Influence & Inspiration

 "The music of my youth." This is how one of my friends described Aretha's body of work. So many of us -- Detroiters, Americans, and citizens of the world -- mourned the loss of "The Queen of Soul" these past two weeks. Fellow musicians and regular folks, all fans, she inspired, bolstered, and comforted paid tribute to her in words and song.

Though her music and voice always made me stop and listen or move to the beat, my favorite Aretha moment happened in 2015 at the Kennedy Center Honors where she celebrated Carole King by singing "Natural Woman." Tears rolled as I sang (off-key) and watched the communication between Aretha and Carole and between Aretha and the star-studded audience. President Barack Obama wiped a tear from his eyes along with me.

With her music, her leadership, her example to her family and community, the legendary Aretha Franklin defined an era in our history.

Today's Prompt:
By this time in our lives, we've all experienced a loss of someone whose presence or actions on a large platform have affected us. We may not know the individual personally, but he or she has inspired or comforted or taught us. We've also had family and personal friends whose lives have had an impact on our own. Write an ode to that person. Or, write a poem about how that person influenced or inspired you.

Word Bank:
Tribute
Inspiration
Legend
Presence
Model
Mentor

Video Prompt:

We would love to read your work, so please share your poem or provide a link to your website or blog in the comments below. Thank you, and happy writing.

 
Annis Cassells is a writer, poet, life coach, and teacher.  She divides her time between Bakersfield, California and Coos Bay, Oregon, where she conducts memoir writing classes for senior adults. 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

Strength

A writer friend once said, “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself." At the time I laughed. But as the years have gone by, her statement has come back to me many times.

Now that I’m in the last few days of celebrating my 75^th “Birthday Season,” I’ve thought even more about maintaining self-care. The central, recurring thought: strength.

Physical strength is good and necessary so we can keep going. Equally important is having strong convictions and passions.

I recently met up with a childhood friend who’s about my age. During our conversation, I often heard, "I'm too old." and "I don't care about..." She seemed to have given up on life, even though she has a track record of being a strong woman in her younger days. This is a woman who gathered the strength to flee an oppressive relationship in a foreign country and get her five-year-old son back to the United States. She worked hard and made a comfortable life for them.

We’ve all had to muster strength to get through life’s challenges, small and large. Think back years, or even days, to when you had to be strong and resilient. Write your “strength poem.”

Word Bank

Fragile

Intense

Powerful

Tough

Weak

Photo Prompt

Washington, D.C. Photo by Annis Cassells

Quote Prompt

"It doesn't take a lot of strength to hang on. It takes a lot of strength to let go." J. C. Watts

We'd love to read your work. Please share your poem in the comments below, or provide a link to your website.

Annis Cassells is a writer, poet, life coach, and teacher.  She divides her time between Bakersfield, California and Coos Bay, Oregon, where she conducts memoir writing classes for senior adults. 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

Early Bird or Night Owl

“The Early Bird catches the worm.” This 17^th century Proverb our mothers and grandmothers quoted still rings true today. Being early brings a person numerous benefits.

Some movie theaters and restaurants offer discounts in the form of “Early Bird Specials.” Throughout my career years, I’ve been lucky enough to have prices knocked down for early registration at conferences and hotels.

Athletes, artists, writers, CEOs, and many folks considered to be successful take advantage of the early morning hours. It gives them more time during the day when their energy, motivation, and creative levels are high. They’re able to complete projects and tasks, which leads to feelings of accomplishment and greater success.

For me, early morning is often when a solution to a problem or an answer to a question appears. In that drowsing time, my eyes may snap open and I have to get to my computer or grab a paper and pencil and jot down my ideas. Sometimes a poem or a story comes to me—or even a blog post. 

Then there are those folks whose bodies and brains don't kick into high gear until late evening. That's when they become most productive and do their best work. I have friends and family members in the "night owl" category. They accomplish just as much in their peak time as early folks do. One is not better than the other, just different.

 


Poetry Prompt:   "Early Bird" or "Night Owl" Which are you? How has being one or the other made an impact on your life or work? What are the advantages or disadvantages of punctuality, earliness, or tardiness?
 

Word Bank: 
Advantage
Creativity 
Distraction
Opportune
Peak
Tardy
Unexpected

Photo Prompt:

Photo by Annis Cassells 2017

 

 

We would love to read your work, so please share your poem or provide a link to your website or blog in the comments below. Thank you, and happy writing.

 
Annis Cassells is a writer, poet, life coach, and teacher.  She divides her time between Bakersfield, California and Coos Bay, Oregon, where she conducts memoir writing classes for senior adults. 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

Poetry Prompt: What does it mean to be a socially responsible member of American Society?

Photo from the Public Domain

Writers of Kern, the writing organization of which I am a member, seeks to encourage writing among youth through an annual essay competition for middle and high school students. The 2018 topic for the Young Writers of Kern Writing Competition was "What does it mean to be a socially responsible member of American Society?"

“Socially responsible” and “socially responsible member of American Society” hold many possibilities for thought and expression these days. 

Using these ideas for this week’s Poets on the Page prompt, we are invited to investigate our feelings and thoughts: About social responsibility. About being a socially responsible member of our society. About whatever comes to mind when you see these words.

Do poets have a social responsibility for illuminating society’s interests, ailments, accomplishments, wrongs? What do you see or think that needs to be said?

How has American society changed? Developed? Presented itself?

Word Bank Prompt:

Accountability

Citizen(ship)

Civic

Community

Culture

Patriotism

Rights

Social Justice

Poetic Prompt:

From “What Would Gwendolyn Brooks Do?” by Parneshia Jones

                    “Hold On, she says, two million light years away.

She’s right.
Hold On everybody.
Hold On because the poets are still alive—and writing.”
Read and hear the full poem at Poets.org

Share your poem or provide the link to your blog in the comments below. We'd love to read your ideas. Thank you. xoA

Annis Cassells is a writer, poet, life coach, and teacher.  She divides her time between Bakersfield, California and Coos Bay, Oregon, where she conducts memoir writing classes for senior adults. 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

Mom

 

Kaitlyn Stanford, "50 Best Mom Memes"

When we grew up in Detroit in the 1950s, our friends thought the Cassells kids had “the coolest” mom. My buddy Saundra and I have reminisced about the times my mother took us to the frenzied Rock & Roll shows that were popular in those days.  Mom was right beside us as we found our thrill on Blueberry Hill with Fats Domino, did the twist with Chubby Checker, and were all shook up with Elvis.  Saundra said, “We all wanted your mother.”  

 

Of course, to her own three kids, she was just “Mom”. We knew without a doubt that she would be at home when we came running in after school. She often had a plate of cookies or a cake sitting on the yellow Formica kitchen table, and the television was always tuned to the channel for Mickey Mouse Club. 

Think about your mother. How did your perception of her change over the years? What about your relationship? How are you like, or unlike, her? Write about it. Discover your poem.

Or, take out a photo of your mom, study it and free write about the photo. From this piece, find your poem. Will it be in tribute? An explanation? A description? A rebuke?

Word Bank Prompt

Unconditional love

Teachings

Forgiveness

Home

Estrangement

Photo Prompt

"Ms. Ruthie Rides" photo by Annis Cassells

Reading Prompt 

In Ellen Bass's Mules of Love "For My Daughter on her Twenty-first Birthday"

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

Life's Seasons

Photo by Annis Cassells

“All seasons have something to offer.” ― Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle

Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring. We can count on the seasons like clockwork to follow each other. We can compare and predict. “It’s going to be a cold winter.” Or, “We had a shorter spring and went right into summer.”

Life’s seasons, though, are non-linear. They may be sudden and random. And we can never predict their duration. The seasons become a metaphor, a symbol, for how our lives play out.

With regard to Life’s seasons, within days or even hours, we can experience each one. They often catch us by surprise, and though we deal with them, we may not see the seasons as a metaphor at the time. That insight comes later, upon reflection, but life’s seasons correspond to weather’s.

Summer – When we are carefree and relaxed, when experiences and places are welcomed and enjoyed. 
Fall – We’re in contemplation and preparation, harvesting ideas or gathering skills or insights we’ll need.to carry on. Or move on. 
Winter – Which we find challenging, even difficult, yet filled with blessings. Blessings that we may not see until Spring. 
Spring – The season that always follows winter with light and new life, with hope, renewal, and possibilities. We catch our breath and reflect on the wonder and blessings Winter provided. 

Life’s seasons may change as often or as fast as the wind. We wake up in Summer – all is great and we are happy. Life is going our way.  Within hours, there’s a SNAFU and we feel the ice of Winter. Then we’re in Fall as we react, marshal our resources, figure out a plan, and begin executing that plan. Sometimes, we have to come up with alternate ideas before we reach Spring. But soon Summer is on the way again, and we bask in its goodness. 

The Prompt 

Think about what season you're in right this minute. What got you there? Was it the rocky-ness of life or a smooth path? Make a list of all the words that come to mind as you think about your seasons -- now and past. Come up with a first line using some of those words. Then let your free verse or haiku or couplets flow.

OR

Write a poem about your favorite  OR your most dreaded season of the year. Maybe this will take you back to your younger days. Maybe it will take you to looking forward.

Word Bank

cycle

change

growth

dormant

awakening

light

harvest

Photo Prompt 

Photo by Annis Cassells

Please share the link to your poem (or post your poem) in the comments below. And, if you're on Facebook, post it to Poets on the Page. We're looking forward to reading your work.

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