Poetry Prompt: Reflection/Projection

Can you believe that it's almost 2014? This year seems to have blown past me like a runaway train!

image by Danilo Rizzuti
from freedigitalphotos.net

As we approach the end of this year, take some time to look back at everything you have accomplished this year. Did you participate in NaPoWriMo in April? Or OctPoWriMo in October? I know that personally, I've written more poems this year than any previous year of my life. But this is only the beginning.

I am setting very lofty writing goals for 2014 including writing a poem a day for the entire year. I won't promise that they will all make it to my blog, but they will be written! What about you? Have you set some writing goals, specifically poetry writing goals? If you'd like, share your goals with us in the comments below or form them into your response to this week's prompt.

We here at Poets on the Page are thrilled that you have joined us in this new venture and we look forward to reading your poems and sharing our own with you in 2014. Happy New Year!

Poetry Prompt: Reflect back on 2013. What is the BEST poem you wrote this year? Share it with us again! Project forward into 2014... set your writing goals into a poetic form!

Word Prompt: Reflect and/or Project

Suggested Form (optional): The Mirror Sestet

~Amy McGrath

Link Up! (If for any reason the linky isn't working, please share your link in the comments!)

Share your poetry with us by linking up. Make sure you visit your neighbors one or two before and after. If you are last on the list go back to the beginning of the list. Have fun!

Poetry Prompt: Believe

Do you believe in Santa Claus? I do. Of course, I'm not referring to an overweight old man in a red suit, but rather the spirit of giving that Santa represents.

Many people around the world will be celebrating Christmas this week. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary. I believe he is the Son of God. And I believe he came to earth for me and for you. I'm sure that some of you that frequent this blog are practitioners of other faiths. And I welcome you to share your beliefs with us through your poetry.

Do you believe in God? Allah? Buddha?
Do you believe in love? angels?
Do you believe in magic? miracles?
Do you believe in yourself?
What do you believe?


Poetry Prompt: My challenge to you, my fellow poets, is to write a poem this week about what you believe.

Word Prompt: Believe/Belief

Suggested Form: Rondeau

~Amy McGrath

Link Up! 

Share your poetry with us by linking up. Make sure you visit your neighbors one or two before and after. If you are last on the list go back to the beginning of the list. Have fun!

December Mini Poetry Challenge Day 5: Celebrate!

Welcome to the last prompt from the December  Mini-Challenge series from Poets on the Page!

I have completely enjoyed being on this ride and look forward to the next time. I hope you do, too!

Yesterday we wrote cento poetry. Some of you may wonder why I elected that particular form. 

Naturally, there are several reasons. One is you have the joy of reading other poems. Another reason is you not only read the poems, you interact with the poems. From my experience, actually crafting with a beloved (or at least well known) other poet is one of the ways I have gotten to be a better poet. 

Finally, there are so many surprises when we collage our words with others.

So, this week you may have written a poem about destruction. You were able to choose the three lines you thought were the most resonant and use them to write another poem. That was sort of a premonition for the Cento – choosing lines from another poem and building upon it.

And now, it is Friday – and we will celebrate our poetic journey this week.

Even if this is your first time here, words and poetry and sounds and gathering with other poets is, in my mind, always a perfectly fine reason to celebrate.

Here is your chance to do a jig or make a poetic speech or even write a limerick or two.

Just have fun! You’ve done a tremendous job and if you missed any of the prompts, they’re not going anyplace – you may try them out at any time – and I hope you will!

Word Prompt: Celebrate!

Energetic Prompt: We're having a poetry party!

Visual Prompt: See the dancing and festivities to the left.

If there is not a linky below, please leave your link in the comments so that others may come, visit and comment on your poetry celebrations!

Its been a joy to write with you!

-- Julie Jordan Scott

December Poetry Mini Challenge Day 4: Let's Write a Cento!

Today we are going to play with a couple different poetic fascinations.

The first is the style of poem we will each be creating – that is if you choose to write this type of poem at all.

We will be writing a Cento poem. Normally, I am not big on telling folks to write a specific form, but you may not yet have caught onto what has been working underneath the prompts. 

Or maybe you have figured out what I layered underneath the prompts.

The first day: Demolish and tearing down. (Taking a poem and crushing it)

The second day: new beginnings with the raw materials being your demolish and tearing down poem

The third day: encouragement and continuing... even when its tough.

The fourth day? We will be writing poems that are collages made up of other poems which is a poetry form called a Cento. 

This week each challenge day built upon the previous day.

December Poetry Mini-Challenge Day 3

Welcome, welcome!

If this is your first time to the Mini-Challenge, please jump right in with us. You may go back and see what we’ve done thus far or you have the option of simply starting where you are: right here. This is a place of creative permission. We welcome you to be a part of our community and contribute as you feel called.

Now:  a bit of recap before today’s prompt.

Monday we wrote about tearing things down. 

Yesterday we wrote about new beginnings.

Today, we will write about continuing… even when you may not feel much like continuing.

I don’t know about you, but aside from this challenge my week has been getting more and more difficult as we have progressed. My shoulders feel as if I have traded with Sisyphus, pushing and pushing a huge stone up the ridiculously tall hill and efforting-efforting-efforting…. only to have the stone roll back over me when I think I’ve completed my task.

December Mini Poetry Challenge Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of the December Mini Poetry Challenge. I'm so glad you came by! You may start writing at any point in the challenge and finish writing at any point in the challenge. Just leap in and be welcomed.

To recap: Yesterday, we wrote along the theme of demolish or demolition and you will be glad to know there is always a method to my madness.

Today we are going to build on the theme of demolishing.(Yes, the pun is intended.)

If you wrote a poem yesterday, choose three lines that you feel are particularly well crafted AND they speak to you.

If you didn’t write a poem yesterday, take then minutes to free write (stream of consciousness, without thought, just let your pencil flitter across the page). When you are done, pick out three phrases that speak to you.

Those three lines are now going to go from a state of being demolished to a state of a new beginning.

December Poetry Mini Challenge - - Day 1

Welcome to the December Mini-Challenge from Poets on the Page!

I hope you are ready for an adventure in writing this week, a chance to explore and play with your poetry in a way which may be different for you.

With that in mind, I would ask you approach the poetry you work on this week from the space of a beginner. For those concepts you've worked with a lot, instead of thinking "I know this!" think, "What is the lesson for me in this?"

I find repetition, or topics synchronistically popping up over and over, happens for a reason.