Happy Poetry Friday

   Happy Poetry Friday.  I'm participating in the Summer Poetry Exchange Tabatha Yeatts has organized for us again this summer.  Last week my second poem arrived from a surprise partner in the exchange, Jone MacCulloch.

   Can you imagine my excitement when I opened the package and found Jone's beautiful picture and poem?

copyright 2017, Jone Rush MacCulloch

Her picture of the chicory is vividly wonderful!  Her description of a "periwinkle star" is elegant.

I have this picture sitting in my writing space to provide inspiration for how just a few words can paint a beautiful word picture.  In case you can't read the words in her photo, they are:

chicory

periwinkle star

roadside weed

magical perseverance

invisible to many

The word "perseverance" caught me in this poem.  It invites me to pause and linger with the thought.  I know that if I want to achieve anything with my writing and my poetry, I must persevere. (Plus, if I do it right, all my work and struggles are "invisible.")

Thank you, Jone, for inspiring me to keep working.

Now, here is your poetry challenge.  Look around you at the simple, everyday objects in your space.  Maybe it is your pen or pencil, maybe a paper towel, a book, or even a blank piece of paper.  Now in a few short words write what that object does for you.  Or, you can make this a persona poem and write in the voice of the object. What message does the object have for you?  Have fun working on your poem--persevere.

You can read more of Jone's poetry on her blog here.  

Poetry Friday is hosted by Katie this week on her blog at The Logonauts.

Consider the smallest seed that blooms and grows.  Be that seed.

In bed
while you dream,
I'm walking
on moonbeams.

I'm tiptoeing
over stars,
and waltzing
toward Mars.

While dreams
float your way,
I dance along
the Milky Way.

And to my delight
we both
whisper, good night.


Did you see the full moon last night?  I think that is what had me thinking of a moon poem.  Actually, in the back of my mind I'm still crafting a poem from the perspective of the moon.  Have you ever thought of all the things the moon has seen?  It has been up there for a really long time.  This is sort of like the statement that I'm breathing the same air that Socrates and Plato breathed.
Can you try writing your own poem to a planet today?  Have fun.

copyright 2017, Robyn Hood Black

Happy Poetry Friday!

I'm feeling the lazy days of summer.  How about you?
One of the ways I keep myself growing and moving through the summer is to participate in the Summer Poetry Swap.  Last week I received my first poem from Robyn Hood Black.  Robyn is one of the most creative poets I have ever met.  I think one of the reasons I enjoy knowing Robyn is because she loves writing haiku even more than I do.

Her poem:

Light-givers,
like moon
ripples of molten silver,
appear 
to romancers
of the pen
in words.

(I love the pearl button Robyn used to illustrate the moon.)
Do you like the words Light-givers and romancers?

When I went to Poets Camp at Western Washington University last fall, Robyn presented a workshop for us on erasure poems.  She provided all the materials so we each could make our own poem.
To make an erasure poem, you start with a sheet of text.  It could be a page from an old paperback novel, or a magazine.  

Read the page several times to see if any words jump out to you.  Then carefully see if you can select a few words from the page to make a poem.

Next erase, mark out, blackout, or paint out all the other words. (Robyn had us cut little sticky tabs to cover our chosen words and then we used rubber stamp, or a sponge and ink pad to cover up all the other words.

What you are left with is your erasure poem, because you have erased everything but the words of your poem.

As you can see from Robyn's poem, she adds glitter and embellishments to make a piece of art from her poem.  You can find more of Robyn's art at her Etsy shop here. 

Can you try making an erasure poem today?  You can find out more about erasure or blackout poems here. Have fun playing with words and text.

You can find more poetry at the Poetry Friday Roundup, hosted by Carol Varsalona on her blog Beyond Literacy here. 

Have a great weekend.