FUENTE GRANDE

FOR POW PROMPT 14 POETRY ON WEDNESDAY

This is the last of the Language Sprinkle Series..Spanish
Here is an extract of a poem by Pablo Neruda.
Write a poem with a few Spanish sprinkles based on Neruda
or another Spanish poet of your choice.
As always please provide translations.




Statue of Federico Garcia Lorca
in Plaza de Santa Ana, Madrid
*Wikipedia

Click to hear Spanish Bombs
by The Clash









FOUNTAIN OF TEARS

It takes both feet
Left as well as Right
To obey marching orders

Am I Right, or am I… wrong?

Command given
Rapid, the response
Left, right; left, right; left, right; left…

Halt…! That sounds a bit too fast

Right here, in Spain
The pace is slower
Iz-qui-er-do, De-re-cho

Izquierdo, Derecho

…But we have wings
Right-wing and Left-wing
Falange – Republicano

Who’s Right…? And what’s left?

Left for Madrid
Right at the wrong time
Three days before it began

The Spanish Civil War… right…?

Just one month in
My brother-in-law
Shot dead by war criminals

No summertime siesta…

‘I realised’
The very next day
‘I had been murdered… They looked…

But they did not find me… No’

‘Verde, que te quiero verde’


Acknowledgements:

Inspired by the death of Federico Garcia Lorca
At Fuente Grande – Fountain of Tears

‘I realised I had been murdered… They looked…
But they did not find me… No’
Extracts from Jan Morris, describing how
Federico Garcia Lorca foretold his own fate
*Wikipedia

‘Verde, que te quiero verde’
Green, how I love you green
From Ballad of the sleepwalker

I CAN’T GIVE YOU A GRID REFERENCE, BUT…

For Writers Island prompt #14 2010 The Journey
And One Single Impression - Cocoon
And Monday Poetry Train Revisited


YOU ARE HERE








The Jasmine-like (though much more intense) fragrance of the ดอกราตรี (Dok Ratree - Deep Night Bloom), fills the air throughout the cooler nights of Dec-Feb, when it flowers.














Downwind of the Deep Night bloom
that doesn’t love the heat
of a summer afternoon
preferring instead the dead
of night at cooler times
when thoughts turn the other way
to those that come from upstream
of the swollen river bed
fed by the flash flood falls
that form from the overfill
of underground reservoirs
high on the mountainside
as the valley mist rolls low
obscuring the silhouette
on the eastern underscore
till dawn when the rising sun
chases the fallen shroud
back to the space between
its golden glow and the earth
that harbours its one night stand
tolerates its presence
welcomes with open arms
its life-sustaining moisture
before showing it the door
in order to allow
thoughts of the Deep Night bloom
and those that come from upstream
of the swollen river bed
to conjugate and bear fruit
of morning mountain slopes
that tastes of distant dreams
and hopes and fears and thoughts
of men and women who
inhale the fragrant air
of the valley veiled in mist
that descends with the setting sun
on evenings such as this
when the Deep Night bloom awakes

HEROES …?

For Big Tent Poetry


This week’s prompt
We all have heroes — icons whose greatness we aspire to,
whose larger-than-life personalities (or pretty faces) we are drawn to.
Fresh out of graduate school, filled with feminist fire, I wrote several poems re-imagining
the life and times of Barbie. (Denise Duhamel has an entire collection devoted to this blond bombshell.
You can check out Kinky here). A few years later, never having seen an episode of “Leave It To Beaver,”
I nonetheless began channeling June Cleaver when married life didn’t turn out the way I imagined.
This week, start with a list of pop culture icons that interest you. Imagine one of them in a mundane setting:
Marilyn Monroe doing the dishes, Elvis mowing the lawn, Lady Gaga carpooling the kids to soccer practice.
Poem an icon into a situation they may never, in real life, appear.
Need some inspiration? Check out Tony Barnstone’s The 167th Psalm of Elvis,
David Trinidad’s clever Chatty Cathy Villanelle or Kate Durbin’s haunting prose poem
Marilyn: Leftovers, chronicling Marilyn Monroe’s personal effects.

I put a Rock ‘n’ Roll superstar
(take your pick)
to work in a factory


WORK SONG

Strange town
Longsight M13
What difference does it make?

Working 9 to 5
Money for nothing
A means to an end

The hardest thing in the world…

Something better change
I don’t like Mondays

Help!
I wanna be sedated

(Yeah, yeah) Industrial estate


Acknowledgements:

WORK SONG – Cannonball Adderly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBxAC4ywaJ4

Strange town – The Jam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4tEX8tm6qw

Longsight M13 – Ian Brown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV70kw7S7xQ

What difference does it make? – The Smiths http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5DE8UQnM5Y

Working 9 to 5 – Dolly Parton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpKAA2VxWY8

Money for nothing – Dire Straits http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5ZEzWwKJnY

A means to an end – Joy Division http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPG_TCX2Z0k

The hardest thing in the world - The Stone Roses http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLser2OWa74

Something better change – The Stranglers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSEOzimKnEY

I don’t like Mondays – The Boomtown Rats http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er5uuCYi7q4

Help! – The Beatles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU7JjJJZi1Q

I wanna be sedated – The Ramones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rxJroWIg1Y

(Yeah, yeah) Industrial estate – The Fall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKECj238-Lo

ABUSE, CRAMP, HATRED

For Three Word Wednesday
And Friday Flash 55


AFTER MATCH INTERVIEW

“You took a lot of stick from the crowd,
but still won the man-of-the-match award,
despite being replaced after going down with
severe cramp as early as the fifty fifth minute.”

“Yeah… they gave me some abuse, alright…
but you know Derby Matches…
Rivalry between opposing fans
can often turn into hatred.”

ANOUSHKA SHANKAR, MARTHA ARGERICH

FOR POW PROMPT 13


Marta Argerich and Anoushka Shankar are two brilliant musicians
who share similarities and striking differences in both culture and art media.
Let their magical performances inspire your next POW poem.
May the Musical Gods ring in your ears all weekend!


TRINITY

Digits dance along the fingerboard to match the speed of sound
Mesmerising the spectator with a rhythm to astound
Bengali family tradition in a Ravishing display
Of a master class sitar performance – takes your breath away

Half a world away Evita’s husband was responsible
For a choice of diplomatic post that made it possible
For a talented piano prodigy to win acclaim
Captivating global audiences; while she shunned the fame

Be it by inheritance or divined by intervention
Music lives and breathes and prospers long after its invention
Three in one the composition from Prime Numbers One Two Three
Fathers, daughters, spiritus conspire; revered - a trinity

YESTERDAY,TODAY, TOMORROW

For We Write Poems

Today’s prompt from Mary is a simple one:
Write a poem of three stanzas.
Begin the firrst stanza with the word “Yesterday,”
the second stanza with the word “Today,”
and the third stanza with the word “Tomorrow.”

I added a fourth verse, to write:


THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

Yesterday I changed my mind
Not my decision; my mind
Yesterday I knew nothing
My attitude gave me strength
Educated me anew
Today I know so much more

Today all knowledge is mine
Not yours, not ours to share; mine
Today I know everything
My arrogance gives me pride
Questions my education
Tomorrow I will know less

Tomorrow my light will fade
Not switch off completely; fade
Tomorrow I’ll know… something
My loss will give me wisdom
At an educated guess
The next day I’ll know for sure

The next day will be my last
Not penultimate; my last
The next day I will know what’s next
My God will take me away
No need for education
The next day God will know best

TITLES

For Writers Island prompt #13 2010
And Monday Poetry Train Revisited


PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER

Interstellar overdrive
Cigarettes and alcohol
Sex and drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll
Magical mystery tour

Sunday morning coming down
Every day is like Sunday
If God will send his angels
Happiness is a warm gun

I am the resurrection
The man who dies every day
Someone saved my life tonight
Hiroshima, mon amour

The girl with the dirty shirt
Lady with the spinning head
To know her is to love her
Everybody’s everything

I’ve got my mind set on you
Twentieth century fox
Can you feel the love tonight?
I will never be untrue

Believe that I understand
Only love can break your heart
Stay a little bit longer
Let’s spend the night together

In the future when all’s well
Whenever God shines his light
Take good care of my baby
Shine on you crazy diamond.


Acknowledgements:

MORCHEEBA: Put everything together
PINK FLOYD: Interstellar overdrive
Shine on you crazy diamond.
OASIS; Cigarettes and alcohol
The girl with the dirty shirt
IAN DURY: Sex and drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll
THE BEATLES: Magical mystery tour
To know her is to love her
Take good care of my baby
JOHNNY CASH: Sunday morning coming down
MORRISSEY: Every day is like Sunday
In the future when all’s well
U2: If god will send his angels
Happiness is a warm gun
Lady with the spinning head
THE STONE ROSES: I am the resurrection
ULTRAVOX: The man who dies every day
Hiroshima mon amour
THE DOORS: I will never be untrue
Twentieth century fox
SANTANA: Everybody’s everything
GEORGE HARRISON: I’ve got my mind set on you
ELTON JOHN: Someone saved my life tonight
Can you feel the love tonight?
MAGAZINE: Believe that I understand
NEIL YOUNG: Only love can break your heart
UB40: Stay a little bit longer
THE ROLLING STONES: Let’s spend the night together
VAN MORRISON: Whenever God shines his light

BAIT, JUMP, VICTIM

For Three Word Wednesday
and Friday Flash 55


FISHING

“Have you caught anything yet?”

“Have I? Take a look in that big bucket.”

“Wow! What bait are you using?”

“Just bread…
With a ‘special’ luring substance.
It makes those fish jump!”

“Well, I know what we’ll be eating tonight.”

“I just have to land my next victim.
Then we can set up the barbecue!"

CELEBRATE

For Big Tent Poetry

This week’s prompt
This week is my birthday week, and one of the things I’m hoping to do to celebrate
is to host a living room salon in which some IRL poetry friends read their favorite poems.
So I thought we could do something with favorite poems here, too.
What is your favorite poem? What about it makes it your favorite?
Does it contain an image that rocks your poetry world? Does it provide a realization that changes you?
Do you admire its poetic devices (metaphor, alliteration, repetition, form, etc.)?
Whatever it is you like about your favorite poem, try to use that in a poem of your own.
(Remember, when you post to your blog — or here — do not paste the entire text of someone else’s poem.
Try to find the text online to link to, if you would like. It’s not necessary to quote the text of the poem;
we’re most interested in a description of what attracts you to your favorite poem.
And if you borrow something significant from the poem — like a line or an image —
be sure to give credit by saying “a poem after ______” or “with a line from ________.”)


INFLUENCE

Click to hear ‘The Stranger Song’ by Leonard cohen

What words could best convey
What voices never say? Should they
Compare a woman to a rose
A summer flower?

Without the metaphor, the rhyme
The memory gets lost in time
Like friends forgotten, words become neglected
And repetition makes our words effective

The repetition makes our words effective

And time spent changing plans
Perfecting formats, rhythm spans
Internal rhyme; worth every dime
Each patient moment

The finished product on the page
Like finest wine, improves with age
Uncorked, its complex balance never tires us
In years to come, its image serves to fire us

In verse to come, our homage will inspire us

S.A.W.

FOR WE WRITE POEMS

Surrealist automatic writing works like this:
“Sit at a table with pen and paper; put yourself in a ‘receptive’ frame of mind, and start writing. Continue writing without thinking of what is appearing beneath your pen. Write as fast as you can. If, for some reason, the flow stops, leave a space and immediately begin again by writing down the first letter of the next sentence. Choose this letter at random before you begin, for instance, a ‘t’, and always begin this new sentence with a ‘t’. Although in the purest version of automatism nothing is ‘corrected’ or re-written the unexpected material produced by this method can be used as the basis for further composition. What is crucial is the unpremeditated free association that creates the basic text.” (from Surrealist Games by Alastair Brotchie)
So for this week’s prompt, do just that. Choose a letter of the alphabet at random, then sit down (either with a pen and paper, or with a blank page of your word processing software), clear your mind of any preconceived thoughts/notions/images, and just start writing or typing. If you get stuck, then stop and jump down to the next line: begin writing the next sentence with your randomly chosen letter. Write for about ten minutes.
Now, you have your written material. You have the choice of either a) posting your unedited poem, b) turning the raw material into a poem by only modifying minor elements such as punctuation and line breaks, or c) using the raw material and modifying it as much as you need for a new poem. If you like, you can post your unedited writing session along with your finished poem if you do either b) or c).


TONIGHT

Tonight
My mind trickles
Undeveloped thoughts
It’s a dripping tap
Keeping me awake

I don’t want to waste
A single drop
So I won’t try
To pull the plug
On the dripping tap
Keeping me awake

But the trouble
That always comes
With a dripping tap
Keeping me awake

Is this:

As the drops begin
To accumulate
The noise that comes
From the dripping tap
Keeping me awake
Strengthens to a thud

Each

Splash

Serves only to prolong my insomnia

Because

Although

I hear

Each one

Clearly

The sounds

They make

SHATTER

On touchdown

My concentration
Diminishes
Is diluted
As distraction
Becomes annoyance
At that dripping tap
Keeping me awake

A paradox
Accompanies
Annoyance
At distraction
Diluting
Diminished
Concentration
Triggered by
Dripping tap
Keeping me
Awake

I’m still no closer
To the solution
To the dripping tap
Keeping me awake
Tonight

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?

FOR POW PROMPT 12


POW has been up and running for three months already. So, for a treat and for being such nice poets you can write a prompt to ' What's On Your Mind?' Let us know what you are thinking. Are you thinking about?a childhood experience joining a choir aphids in your roses your wife's family getting a tattoo learning to ride a camel changing your image redecorating learning the tango finding God becoming a hermit falling in love again broken spectacles getting a gold fish reinventing yourself starting a cult something you have read ditching a friend learning to meditate becoming a vegan a scene from a movie sending your kids to boarding school environmental issues or anything at all
Hey, I think I have just written mine!I look forward to your meaty, juicy, personal poems next Wednesday.


JUST A THOUGHT

Click to hear What Goes On

The thing on my mind is thought
The most fundamental of functions

Thoughts may be triggered by words
Perhaps a current event
A previous encounter
An action now in progress
An action already completed

Thoughts may have influences
They may be original

A thought may enter the mind
And dwell in the consciousness
Waiting to be joined by other thoughts
When the Thought Process may begin

Equally likely it may take
Residence in the sub-consciousness
Where it may lie dormant, or
Just remain under-developed
For any period of time
From a fraction of a second
To years, or even decades

When a single thought develops
Into a cohesive
Series or sequence of thoughts
Then an Idea is born

This idea may become a plan
To do, or to use something
Or to make available
The knowledge of some thing

Putting a plan into action
May be relatively simple
Or may be extremely complex
Requiring extensive research

But once put into practice
And made available
To the general public
Private organizations
Or individuals
Every idea or concept
Is subject to repercussions

Ranging from; popular acceptance
Approval and gratitude
Rejection, disappointment
Or even opposition
- To official recognition
Endorsement by authorities
Or criminal proceedings
For any number of
Potential technical infringements
From someone who thought of it first

LIGHTNING FIRST…

For Carry On Tuesday
Lightning first, then the thunder.
And in between the two…

And posted to Monday Poery Train Revisited


AFTER THE DROUGHT








Lightning first, then thunder
In between the two... a gap
Counting down the seconds
Till the mighty clap

Time to concentrate
On the need of the masses
And forget about
The greed of upper classes

It’s that time of year when rainfall
Brings the precious gift of life
And without it, hardship
Poverty and strife

Spare a thought for those poor souls
Who keep your bellies full
When, on holiday
The sky above turns dull

REUNION

For Writers Island prompt #11


MORCHIT ‘02

Six weeks of separation
Spent in a hospital bed
Comes to an end at Morchit
Bangkok’s Northern Terminal

Lack of communication
An undelivered message
A misinterpretation
A look of indifference

A display of evidence
Hospital wristband, pictures
Adjustment of attitude
A family reunites

A sharp intake of fresh air
Such as it is in Bangkok
Precedes a sigh of relief
And an embrace of welcome

Apologies accepted
For inadvertent blow dealt
Injuring a woman’s pride
Hurt, but not beyond repair

In place of accusations
Complaints, recriminations…
“I’m sorry for my doubts, but…
You have to show me the scar ;)"

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

For BIG TENT POETRY

This week’s prompt, by guest maestro Nathan Landau
Recently I’ve become enamored with the concept of steganography, a form of ‘security through obscurity’ in which a secret message is sent via an innocuous medium –– an image, a letter –– and decoded using a method known only to sender and recipient. The beauty is in the message being truly hidden in plain sight.
(You can read all about the history and uses of steganography on the Wikipedia article here.)
Steganography can be incorporated into writing in any number of ways, from specifically coded poems, to inside jokes and key words, to concealment of one concept within the conceit of another, but this week try keeping something in your poem hidden in plain sight. You can share your decoder ring with the other circus-goers if you please, or decide to keep the secret all to yourself and your recipient, it’s your call.
Alternatively, if secrecy isn’t your style, you could try and find the hidden in an already written poem: take your hand and place it vertically over half or three-quarters of a poem –– preferably one of your own pieces, though someone else’s works just as well (remember to credit the author!) –– and see if a hidden message leaps from the remaining uncovered line fragments.
Encoding or decoding, be sure to come back with your poems on Friday (and through the weekend) and let others in on the secret.
About our guest maestro
Every once in a while we’ll be sharing prompts offered by some of you, of our circus-goers. (Thanks for your generosity!)
This week’s prompt is Nathan Landau’s, who blogs at Poems About Nothing in Particular and is currently studying creative writing at Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin. Be sure to stop by and visit his blog, okay?


KNOWLEDGE BY NUMBERS

The quest for knowledge begins

Expecting a manual
Received a sheet of A4
Handwritten, vague instructions

Take a digital device

Such as a calculator
Liquid Crystal display
Light Emitting Diode

Enter a number sequence

Viewed from revised perspective
Tree Of Knowledge is revealed
Once-forbidden fruit is served

*
*
*

The combination number

Three, seven, six, oh, oh, six
Inverted reveals a word
Familiar to us all

BREATHLESS

For Friday Flash 55


55 IN 1

Imetoneofthosecrazypeopletheotherdayyouknowthetypewho
hastogetallhiswordsoutinasinglebreathwithoutpausingforair
likeanauctioneeronspeedwhileyoujuststandtherenoddingand
grinningbecauseyoyreallyhaven’tgotacluewhathe’sgoingonabout.

I met one of those crazy people the other day,
you know,
the type who has to get all his words out in a single breath
without pausing for air, like an auctioneer on speed,
while you just stand there, nodding and grinning
because you really haven’t got a clue
what he’s going on about.

N’EST-CE PAS…?

FOR POW PROMPT 11


LANGUAGE SPRINKLE SERIES...FRENCH

Write a poem in the style of Prevert with some French sprinkles.
Please provide a translation if you are going to use big chunks of French .
I look forward to some very varied and interesting poems next week.
A toute a l'heure (See you later)

Prévert wrote about life in post-war Paris
I wrote about life in pre-millennium Manchester.
I also included my second-favourite French song
(after Voulez Vous, by Abba)
Dans le port d’Amsterdam
In French by Jacques Brel
And in English
(In the port of Amsterdam)
By David Bowie


N’IMPORTE QUOI

Click to hear ‘Dans le port d’Amsterdam’ by Jaques Brel

“Voici comment je le vois…
Perte de temps
À mon avis
Elle est une perte de temps
À une supposition éclairée
Elle le voit… différentes
Mais je sais comment elle fonctionne
Précisément
C’est comme ça…
Je ne perdrais pas mes temps
Je n’ai pas la patience
Mon parti est pris
Je suis déterminé
Adamant
Comment sera-t-elle prendre?
Le temps nous dira
Je n’ai pas la patience
Je n’a même pas de soins
Voilà
Vous voyez?
On doit penser
On doit observer
Gardez les yeux sur la balle
Et si elle était là
En face de moi
Bien en vue
Je ne perdrais pas mes mots
Disait-elle
‘Je vous aime bien’
Et je dirais
‘Chouette’
Disait-elle
‘Je veux que vous’
Et je dirais
‘Super chouette’
Disait-elle
‘J’ai besoin de toi’
Et je dirais
‘Vachement chouette’
Disait-elle
‘Je t’aime’
Et je dirais…
...'N’importe quoi'…”


WHATEVER

Click to hear ‘In the port of Amsterdam’ by David Bowie

“Here’s how I see it…
Waste of time
In my opinion
She’s a waste of time
At an educated guess
She sees it… different
But I got her sussed
Right out
It’s like this…
I won’t waste my time
I don’t have the patience
My mind’s made up
I’m determined
Adamant
How will she take it…?
Time will tell
I don’t have the patience
I don’t even care
There you go
You see?
Gotta think
Gotta observe
Keep your eye on the ball
And if she was right there
In front of me
In clear view
I wouldn’t waste my words
She would say
‘I like you’
And I would say
‘Cool’
She would say
‘I want you’
And I would say
‘Well cool’
She would say
‘I need you’
And I would say
‘Really cool’
She would say
‘I love you’
And I would say…
…'Whatever’…”

YOU WHAT?

For The NaiSaiKu Challenge?
And The American Sandwich


NaiSaiKu

I do care… don’t I?
I do remember… don’t I?
I do know… don’t I?
?AM I WHAT I AM?
I don’t know, do I?
I don’t remember, do I?
I don’t care, do I?


AMERICAN SANDWICH

The World Cup, now over, will always be remembered for just one thing.
Not the re-opening of the debate on goal line technology.
The Vuvuzela; soon to become a thing of the ever-present.

TREASURE

For Writers Island prompt #11 2010


HIDDEN GEM

An open-minded attitude
A positive perspective
And a logical arrangement of each thought
An analytical approach
To complex problem-solving
Guarantees success in ways that can’t be bought
Correct decision-making
Comes from understanding tasks
Objectivity; unhurried route to goal
Your patience is rewarded
Once you crack the combination
Gaining access to the secrets of the soul

NEW MOTOR

For Friday Flash 55


A FRIEND IN NEED

He really wanted a brand new car but,
given the current economic climate,
he decided he’d have to settle for used.
This meant ready cash, and he was short.
“I need forty quid for a new car.”
He knew he could rely on his friend to bail him out.
“Here’s eighty… buy me one too…”

ACRID, BANE, TEPID

For Three Word Wednesday


ATTITUDE

Tepid; lethargic
Acrid by definition
The bane of my life

LOVE-HAT

For Big Tent Poetry


This week’s prompt

Way back in April I received a lovely poem in my inbox.
It was “The Love-Hat Relationship” by Aaron Belz,
sent by those wonderful folks at Poets.org for
National Poetry Month as a part of their Poem-A-Day.
I have been thinking about the love-hat relationship.It is the relationship based on love of one another’s hats.The problem with the love-hat relationship is that it is superficial.[...]
Go read the poem here, on the Poets.org website.
For this week’s prompt why not try a similar idea?
Think of a few well-known word couples and let (or compel) one of them go a little sideways.
Then set your mind free and write a poem.
It might be realistic, it might be surrealistic; it might be funny or serious.
But whatever it is, you will never see that word couple in the same way again.
Nor will your readers. And that is a fine thing for poetry to do!
Come back on Friday (and through the weekend) and let others read what mischief your words got into.
(Want to know about Belz and his poetry? Go to his website, which includes lots of links to places you can poke around,
including reviews of his latest book, Lovely, Raspberry.)


FISHING CHIPS

Up North
where I come from
where, when it’s not raining
it’s overcast
and people say
what they mean
and they mean
what they bloody well say
eating out means the Chippy.
Not Fish Bar
or Fish Shop
or Fish ‘n’ Chip Restaurant
We’re talking real Fishing Chips
(are fishing chips, chips that catch their own fish?)
They don’t do
French fries
pommes frites
Nouveau Cuisine
Not our cup of tea
They don’t do
mayonnaise dip
they only do
salt and vinegar
Economy gastronomy
cheap at half the price
cheap as chips
If it’s a big fish you’re after
for the larger appetite
they also do
double portions
twice the chance to catch that fish
twice as many fishing chips
fishing…?
(Should have seen the one that got away!)
Fishing chips catch
Haddock, Cod
(complete with rod
hook, line and sinker?)
Or, if you’re feeling flush
even Plaice
Mushy peas can be added
Bread and butter
and a mineral
Tea is served every night
at six o’clock
(Unlike the Americans
we eat dinner
at dinner time
noon)
Fishing chips for Friday tea
wrapped in greaseproof
and newspaper
up North
where I come from
where, when it’s not raining
it’s overcast

YEAST

For ABC Wednesday -Y


YEAST

LINE BY LINE

For We Write Poems


Stacy’s prompt:
“Often there are days when I want to write, yet when I put pen to paper, I draw only a bank.
When this happens you can forget a particular structure, much less legible subject matter.
Hence, my “Line by Line” poetry prompt was born.
My initial idea was to create a poem which delved into many subjects and topics,
all the while staying on the same page.
I was looking for a great reserve of creativity, some off-the-wall references,
and a lot of interesting tidbits to make one awseomely perfunctory piece of work.
Now, when there are no available prompts (or when a prompt just isn’t doing it for me)
I grab my “Line by Line” rules and am well on my way.
I hope you will find this prompt as much fun as I do!
There are fourteen parts (sort of fill-in-the blanks).
I usually require myself to write one line per question
(except for the questions that ask that you write more than one line),
which results in an eighteen line poem at minimum. Sometimes I go for more.
To prevent my poem from being just a body of random statements,
I try to tie them into one general idea.
For example, perhaps you are recalling a memory, or telling a story.
If you find yourself wanting to skip one or two, that’s fine too.
Writing should be a release from real life. Just let loose and have a great time!

1. A feeling 2. Observe the scenery of your immediate surroundings 3. Personification of an inanimate object 4. Use a metaphor 5. Spend four lines recalling a prominent memory 6. Use symbolism in a statement 7. Associate some form of weather to the feeling in #1 8. Tell a lie, about anything 9. Make a reference to a holiday or season 10. State a fact about a favorite artist or poet 11. Compare yourself to a specific piece from the artist/poet you used in #10 12. Negate the lie you told in #8, or further support or restate it 13. Describe a daydream or parts of a dream you’ve had 14. For the last two lines, refer to a vacationing location

I couldn't fit parts 10 & 11 into my piece:


WILDERNESS

Despondency, anxiety
Rice fields bear no rice
Fat Cats’ grain stores taunting me
My glass half-empty now
I toiled long hours; prepared the ground
Seeds I planted prospered
The sprouts I nurtured spread too thin
Too few and far between
Alarm bells rang; I overslept
My clock was running slow
The rain fell hard; too hard for some
Perished plots bear witness
The rice I reap will make me rich
Christmas harvest bonus
But drought has come to visit us
The worst we’ve seen in years
A vision, a recurring dream
Parched grass that bears no grain
Phuket’s tsunami in reverse
The carnage in its wake

ALL AMERICAN

For The American Sandwich
And The NaiSaiKu Challenge?


NaiSaiKu – or 2

Dutch double – some treat!
Only Robhino turned up
For so sad Brazil
THAT WAS THE WORLD CUP THAT WAS
So sad for Brazil
Only Robhino turned up
Dutch treat? Double Dutch!

Another gonner
Our ‘gent’, Tina – warra guy!
…Like Basil Fawlty.
QUARTER FINAL FLOPS
Faulty, like Brazil;
Paraguay, Argentina.
Ghana, the other


AMERICAN SANDWICH

On Tuesday mornings, when it’s midnight in UK, I make a sandwich.
This morning, I took the American Sandwich, NaiSaiKu challenge?
I make a sandwich, when it’s midnight in UK, on Tuesday mornings.


AMERICAN NaiSaiKu

On Tuesday mornings
When it’s midnight in UK
I make a sandwich
THIS MORNING I TOOK THE AMERICAN SANDWICH NaiSaiKu CHALLENGE?
I make a sandwich
When it’s midnight in UK
On Tuesday mornings


WHAT’S THIS? WALLS+WIRES

It’s a type of American Sandwich in the form of NaiSaiKu.
It’s an American NaiSaiKu.
It’s three American Sentences, with the second in UPPER CASE.


AN AMERICAN NaiSaiKu? AMERICAN SENTENCE

It’s a NaiSaiKu, with an American Sentence for the title.


HOW DO YOU DO IT/ NANO AMERICO^

Take a Haiku.
Turn it, to NaiSaiKu form, titled with an American Sentence.
American NaiSaiKu!

TRICK PHOTOGRAPHY

FOR POW PROMPT 10









Photo courtesy of the digital pixel mountain
(Neither Ansel Adams, nor Stan Ski claim any responsibility)

The prompt this week is the above photo.
This should challenge the imagination.
Hopefully the image will inspire some surreal and original responses.
It is time for something a little mad this week.See ya Wednesday with bells on.


SMILE PLEASE

Hold still and say ‘Cheese’
You’re on Candid Camera
Now, watch the birdie
Careful with that macro lens
You’ll have somebody’s eye out!


MACROBATICS

Since about 1984
My big brother’s been watching me
Through the lens of his automatic
Photographic device
Now I must keep my eye on him
Keeping his eye on me

This close up attention to detail
Is taking the zoning system
One f-stop step too far
Wouldn’t you agree, Ansel?

It may be a contradiction
To say this over-exposure
Develops to project
A negative image of me
Making my actions transparent
When I wish to remain low-key


ONE IN THE EYE FOR CUSTOMS

One can only imagine
Original intention
To ‘deter terrorist acts’
However, on reflection
(and two weeks in Majorca)
Government announcement
That the vast majority
Of ordinary tourists
Who’d endured the procedure
Felt it an infringement
On their civil liberties
An intrusion on their rights
And so the Coalition
Confirmed it intends to scrap
Plans to make compulsory
The Biometric Passport

IF I SHOULD DIE…

For Carry On Tuesday
If I should die, think only this of me

And Monday Poetry Train Revisited


STILL STANDING

The first time I died
Nobody noticed
No tears shed
No flowers
No regrets

The second time round
Only the killer
Was ever aware
And even then
It took ten years

Third time was different
It lasted longer
Missed by the two
People who knew
People who cared

If I should die
For a fourth time
Think only this
It’s not the end
Of me…

FORK IN THE ROAD

For Writers Island prompt #10 2010


ISAN MARKET DAY


















Twenty five miles of rice fields unfold
From fork to first traffic light
City limit, better watch your speed
Traffic cops are everywhere
Population, just sixteen thousand
Can’t find a parking space

Stop for roadside barbecued chicken
Stuffed full of lemon grass
One side order of sticky rice
Something wet to wash it down
Kafae ron; Doi Tung will do the trick
Served from a bicycle

Market stall holders open up now
Cuts of freshly-slaughtered beef
Pigs ears, trotters, noses, lips
Chickens, alive till sold
Just three types of chillies on the aisles
Yu-ak, chee far, khee noo

All that shopping sure makes a thirst rage
Cool drinks go down with the sun
Shophouse bar beer Chang on draught
At six point four ABV
Driver knocks back a pint of Red Bull
Won’t nod off at the wheel

Homeward; thirty five minute journey
Full beam to light the way
Step on the gas man, don’t slow down
Traffic cops’ day is done
Rewind twenty five miles of rice fields
Never a traffic light


Translations:
Kafae ron – hot coffee
Doi Tung – ‘Flag Mountain’, in Changrai province where coffee is produced
Yu Ak, Chee Far, Khee Noo – types of chilli

CLOTH

For Magpie Tales


LAST RESORT






As a last resort
Once we run out of red cloth
We can always make
Purple Man United shirts
DAWID BAK HAM - RON AND DO

WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?

For Friday Flash 55


MONDAY MORNING

“I was so traumatised by the ordeal of my kidnapping, I was unable to do my homework.”
“Do you expect me to believe that?”
“It’s true.”
“Do I look gullible?”
“Dunno what that word means.”
“Go and look it up then.”
“No point.”
“Why?”
“It’s the only word that doesn’t appear in the English Dictionary.”

HASSLE, INJECT, WEALTH

For Three Word Wednesday


CASHFLOW PROBLEM

Solvency hassle?
Inject some Robin Hood style
Wealth distribution