OctPoWriMo Day 29: Epitaph Poems

Halloween is lurking and we are also reaching the end...of OctPoWriMo 2013 that is.
In honor of the ghoulish holiday and the impending demise of our month of poetry...mwahaha...(maniacally creepy laugh is not optional) the prompt for today is to write an Epitaph Poem. 

An epitaph poem is a tasteful summarization of the life of a person. A kind of poetic eulogy if you will. The idea is to emphasize the positive aspects of the deceased. Epitaph poems can be humorous, dark, brooding, maudlin, serious, whatever you like. Some begin with "Here lies..." followed by thoughts about the deceased.  Prompt: Write an epitaph poem.  It can rhyme or not. It can be funny if you'd like. It can be about a fictional character or a well known person who has passed. You can choose to write about a beloved pet or a loved one you wish to pay tribute to or you can simply make it spooky for Halloween.  And if spooky is where you're headed...a little tip: imagine it being read by Vincent Price or Christopher Walken. I think that's a pretty good litmus test. Have a ghoulish good time!

OctPoWriMo Poetry Prompt Day 28 _ Who are we?

This has been another October to remember. I have enjoyed OctPoWriMo this year, but once again I was in the midst of taking care of health issues while I was also co-creating the prompts and the community here. I wish I could’ve put time on hold while I was both preparing and

recovering.

I hope to get around to more of your poetry in the coming weeks.

With that said, here is my final prompt for you to write your way into during October, 2013

Ready?

Last week I saw a movie that has sparked a lot of thought for me. 

It is called “I Am” and is a documentary about how a serious situation turned into a quest. A lot of what he says is familiar territory for me, but it was so interesting to hear his perspective along with the science behind it. The movie's premise is based on exploring human nature. The director, Tom Shadyac, visits the most respected, influential thinkers of today to interview them ask them several basic questions.

 

He also visits his father and asks him the same questions.

Today we’re going to focus on the people who have influenced on our lives for the better, such as our parents, poets (for any Rumi fans, Coleman Barks is one of the thinkers in the film), philosophers, educators, scientists and our next door neighbor. Perhaps our child. Maybe it is a stranger you met one time and the conversation you had with that five minute friend changed the direction of your life.

Today we are going to focus on their story in relationship to your story - our story - and how your lives have intersected.

Tell that story in poetic form, whichever form you would like to use.

I will give a slight suggestion for you to take or not take. Please take a few moments to consider who to write about by making a list of people before you choose one subject.

Start with 5 to 10 people and allow yourself time and space to add to the list before you start writing. This isn't a poem to speed through for the sake of checking the "writing poetry" task for today off your list.

This is a poem to allow to simmer for at least a little while.

Quotes for inspiration:

“We tell stories in order to live.”

Joan Didion

“What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life? The world would split apart.”

Muriel Rukeyser

“Life is made up of stories, not atoms.”

Muriel Rukeyser

Word Prompt:

She/He is… I am… We are…

Sentence starter prompts:

I remember her/him….

I remember we together…...

Poetry Prompt Day 26 - Father, Mother, Sister, Brother...

This is a picture of my mum and dad; it is quite unusual because my mother would probably prefer to have her head sawn off than have her photo taken so I actually don't have many pictures of her. But my prompt for you today is about family. It can be any member of your family; could be a step-sister or even the family budgie if you prefer. We all have a huge amount of baggage, both good and bad, when it comes to our families.

The tone of your poem is completely up to you. You can explore the skeletons in your family closet or go back to a more blissful childhood memory when everything seemed safer. Only you can decide how to respond to this but try not to judge; just explore, record and move.

OctPoWriMo Day 25: Celebrations, Good Times and Poetry

To begin: we are going to take a moment to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n.

Think for a moment about the important rituals, holidays and other significant celebrations in your life. 

How about three inhales and three exhales and just open your mind and heart to YOUR holiday or special day.

Today marks a very important day to me: in two months my daughter, Katherine, will turn twenty-two years old. 

I swear, I don’t know how my children grow up and I continue to look and feel as young as when they were little – but nonetheless, December 25, 2013 marks the start her being twenty-two. I’m sort of nervous because I got married at twenty-three. Youch.

For many people, December 25 is an important holiday.

For others, there are other significant dates and times to get through: my younger daughter abhors Thanksgiving, which for the United States is in the end of November. I’ve decided I will create a special party the Sunday before that holiday and have people bring a variety of foods and we start crafting a new sort of Thanksgiving Emma can love.

I have sort of been a lousy holiday person since the many loss experiences I have had and the impact those losses had on my holiday celebrations. I tend to have somewhat grief filled holidays. 

I rarely talk about it.

I rarely write about it.

What about you?

I thought today would be a grand day to write a poem about whatever special day you want to write about, be it a birthday, an anniversary, a festival, an opening night. Be creative and surprise us with your words.

Word Prompt: Celebration

Sentence Starter:    My next celebration will be….

OctPoWriMo Writing Prompt: Day 22 - A Picture Paints a Thousand Poems

If a picture paints a thousand words, then why can't it paint poems? A photograph tells a story and that story is usually pretty open to interpretation. Using the images that surround us is another way to find inspiration for poetry. What does it make you feel? What is your experience with the image? Or what do you think the subject is thinking, feeling and experiencing? Does the photograph make a statement about the world? Is it whimsical and surreal? Can it be funny, serious? Tragic? 

Writing Prompt: Choose one of the photos below and use it as inspiration for your poetry. You can tell us a story with your prose or mention the photograph within the body of the poem.  Have fun with it! There's no limit to where your imagination can take you. 

photo by Stephen Hernandez

photo by Robert Rauschenberg 

photo by Rodney Smith 

photo by Ben Heine 

Poetry Prompt Day 19 - Rhyming Verse

Now I know many of you have been avoiding this but sooner or later we have to look at rhyme. It doesn't have to be scary, but it is a form of discipline. It can force you to work harder but it can also make your poetry better.

The simplest form of rhyming verse is just four lines and the last word of the second line rhymes with the last word of the fourth line.

I shoot the hippopotamus 
With bullets made of platinum
Cause if I use the leaden ones
His hide is sure to flatten them.
Hilaire Belloc

The next rhyming scheme is where the rhymes go a,b,a,b.

I hate doing laundry
But there is worse;
Like the difficulty
Of rhyming verse.
~Janet Parfitt

And then there are rhyming couplets that go a,a,b,b, etc.

Redundancy pay
Is not a bad way
To learn at last
You're a thing of the past.
 ~Reay Fuller

And then there is a form called the clerihew which is a four line poem in rhyming couplets but the first line must be someone's name.

Percy Bysshe Shelley
Shook like a jelly
When in the night time
His wife read him Frankenstein.
~Janet Parfitt

And finally, for those who like a bit of fun, there's always the limerick.

They tell of a hunter named Shepherd
Who was eaten for lunch by a leopard.
Said the leopard "Egad!
You'd have been tastier lad,
If you had been salted and peppered!"

So no matter what form you decide to go for or if you want to stick with blank verse the most important thing is to have fun with it!

Poetry Prompt Day 17 : Games We played

The moment I log in to Facebook , my first thought is to once play Candy Crush [ Am stuck on same stage for about 15 days now ].  And then , I proceed to check other notifications. On mobile too , I am addicted to same game from some time. Before that , there was Ruzzle , Motto race  , WordFeud and a  few more.

So while I was thinking of today's prompt , I was of course playing Candy Crush again , when the idea hit me. Why not write of the games we play on mobile , desktop or play stations ( sorry , I am not aware of latest gadgets ) . While we are at it , lets go back into our childhood and list all the games we loved to play.

As far as I remember , my choices were quite limited since I was into reading as early as I can think of. But still , for most kids around me , I could notice games being in and out of fashion. Can you think of such phases and a game for each phase ?

so for today's prompt , make a list of all your favorite games . either pick one of the games and the lessons it taught you. Or you can just trace your life in terms of the games you played.

Another idea could be , To think of the modern times games being available to you in your childhood and imagining how different or same you would feel about it.

Some of you might have kids and even grand kids . What game do you play with them  ? Or what game from your childhood would you want to pass on to your kids ?

Are indoor games better than outdoor ones ?

Phew ! I myself am being so overwhelmed now with all the ideas. I should sleep now over this and hopefully wake up to some concrete ideas and few good poems from some of you :D

Ok, Write on !!
while I give another shot to this level of Candy Crush ;)



~ Nimue

Image source

OctPoWriMo: Day 15 - Making News Your Muse

In September I wrote about using what you find in the news as inspiration for poetry.  Whether it be a headline that jumps out at you or the story itself; perhaps a line from the story - any of these things can serve as inspiration for the beginnings of a poem.  For instance, a phrase might pop out at you - you see a line like 'China slams debt crisis, calling for new world order', which sparks an idea for prose using the words 'new world' or 'new world order'.

The example that most comes to mind is John Lennon's lyric from the iconic song 'A Day In the Life', which he took parts of almost verbatim from the newspaper, adding poetic touches to it to create a more artful vision of the events.

'I read the news today oh boy...about a lucky man who made the grade...and though the new was rather sad...well i just had to laugh...I saw the photograph..." 


'He blew his mind out in a car...he didn't notice that the lights had changed...a crowd of people stood and stared...they'd seen his face before, nobody was really sure if he was from the house of lords..." 

The Prompt: Regardless of where you get your news from, be it newspaper, online or television news, choose a headline, phrase, line or the story itself and craft it into the framework of a poem. Your poem needn't be a piece of news, the piece you choose is merely a springboard for the bigger picture. But if you choose to write about the event itself, that can make for a powerful poetic statement. See where it takes you and have fun. It can be about anything - not necessarily a serious piece of world news. Even something pulled from the funnies can make for good material.

Poetry Prompt Day 12 - Shadows

Today, I thought it might be interesting to look at shadows.  If you want to do a poem about shadows, that's fine.  But what I am more interested in is the shadow side of ourselves; our hatred, rage, lust, greed, etc.  None of us are paragons of virtue so try writing a poem about your darkness.  It is not an easy thing to do but I think that some of the best poetry we can write comes from the darkest places.  It's hard to admit openly all the things that we do wrong but in sharing our foibles we can bring ourselves closer as human beings and I believe it enhances our compassion when we admit our mistakes, then we are better able to forgive people theirs.

Photo by Janet Parfitt

Poetry prompt day 10 : A Poetry Collage ?

This is a last minute post so be prepared to get something really senseless as a prompt from me today :P

Just Kidding ! Lets get to work now.  so , Last month in one of the poetry tip posts , I wrote about collaborative poetry where 2 or more poets write a poem together.  As a further modification or a side track to this style , we have some poems that inspire other poems , often as replies to the original voice. On another group blog , we use to refer these poems as "Reply Poetry" .

We all have our favorite poems. Some from own blog , some from other's blog. I want you to pick those poems today , read and re read till you find your trigger in there. Write the poem , whatever is in your head - be it a continuation or an opposite voice to the narrator. Be it a comment on the voice of the original poem or maybe even a verse to wrap it around the original thought.

Please note , when you post your poem , please share the link of the original post too.
Or better , share the whole poem in the post .

Some of you , who are a little short on time [ like ME ;) ]  to search a favorite poem , pick one of the last 10 poems from your own blog and use it for the prompt.Or pick the poem that some participant linked to the post !!

This is one of my favorite poem from the poet I am in love -

Sweet is the word of passion,

cherry red lips and frequent glances;

where mother once told me to stay away from,

those glorious nights spent baking in the hot Delhi sun,

addressing myself to the spirit of the night,

who’s tattered hand would wave over me every so often,

proclaim something profound and leave me feeling,

cheaper than ever.

And crass is the man,

who sees spring time’s blooming bosom,

rejects it out right as a falsity of science,

looks to the heavens and sees nothing but cold calculated chaos,

dismisses the idea in his head,

that romance could exist,

that today lives for the beating hearts of economical precision.

Sweet is the sound of the Sparrows flapping,

spring air shifting,

wind-chimes ringing;

where crassness never finds itself.

And even if still ideas escape , just write anything you enjoy !

After all, its all about creating and sharing poems :) 

Poetry Prompt Day 9: Lyrical Poetry

In September I shared some insights on thinking lyrically when writing poetry.  So let's take it a step further and try writing a poem with a lyrical feel in mind. 

Writing Prompt: Choose a musical style that you enjoy that fits what you'd like to write about and think in that style as you craft your poem. Think about *scansion in relation to that musical style and write your poem as a song. It can be short, long, a story song - anything you feel. Let go of any preconceptions you may have about prose and write what you feel musically. 

*scan·sion

ˈskanSHən/

noun

1. 1.

   the action of scanning a line of verse to determine its rhythm.

Take inspiration from some of your favorite artists and think about some of the lines that you find particularly poetic and pay attention to how they get the message across. Are they compact, little bites of deliciousness or are they lavish and intricate?  It can rhyme, but it doesn't have to. 

"whisper words of wisdom...let it be" - paul mccartney 

"life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" - john lennon 

"What I am is what I am, are you what you are, or what?" - edie brick ell

"we're one...but we're not the same...we get to carry each other, carry each other..." - bono

"i wanna knit you a sweater, i wanna write you a love letter, i wanna make you feel better, i wanna make you feel...free..." -joni mitchell

Write a poem that could be set to music! Have fun!

Poetry Prompt Octrober 7: There is Power in Narrative Poetry

One of the claims to fame about myself that I say with about as much humble pride as possible is my two time victory as the Bakersfield Front Porch Story Slam Champion! 

Sometimes I think my wins may not be  fair: I am a writer and an actor - two talents that lead naturally to storytelling, right? I actually think it is being a Mommy and having a Father who liked to tell us stories as children that molded me into a storyteller.

The type of poetry most related to storytelling is the Narrative Poem.

Please don't start sweating as I say that - please!

Telling stories in poetry and prose is as simple as this: give your readers a beginning (the set up - the journalistic five W's - who what when where why) followed by the conflict or the "what happened" followed by the resolution.

At story slams, you get up to the mic with nothing written. No note cards, no sharpie pen letters on the hand - and by using this simple outline formula in my head I have told winning stories. Lots of time the stories other people told were good, but they were too rambly. With only five minutes to tell the story, one needs to be ready at any time for that "one more minute" time to be called and then zoom gently into the conclusion - the end, the solution (or the option to end with a non-solution question.)

Here at OctPoWriMo you might even practice writing a three stanza poem. One stanza for the set up, one stanza for the conflict, and one stanza for the conclusion.

Narrative poems are a part of Western Heritage. Before there was widespread literacy, bards and balladeers would share news via narrative poem. It was as well known to the children of the fourteenth and fifteenth century Europe to know narrative poems as it is for the children of today to know about the latest video game or Disney movie.

By practicing and playing with this form of poetry, you are allowing yourself the honor of stepping into a time honored form of poetry.

If you are wracked for ideas, jot down a summary of your day yesterday focusing on the "what happened" or look back at one of your favorite children's stories and retell it.

One of my favorite Narrative Poems I found was Captivity by modern poet Louise Erdrich writing in the voice of Mary Rowlandson, a woman who was taken captive by the Wampanoag in the 17th Century and soon became adopted lovingly into their circle. Louise takes on the voice of Mary, as Narrator, and paints an astonishing picture for us.

As you can see, the options are nearlessly endless.

A couple examples for you to read if you feel called:
 

Robert Frost: Out, Out

Gertrude Stein: Hotel Francois 1er

Louise Erdrich: Captivity

Here are some quotes and sentence starters to get the juices flowing:

"Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here."
Sue Monk Kidd

"The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon."
Brandon Sanderson

"We tell ourselves stories in order to live."
Joan Didion

Wordprompt: Narrator

Sentence starters:

The story I need to narrate is....
I long to tell the story of.....
The story that urges me to tell it to the world is.....
 

Finally - Here is a complete explanation from e-how on how to write a narrative poem. I almost don't share it because it may bog you down with all of its... this and that and the other. Please DO NOT read it if you tend to get wrapped up in "doing things right"... or I suppose you could write a narrative poem about the story you tell about being a perfectionist or a "goody-two-shoes."

Most importantly, please have fun with this or if it doesn't feel like you today, feel free to write something completely different. Any poetry at all is such a gift we give to the world!

Writing poetry, any poetry, after all is the most important aspect of this experience.

-- Julie Jordan Scott

Poetry Prompt Day Five: Writing a List Poem

One of my favourite ways to write poems is to do what is called a list poem.  This is where you take a phrase and use it at the beginning of every line.  My choice of phrase is 'I am a woman who'.  Obviously, for the guys, you can use 'I am a man who'.  Don't feel you have to stick within the bonds of reality or tell the truth.  You can say 'I am a woman who rides unicorns everyday' if you want to.  And if you don't like the phrase I've chosen then feel free to pick a different one.  Here is my effort.


I am a woman who has a talent for locking herself in toilets.
I am a woman who hates letting people down.
I am a woman who rarely remembers her dreams.
I am a woman who likes listening to rock music.
I am a woman who loves the smell of the ocean.
I am a woman who works magic.
I am a woman who likes to wear green.
I am a woman who likes cats but loves dogs.
I am a woman who doesn't bake cakes.
I am a woman.

Poetry Prompt Day 3 : I wrote a poem one day .

In school , I used to curse the poets. All those long poems that said something else , and meant some thing else entirely .. And imagine  learning all those poems by heart so you can use the lines in references when you write your exam at the end of the year.

Considering that , I am sometimes myself amazed at  my love for poetry today. There is no day when I do not read a poem on blogs or jot down an idea for next verse for my own blog. Or maybe just randomly send few lines to my poetry buddies. In moments like these , I feel poetry has become a part of me , an identity for me.

So today , I want you to share your story of initiation into poetry ? Did you always love it ? Or like me , woke up to its charm and wonders one bright day ?  What was your first poem ? to whom was it dedicated  ? Or if you had to go back in time and write a poem for someone in your life  , who would you chose as your muse ?

Lets write a Poem about Why We wrote that very first poem. 

Before you go on wandering in your imaginary gardens of thoughts , have a look at this video full of poetry meanings :

~ Nimue

Poetry Prompt Day 2: Hiding Places

Several years ago, I had an opportunity to travel to Worcester, MA to visit the University Park Campus School and observe some of the best teachers in education. One of my favorite moments of that visit took place in a 7th grade English class. The students had been given an assignment the previous day and were reporting back their findings. Their assignment is the inspiration for our prompt today.

THE PROMPT: Where does poetry hide? Some possible answers could be "in the dark dusty corner under my bed", "in the extension of a dancer's leg", or perhaps "in the layered harmony of a Pentatonix song". Look around you. Make a list of some of the unusual places that you find poetry. Use this list as the starting place for a poem. Maybe the list is a poem in itself. Or maybe you'll find an entire poem tucked in between your sofa cushions. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!

~ Amy McGrath

Poetry Writing Tip: A Lesson from Emily Dickinson

I took this photo when I visited Emily's house in April, 2010.

I wrote the poem below today thanks to the image prompt from Magpie Tales. I like it well enough, given it was written so quickly and all, but I wasn’t completely satisfied with my word choices. Rather than hesitate due to concern about the poem being perfect, I posted it anyway.

I was reminded of something Emily Dickinson taught me.

For those who don’t know, I make treks to poets’ homes. To me, visiting the homes of fellow word-lovers is like visiting the great cathedrals or other holy spaces. I have literally felt the presence of the word-artists when in their space. 

On my second visit to Emily’s home I learned this: the poems we read of hers oftentimes have several different versions. If you look at her handwritten versions, she had a habit of writing a + sign by a word she wasn’t sure was “the best word” and then would list in the margins other words she might use instead. 

It takes away lots of the judgment and hesitation, interesting – sort of like ths  poem I wrote today
 --

The image is from Mark Haley. The image prompting came from Magpie Tales from poet Tess Kincaid.

Promise breathes within the bleak sky

burnished grasses

the rarely walked upon path -

barren trees sing, even when naked of leaves -

clouds pause -

hesitate before leaving -

wait before dropping

their punctuation upon -

this sacred scene

I have two words I am still not completely satisfied with:

1.      this sacred + space  (Other possibilities) dreary, desolate, serene, unruffled

2.      barren trees sing, even when naked+ of leaves – (other possibilities) exposed by lack, unprotected, thirsty for

I will continue to play with these words, perhaps trying a variety of compositions. You may try this out when you write a poem and are not quite ready to publish it, shuffle the word combinations to see which you like best. You also may try it out by not changing a thing and letting go of those other words.

Recognize alongside me: I am completely content with what I have published on my poetry blog yet I also know there may be another version waiting to be birthed, to teach me something I have yet to know.

October begins tomorrow.

OctPoWriMo begins tomorrow.

I look forward to this journey (adventure, passage,quest, challenge) with you.

-- Julie Jordan Scott