I'm visiting my family and friends in West Virginia. There's been a lot of things going on here, horrible flooding, strange weather, but one thing I'd like to concentrate on today is something much lighter. The cicadas.
Cicadas are these bugs that have different variations. The particular one that infested West Virginia this year comes around every 17 years. They live underground, dormant, until it's their time to shine and mate. The horrifying screech the males emit as their mating call. In fact, if you're mowing your lawn, they think that sound is the mating call and swarm around you. They're not harmful, except to your vegetation and if you're me, you're sanity.
For this week's poetry prompt, let's take a look at something that happens on a regular schedule periodically. It could be an imagining of Haley's Comet coming again (It passes Earth every 75 years) or something that occurs much more often, like a woman's menstrual cycle. This is definitely a different type of prompt, but I think it can definitely be a fun one. Play around with the idea of cycles and things happening on a schedule. See what happens.
Tamara Woods writes, because she can’t imagine any other life. She grew up in the poorest state in the U.S., West Virginia, as a laid-off coal miner’s daughter. She learned from this that money isn’t the root of all happiness, but it sure makes it easier. One fateful 5 at a youth workshop she learned both the art of stolen kisses and being open in her poetry: lessons she’s never forgotten. Tamara’s poetry is spoken word with a heavy emphasis on things that we all know and do. Her fiction hits on darker, uncomfortable subjects, because she’s a firm believer that stories can be beautiful without being pretty. She is the Editor of The Reverie Journal, online poetry site. She is the moderator of #writestuff a writing tweetchat that's every Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST. Find her poetry on her blog, PenPaperPad. Connect on Social Media: Follow her on Twitter, like her on Facebook, and check out her book and writing videos on YouTube.
Regardless of where you live in our world, I'm fairly certain that by now you've heard about the shootings at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida just a week ago. This tragic event has impacted not only those in the Orlando area, but has sent a shockwave throughout this country. People are polarizing on multiple issues that this event brings into harsh light.
My poetic friends, I don't know that I'm prepared to write about my own feelings on this incident just yet, but I must. I want to invite/encourage you to put your feelings about this event and the major issues involved into words. I believe that, as poets/creatives, we have a unique opportunity and a responsibility to shed light into dark places. Write with boldness. Vent your anger. Share your love and encouragement with others. Do what you do best...tell the stories with your words.
Suggested Topics: gun violence/gun control
religion
being and/or supporting LGBTQIA individuals
community response
Alternate Prompt: Choose an issue of deep importance to you and write a poem to communicate your position on that issue.
Thank you for taking part and for sharing your poems with us!
