Weekend Mini-Challenge: 13 Poetic Bits of Kerry

I haven’t always cared for poetry. In fact, a handful of years ago, those of you who have known me for a bit probably had the displeasure of reading my rants about how much I hated poetry (and how Shakespeare was very likely a frilly ruff-wearing sadist). Then illness (and the fact that the idea of not writing on a regular basis was rather painful) not-so-gently nudged me to give poetry writing a try. That’s how I stumbled into the Imaginary Garden with Real Toads, how I ended up falling in love with Kerry O’Connor’s poetry (and with the delight of poetry writing).

So, for my last prompt, before our Garden closes its active doors, I wish you to celebrate Kerry’s poetry with me. Joining the celebration is easy, just select 1 of the 13 lines below (which I harvested out of 13 of Kerry’s poems), and write a new poem. The words in your chosen line must remain exactly as they are—consecutive and unaltered (other than capitalization)—and you must use every word in the line you choose. Line breaks are fine. For example, if you choose the first line, “A nightmare is mere fodder” can be line 1, as long as “for poetry” is (or starts) line 2.

13 poetic bits of Kerry, for today’s prompt (somewhere in your post, maybe at the end, show us the Kerry Bit you chose and give Kerry credit. And if you are feeling extra giving, also let us know why you chose that particular line):  

1. A nightmare is mere fodder for poetry

2. But, oh, how high you fly on the trapeze. No nets

3. Crushing fragments of yesterday

4. Does it burn, my dear? Does it trouble you

5. This flesh is mine, it has bled, and shed

6. The future arrives just as water

7. The nights are not dark enough

8. I am the embodiment of smoke

9. I have been halved and cored

10. I will love you in the darkness of soul

11. Our hearts are naked

12. Permit yourself to pause

13. The (right) words to undo the wrong
* To read the poem a line belongs to, just click the number.

Visit @skyloverpoetry, Skywriter, and Skylover to enjoy more of Kerry’s words.

My sweetest Kerry, thank you so much for letting me offer your poetry as inspiration, and for allowing me some growing space in the Imaginary Garden. You rocketh very mucho… and you are sooo loved.

Dear Toads, add the direct link to your new poem to Mr. Linky. Do visit other pond dwellers. As always, share your thoughts on the ink-flowers blooming in their Imaginary Garden. And please, please, please… be kind.

Weekend Mini-Challenge: Pick 2 Prompts, Any Prompts! then Senryū or Elfchen or Cherita

If you’ve read me once or thrice, you probably already know that I love merging prompts and writing very short poetry. So, when the time came for me to say goodbye to my Imaginary Garden with Real Toads hosting days (for now, at least *cough*), a last prompt that merges two prompts to create a very short poem feels just right.

Keeping that wee bit in mind… for today’s prompt, I invite everyone to take two prompts, any prompts, and merge the two topics to create a new senryū, or elfchen, or cherita poem. Your chosen prompts can come from anywhere or any-when, just make sure to include the link to both prompts. Only one poem per poet.

 

Senryū: “three lines with 17 morae (or “on”, often translated as syllables…). Senryū tend to be about human foibles… and are often cynical or darkly humorous.” ~ Wikipedia

Elfchen: “a short poem with a given pattern. It contains eleven words which are arranged in a specified order over five rows. Each row has a requirement that can vary: 1^st line (1 word), a thought, an object, a color, a smell or the like; 2^nd line (2 words) what does the word from the first row do? 3^rd line (3 words) where or how is the word of row 1? 4^th line (4 words) what do you mean? 5^th line (1 word) conclusion: What results from all this? What is the outcome?” ~ Wikipedia

Cherita: “the Malay word for story or tale… consists of a single stanza of a one-line verse, followed by a two-line verse, and then finishing with a three-line verse.” ~ CHERITA [1--2--3]

There you have it, dear Toads. Choose 2 prompts, any prompts! and birth a new poem out of them (a senryū, or elfchen, or cherita). Add the direct link to your new poem to Mr. Linky. Visit other poets.

Thanks a million for letting me host poetry prompts these last few years

You rocketh very mucho (and then some).

Really, I know these things.

Weekend Mini-Challenge: Exquisite Corpse Poetry

Exquisite Corpse is a collaborative game played (traditionally) by several people. In the poetry version, each player writes a word on paper, conceals said word, and then gives the paper to the next player… so that she or he can add his or her contribution. 

borrowed from Wikipedia

For today’s prompt, I invite you to create a 3-to-13-line poem using the Exquisite Corpse Solitaire method. To play the game solo, we shall use 5 groups of 13 words (I’ve shared them at the end of this post), and List Randomizer (a form that allows users to arrange items in random order). Just follow this link to Random.Org.

Rules and Guidance, for Exquisite Corpse Poetry Solitaire:

1. Each line must contain the following (in the given order): adjective, noun, verb, adjective, noun.

2. You can change tense and number to help the found words fit your poem.

3. Use conjunctions, articles, and prepositions to connect your found words.

4. The found word groups must remain in their original lines (Don’t break your found groupings!).

5. Punctuation is a friend to the Exquisite Corpse Poetry Solitaire player.

Here is a wee example, using the words for this prompt:

the found words:

clean hand vex stocky year

dazzling month live long study

glamourous life arise plain place

the birthed poem:

Clean hands vex. Stocky years

dazzle months lived in the long study

of glamourous lives that arose in plain places.

13 Adjectives, group 1

attractive

bald

beautiful

chubby

clean

dazzling

drab

elegant

fancy

fit

flabby

glamorous

gorgeous

13 Nouns, group 1

book

case

night

day

coffee

group

hand

fact

home

job

life

month

eye

13 Verbs

burst

arise

live

behold

feel

cast

undulate

slay

look

make

slink

vex

will

13 Adjectives, group 2

long

unkempt

muscular

short

plump

scruffy

quaint

shapely

plain

skinny

magnificent

stocky

unsightly

13 Nouns, group 2

study

word

problem

question

state

year

thing

people

student

time

place

world

story

Do visit Poets.Org: Play Exquisite Corpse, for a much cooler example… and to read about how the game is played (with other people). I hope you have fun. I hope we can laugh and be surprised (pleasantly, I hope).

a wee note: I edited the guidance to add prepositions to 3.

Weekend Mini-Challenge: Oh, the (Poetic) Irony!

I love satiric humor. It might be the reason why I enjoy shows like Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. I also consume the news unfiltered—living in a world without knowing what’s ripping it apart (and holding it together) is never a good idea. Still, I doubt I would be able to survive (or process the horror, without screaming my brains out) if I couldn’t count on irony to lighten my heart up a bit.

So, for today’s prompt, I invite you to write a new poem using one (2 or all 3 ) of the following satire-rich cartoons from The New Yorker. Please, let us know which cartoon(s) you chose to craft a poem about.

If you are feeling extra-inspired, make your contribution a narrative poem, which tells the story taking place in the illustration and/or the caption.

“Yes, the planet got destroyed, but for a beautiful moment in time 

we created a lot of value for shareholders.”

  

“A few of us are going out after work to pretend it’s not the end of the world, 

if you want to join us.”

“Remember when we drank coffee with the paper?”

Add the direct link to your poem to Mr. Linky. See what other Toads poetized out of the cartoons. Be well.