Elephant Small

EVAPORATED

2011-05-08T18:41:00.002+07:00

For A Wordling Whirl of Sundays
This week's words: tugs, seaweed, released, breathes, slides,water, river, supersedes, evaporation, mist, tiny, embroidered

WISH YOU WERE HERE?

Evaporation, condensation
Tiny particles of vapour
Mist, to you and me

Dreams released; truth supersedes them
Picture slides back into focus
Face reality

Your embroidered imagination
River cruising, water splashing
Sun soaked summer leave

Our experience – tug boats, seaweed
Frost bite, seasick and an oil slick
As I live and breathe…!

SEASON

2011-05-07T18:38:00.003+07:00

For Writers Island #19 - Season

CHILL

Her appearance was totally unexpected and her surroundings, though vaguely familiar were at the same time unusual. Instead of her customary preference to soft pastel shades, she wore a long, black cape, buttoned to the neck. The fur trimmed hood, thrown casually over her head, was speckled with delicate, white flecks of snow, fallen freshly from above. A trail of dark footprints in the icing sugar path behind her, led back to a point, where I could just make out slender tree trunks, rising and bowing to form a canopy of oversized leaves, enclosing the pathway like a tunnel. They faded out of vision in the descending gloom as a fresh fall of fine snow began.

As she opened her mouth to speak, an icy blast of air whipped her words away, whistling through the trees, and bringing with it a further, heavier fall of snow. A whirling wall of whiteness obscured the entire scene.

I awoke, shivering, disorientated and confused.

Initially, I attributed the chill I felt to the dream and my sudden return to consciousness. But as the chill continued to bite, I realised that I was experiencing something I’d not felt these past three years; cold. Not the artificial attempts of air conditioners, but the bone gnawing grip of winter.

“I’m still asleep.” I said out loud, immediately realising I wasn’t. It was almost light, so I sat up to take a look out of the window and try to make some sense of my dream. Outside, a thick blanket of fog, restricted vision to a few yards and an eerie silence added to my confusion. I inhaled a deep breath, which felt sharp as the cold hit the back of my throat. As I exhaled, a jet of steam shot from my mouth. For a fleeting moment, I imagined I was back in England and lightning flashes of memory reminded me of those bleak winter days, when it never quite seemed to get fully light.

LIMITED

2011-05-04T16:42:00.003+07:00

For We Write Poems - Take it to the limits

INTO MY MIND

I’m going
Into my head
To see if it’s true
What they said about
No bread and half a loaf
Both not the full shilling
But the thing that’s nearly
Killing me
The thing I’m
Really dying to know
Trying to be
Oh so sure of
And not just so by the law of
Averages
Is this:

What exactly is the score?

Now
I’m not the sharpest tool
But I’m not a fool
Or am I?
Can I be less
Serious?
Clearly this is more the case:
No empty space between your ears
May not be
All that it appears
A full loaf only half baked
Make no mistake
Believe you me
Is gonna be
Most detri…
…Mental…!

So you see it’s not true
What they said…

…Now I’m going
Out of my head

OUT OF MY MIND…

WORDLE WORLDE

2011-05-02T01:10:00.004+07:00

For A Wordling World of Sundays

This weeks words are: Aching, train, scribbling, thirst, resilient, sustain, revenge, visions, thrumming, animated, hillsides, whispered

BLACK SHEEP REPRISE

Resilient enough to sustain the pressure
Without upsetting your train of thought
You whispered calmly your good intentions
All the while, aching with thirst for revenge

Meanwhile, my head thrumming, I was having visions
Of you scribbling animated scenes
Of hillsides draped in death and destruction
... Like the ones you sketched when you were younger...

IF I KNEW YOU WERE COMING

2011-05-01T18:33:00.003+07:00

For One Single Impression - Borders
And Sunday Scribblings - Cake

UNCOMMON

Friday sunshine in that London
South of the North-South divide
Mouths open wide... in awe? Or is it for
Cup cakes, tea cakes, just like Ma'am makes?
Or a cup of tea and a slice of cake?

Highland pipers, piping out
The icing on the cake - Kiss me Kate
That wedding gown - the talk of the town
Designed by the last queen of Scotland
Makes you look dainty as a fairy
... Or some fairly Great Escape artist

Oh William, it was royally nothing!
Just some old thing I threw on
Had it since I was crowned McQueen
Miss Happy Meals, Two Thousand and One

This day has all the ingredients
(All the greed and ignorance)
Just don't mention the Battenburg
So many layers could emerge
And I do have a figure to maintain
So I'll refrain, on this Occasion
With the Nation looking on

Of course I want to have and to hold... it
But those commoners - we'll let them eat it!

DAY 30 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-30T00:30:00.002+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

LAST SHOUT?

Before you know it…
well…it’s all over.
That’s bar the shouting,
which in this here case
(and here at this place
- The Rub a Dub Dub -
which in this here case
is only the name
of your local pub
- not some Cockneyesque
Rhyming Slang thingy -
on tonight’s mission
to get legless; drunk,
you and your mates)
means shouting as in
shouting up the ale.
Your final round of drinks

YOUR FINAL ROUND OF DRINKS
(A Syllable Sestina)

“Your final round of drinks?”
Winks – “Pour off, my sound gal!”
Mal Brown sinks four… sigh… quaff
Froth shall fly! Blink, roar, frown…
Browned off? Normal… Drinks dry
five rounds – stinks of alc… More…?

DAY 29 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-29T00:04:00.008+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

I WOKE UP THIS MORNING…
(in a ditch within Crawling Distance of home)

Friday night, just finished work
By work I mean that thing I do
With bright orange, reflective tape
(Y’know, the sort that indicates
A potential roadside hazard)
To pass the time until that thing
That we all live for - the weekend
I’m not talking about that
Crime Scene/Police Line Do Not Cross/
Danger – Unexploded Mine
Type of tape, but rather that
Bog-standard, common or garden
Bright orange, reflective stuff
Supported by steel spiked poles
Used to cordon-off areas
To warn of road works… and such like
Y’know, to prevent accidents
That’s the theory, anyway
And the way the whole thing works
This very theoretical
Accident prevention thing
Is all down to one thing; this:
The reflective properties
Of the ultra-bright orange tape
Which is not only reflective
No – more, so much more than this
It’s thoughtfully reflective
Indeed one might even say
Considerately reflective
Because not only is it
Reflective of the light of day
But also it’s reflective
Of artificial light sources
During the hours of darkness
Which means you’d really have to be
Some kind of fool to miss it
…Wouldn’t you?

DAY 28 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-28T00:25:00.002+07:00

For Mad Kane’s humour blog
And posted to Writers Island

GOOD FIGHT

A fellow who loved a good fight
Had a go at the wrong guy last night
One punch to the jaw
Sent him straight to the floor
And our fellow was out like a light

A fellow who loved a good fight
Said ‘Come on then’ to guys twice his height
To guys twice his weight
‘Who you lookin’ at, mate?’
And to everyone else, ‘I’m hard… right!’

A fellow who loves a good fight
Gets involved in a brawl every night
He warns when he starts
He can do martial arts
A bit like Bruce Lee, but not quite…

DAY 27 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-27T00:03:00.002+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

OVER TIME

So you’re lying there
Feeling quite pleased with yourself
Feeling pretty smug
And you remember
Why it is you feel so smug
It’s only because

Despite getting drunk
You still managed to get home
On your own two feet
And you remembered
To set your mobile’s alarm
…Weekend overtime

Which doesn’t pay you
Enough to cover last night
What you drank, smoked, ate
But still worth having
Even after Income Tax
…Just about… innit?

It’s almost as though
You’re willing; even daring
The alarm to ring
And in doing so
You’re actually causing it
To sound its ringtone

Just as these smug thoughts
Of Mission accomplished, and
Next weeks fat pay cheque
Navigate the space
(Empty space) between your ears
The useless thing sounds!

And the reason for
The sudden transformation
From ordinary
Common or garden
Mobile communicator
To a ‘useless thing’?

A look at the time
Tells you it’s nine fifteen
Not seven fifteen
You’ve gone over time
Late for work an hour ago
What’s all that about?

DAY 26 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-26T01:14:00.001+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

FAST FOOD TO TAKE AWAY OR SIT-IN

To the chippy with Charlie it is then
“Fish ‘n’ chips twice mate,” Charlie shouts
Looks like he’s ignoring you, Charlie boy
“Fish ‘n’ chips twice mate,” he shouts again

“I heard you the first time, second and third
Saying ‘fish ‘n’ chips twice’ two times, makes four
Makes some people laugh… but you look drunk
So I’ll just… get your fish ‘n’ chips… twice”

“That would be nice, if you’d be so kind
Because what I really wouldn’t like
Is to have to ask you for a sixth time
I know my limit and you should know yours”

“Ha ha… a sixth time… I like your style…
O.K I’ll… just get on with it then”
“You’re a gentleman and a scholar
But I bet you already knew that”

“Oh, by the way, is it takeaway
Or is it, perchance, to sit-in?
Thought I’d better ask, ‘cos you never did say
And I wouldn’t like to get it wrong”

“Is that another one of your daft ‘jokes’… ?”
“What d’you mean…? Oh, I see… SIT in
You don’t wanna be sitting in your food
…I really never thought of it like that”

DAY 25 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-25T01:03:00.001+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

Brenda at Beyond the Bozone set us a wordle using the following words: cheap, steal, tissue, tattoos, quenching, pinwheels, replenish, piquant, diminished, creep, eternal, sharp, squeeze

INDELLIBLE

Sharp shooter, standing by
to squeeze artistic trigger,
designed tattoos proclaiming
promise of eternal life.

…They didn’t steal the creep show.

They (just like those pinwheels
of responsibility)
diminished to a three-ply
tissue of lies, lies, lies.

Merely cheap, fast comfort food
served with a piquant relish.
No intent to replenish;
just to leave a raging thirst

…that knows no quenching drink

DAY 24 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-24T00:31:00.001+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

FAST

On Friday nights we go to the pub
And meet up with a guy called ‘Fast’ Pete Jones
Asking him to shout up a round is
Like trying to get blood out of a stone

It’s true to say that Fast is really slow
But in a way he can be really fast
He’s always the first to ask ‘Who’s shout?’
But he makes sure he always shouts up last

He times his arrival at the pub
To coincide with the first pint being downed
So he’ll be last in line for the shout
And shouldn’t need to get a second round

Our mate Fast is a man with a plan
On a mission to dodge the rounds
Get drunk as a skunk, eat a takeaway
And all for only twenty pounds

Or sovs, or nicker, or even quid
Whichever slang term you prefer
Or years ago you could have said ‘notes’
When pound coins were still made out of paper

But what’s it gonna be on the menu tonight?
If Fast doesn’t waste his money on a cab
Maybe steak and kidney pudding and chips
Or perhaps he’ll get a doner kebab

He can never rush decisions like these
(We’ll make him buy more beer if we can)
But one thing’s for sure with our mate Fast
He’ll make certain he achieves his plan

DAY 23 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-23T00:07:00.002+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

HOW NAIROBIC?

When Doktir Nairobi speaks
The words of The Ancient Ones
“Close your eyes and visualise…”
Using Month Sixty techniques
Sixty degrees separate
The Pan-Pacific Process
From the other side of Time

The Transatlantic Thought Club
Enters a new dimension
Time and Space turn full circle
Three hundred sixty degrees
And Eternity transforms
From a theory; a concept
To an infinite domain

Inhabitants of Tiny Tree
Take a break to visit Time
Travellers like you and me
Experience Life On Earth

Time out from Eternity
To learn the lessons of Life
Our aim; to remember why
And from where and when we came

We use the Memory Chain
It’s not rocket science, it’s
Space Travel For Beginners
…How Nairobic is that…?

Doktir Nairobi is a fictional character
from the pen of Andy Sewina.
Click HERE to find out more.

DAY 22 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-22T00:08:00.003+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

I WANT, I WANT, I WANT!

When I stop to think
I often ask myself
What is it I want?
And then I ask myself
What do I want more?

I’m not a kid, you know
I know what I want
I don’t want everything
Just a tiny bit
Of everything there is

Most of all I want
The freedom to be free
Free to spread my wings
To soar above contempt
And be who I am

Another thing I want
Generosity
To leave you in no doubt
Of my intention
To give without question

Finally I want
The time to take in all
The love you can give
Your love keeps me happy
Wanting for nothing

Grant my three wishes
And I’ll be content
I’ll have all that I need
And, my life complete
I’ll die a happy man

DAY 21 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-21T01:02:00.000+07:00

For Mad Kane’s humour blog

And posted to Writers Island

CHUMLEY WOOSTERSHIRE TAME

A guy with a very long name
Claimed the same was to blame for his shame
Not just double-barrelled
It started with Harold
And went on – Cholmondley-Worcestershire-Thame

DAY 20 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-20T02:23:00.004+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

OLD GUYS

So, there’s this really old guy
With white hair and everything
Sitting in the pub tonight

Must be eighty at a guess
You’re thinking but you won’t ask
That’s because you’re too polite

Or too scared by the warning
The old guy continues with
Even as you’re deciding
Maybe just seventy eight

Because the oldest person
That you ever knew before
Was seventy eight years old
And looked very similar

…With white hair and everything

Though maybe a bit fatter
Than this old guy in the pub
But other than that, you think
Vey similar looking

…Although that guy could have been
An inch, two inches shorter

…Or would that have been taller?

Doesn’t really matter now
The one you knew dropped down dead
About seven years ago

But was very similar
…White hair… and… everything

…Or was he seventy six?

Whatever; the only thing
You’re able to remember
This other old guy saying
Just before you take your seat

Is, I quote; “And I should know
I’m seventy two years old
At least, that is, I will be
If I see this whole year out”

Which is so disappointing
Because you so wanted him
To be, say, seventy six

Even better still, eighty
As you initially thought
Then he’d definitely be
The oldest old guy you’d known

And you always get a buzz
When a new and personal
Record is set… don’t you just?

DAY 19 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-19T01:27:00.000+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

From a suggestion by Dominic Berry of Animal Writes
First line: His greatest fear was…
And include some or all of these words: green, salt, clouds, shatter, sticky, ostrich, nails, oil, baking, peel,

IT’S JUST NOT CRICKET

His greatest fear was the other side
Where the green, green grass is always greener
And there just ain’t a man between you worth his salt
Their heads are in the clouds, the other team’s are
Don’t wanna shatter anyone’s illusions
But you might just reach the same conclusion
That you’re always on a sticky wicket
When your cricket team’s heads are buried in the sand
Just like the proverbial ostrich
But why so nervous?
No nails, he’s chewed his fingers to the bone
‘cos their captain’s done a runner with his wife
No-one home to linseed oil his cricket bat
Do the baking, peel the spuds
What was responsible for that?
His greatest fear was

DAY 18 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-18T02:16:00.001+07:00

Posted to Writers Island
Brenda at Beyond the Bozone set us a wordle using the following words:
Silver, phrase, scars, inept, forever, message, flattery, perfume, sprouting, crescendo, crude, recounts

ANNIVERSARY

Unopened package
Contents; predictable

Printed message
‘FOREVER BEAUTIFUL’

Same ironic phrase
Same crude attempt at flattery

This gift of cheap perfume
The same inept apology
He uses every year

Anger taking root
Sprouting dark thoughts
That build to a crescendo
As she recounts the incident…
The cause of those silver scars

DAY 17 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-17T02:55:00.001+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

SHED GEAR

It’s all shed gear though, innit?
Not stuff you put in your shed
Stuff that does your shed, right in

Remember; when I say ‘shed’
I obviously mean ‘head’
And I’ll qualify that

Not stuff you put on your head
No… I’m not talking head wear
Like it’s some French to English

Guillaume; meaning William
Garderobe; meaning Wardrobe
Or Gear; translating to Wear

G to W exchange
Thingy, or something like that

No… Stuff that does your head in
And I mean right in… Got it…?

DAY 16 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-16T04:12:00.003+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

AN OFFER I CAN REFUSE

None of what they say to me
Is written down on paper
Do they really think they can
Expect me to remember?

Some of what they say to me
Seems to contradict itself
Their minds forever changing
In a constant state of flux

Half of what they say to me
Is intended to confuse
The other half is bullshit
That’s not just my opinion

Most of what they say to me
Is inept and insincere
Delivered by their spokesmen
And designed for flattery

All of what they say to me
Sounds hastily prepared
The words they use sound hollow
And the way they say them, crude

Finally they say to me
‘Take your time to think it through’
What I want to say to them
Would be better left unsaid

DAY 15 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-15T02:40:00.002+07:00

Posted to Big Tent Poetry
and Writers Island

LIAR

It’s not true that… it’s just not true
You’re barking up the wrong tree
Making it up as you go along
Telling pork pies; conning me

You’re so wrong; man… you got it wrong
You’re having a laugh; must be
You’re pulling the wool over my eyes
Making a fool out of me

It’s not on, pal… it’s so not on
Your words aren’t deceiving me
I swear it’s a lie, and I should know
You can’t kid a kidder… see?

DAY 14 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-14T01:22:00.006+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

First, a Kenning from a suggestion by Dominic Berry of Animal Writes

THE CLOCK STRUCK FIVE

Town Hall
The clock struck five
When it was quarter to
That was just one of its faces
Of four

And a limerick for Mad Kane’s humour blog

GUILELESS & SWEET

A girl who seemed guileless and sweet
Wrote a note on a boat in the Fleet
‘Dear Captain…’ she penned
‘Our romance must end
First we meet, then you cheat… you’re dead meat…!’

And a bit of fun with words – It’s an Acrostic, reading down the page from the first letter of each line and reading back up the page from the last letter of each line. Also each line is an anagram of the title.

FOURTEENTH POST

For the soup tent
on the turf ; poets.

(U.S. font there…
>>>>>>>>>>>>>P.T.O)

Re the fount stop;
ton-up for test, eh?

Enter ‘FOOT’; push ‘T’
…er, ‘F.T.’ to shut/open…
No… put fresh tote,
‘the post fortune’,
hot fortune pest!

Post, Teeth ‘n’ four
others… sent to P.F.U.
Spent to fret U… ho!
Thus tenet proof…!

DAY 13 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-13T02:59:00.002+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

SIX AND TWO THREES

Father; Slav
Mother; Anglo-Saxon
Making me
Mixed race
Technically
An Ethnic Minority
But only by default
So some might say
In my case
You could say
It’s a stand-alone status
Without official
Recognition
No visible
Distinguishing features
No support group
No discussion forum
I look and sound the same
As all the rest of us
Caucasians

Because my history
And recent history
Occurred the way they did
I have no history
Only fading memories
Of faded traditions
And soon to be forgotten
Customs and culture

If, like me, you’ve spent
A life away from home
In a land that’s not your own
While your father’s homeland
Remains a foreign place
To him as well as you
Then so the search begins
For a place to call home

And all the while
You do your best
To fit in
Between the sniggers
And nervous smiles
The distrust
Uncertainty
Suspicions
Snide comments

“He’s not one of us…
At least not one of them…”

“What’s your name… er… mate?”

“Ski-bin-ski…Spelt as said”

“That’s a mouthful innit?”

“I suppose… I never thought…
What do you call yourself?”

“E-ther-ing-ton… with a ‘th’…”

“Oh yeah… that’s…
So much easier…
To say… and to spell…”

And so it goes on
You get used to it
…I suppose

DAY 12 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-12T00:46:00.004+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

Brenda at Beyond the Bozone set us a wordle using the following words: ash, gloomy, hovels, corrugated, cobwebs, dandelion, scrambling, hum, laugh, feeble, crucial, words

THE FACE OF CONCERN

Are we supposed to give up
On everything we hold dear
Just because it’s Ash Wednesday?
Just because we feel gloomy?

Because we live in hovels
With corrugated tin roofs?
Rooms full of dust and cobwebs
Yards, where dandelions grow?

Make the most of what we’ve got
Or spend our entire lifetime
Scrambling to avoid the hum
Of a deprived neighbourhood?

You can choose to listen, or
Laugh at my feeble attempt
At crucial words of wisdom
Either way, the choice is yours

And here's a link to a 40 line sentence (38 actually), I wrote last year.

DAY 11 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-11T03:55:00.002+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

EARLY DOORS

Pete the Parky’s already in
And he’s well on form tonight
He’s not a real Parky though
Is he…?

In fact he’s never been
Any kind of Greenkeeper
Council or otherwise
Has he…?

It’s just that P-word thingy
Sounds good tagged on to his name
Conversation piece nickname
As Peter likes to call it
Doesn’t he…?

And he just loves telling folk
He meets for the very first time
All about the adventures
In local parks and gardens
He’s had…!

And what an important service
He and his fellow Parkys
Or Greenkeepers, provide
For the local community
Innit…?

DAY 10 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-09T16:43:00.000+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

QUITE THE OPPOSITE

If I asked myself

“Did you remember

To buy cheese today?”

In all likelihood,

I’d probably say

“Quite the opposite”

But that’s not because

It’s like I’d forget

To buy cheese today

No, nothing like that

“What am I thinking?”

I’d probably ask

Then maybe I’d say

“So you remembered?”

So I’d qualify

‘Quite the opposite’

My response would be

“No, no… I FORGOT…

Forgot to SELL… CHALK

…You know… YESTERDAY...

DAY 9 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-09T04:44:00.003+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

THE BEDSITTER

What’s in the fridge then?
Cup-a-soup, already made
As luck would have it
Yesterday, the day before
Microwave, highest setting

Four or five minutes
Old stuff edible again
Nuke it; only way
It’s not worth taking chances
Especially on Friday night

Oh great… wholemeal bread!
What’s wrong with Mothers Pride White
Bit hard round the crust
Pack left open in the fridge?
…Can’t wait till Sunday at Mum’s

DAY 8 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-08T03:23:00.002+07:00

Posted to Big Tent Poetry

This week’s prompt(s)

We are into April, National Poetry Month,
and some of you are madly writing-a-poem-a-day.
And some of you are saying, “Um, no.”
To keep all our circus-goers happy and well-fed
on cotton candy (inspiration) and peanuts (prompts),
here is a list of seven prompts:

1. Write about a broken window.
2. Write about something that no longer exists.
3. Write a poem with lungs in it.
4. Write a poem as though you are a fish.
5. Write a letter poem to someone in a war zone or a revolution.
6. Write a poem that starts, “I am sorry about _____.”
7. Write a poem that starts, “Legend says ______.”

Also posted to Writers Island

JOHN DOE

Just like me he used to smoke
Hand rolled reefers; cigarettes
That’s what they tell me at least

So I set about my task
Tobacco at the ready
Tissue-thin rolling paper
Sprinkle, roll, lick, seal and light

Fill both lungs full of toxins³
Exhale to his memory
Friend of a friend of a friend

The death of a chain-smoker
Who survived Afghanistan⁵
Only to fall to Cancer
At the age of twenty nine

Legend says he’s a hero⁷
History thinks otherwise
Local history at least

Our man – let’s call him John Doe
Is a year passed-on today
Played his part for his country
In a scene from Hell On Earth

Back to civilisation
Where the Peace On Earth Brigade
Play a war-game of their own

Hiding behind their morals
Those without, sin; cast their stones
Music to rabble’s ears, who
Love the sound of window pain¹

…Stones and glasshouse residents

Hero saves another day
Takes his wife into his arms

She’s beside herself, poor soul
And flapping about the house
Like a fish out of water⁴

Justice – what’s all that about?
Whatever became of it?
The justice heroes deserve…?

Alas it no longer exists²
…If it ever did at all

I am sorry about that⁶

DAY 7 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-07T13:38:00.002+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

SUPER

Only takes a minute
Innit?
A smile
A nod and a wink
Don’t you think?
And sworn enemies
Are reborn best friends
Time mends
The deepest rift
Attitudes shift
And happy days
Replace the haze
And hopes are raised
Remember yesterday’s
Childish game?
I claimed my dad
Was bigger than yours
But of course
Yours was bigger than mine
That’s fine
But mine drives a Batmobile
And he can see
Through solid steel
For real!
And he flies the open skies
With an ‘S’ on his chest
He’s the best!
But me
I’m no Superman
Maybe
Desperate Dan
Less than a hero
On a scale from zero
To ten
Me, a hero?
Think again!

DAY 6 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-06T04:34:00.007+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

PALINDROMIC ACROSTIC AMERICAN SANDWICH STYLE NAISAIKU

Dentally tortureD
Excruciating toothacheE

Thursday afternoon, I saw the local dentist for an appointmentT
About ten minutes late and I was overcome by the aromA
Rushing around the surgery like a madman, gasping for fresh aiR

THURSDAY APPOINTMENT

Reclining into the dentist’s chair, I fell into a deep slumbeR
Agony followed as he injected my lower gum areA
That’s definitely the last time I’ll see that particular dentisT

Excruciating toothacheE
Dentally tortureD

Not exactly pwoemwrds, but fun with words anyway

Tomorrable – Not possible today, but next day, sure.

Lardsm – Fat bloke

Bootyful – Fat woman

Secondomery – as practiced by:

Secondomerists – following the principles of:

Secondomerism – A political movement supported by corrupt M.P’s

DAY 5 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-05T04:31:00.004+07:00

Posted to Writers Island
and Mad Kane's Humor Blog

4 5’s 4 5 - (Four fives for five)

A fellow was fit to be tied
Then hung with fresh herbs to be dried
It suffices to say
He’s still hanging today
But he’ll soon be chopped up to be fried

A fellow was fit to be tied
As he walked past the hangman he sighed
“Spare a life would you, mate?
For the usual rate…”
A request which the hangman denied

A fellow was fit to be tied
To a bride who had recently died
“If only she’d cared”
The sad groom declared
“It takes pride to reside by her side”

A fellow was fit to be tied
To an ambulance fifteen feet wide
Then dragged through a field
Until he was healed
Of what illness he could not decide

DAY 4 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-04T04:26:00.007+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

WORD VERIFICATION:

TaRDist

What’s a Tardist?

What’s it got?

What’s a what?

What’s a Tardist?

Not a ‘what’
No it’s not
It’s a ‘who’
As in Time Lord Doctor Who

Who’s a Tardist?
You say Doctor Who is a Tardist?

Doctor Who is only The only Tardist
Pilot of a Time Machine
No less
Tell me you can see what I mean

Oh yes

To drive a TARDIS
Is not the hardest task to face
Regardless of Time and Space
In any case
They’re mere dimensions
Inventions created by Man
Doctor Who is no big fan
Because Who really is the man

So what’s a Time Lord?

Who’s a Time Lord
Who’s a ‘who’ who should be adored
And his TARDIS Temple should be toured
On journeys through Relative Dimensions
Extensions we positively activate
While we celebrate the times he’s saved
The day, the age
Wave upon wave
Of Daleks invading Earth
It was worth the Time Lord’s time
Time after time
The Doctor’s worth every dime
Who’s sublime?

Doctor Who, that’s Who

Who‘s Doctor Who?

You know who
You know Doctor Who
Who’s the Tardist

DAY 3 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-03T16:58:00.002+07:00

Posted to Writers Island

ON YOUR DAY

Always in my thoughts

Miles away, years departed

Happy Mother’s Day

DAY 2 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-02T15:57:00.004+07:00

Posted to Writers Island
and Big Tent Poetry

SECONDS

Floor level base
Place name; City Row
Income generation;
Class act skin gear fiddle
Time around World War year
'Lieutenant' in command

Sight person sitting
Interview, rate chance
String thoughts
Form opinion
Best guess
Helping hand
Coming home to none

DAY 1 - NAPOWRIMO 2011

2011-04-01T17:08:00.003+07:00

For NAPOWRIMO 2011 Day 1
Posted to Writers Island
and Big Tent Poetry

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

It's starting
Just beginning
When will it finish?
Where will it end?

From start to finish
From beginning to end
It's starting to finish
Beginning to end

HAPPINESS

2010-12-13T20:10:00.002+07:00

For We Write Poems - The Pursuit of Happiness
And posted to Monday Poetry Train Revisited

STARTER'S ORDERS

You'll always be at least one step behind
Don't ever let it out of your sight
You'll never get ahead of it
So aim to catch up with it
And if, and when, you do
Grab it with both hands.

With all your heart
Cherish it...

Own it...

On your marks...

Get set...

Go...!

NUMBERS GAME

2010-11-30T20:58:00.002+07:00

For We Write Poems

NUMBER’S UP

Wake up O-seven O-O

Bathroom, for a number one
Or maybe a number two
Then four minutes in the shower

At forty five Centigrade

Breakfast – bet you can’t eat three
Cup of coffee, zero milk
One sugar… stirred to the left

Twelve paces to the front door

Into my four door saloon
A sixteen hundred cc
Five forward gears, one reverse

Some take the ninety nine bus

Arrive at work eight thirty
Day starts at nine on the dot
Ends at five, or thereabouts

Then back home, to Number Nine

Takeaway dinner tonight
Chinese, number forty two
Pork in green pepper, black beans

Two or three glasses of wine

Then up thirteen stairs, to bed
And I don’t mean forty winks

Morning, back to the grindstone
Five days a week, forty hours
Fifty two weeks every year

Until I reach sixty five…

Then, one day… my number’s up…

GRATITUDE

2010-11-27T23:33:00.002+07:00

For Writer’s Island prompt #31 2010

THANKSGIVING

Although not American
On this day, especially
I have reason to recall
And reasons to be grateful

Funny how you remember…
(Some things, you just don’t forget)
Must be fifteen years ago
… Seems like only yesterday

You didn’t ask me for it
But I knew you wanted it
You didn’t even say it
But it was clear you meant it

Just an item of clothing
But you folded it, neatly
Tucked it into bed with you
Probably dreamt about it

It was such a privilege
I’m eternally grateful
For having witnessed such an
Expression of gratitude

DON'T GIVE UP THE DAY-JOB

2010-11-25T23:12:00.003+07:00

For Big Tent Poetry – wordle

WORKAHOLICS?

Only just awake if truth be known
Still hung-over from last night’s session
Pen in hand, and a freshly inked nib
I check-in my pal, another lush
so the boss won’t know he’s passed out, drunk
We blame the clunk and thud of presses
(and the Coalition Government)
for a condition that resurfaced
when we thought it was under control
We’ve both spent time at de-tox session
Been named, shamed and dragged over the coals
Forklifted from the ash-pit, hand washed
and hung over the boiler, to dry
Still we don’t seem to understand why
the consumption of alcoholic
beverages is prohibited
while operating machinery

METAPHOR

2010-11-22T17:52:00.003+07:00

For Writers Island #30 2010 – Peerless
And We Write Poems – Swimming
Ans posted to Monday Poetry Train Revisited

UNTOUCHABLE

Morning, bathed in rays of golden sun

Met her for a sink or swim showdown
Hoping we could pool our resources

Shall we synchronise watches? I try
Should have gone to greater lengths than that
Am I in her thoughts…? Won’t hold my breath

Learn to crawl before you walk; she laughs
That would take a stroke of luck; I think
One of us may have to take a dive
Which will send me right back to square one

Passing on the water; ships – that’s us
In her presence, I’m out of my depth
She’s aloof; Madame’s a butterfly
Floating freestyle through a crowded room
Clutching secrets to her heaving breast

BREAKTHROUGH

2010-09-04T15:03:00.002+07:00

For Writers Island prompt #19

RECESSION PERSISTS

State of the art premises
Cutting edge machinery
Microchip technology
Computer Aided Design
A world class management team
And a highly skilled workforce
A winning combination
A recipe for success

One ingredient missing
… The Mother of Invention

Poems hang out where life is.

2010-08-31T14:03:00.014+07:00

For Big Tent Poetry

This week’s prompt
Poems hang out where life is. – Susan Wooldridge
So you’ve spent most of the summer at the pool (or the lake or the beach) and you’ve hardly written any poems. (Or maybe that’s just me). Maybe you’ve been working too hard at your day job and you’re just not feeling the poetry. Whatever the cause, if you are feeling your well is dry (or even if you’re not), it’s high time to make a word pool!
For this week’s prompt you’re going to need a little notebook, something you can carry with you in your pocket. And you’re going to need to, as I say to my young art students, open your artist eyes and ears. Because before you write your poem this week, you’re going to look and listen and gather all the words and phrases your world has to offer.
“Pick me, pick me!” you hear the neighbor kid shouting. Write it down. “… no reading required,” you spy on your child’s Memory game. Write it down. Step outside your door and write down the first five things you see: cracked stair, beach towel, empty bird bath, overgrown garden, green plastic watering can. Go back inside and raid the pantry: cumin, ground pepper, canned spinach, lazy susan.
The idea of a word pool is one I originally learned from Susan Wooldridge in her wonderful book, Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words. As she describes the process in her second book, Foolsgold,“Gather words at random, sloppily, aslant, in circles, even upside down on a page.” Once I started really opening my eyes and being in tune to all the amazing words and phrases just waiting to be used in a poem, I couldn’t stop writing them down.
This week, give yourself permission to eavesdrop and steal. Take words in the name of poetry and call them yours. Then weave your favorite words into a poem. It’s like a Wordle, but more personal!
Then come back, starting Friday, and share* your poem!
*When posting, it might be nice to tell everyone a little bit about where and how you collected your words!

WHERE THERE’S LIFE, THERE’S HOPE

Hopes seemed dashed at breakfast time
What to do? Four souls to feed
Fridge is empty, shelves are bare
No frozen, processed, powdered
Conveniently pre-packed
Early signs suggest a need
For vital kitchen upgrade
Improvement for little room

A fresh approach is required
Open window raises hopes
Outdoor edible menu
Organic, free-range produce
Vegetables, spices, herbs
Bounty hunter's net result

But what’s on today’s menu?
Fresh fruit salad for starters
Main course cock-a-doodle doo
Sticky staple; just dessert

Bill of fare, no price to pay
Bob’s your uncle; problem solved

Notes: Kitchen, bare shelves, empty fridge, window
‘Edible menu’ lifted from this post
Sights: banana, papaya, mango, coconut, tamarind, men fishing, rice fields, chickens, sugar cane, honey
Life: vital signs; walking, crawling, swimming, flying, growing all around
Hope: dashed, raised, Bob ‘your uncle’ Hope
Improvement for little room; twist on room for improvement
Bounty hunters net result = fish
Sticky staple = rice
And it’s all free!

WORDLE YOURSELF

2010-08-29T23:13:00.007+07:00

FOR WE WRITE POEMS

Nicole Nicholson brings us this week’s prompt, which is to Wordle yourself. She says,
“For this week’s prompt, we’re going to do a little something interesting. You’ll make your own Wordle from one (or more) of your own poems, and then write a new poem out of the resulting Wordle.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1. Visit http://www.wordle.net/ and click on the “Create your own” link near the top left of the page.
Step 2. Paste the text of one of your poems into the first text box at the top of the “Create” page.. If your poems tend to be under ten lines or if you wrote a bunch of really rockin’ short form poetry (like haiku, haynaku, lunes, or tanka) then you can use several of those poems for this exercise.
Step 3. Click the “Go” button right below the text box. You will be taken to the resulting page where your brand new Wordle will appear! (Note: you can monkey around with the color, font, and layout as you like using the menu options shown above your brand new Wordle.)
Step 4. Write down between six and twelve of the largest words in your Wordle and use those words to write a brand new poem.
Here’s an example of a Wordle that I did this with my poem, Backwards. You’ll have to come back Wednesday for the Post Your Poems post to see my resulting poem.
If you can’t do the Wordle for technical reasons, then here’s another way to approach the prompt: take a poem (or two, or five) of your own and pick out between six and twelve of your most frequently used words, and then write a new poem.
Feel free to post your Wordle image with your poems. And have fun with the prompt this week!”

Wordle from this post

GUILTY SECRET

You moved in circles populated by important men
To centre your attention on your own self-serving needs

Conflicting images, provoked by indirect, free thought
Compel you to explore the words that issued from your lips

As ready as you’d ever be to face up to your flaws
Your weaknesses exposed, revealed the depth of your self-doubt

Decreasing popularity, a rapid fall from grace
A half-truth half uncovered and a hasty exit made

The tightly-woven web of lies surrounding your affairs
Displayed a calm exterior; concealed a troubled mind

Unguarded overnight, the rusted gateway to your past
Saw souls forgotten breach the threshold; dominate your dreams

By morning light, decaying fibres frayed, dissolved to dust
A solitary strand survived intact; remained untouched

IF ONLY…

2010-08-28T13:25:00.003+07:00

For Writers Island prompt #18 2010
And Monday Poetry Train Revisited

UNWANTED GIFTS

The vastness of space
Is not nearly enough
To contain all those gifts
Unwanted
Ignored
Or returned unopened

Consideration
Love
Peace
Compassion
Faith
Hope
Charity
To name but a few

In favour of thought
Ignorance is bliss
Apathy prevails
Hatred
Hostility
Cynical attitudes
Suspicion
Despair
And self-serving greed

Only if we take
Possession
Ownership
Of what’s rightfully ours
But wrongfully spurned
Then
And only then
Can we realise
Our full potential
Certain in the knowledge

All things are possible

ABSTAIN, HALO, PRAYER

2010-08-26T13:41:00.002+07:00

For Three Word Wednesday
And Friday Flash 55

TEAM TACTICS

Not two seasons into his leadership, the once popular captain had allowed his halo to slip, triggering a decline in form.
The team’s ability to recover and mount a serious title challenge now rested on a wing and a prayer.
A collective decision was made to abstain from voting him in for a third season.

MANUAL TASK

2010-08-25T09:00:00.007+07:00

For Big Tent Poetry

This week’s prompt
We are going to start this week’s poems with our hands. Really. There is a — forgive me, ahem — “hands-on” portion of the prompt and a writing part. My hope is that if you attend (mindfully, of course) to a manual task it will influence the poem. Maybe it will provide the action. Maybe it will impact the pacing. Maybe it will suggest an image.
So here’s part one: Do something with your hands and really pay attention to the motion of your hands and arms and to the movement of other objects that may be involved. Open something: a dresser drawer, a bottle of wine, the garage door. Fold something: the laundry, a letter, a paper airplane. Scrub something. Touch something. Pack something up: a game, a suitcase, a box. Braid something. Plant something. Chop something up. Make shadow puppets.
Anything will do. As long as it is a manual task. As long as you really, really, really pay attention. It may also be wise not to read ahead to part two; it will make the first draft of the poem more spontaneous if you don’t plan too much or think too hard.
And here’s part two (and it’s brilliant): Write something.
OK. So maybe that wasn’t so brilliant. Unless part one was enough inspiration for you. If it was, get writing. If you need something more, however, hold the task you just completed in mind while you write about one of the following: a kiss, a dance, a swim, a burial, a sacred space or something that’s been injured physically.

DIGITAL DISPLAY

At first clumsy, hesitant
Words wouldn’t come easily
Until a single-digit surge
Under pressure, from the Right
Delivered the message LOUD – unclear
Syllables s-s-stuttered across the screen

Middle finger soon joined index
And later thumb....... for spacebar
Later still, five fingers were tapping
Was it the sound of one hand clapping?
Or was it just a classic case
Of the left hand never really knowing
What it was the right hand was doing?

At every opportunity then
I practiced my new-found skill
The only thing I could ever do
With one hand tied behind my back

Day after day
Night after night
Time after time
Time and again

Again and again
Repetition, refrain
Repetition defined
Definition refined

Never relaxing
Often head scratching
Sometimes nail biting
Always typewriting

Left hand going through the motions
Playing an occasional cameo role
But even two decades down the track
The left hand still doesn’t really know
What its partner, the right hand is doing

SIX WORD MEMOIR

2010-08-23T13:00:00.002+07:00

For We Write Poems

If you haven’t come across this site yet, you should have. It’s an initiative by SMITH Magazine asking people to write their life story in six words. There are now expanded sections with categories to base your memoir on, such as Childhood, Travel, or Revenge, but my favourite is the original life story six-word memoir.
Click the link to see examples from famous people and unknown names alike, and spend the week trying your hand at six-word memoirs. See if you can write one for every category on the website. Possibly one will inspire you to write a longer poem–will it be one of your own, or a stranger’s that you read on the site? This prompt doesn’t require you to write many words, but it does involve some deep thinking and manipulating of words. Let it inspire you to write more, or less, than you usually do in a given week. And definitely come back on Wednesday to share your favourite six-word memoirs (or other, longer material you’ve written out of this prompt) with your poeming-friends!

NO SHORT CUTS; ALWAYS SCENIC ROUTE

Yesterday; a day of broken promises
Ineffective guarantees, followed immediately by disclaimers

Same old same old Rat Race
Old too soon? Long time Dying?

Life is tough; deal with it!

Today, I choose a different path
No short cuts; always scenic route

As sure as day follows night
Tomorrow follows today, bringing fresh hope

The best is yet to come

PENSIVE

2010-08-23T09:23:00.002+07:00

For One Single Impression
And Monday Poetry Train Revisited

WHAT THOUGHT DID… MORE OR LESS

I’ve been trying hard
Not to think about
All I am

I’ve been trying hard
Not to think about
All I have

I’ve been trying hard
Not to think about
All I know

I’ve been trying hard
Not to think about
All I see

I’ve been trying hard
Not to think about
All I feel

But the more I try
The more I think

The more I think
The more I feel

The more I feel
The more I see

The more I see
The more I know

The more I know
The more I have

The more I have
The more I want

The more I want
The more I get

The more I get
The less I need

The less I need
The less I feel

The less I feel
The less I see

The less I see
The less I think

The less I think
The less I know

The less I know
The less I have

The less I have
The less I am

The less I am
The more I try

To understand

What I know
What I think
What I feel
What I see
What I have
What I want
What I need

What I am

TIME TRAVEL

2010-08-21T16:43:00.003+07:00

For Writers Island prompt #17

RELATIVITY

The story of my life… so far

Still just forty six years old

Seen fifty eight, spanning

Two Millennia

Three Centuries

Eight Decades

Question…

How?

GRIMACE, PHASE, STUMBLE

2010-08-19T12:57:00.003+07:00

For Three Word Wednesday
And Friday Flash 55

ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD

The final phase
of the celebration.
In keeping with tradition
One more for the road.
Double shot of single malt whiskey.
Brace yourself
Down the hatch
Shudder… Grimace.
Short walk home transforms to marathon stagger
as cold night air triggers full effect of the alcohol.
Pocket, keys, door, lock – finger fumble
precedes stumble into bed.

ISAN HEARTLAND

2010-08-17T22:56:00.003+07:00

FOR BIG TENT POETRY

This week’s promptThis week’s prompt is a Wordle. The words are taken from one of a well-regarded poet’s published poems, which will be named (and linked to!) in Friday’s Come One, Come All post.
Hope you enjoy this week’s challenge to use any number of the words in your Big Tent Poetry poem this week!

ISAN HEARTLAND

Deep in the Isan heartland
Beyond banana, pineapple
Across untended rice fields
Baked hard by the summer sun
The unforgiving landscape
In cynical dry-season mood
Questions the wisdom of cars
That risk its impassable route

Our focus zeroes in on
The slow trickle of a stream
Where once flowed a full-blown river
Supplying diesel-driven pumps
Used to moisten rice in plant
Via discarded rubber hose pipes
Or home-made earthenware pots
Hand-crafted by silk-clad women
Deep in the Isan heartland

MOM’S HOUSE

2010-08-17T17:29:00.011+07:00

FOR WE WRITE POEMS

What do you see in this photo? Do you notice the plates on the wall, the curtains on the window, the roosters on the bottom shelf? Whatever draws you into this photo, use it as a starting point and write. Write a new piece each day based on this poem, or just write one piece for the week. How long you spend with the photo is up to you. Whichever route you choose, be sure to come back next Wednesday to share what you’ve written and to read the work of your peers. See you then!

Mom's House by Sarah Regnier (www.cameratakesphotos.com)

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Return from another world
Re-entry takes one small step

An Alien atmosphere
Until signs of life are seen

Wall of china monument
Visible from inner space

Welcomes me to planet earth

STRUGGLE

2010-08-16T09:30:00.001+07:00

For Haiku Heights – Struggle
And Carry On Tuesday
It was love at first sight

STRUGGLE

Infatuation?
Or was it love at first sight?
I strive to discern

INCEPTION

2010-08-14T13:23:00.003+07:00

For Writers Island prompt #16 2010
And for One Single Impression - Beginning
And Monday Poetry Train Revisited

I CAME HERE TO WILL YOU

Before the beginning – a mind
Exists in the ferment formed
By the dust of the first Big Bang

Creativity is created
And concepts inhabit the mind
Original concepts all

This mind, alone in the void
At some point before Space and Time
Devoid of fear of theft of thought

Inexperienced in matters of matter
Prone to the occasional mistake

In the beginning, a need
A need for survival
For continuity

Ambition, achievement
…things of the future

Life is in the early stages
Of evolving intelligence

Revolving around the light
The light the mind has seen

Mind over matter; actions occur
As fast as the speed of thought

No need to plan ahead
In subconscious reality

No process, no control
Only cause and effect

Without consequence
Or accountability
Until several Big Bangs later…

A story for another Time…

JOKE, LEVERAGE, REMEDY

2010-08-12T08:58:00.002+07:00

For Three Word Wednesday
And Friday Flash 55

DOING MORE WITH LESS

I needed help.
Being a rookie, my inexperience left me in a tricky situation.
The remedy was to delegate responsibility upwards.
It seemed like a joke at first, but the more I thought about it,
The more I realised I could use my position to gain leverage.
After all; if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

POSSESSIONS

2010-08-11T12:54:00.007+07:00

For Big Tent Poetry

This week’s prompt, by guest maestro Cynthia Short
Many of us live lives acquiring — or attempting to divest ourselves of — possessions. From the cars we drive, and the antique bowls our grandmas gave us, to the house we once loved but now need to sell … often possessions help define our lives.
This week’s prompt is to think of something you possess. What are your feelings about this possession? Do you possess it, or does it possess you?
Some of the things I possess, but that haven’t yet made it on the page as a poem include: a scar, my mother’s laugh, and old suitcase that I traveled with extensively. Mementos of an important part of my life, an old photo of relatives that died before I was born, a horrible gift that I must display because I love the person who gave it to me … you get the idea: most any thing in our physical worlds are possessions that might just have an impact on our lives.

KUHN CHAIDEE

Introducing Kuhn Chaidee
As you can see, he’s in good shape
That’s on account of his diet
All he can eat grows freely
Or it swims, or crawls, or flies

Kuhn Chaidee realizes
The value of possessions
Is something that’s relative
Emotional or intrinsic
Nevertheless he takes pride

His single-roomed residence
Is a permanent work-in-progress
Although a temporary construction
Built from salvaged timber, bamboo
And recycled cement sacks

He has access to running water
That he can’t afford to run
Electrical connection
Via a single plug socket
Feeding a single light bulb
Though he retires at nightfall

And a refrigerator
To store his drinking water
As well as a black and white TV
He never has time to watch
Even his ancient cell phone
Only takes incoming calls

He could never afford a car
But he can afford to smile
At his accumulated wealth
He measures in modesty

LIST POEM

2010-08-11T12:36:00.002+07:00

FOR WE WRITE POEMS

This week’s prompt is brought to us by Neil Reid:
List poems are a very elemental style of poem. (And I simply adore list poems!) They can be item by item very precise and succinct, or broad and more encased in other related poem text. That’s also part your choice. The list items might be tightly related, even sequential of a sort, or more generic and broad. Also your choice. They may be ruthlessly honest and introspective or even abstract, extending themselves into unknown territory (they can be truthful or fanciful as you choose). These are all possibilities of list poems – a simple concept, yet with unlimited chances to invoke or provoke new understandings and relationships. Play!
For this prompt let’s define the topic to be a list of “things you’re afraid of”, or alternately, “things you’d never do”. Of course if you’re just all inspired about another possible list, please, go ahead, have fun and share your result with us!

I USED MOVIE TITLES

SEVEN DAYS TO LIVE (2000)

Bloody Sunday, 2002
Stormy Monday, 1988
Tuesday, 2008
Ash Wednesday, 2002
Monster Thursday, 2008
Friday The Thirteenth, 1980
Saturday Night Fever 1977

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

2010-08-11T09:04:00.003+07:00

FOR POW PROMPT 15

The 30 word wordle is displayed on Man Ray's famous photo. You vill use all of zee vurds and you vill not vinje and vine (Barbra Seville)This is the first of the SPOTLIGHT SERIESThe SPOTLIGHT POEM requires you to answer questions about the meaning of your poemand its origin. If the subject is one you do not wish to discuss best not submit it for a spotlight poem. Please be mindful that this is not a critique exercise.I understand that most of us do not wish to explain or analyse our work. I am opposed to this concept in theory as individual interpretation can be just as valid as the poem's intention. And, of course the more imaginative you are the more off course and wild your interpretations can be. However just occasionally to satisfy the curiosity of certain poets (Viv) I thought it would be fun to know the intention of the poet and how wildly off course our interpretations may be.Before asking the questions you might like to state what you think the poem might mean to see how connected or disconnected you are to the original poem. For those of you who like to write or read cryptic poetry (Francis) this should be fun!

I made it 32…
I spotted a couple of f-words in there…

NOI’S NINTH IN f-MAJOR

Sparrow song greets Monday morn
The little bird gives the boy
an anniversary tip

“A bud flowers on this day
Whiter than white innocence
abandons its girdle grip”

Hallway promise awaiting
removes peach stone from dry throat
brings joy to the heart; a glow

Maiden voyager’s frisson
Fingers wobble nervously
Logs on… Lap-top trickle… slow

Rude twaddle, f-words ensue
… The kid is known for his lip

Slowly the tulle-like haze lifts
Net confusion just a blip

Feeling light as a feather
Happy to know he knows he
Rose above anxiety

Burn to compact, smooth as silk
High time – High tea, teatime high
*
*
*
Do we know the reason why…?
*
*
*
Nine years old on August nine
Complete with home computer
Happy birthday to Changnoi

It couldn’t be more simple
Now a disc-burning demon
Downloading first for the boy

Note; Changnoi doesn’t swear… in English…

FIELD

2010-08-09T08:22:00.000+07:00

For Haiku Heights

RICE

Drought-depressed rice fields
Harvest hopes raised by rainfall
Salvation in sight

SPELLBOUND

2010-08-07T12:01:00.005+07:00

For Writers Island prompt #15 2010
And Monday Poetry Train Revisited

CASTING THE SPELL

Sheltered, not isolated
Village Isan life goes on

Influences, attitudes
Filter through at their leisure

Nature’s barriers exist
At all points of the compass

Pu Khao and Pu Pan ranges
To East and West horizons
Converge at a point due north

While the Southernmost defences
The waters of Ubol Rat

Reservoir that fills bellies
With its rich, living harvest

As well as helping to feed
Technological habits

Hydro electricity
Surges unpredictably

Into our cell phone chargers
And Personal Computers

Isan’s own influence spreads
To the South and to cities

With a gritty-edged northern
Border region tone of voice

As it fuses traditions
With more modern attitudes

Providing a wider choice
Reflecting changes in taste

That Morlam girls know about
And can’t dance their dance without
That their writhing gestures shout

Bridging the culture divide
They’re casting the Isan spell

Notes:
Isan - North Eastern Thailand
Pu Khao - Eastern range of hills
Pu Pan - Western range of hills
Ubol Rat -Reservoir to south
Morlam - Traditional Folk Dance

TO BOLDLY GO

2010-08-05T08:23:00.001+07:00

For Friday Flash 55

KIRK TO ENTERPRISE

“Spock, The Federation wants to award you for a lifetime of genius”

“Illogical Captain.”

“But to be called a genius means you must possess…”

“…Insufficient data Captain.”

“Refusal will destroy them… You’ll have to be subtle.”

“Phaser on stun…?”

“What will you say to them, exactly?”

“Live long and prosper.”

“Beam me up Scotty…!”

“Fascinating…”

DRINK, FEEBLE, PREDICT

2010-08-04T19:43:00.000+07:00

For Three Word Wednesday

STAY SOBER

Teetotal party
By invitation only
Predict feeble drink

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

2010-08-02T23:30:00.004+07:00

For Big Tent Poetry

This week’s prompt
This week we’re going to try to mix up our writing life
and we’ll start the process with a little poetic introspection.

INVESTIGATION

During the course of my investigation
I didn’t leave a single book unread
I left nothing to the imagination

I gave the subject my full concentration
Took in every word my tutors said
During the course of my investigation

I took to the task with full concentration
Knowing I’d have to go from A to Z
I left nothing to the imagination

It may seem a complete exaggeration
But I never let it go to my head
During the course of my investigation

Some chose theory for examination
I opted for the practical instead
I left nothing to the imagination

She didn’t want to discuss medication
Just took her clothes off, and lay on the bed
During the course of my investigation
I left nothing to the imagination

SUMMIT

2010-08-02T06:45:00.003+07:00

For Carry On Tuesday
Does the road wind uphill all the way ?

THE CLIMB

Upward
aPproach
I Hurt…
achIng
muscLes…
how cLose
are we ?

anywaY
it’s Another
sloW climb

anoTher
tougH
challEnge

I shaLl
not Let
it Anger me

my Will
remaIns
undauNted
and unDefeated

no roaD
can hArm us
as lOng as
we Respect it

we Test
our Honour
to thE limit

the Summit
oncE reached
prOlongs our
aDventure

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

2010-08-01T15:08:00.003+07:00

For We Write Poems

Irene Toh bring us a different sort of challenge this week,
one that will prove to be quite fun I suspect.
Irene says, “Write a poem that revisits the Red Riding Hood fairy tale.
You can change the story, or question the assumptions behind the fairy tale,
eg why doesn’t the wolf eat Red Riding Hood in the forest when he first met her?,
why does the author allow fantasy, such as that the wolf can be cut up
and the grandmother and the Red Riding Hood emerge unhurt,
or wonder what Red Riding Hood stands for, such as if wearing a red hood is significant,
or question the innocence of Red Riding Hood,
eg why does she not go straight to grandmother’s house as her mother instructed
but chose to wander? Or you can revisit another fairy tale altogether!”
Spend the week on this prompt, then come back on Wednesday
to post your links to your poems.
See you there!

PLANS FOR THE EVENING

Don’t forget, we’re having Gran here for dinner
She likes flowers on her dining table
And she’ll be expecting you home… for dessert

She’s so sick now, she’s hard to recognize
So don’t ask her about those new dentures of hers
Or she’s likely to swallow you whole

You know how snappy she can get

And I’m so hungry; I could wolf down a pig
Though the thought of it makes me huff and puff
Because pork is so overrated

And besides, those little chicks are easier
They tend not to disagree with me
But perhaps we’ll sit down to a fat old bird

Which reminds me – I’m spitting feathers

And my stomach hangs heavy as a stone
Is she listening? Where has she gone now?
I hope she’s hunting for the Evian

No…? Oh well, at a push I could get my own…

FUENTE GRANDE

2010-07-31T11:30:00.007+07:00

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…

2010-07-31T11:10:00.016+07:00

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 …?

2010-07-29T18:44:00.003+07:00

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

2010-07-29T11:09:00.002+07:00

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

2010-07-28T14:33:00.002+07:00

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

2010-07-25T09:16:00.005+07:00

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

2010-07-24T14:19:00.004+07:00

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

2010-07-22T10:26:00.003+07:00

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

2010-07-21T09:28:00.004+07:00

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.

2010-07-21T09:13:00.002+07:00

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?

2010-07-20T12:35:00.005+07:00

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…

2010-07-18T14:25:00.007+07:00

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

2010-07-17T12:53:00.000+07:00

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

2010-07-16T05:44:00.006+07:00

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

2010-07-16T05:39:00.002+07:00

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…?

2010-07-13T09:30:00.004+07:00

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?

2010-07-13T09:25:00.001+07:00

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

2010-07-10T11:15:00.000+07:00

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

2010-07-09T08:31:00.001+07:00

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

2010-07-08T11:09:00.002+07:00

For Three Word Wednesday

ATTITUDE

Tepid; lethargic
Acrid by definition
The bane of my life

LOVE-HAT

2010-07-08T10:52:00.003+07:00

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

2010-07-07T12:31:00.003+07:00

For ABC Wednesday -Y

YEAST

LINE BY LINE

2010-07-07T07:54:00.004+07:00

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

2010-07-06T06:16:00.004+07:00

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

2010-07-05T06:53:00.003+07:00

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…

2010-07-04T10:45:00.003+07:00

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

2010-07-03T11:51:00.004+07:00

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

2010-07-02T19:11:00.003+07:00

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?

2010-07-02T06:55:00.001+07:00

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

2010-07-01T06:22:00.002+07:00

For Three Word Wednesday

CASHFLOW PROBLEM

Solvency hassle?
Inject some Robin Hood style
Wealth distribution

ENGLISH HAIKU

2010-06-30T14:27:00.001+07:00

For We Write Poems

AN ENGLISHMAN

My home is my castle
I stay out in the midday sun
I am an Englishman

X MARKS THE SPOT

2010-06-30T07:09:00.002+07:00

For ABC Wednesday – X

XS

Mission to eXact revenge
My eyes fiXed back in anger
As he’s looking back in fear

This eX acquaintance of mine
He who shall remain nameless
Let’s just call him Mr. X

X-man beware; not long now
X marks the spot; day and date
Get on your knees; say a prayer
Sign of the X; penance due

Just when he least eXpects it
Punishment shall be eXtreme
It’s no eXaggeration
He will wish he was eXtinct

First I’ll eXtract my pleasure
eXcruciating and slow
XXX rated; brutal
Then, at last, I can relaX

Q & A

2010-06-29T12:15:00.005+07:00

For Big Tent Poetry

This week’s prompt
Recently, at the wonderful, amazing, inspiring IRL feedback group that Carolee and I belong to, one of the poets shared with us her desire to turn a current poem into a “conversation poem.”
She sent us some samples, including Mark Strand’s “Answer” and the haunting “Conversation” by the late poet Ai, in which the speaker both asks the question and supplies the answer (though the departed does indeed respond, as you will see).
Is there a question you are burning to ask someone? Is there a person (living or dead) you would love to have a conversation with? Maybe, as our IRL poet friend shared, you have had a conversation with someone that bears repeating (and examining through poetry’s sharp lens). Perhaps someone has posed a question to you that you simply, at the time, could not answer. Take some time this week and compose your answer in the form of a poem.
Whether or not you write your poem in Strand’s question and answer format, or ask and imagine the answers as Ai did, this week, be sure to ask the really hard questions! Work hard to find the answers! Then, come back and share the whole conversation!

ASK

Click to hear ASK

Q I

One team’s fruit menu
Reorganised as a rule
Imperial base
When expressed digitally
The top of the world revealed

A I

Rearrange? Reorganise?
A RULE…?
ONE TEAM’S FRUIT MENU…? Mixed up?
Say what…?
UNIT OF MEASUREMENT…!
Woo hoo…!
Digitally expressed…reveals…?
Numbers…?

You want the numbers…?
Easy!

Twenty nine thousand and twenty eight
I mean
2-9-0-2-8: Digits
Means what?
That’s the height of Mount Everest…
Dummy!
In feet – Imperial base…
You know…?

Q II

Used for the first time
On watch right around the clock
For an entire week

A II

First things first; the first time
Do you remember yours?
First time is the Second
Time unit wise, that is

Used as in ‘utilised’?
Or as in ‘second-hand’?
Watch as in ‘guard-duty’?
Or watch as in ‘wristwatch’?

A watch’s second hand
Goes right around the clock
One time every minute
And sixty times an hour

One thousand, four hundred
And forty times a day
By the end of the week
The answer that you seek
Works out at ten thousand
And eighty (minutes long)

Q III

QUIET PLEASE! The stage is set
The entire cast is assembled
Pre-determined
Regulation
Is the order of the day
Numerically
Consecutively
Starting from number one

Without a sound, they form five groups
The thing we must determine
The average
Numerical
Value of each of these groups
Individually
Categorically
Logical progression

A III

Alphabetical order
Is the way it’s usually done
So, if A equals one
Z equals twenty six

There are just FIVE VOWEL SOUNDS
In the English alphabet
If we leave these sounds ‘without’
We can add up all the rest

B to D; they equal nine
The average then, is three
F to H; make twenty one
With seven the average

J to N; talking sixty
With an average of twelve
P to T; they score ninety
The average is eighteen

That leaves; W to Z
For one hundred and twenty
Giving them an average
Of exactly twenty four

Q IV

Our last song is called
‘The Unlucky Number Song’
Count on the intro
To explain the reason why
It’s called ‘unlucky number’

A IV

So, you want an intro, eh?
I’ll give you one… two, three, four!
What’s unlucky about that?

Absolutely nothing, mate

OK… all over again
A-one, two… one, two, three, four!
THAT’S an unlucky number!
Thirteen…add ‘em up… agreed?

WRITTEN IN THE WIND

2010-06-28T08:20:00.003+07:00

For The American Sandwich
And The NaiSaiKu Challenge?

AMERICAN SANDWICH

I’m suspicious of correspondence marked ‘Private and Confidential’.
I’m definitely not keen on envelopes stamped with ‘O.H.M.S’.
I much prefer a hand-written address, and a stamp that’s licked, not franked.

CLICKABLE NaiSaiKu

There are Four Strong Winds
Blowing from all directions
NORTH, SOUTH, EAST AND WEST
Blowing from all directions
There are Four Strong Winds

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW…

2010-06-27T10:02:00.005+07:00

For Carry On Tuesday
If you really want to hear about it…

And Monday Poetry Train Revisited

Click to hear - Who Are The Mystery Girls?

WHO ARE THEY?

They remain a mystery you’ll never solve
Though you’ve followed all the leads, sought out the clues
Even educated guesswork will involve
Subtle powers of deduction that confuse

If you don’t prepare the process, mentally
You can’t qualify yourself for such a task
But to Sherlock Holmes, it’s elementary
If you really want to know about them, ask!