sharing a poetic LIFELINE with the world

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My head is spinning, and more poetry

I’m trying to promote my novel, “Relocated,” so check out this review on askDavid.com:

http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/science-fiction/2539

And check out “Sand in the Desert” as well

http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/inspirational-poetry/2540

In addition to promoting the novel,  I’m editing two others. I got tagged in a blog hop and answered a few questions about one of them,  an adult science fiction novel tentatively entitled “Broken Bonds”:

http://margaretfieland.com/blog1/2012/10/17/the-next-big-thing-blog-hop/

I’ve been playing with digital images again.

Here are a couple of poems I’ve written, two versions of the same gray, dreary day:

 

Almost Day

The rain hangs short of falling
and chill air blows
through my open window.

My novel’s turned dull,
the heroine another blonde,
lucky at everything but love.

I’m down to dregs of coffee,
the flavor burnt and bitter,
sandy grounds populate my cup.

I’ve insufficient motivation
to rise from the table
or boot me out of my fog.

My dog humps open the door
rests her grinning muzzle
on my knee.

Anything short of a downpour
is good weather for canines..
Time to go for a walk


Gray Day

My novel’s heroine  has no class.

paintmt1

l have to give the book a pass.

Rain hangs just short of the grass
I hope the gloomy weather will pass

Chill air blows in the window , alas.
I bang it shut, hope shivering will pass

My smoky fire smells of burnt grass.
Time to walk. Don’t let more time pass.

Rain streams down the  window glass
I have to give walking the dog a pass

 

 

 

 

 

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Uncategorized

Remembering 9-11

WTC pre WFC 1984 from boat Hudson NYC

WTC pre WFC 1984 from boat Hudson NYC (Photo credit: Ibfraz)

I spent the last several days watching TV specials on the tragedy of 9/11. Some were new, some old, but all touched my heart strings. It gave me hope for humanity to see the EMT’s, doctors and nurses, Police Officers, Firemen and ordinary people rising to greater heights caring for the injured and getting them out of harm’s way. It reminds me that good can come from horrible events, but some memories will be with us forever. The survivors and the slain will always be in my heart.

I thought it might be healing to write poems about that day. You can write on any aspect of the events or people and post it as a comment.  Here is mine:

 

All Fall Down

Shining towers in early morning sun,
So strong, so beautiful, something meant
to last a hundred years
All fall down, vanishing in hours.
Clouds of destruction
roar down the street
An American Pyroclastic flow
Choking throats and sealing eyelids.
Screams, prayers, curses
Sounds and images of people
Running or walking or crawling, others in ambulances
Race toward what they hoped will be safety.
So much heroism, bravery, compassion
So much loss, so much pain.
Raw grief of survivors mingles with our own
What happened? Who did this?
Looking for someone to blame.
Fighting the inclination to condemn
A whole religion for the acts of a few.
Every year we honor those we lost
Pray that the families could put
Their lives back together with time
And that there is enough
Healing to go around.
©2012 Lin Neiswender

 

 

 

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Contest, Creative Writing, Inspiration, Lines by Lin, Poetry, Uncategorized

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Make Visible: Focus on Form: Really Bad Limericks

I wrote these today.  I’m not one to write limericks.  I’m not real comfortable with the form.  The last one is for a special friend of mine.

Here goes nothing!

Presenting Really Bad Limericks:

 

Savannah

There was a girl from Savannah
Who had the most terrible manners
She never said please
And often would tease
Even those who tripped on peeled bananas.

Seattle

There was a man from Seattle
Who got in the rottenest battles
If he sat next to you at a bar
Best to take yourself very far
From his brass knuckles, used often on cattle.

 

Ocean Shores

There was a woman from Ocean Shores
Who only saw open doors
She was so positive
That God was the causative
With only good things in store.

 

Orlando

There was a lady from Orlando
Who was all about the Can-Do
Collages, poems and short stories
Productive, even with her health worries
Wish I had her ducks in a row.
“Savannah,” “Seattle,” “Ocean Shores,” and “Orlando” © Anne Westlund

 

“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.”~Robert Bresson, French Film Director

 

 

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Creative Writing, Focus on Form, Make Visible, Uncategorized

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Savoring Form and Visibility

We welcome back Lisa Gentile — she’s more like family than a guest poster! Thank you, Lisa, for joining us again today. (Please read our earlier interview with Lisa, too: https://poetic-muselings.net/2012/07/10/lisa-gentile-mentor-and-moxie-maverick/)

Savoring Form and Visibility

One of the many uplifting themes that I notice every time I read through this Poetic Muselings blog is that of appreciating the world around us, with all of its tragic, glorious, epic, and everyday beauty.

It hits me every time even though I shouldn’t be surprised by it. After all, that’s what writers and other artists do, right? They grasp an inspiration and artfully shape it into a piece of creative work so that they may reflect upon it, move on from it, and/or share it with the rest of us. But what really goes on? I suspect there are some answers lurking in around this blog.

Through focus on form we assemble a collection of sensorial, intellectual, and emotional experiences and string them together in a pleasing poetic form. Very often the new configuration gives us insight into the events or imaginings that we selected.

The resultant poem tells us something about ourselves, the characters portrayed, or the moment captured. The selection might seem random at first, the configuration unremarkable. A subtle change could shift the whole message. This is our creative hand at work, we trust that we have made the right selections for this particular piece and we follow them to their conclusion.

When we make visible what we have seen we create something tangible out of our interpretation. It matters that we create a unit of meaning, and beauty, that we can share with others. This is a powerful way to connect with each other. It creates the potential for a dialog.

We may be sharing a joy, a sorrow, or a casual rumination. The important point is that we are sharing, we are saying “I was there and I saw/ heard/ did/ felt/ thought this.” We are inviting others to enjoy our art, experience the meaning give it, and then to create their own meaning.

When we create, whether by focusing on form or making an idea visible, we are making an impression that holds personal value less abstract and more real in the world—we are shaping its meaning so that we may share it and appreciate it in our lives, so that we may savor it.

Research shows that this making and expression of meaning from our experiences contributes to our satisfaction in life. How do you give form and visibility to your experiences? How do you savor life?

Lisa Gentile, M.S. is a professional life coach. You can read more about her practice at http://www.moxiemavericks.com
 
 

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Make Visible: Inspired by Nature

My poem, “The Banquet,” was inspired by deer in our side yard.  As a writer, don’t be afraid of using nature as inspiration, especially as a jumping off point to a longer piece.  Your poem doesn’t have to be explicitly about flora or fauna, but could evolve into a metaphor about something else entirely.

Poetry prompt:  Go for a walk outside.  If something from the natural world catches your eye, start a poem with that image as the kernel.

The Banquet

The deer eat the weeds,
the apples, the lower branches of trees.
Such enthusiasm!

What feast have you set out
before them?
Like watching a puppy or a child eat.

Of the seven deadlies, gluttony…
Now it’s the ice cream aisle,
the frozen dinners and pizza,
the deli, the chip and pop aisle,
the white bread, the lowly potato.

You are laughing at us,
I know.

How disappointed you must be in us?
With our rice cakes, salads without dressing,
low-carb diets.
Come eat!
Life is a banquet, the table is set.
Are there no takers?
“Manna makes me fat.”
“Fishes go right to my thighs.”
So we starve in the desert,
refusing what you have offered,
this miracle.

© Anne Westlund

“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.”~Robert Bresson, French Film Director

Photo by Chris Westlund

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Make Visible, Uncategorized

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Lin’s Senryu

#1880 winner of manner poetry contest

I’m a beginner at Senryu and in addition to Margaret’s great links, found this link helpful:

Haiku or Senryu? How to Tell the Difference.
I followed the syllable count but switched the lines. Here’s my first stab at it:

Hot packed waiting room
Doctor gives bad news
How lovely is the sunshine

Category:

Creative Writing, Focus on Form, Lines by Lin, Poetry, Uncategorized

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A True Senryu Story

This form made me giggle and immediately brought up a senryu story:

My big Poodle hates rain
Stares at me:
“Do something! My feet are all wet!”

 

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Taming the elusive Iamb

Note: In all of the following, I have indicated stressed syllables in bold.

Woods and Fields near my home

My woods and fields

An iamb is a two-syllable metrical foot where the stress is on the second syllable:

da dum

A trochee is a two-syllable metrical foot where the stress falls on the first syllable:

da dum

Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” is composed of iambs:

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

For an example of dactyls check out Henry Wadsworth Longfellow‘s “Song of Hiawatha”

Should you ask me, whence these stories?
Whence these legends and traditions,
With the odors of the forest,
With the dew and damp of meadows,

And now Michele’s first stanza:

We claim our fears and ghosts by what we do,
   paths drag us into, not by accident,
   territory steep in our deep taboo.*

*Note: there are several ways to read this line — this is one.

So, lines one and two consist of nothing but iambs, but line 3 starts with two trochees.

One way to figure out the meter is just what I have done above: read the lines aloud, then underline or bold the stressed syllables, then see what you have. Another is to clap as you read: clap on all the stressed syllables while at the same time keeping track of whether this matches your pattern.

Another is to imitate a well-known rhyme or song. One of the only successful rhymed stories I wrote followed the rhythm of a nursery rhyme (unfortunately I’ve forgotten which one). Here are the first couple of stanzas. Can you help identify the song or nursery rhyme I tried to follow?

Old Tom Troll
had a hole by a bridge,
not far from the River Dee,

a lonely hole
not fit for a Troll,
and full of damp debris.

So Old Tom Troll
went out for a stroll
to find new holes to see.

Old Tom Troll
had a hole by a bridge,
not far from the River Dee,

a lonely hole
not fit for a Troll,
and full of damp debris.

So Old Tom Troll
went out for a stroll
to find new holes to see.

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Creative Writing, Focus on Form, Margaret's Musing, Poetry, Uncategorized

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Make Visible: The Villanelle

I wrote this Villanelle several years ago for a Valentine challenge on Poetbay.com.

The rhymes aren’t exactly right, but it does make a unique Valentine poem.

 

Valentine

Cupid’s arrows pierce my heart,
Despite love’s shifting sands
Never will we two part

Card stolen from Wal-Mart
More than eruptions from my glands
Cupid’s arrows pierce my heart

To get to you I took the BART *
IPOD plays my favorite bands,
Never will we two part

I feel the sting of his golden darts
Make of me any demands
Cupid’s arrows pierce my heart

Dressed up like a dime-store tart
You held me in your gentle hands
Never will we two part

Your eyes travel my Holy Lands
Ready for your commands
Cupid’s arrows pierce my heart
Never will we two part.

* BART-Bay Area Rapid Transit

February 10, 2009

© Anne Westlund

Children's Valentine, 1940–1950

Children’s Valentine, 1940–1950 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Events and Accolades

We’ve been busy, sharing our poetry with the world. Some highlights of our recent and future activities:

Anne Westlund:  
~had three poems published in Poetry Breakfast:
http://poetrybreakfast.wordpress.com/?s=anne+westlund
“Chivalry”  – March 11, 2012
“White-out” – March 17, 2012
“Eclipse” – March 26, 2012
~Strange Pulp – one time publication for the Oasis Sci-Fi Convention in Orlando, Fl.  Short story,  File Under “S”, May 2012

Lin Neiswender: Three poems in the anthology Love and Other Passions by the Poets of Central Florida, http://www.amazon.com/Love-Other-Passions-Central-Florida/dp/098515070X

Margaret Fieland:
~is Participating in Sequential Poetry Reading on Sat April 21st between 12 and 3 at The Omen, 184 Essex Street in Salem, MA
~ Poems published:
Boston LiteraryMagazine
“Monday Morning” Spring, 2012
http://poetrybreakfast.wordpress.com/?s=margaret+fieland
“Weather Report” February 24, 2012
“Taking a Break” March 3rd, 2012

Michele Graf: Two poems, “Chief Joseph Trail” and “Forest” were recently included in the Oregon Poetic Voices Project (OPV), a comprehensive digital archive of poetry readings to complement existing print collections of poetry across the state. Read and listen to her poems at:  http://oregonpoeticvoices.org/poet/370/

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