NaPoWriMo - Time

We are halfway through NaPoWriMo, are you reading and writing poetry everyday or periodically like I am? I get so caught up in day to day life that I let things get in the way of my poetry. I was hoping I'd be better at it this time but I never seem to be able to do it every single day. Not berating myself though, just noticing.

Be kind to yourself on this journey of life.

NaPoWriMo - Time
Photo by MDragonwillow

diving into the depths
words flow
gently and
explosively
onto the page

***

broken questions
between whispers
begin a dance
of a universal language
exploring magic
in a rainbow sky
naked desire
in a blazing heart
soul prisoner
love's searching
time



~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you write a poem on your blog for NaPoWriMo and would like to share it with us, place your link in the comments below. We look forward to reading your poems.


Peace,
Morgan Dragonwillow
Read, Dance, Write, Repeat.

Morgan Dragonwillow, author of Wild Woman Waking & Dancing within Shadow, is a writing rebel, foodie, urban gardener, recovering perfectionist, facilitator of magical circles and poet who (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. When she isn't working with clients, writing or dancing, you can find her encouraging and supporting her writing community at @StoryDam, #OctPoWriMo, #PoetsonthePage, and  Playing with Words on her blog.

Yes she is on Google+ too!

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What Did You Actually Do?

Juneau, AK zipline bridge
Photo by Annis Cassells

It’s that time again. The time in our lives when we review the past year and evaluate how we did. Most often, we lament the things we didn’t accomplish. We can tick them off, especially if we dared to write “New Year’s Resolutions.”  Focusing on those things is a real drag.

As we begin the New Year, I invite you to recount the things you DID accomplish in 2017. Regardless of life getting in your way from time to time, I can imagine there are many successes. Make a list.

Maybe you fulfilled a dream or wish—or at least took action toward making it a reality. Maybe you undertook a new job or hobby, or finished a project. Perhaps you began taking even better care of yourself and now see a difference in how you feel or your “numbers” at the doctor’s office. Maybe you stepped outside your comfort zone and learned that it wasn’t so uncomfortable after all. Make your list.

This week’s poem suggestions:

• Write your poem about a 2017 accomplishment (or several). 
• OR make your list into a poem. 
• OR free write “Though I didn’t _____, I _______ed” and find the poem within.

Word Bank Prompt:

Success

In spite of

Achievement

Elated

Unexpected

Photo Prompt:

Coos Bay, OR Prefontaine Memorial Run
Photo by Annis Cassells

Please share the link to your poem in the comments below. Or go ahead and post your poem. We're looking forward to reading your work.

Poetry Guide:
 
The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry

ISBN-13: 978-0393316544

ISBN-10: 0393316548

From the nuts and bolts of craft to the sources of inspiration, this book is for anyone who wants to write poetry-and do it well.

The Poet's Companion presents brief essays on the elements of poetry, technique, and suggested subjects for writing, each followed by distinctive writing exercises. The ups and downs of writing life—including self-doubt and writer's block—are here, along with tips about getting published and writing in the electronic age. On your own, this book can be your "teacher," while groups, in or out of the classroom, can profit from sharing weekly assignments. (Amazon.com)

Annis Cassells is a writer, poet, life coach, and teacher.  She divides her time between Bakersfield, California and Coos Bay, Oregon. She is a member of Writers of Kern, a branch of the California Writers Club. See Annis’s blogs at www.thedaymaker.blogspot.com and www.poemsbyannis.blogspot.com and her website at www.connectionsandconversations.com

What is the mood of your Poem ?

What we write , the one that reaches across to others , is mostly the very words that echo our mood for the moment. Sometimes , when you are in a particular mood  , experiencing a particular emotion , it is very much possible to capture it in your poem within a few hours than to do the same , a few days later.

But I feel,  everyone's writing has a mood of its own. Years back , when I started writing , most times I wrote to let my fears and thoughts out of my mind. It were not happy times and the nights would be a little too hard to handle. That's when I discovered poetry writing and it helped me cope up with my feelings. In the process , my writing took a character of its own. A face that is kind and sad at same time. A voice that talks of past and is hopeful of the future too. A mood that is aware of the pain it has seen and expects but also knows that love exists.

Whenever I have written with such mood and honesty , not just have I felt satisfied with the poem but the process itself has been rewarding. And its same with so many bloggers I read around. I can almost judge the thought process , the mood , the projection of the thoughts from them to me. It is a sense of familiarity that envelops me when I read such poems.

I agree that one should step out of boundaries and try new writing ways , new techniques. But can not the same feeling be expressed in hundred different ways ? Is it so important to write happy poems even if you know you are doing a below average job with that ?

Writing is about being honest . To please yourself . Not to appeal to others.


On second thought , If you still want to try changing the mood of your poem, once it is finished , I will suggest you to give it few weeks. Let the feelings fade , and then sit with words not with your heart  , but with a critical head. Let it talk , argue back to the mood , change it on your whim and voila ! you might have a completely new picture for yourself.

This link might give you a stepping board for this task.

Leaving you with this lovely poem -

A Mood

A blight, a gloom, I know not what, has crept upon my gladness--
Some vague, remote ancestral touch of sorrow, or of madness;
A fear that is not fear, a pain that has not pain's insistence;
A sense of longing, or of loss, in some foregone existence;
A subtle hurt that never pen has writ nor tongue has spoken--
Such hurt perchance as Nature feels wen a blossomed bough is broken. 

Thomas Bailey Aldrich

~ Nimue

Simple Or Intricate?

One of the things I love most about poetry is its versatility. There are guidelines...sure, you could even consider them to be rules. But since poetry writing is an expressive art, it is open to interpretation and personal expression. Therefore, there will be times where anything goes. 

When writing a poem, will you choose something simple? A haiku? A sparse stanza? Or something more intricate and rich with iambic pentameter? There is a simple rule to haiku writing and a more complex set of guidelines to iambic pentameter. 

Your words can take on a playful rhyme ala Dr. Seuss or an emotive and descriptive tone, lush with introspection and imagery. From the silly to the soulful, it's all poetry and yes, you can have it both ways. 

Recently, I was thumbing through my copy of Suzanne Vega's book of poetry and lyrics. It is a collection of her work from the time of her childhood up until the 1990s and it demonstrates a wonderful example of the evolutionary path one can take with poetry as well as the beauty of both simplicity and intricacy. Vega has a way of weaving words together seemingly effortlessly in such a way that the reader is taken on a whimsical, yet thought provoking journey, and that is something I think many, if not all of us strive to accomplish in our writing; to take the reader to another place, yet provoke thought and depth of feeling, whether it be of the joyful sort or to the point of tears. 

To my mind, that is truly successful poetry. Is it simple and silly enough that you've made up a word or phrase and conjured a side splitting laugh? Or is it beautiful, even tragic - leaving the reader deep in contemplation and inspiration? 

It's all powerful. And exploring the possibilities of each mode of expression is a compelling exercise. 

The title of Suzanne Vega's book is "The Passionate Eye..." and I think that encapsulates the idea of poetry. Whether you write from a simple or a more dramatic and involved perspective - your passion for the subject of your writing as well as the medium itself is what will inspire you to get your point across in whichever way the mood strikes you.

The Rules of Poetry and writing

Everything has rules. Even chaos has an order within itself. But Poetry is neither organized nor chaotic. I treat it as a chaotic way to unbalance some order or an ordered way to tame chaos in my mind. Either way it just flows through the head and heart if you surrender yourself.

Image source

So what are the rules?
I say NONE.

Not for writing, not for reading, not for supporting and encouraging, not for sharing, and not for hiding it either.

But learning to let go of the Rules does not come easy. It is a conscious and constant process that you learn to accept while your write.

I started writing six years back and to this date I can not understand my obsession with rhymes during that period. I actually spoiled many ideas for the lack of rhyming words. And those days I was unaware of rhyming dictionaries. ;)

A year later I switched to rhythm and thank goodness I discovered poetry forms that did not require me to rhyme. Not that the syllable count was any easier, but still, there was a sense of freedom as I penned those verses. Like miniature cupcakes put on display for all.

Bottom line: Follow rules of heart and not of the art!
Let yourself be free and dip into the creative pools that are as vast as your mind wants to wander.

Have fun!

~Nimue