow Truck and check out the rest of the prompt. I have already seen results from a couple of you.

 

The next site is The Sunday Whirl. Visit to see Brenda’s wordle and to read up on how it works, if you wish to post responses. Otherwise, enjoy a weekly wordle, the words of which come from responses to the previous week’s wordle. This week’s is from three poems, one of which, I was tickled to see, was mine. And be sure to go over to see what others have done.

Poetic Bloomings, hosted by Maria Elena Good and Walt Wojtanik, has a regular prompt and a wild card prompt, this week. Visit the site and look it over, read the prompts and the poems by the hosts in response.

The line chosen by Carry on Tuesday is the first line of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem “First Fig”: “My candle burns at both ends“. I love the possibilities; play with it before going over to the site to see what others have written and for a link to read the poem.

Sunday Scribblings’ prompt is: woods. And One Single Impression offers us crater which can be interesting metaphorically. To find out more go over to the sites. You might check out some of the participants’ offerings.

At Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Sunday Snaps’ Susan May James has three photographs ready for you to look at. They play with visual texture and colour. If you use one, consider submitting your creation to ‘Sunday Snaps: the Stories’  a collection of 52 photos and stories/poems. Susan is finalising submissions for her next book and has posted a deadline. Head to the stories’ link to read up on it.

Whether you like to read them or want to try writing one, this site is the place to play with limericks. I enjoy the whole site more every week. It is plain fun to browse. Go to Mad Kane’s Humor Blog for her Limerick-off Mondays and a lot more besides [I notice, this week, that she is becoming addicted to acrostic limericks, so if you need an extra challenge…]

Jingle Poetry’s ‘Monday Potluck’ offers us Siblings, Cousins and Friends. Remember to pop by and check the image that accompanies the prompt and also a new feature that involves music. Next week they are giving us a free topic week.

Visit Magpie Tales for our other image prompt. The painting is Wheatfield With Rising Sun, by Van Gogh. The colours are gorgeous, and I have seen at least one response from among you. If you aren’t sure what to do with a landscape, think of it metaphorically, or ask yourself what story just happened, or is about to happen, here.

For you alliterists out there, here is ABC Wednesday‘s letter for this week: Y. Again that is all I am giving you. The intro writer has been particularly creative to use the letter y. You should visit to enjoy the creativity. Read it for fun, if you don’t play.

The three words this week for Three Word Wednesday are cease, heat, and nasty. As always, visit them for their definitions. They have a particularly good source. I realised, this time, why what intrigues me more than the words are the definitions. A mini found poem can be written from them. When you look at the definition each week keep that in mind.

We Write Poems starts its prompt with: Oft it is suggested to writers, find your own unique voice in how you write. Good advice. However this week we’re asking you to find, understand, and use another’s voice in the poem you’ll write! Head on over and find out what else is suggested. This will be interesting to watch, as the poems come in. I initially quailed, but the brain has started working on it.

Poets United asks us to Please pen a poem about reading; you can be general or specific. They always have more to help us choose possible paths, so go over and read the rest of the prompt and view the photograph.

Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Alpha to Omega Thursdays‘ is back after a brief vacation to continue the challenge. The letter this week is eta. Head over to see the two words chosen and to read their definitions.

And, while not a prompt, I want to remind people to check out Elizabeth Crawford’s new discussion site Writers Speak where she asks writers of all genres to stop by and talk about the life of a writer. She will post new topics every week around Friday. This week’s topic is on revision of work, so is something we all should have an opinion on and interest in. I’ll revisit later in the week when the hammerers, cement layers, fibreglassers have finished the deck.

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, both the people whose blogs you visit and I would love to read your responses. So, post!

I shall see you Tuesday for a new form [cue music for Jaws], Thursday for a discussion of a reader generated topic: freewriting, and next Friday for more of the same [and a new contender for those who write the occasional prose pieces]. Happy writing, everyone.

 

Friday Freeforall: Poetry Prompts Instead of Firecrackers

9:00 a.m. — Walnut Creek

Hello everyone. I hope all is well going into the weekend.

We start with Donna’s Poetry Tow Truck and a prompt that says in part: So this week, do some reading. Find a poem that is radically different from your writing.  (If you write imagistic free verse, find a tightly-metered rhyming poem. You get the picture.) Then follow the steps above to create your own poem that goes against type… To find out the steps and read the whole prompt head over to the Tow Truck and check out the rest of the prompt. It’s a challenge worth trying.

This is the last week for Writer’s Island and many of us feel the wrench. Losing two loved sites in a matter of weeks has cast a bit of a pall. But over on the island there is celebration of life. The final prompt says: So it is simple this week, please meditate on your vision of the future, be it for yourself, or loved one(s), or for the world — then share it with us… or let the image above spark your muse. Sail to the island for the farewell and to see the image and relax on the shores one more time.

The next site is The Sunday Whirl. Visit to see Brenda’s wordle and to read up on how it works, if you wish to post responses. Otherwise, enjoy a weekly wordle, the words of which come from responses to the previous week’s wordle. This week’s is from three poems. And be sure to go over to see what others have done.

Poetic Bloomings, hosted by Maria Elena Good and Walt Wojtanik, whom many of you know, have a form to follow this week: The Monchielle is a poem consisting of four five-line stanzas where the first line repeats in each verse. Each line within the stanzas consist of six syllables, and lines three and five rhyme. The rhyme pattern is Abcdc Aefgf Ahiji Aklml. Visit the site and look it over, read the prompt and the poems by the hosts in response.

The line chosen by Carry on Tuesday is: Is that all there is? from Peggy Lee. The question is interesting and might work as a repetition, so play with it before going over to the site to see what others have written and for a link to read the lyrics and hear the song.

Sunday Scribblings’ prompt is: give, or a form of the word. And One Single Impression offers us a celebration of tau day. To find out more go over to the site. You might check out some of the participants’ offerings.

At Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Sunday Snaps’ Susan May James has two photographs ready for you to look at. If you use one, consider submitting your creation to ‘Sunday Snaps: the Stories’  a collection of 52 photos and stories/poems. Susan is finalising submissions for her next book and has posted a deadline. Head to the stories’ link to read up on it.

Whether you like to read them or want to try writing one, this site is the place to play with limericks. I enjoy the whole site more every week. It is plain fun to browse. Go to Mad Kane’s Humor Blog for her Limerick-off Mondays and a lot more besides.

Jingle Poetry’s ‘Monday Potluck’ offers us Saints, Monks and Meditation. Remember to pop by and check the image that accompanies the prompt and also a new feature that involves music. Next week they are giving us Siblings, Cousins and Friends.

Visit Magpie Tales for our other image prompt. The photograph is visually intriguing. I’m not sure what I will do with it; I know I want to try something. I will need to think of the illustration as a metaphor…

For you alliterists out there, here is ABC Wednesday‘s letter for this week: X. That is all I am giving you. The intro writer has been particularly creative to use the letter x. You should visit to enjoy the creativity. Read it for fun, if you don’t play.

The three words this week for Three Word Wednesday are bump, knuckle, and transfix. As always, visit them for their definitions. They have a particularly good source. These three words made me laugh, for some reason and I will try to get back to see what people did with them.

Part the curtains, swing the windows open wide! Take a fresh breath of sky, prepare to greet something old and make it new again! That’s our way to say with a flourish, take some older poem of yours, something you thought might be better expressed somehow, someday – that day is today! Revise or rewrite that poem. That is how We Write Poems starts its prompt. Head on over and find out what else is suggested. I dug my poem out this morning.

Poets United asks us to think and write about freedom: I would like to point out that freedom is so much more than a country or mind set. One can experience freedom in a million ways.  You can be a free spirit.  Freedom is being eleven years old and experiencing the first time your parents trusted you enough to leave you home alone. Freedom is the ability to have silence in a bustling household because dad decided to take the kids to the park. They always have more, to help us choose possible paths, so go over and read the rest of the prompt and view the photographs.

Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Alpha to Omega Thursdays‘ is taking a small break but Susan assures us she will be back after a brief vacation to continue the challenge.

And, while not a prompt, I want to remind people to check out Elizabeth Crawford’s new discussion site Writers Speak where she asks writers of all genres to stop by and talk about the life of a writer. She will post new topics every week around Friday.

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, both the people whose blogs you visit and I would love to read your responses. So, post!

I shall see you Tuesday for another open prompt, Thursday for a discussion of sites worth visiting, and next Friday for more of the same. Happy writing, everyone.

 

Tuesday Tryouts: Poems on Things That are Found

9:00 a.m. — San Antonio –> Walnut Creek

Hello dear readers. Tell me you didn’t see that coming! I was going to wait a week and throw you off balance but for the life of me can’t remember the exercise I was going to do this week, so found items it is. The exercise runs the same, but found includes a whole branch of poetry.

FOUND

Start by thinking about and then listing all the things you have found in your life. Leave room for notes with each item. You can do a companion piece to your lost poem, but make the list anyway. We are always on the lookout for topics to write on, so, resource pool! Possibilities include, a pet who was missing, a new word, a friend, your way [can be literal or figurative], an opportunity, an insight, a branch of the family tree, something you thought was lost.

Next to each find jot notes on what you remember. Try to include as many concrete and sensory details as you can.

Then, jot notes on any feelings and emotions you associate with each find.

Pick one from your list of things found. Decide whether you want to write in free verse or one of the forms we have been playing with or, indeed, a form you like but we haven’t played with yet. Choose the point of view — will the speaker speak in first or third person? The choice affects how the poem comes across, so you might choose one and mentally try the other once you have a draft. Consider whether you wish to include feelings, or just tell the story. Decide on the speaker’s tone: happy, ecstatic, tongue in cheek, humourous…your word choice will support the tone. And, if you don’t remember the whole story, make up whatever you need to convey the story you want to tell.

Then we have found poetry, poetry found in words already written [the most common form], or a photograph, or a painting, or a piece of music [no words]. Rather than make this post longer, if that interests I have given you links to the posts where I went over approaches to found poetry. I tried to give you the start of each and if you are still interested then keep moving forward in posts. I have the found poetry running over several days. If you aren’t, for some technological reason I have not thought of, able to access any pages, let me know.

Write and then post so we can read the results.

If you have questions do ask; if you think someone would enjoy this, click on the buttons below.

I shall see you on Thursday for another reader suggested topic: enjambment; Friday for the week’s roundup of prompts; and next Tuesday for…yes, another open prompt. Ta dah! I know! What is with me? Don’t get used to it.

Happy writing all.

 

Friday Freeforall: Poetry Prompts to Keep You Off the Streets

9:00 a.m. — San Antonio

Hello everyone. Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you all? No? I didn’t think so. Well, I do. Now let’s see what we have to play with this weekend.

We start our going into the weekend with Donna’s Poetry Tow Truck and a prompt that says: For today’s prompt, we are going to use some song lyrics about summer as jumpstarts for new pieces.…. Donna gives us several songs to get us in the mood, as well as possible directions we might take. Head over to the Tow Truck and check out the rest of the prompt.

We sail to Writer’s Island next where the word of the week is threshold. Head to the island to read their definitions, which I found fascinating. This is the penultimate prompt from the island which will be closing down in one week.

The next site is The Sunday Whirl. Visit to see Brenda’s wordle and to read up on how it works, if you wish to post responses. Otherwise, enjoy a weekly wordle, the words of which come from responses to the previous week’s wordle. This week’s is from one poem. Go on over to see what others have done.

We have a new entrant for your delectation: Poetic Bloomings, hosted by Maria Elena Good and Walt Wojtanik, whom many of you know. They have a poetic prompt every Sunday. Visit the site and look it over, read the prompt and the poems by the hosts in response.

The line chosen by Carry on Tuesday is: Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, from Muhammad Ali. The line is fun, so play with it before going over to the site to see what others have written and for a link to read other quotes from Ali. I have seen several of the responses and enjoyed the writers’ creativity.

Sunday Scribblings’ prompt is: opportunity. And One Single Impression, offers us wind. I noticed that they say in their about: One Single Impression is a community of poets writing and sharing haiku and other poetic forms.You might check out some of the participants’ offerings.

At Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Sunday Snaps’ Susan May James has two photographs ready for you to look at. If you use one, consider submitting your creation to ‘Sunday Snaps: the Stories’  a collection of 52 photos and stories/poems. Susan is finalising submissions for her next book and has posted a deadline. Head to the stories’ link to read up on it.

Whether you like to read them or want to try writing one, this site is the place to play with limericks. I enjoy the whole site more every week. It is plain fun to browse. Go to Mad Kane’s Humor Blog for her Limerick-off Mondays. and a lot more besides.

Jingle Poetry’s ‘Monday Potluck’ offers us Void, Loneliness and Sorrow. Remember to pop by and watch the video with which they accompany their prompts. Next week they are giving us Saints, Monks and Meditation.

Visit Magpie Tales for our other image prompt. The photograph is visually intriguing. You can do a portrait poem, or focus on the included details of the image.

For you alliterists out there, here is ABC Wednesday‘s letter for this week: Did you have some winnings this weekend playing whist?  Maybe you have read Wuthering Heights?  When did you last enjoy a whiskey sour?  Were you watching the US Open golf tournament, all the while wishing you could golf as well as Rory McIlroy?   Do you love the Wookies of Star Wars?  Are you interested in World War I or World War II?   Of course, you can find something on the world wide web!. Go on over to enjoy the rest of the alliteration. The author of the prompt had so much fun with W that we have an essay. Go read it for fun, if you don’t play.

The three words this week for Three Word Wednesday are gag, maintain, and omit. As always, visit them for their definitions. They have a particularly good source. These three words are an interesting pick.

This is part two to last week’s prompt. In that prompt we asked you to stay close and simple, observe and describe. That is now the foundation for the prompt this week. This week we’d like to suggest you move your observations farther out into the world, go out the door, maybe down the road – both physically and as how you relate to your observations. That is how We Write Poems starts its prompt. Head on over and find out what we are to observe and what we are to do with what we observe, this week. It was such fun reading everyone’s contribution to this.

Poets United asks us to: Pick an inanimate object from anywhere and write from its perspective. It could be anything anywhere. Look at the things around you and imagine what poetry they would write. They always have more, to help us choose possible paths, and this week’s suggestions are particularly provocative, so go over and read the rest of the prompt and look at the charming and funny illustrations

For our last prompt we have Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Alpha to Omega Thursdays‘. We should be onto ita this week, but as of post time the word had not been changed, so if you are keeping up with this, head over and track down the latest. I have given you the link to this past week and if you look at the left sidebar you’ll see the Greek letters listed. They are also the links.

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, both the people whose blogs you visit and I would love to read your responses. So, post!

I shall see you Tuesday for another open prompt, Thursday for a discussion of something I have yet to decide, and next Friday for more of the same. Happy writing, everyone.

 

Tuesday Tryouts: Poems on Things That are Lost

9:00 a.m. — San Antonio

Hello dear readers. I promised you an open prompt this week, which means you get to choose the form, whether it is free verse, or a more structured form. For those who have been assuming free verse is free: Hah!

While free verse is my usual format, in many ways that choice provides more difficulties, because when I am not choosing a standard form, I do need to consider the structure of the poem. Forms, such as those we have played with in the past few weeks, take a lot of thinking out of the equation, because the form tells us how to structure the poem. We can concentrate on other aspects. With free verse we have to come up with our own structure to support our content, as well as all the other things that make a poem.

Didn’t know you were going to get a mini-lecture thrown in did you? On to the prompt!

LOST

Start by thinking about and then listing all the things you have lost. Leave room for notes with each item. Consider things like a memory, a tooth, keys, a friend, your direction [can be literal or figurative], an opportunity, a close relative. What other things have you lost? Or, in a wider, more abstract view, what has been lost to your generation, or town, or country? Plenty of possibilities.

Next to each loss jot notes on what you remember. Try to include as many concrete and sensory details as you can.

Then, jot notes on any feelings and emotions you associate with each loss.

Pick one from your list of things lost. Decide whether you want to write in free verse or one of the forms we have been playing with or, indeed, a form you like but we haven’t played with yet. Choose the point of view — will the speaker speak in first or third person? The choice affects how the poem comes across, so you might choose one and mentally try the other once you have a draft. Consider whether you wish to include feelings, or just tell the story. Decide on the speaker’s tone: sad, angry, tongue in cheek, humourous…your word choice will support the tone. And, if you don’t remember the whole story, make up whatever you need to convey the story you want to tell.

Write and then post so we can read the results.

If you have questions do ask; if you think someone would enjoy this, click on the buttons below.

I shall see you on Thursday for a reader suggested topic: the poetic inversion; Friday for the week’s roundup of prompts; and next Tuesday for…yes, another open prompt [I know what’s coming down the pike with forms, so I’m lulling you].

Happy writing all.

 

Friday Freeforall: Poetry Prompts to Keep You Out of Trouble

10:00 a.m. — San Antonio

While you read this, I am on the road, driving up to Fredericksburg, Texas, with our son and his wife, to eat chicken fried steak and peach cobbler. Or, I have already eaten. Yum! The magic of calendaring a post!

We start our going into the weekend with Donna’s Poetry Tow Truck and a prompt that says: for today’s prompt, we will use the number eleven as our magic number for creating a new draft or two. Let’s start with possible topics…. Donna gives us several possible topics to get our brains in gear and one of Donna’s own creations as her example. Head over to the Tow Truck and check out the poem and the rest of the prompt.

We sail to Writer’s Island next where the word of the week is incomparable.Head to the island to read their definitions. But, also to read the farewell message. The island will be closing down in two weeks and we will be sad to see it disappear.

The next site is a wordling whirl of Sundays at a new site and renamed The Sunday Whirl. Visit them to see Brenda’s wordle and to read up on how it works, if you wish to post responses. Otherwise, enjoy a weekly wordle, the words of which come from responses to the previous week’s wordle. This week’s is again a challenging collection. Visit to see what others have done.

The line chosen by Carry on Tuesday is: Slipping through my fingers, the title of an Abba song. The line has all sorts of fun possibilities, so play with it before going over to the site for a link to hear the song.

Sunday Scribblings’ prompt is also fun: the next step. I see possibilities combining that with Carry on Tuesday‘s line.  And One Single Impression, offers us miss. I noticed that they say in their about: One Single Impression is a community of poets writing and sharing haiku and other poetic forms.You might check out some of the participants’ offerings.

At Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Sunday Snaps’ Susan May James has two photographs ready for you to look at. I find them both lovely in their colours. If you use one, consider submitting your creation to ‘Sunday Snaps: the Stories’  a collection of 52 photos and stories/poems. Susan is finalising submissions for her next book and has posted a deadline. Head to the stories’ link to read up on it.

Whether you like to read them or want to try writing one, this site is the place to play with limericks. Go to Mad Kane’s Humor Blog for her Limerick-off Mondays. and a lot more besides.

Jingle Poetry’s ‘Monday Potluck’ offers us Dictatorship, Autocracy, and Despotism. Remember to pop by and watch the video with which they accompany their prompts. They have a cartoon and poems as well, this week Next week they are giving us Void, Loneliness and Sorrow.

Visit Magpie Tales for our other image prompt. I love shells so am partial to their image this week.

For you alliterists out there, here is ABC Wednesday‘s letter for this week: Wednesday, a day that we all love because we get to share so many great things with each other. Time to lift the Veil of secrecy and come up with a Variety of items, ideas, words or even food that begins with the letter V. Go on over to enjoy the rest of the alliteration.

The three words this week for Three Word Wednesday are grip, prefer, and thread. As always, visit them for their definitions. They have a particularly good source. These three words have a nice resonance to them. I may be back.

Observe, that’s the key, essential for any writer to do. That is how We Write Poems starts its prompt. Head on over and find out what we are to observe and what we are to do with what we observe.

Poets United asks us to: Escape the day’s worries and visit the beach on paper and with your pen. They always have more to help us choose possible paths, so go over and read the rest of the prompt and look at the gorgeous photographs that accompany it, and enjoy a song by the Beach Boys.

For our last prompt we have Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Alpha to Omega Thursdays‘. We are onto zeta this week: The zeta words are zeal/zealot and zoology  Visit for a look at the root meanings of the words.

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, both the people whose blogs you visit and I would love to read your responses. So, post!

I shall see you Tuesday for an open prompt, Thursday for a discussion of poetic inversions, and next Friday for more of the same. Happy writing, everyone.