#VerseLove 2022 – Day 6

Hi, all:

I’ve decided, as much as possible, to participate in the remarkable space that is #VerseLove2022, put together by ethicalela.com . Each day in April (National Poetry Month), a prompt is provided by one of the participants. It comes in the form of a mentor text, and then a poem that the day’s facilitator has written based on that text. I need to send a thank you out to Joel Garza (@JoelRGarza) on Twitter for posting that he was going to take part, which sent me off to look at the event. The other expectation is to read other poems that are being written and posted, and give some positive feedback. Let me be clear that this is a humbling experience. The people taking part in this process can write! Among them is Kevin Hodgson, who is one of the people that helped me make the decision to create this blog years ago. (thanks, Kevin).

Please consider coming over and joining in, if that appeals to you. The poems and prompts would also be great to use with a writing class.

Today’s poem is a form which is new to me, called a Cherita. Introduced by Mo Daley, this form is another one that students might really have fun with. It’s basically a 6 line story, with stanzas of 1, 2 and 3 lines. https://www.ethicalela.com/cherita/

This is the inspiration for today’s mini-story (apologies for the pre-tidy-up chaos)

There is such good poetry in the space. I am working on another cherita, inspired by Kevin Hodgson’s poem today about the panicked moments of losing a child in a crowd.

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#VerseLove 2022 – Day 5

Hi, all:

I’ve decided, as much as possible, to participate in the remarkable space that is #VerseLove2022, put together by ethicalela.com . Each day in April (National Poetry Month), a prompt is provided by one of the participants. It comes in the form of a mentor text, and then a poem that the day’s facilitator has written based on that text. I need to send a thank you out to Joel Garza (@JoelRGarza) on Twitter for posting that he was going to take part, which sent me off to look at the event. The other expectation is to read other poems that are being written and posted, and give some positive feedback. Let me be clear that this is a humbling experience. The people taking part in this process can write! Among them is Kevin Hodgson, who is one of the people that helped me make the decision to create this blog years ago. (thanks, Kevin).

Please consider coming over and joining in, if that appeals to you. The poems and prompts would also be great to use with a writing class.

If you are checking out the posts at VerseLove, please take a minute to read the amazing poem that Rhiannon, one of the other poets wrote with my last lines from yesterday. Super powerful, and how cool to see your words turned into something completely different.

Today’s poem is a 4 x 4. This is a form with major constraints, which means it might work for some of your writers in class. 4 stanzas; each stanza has 4 lines; each line has 4 syllables, AND the first line of the poem becomes your refrain – it is the 2nd line of stanza 2, the 3rd of stanza 3, and the final line of the poem. Denise Krebs, who wrote today’s prompt, suggested that we challenge ourselves to come up with a 4 syllable title.

I also owe a debt to the driver who drove past the post office where I was locking my bike this afternoon. They were playing The Marvelettes’ Mr Postman, with that great “Wait a minute, wait a minute” chorus. Hey, wait a minute – that’s 4 syllables. I had the poem written by the time I rode home. Also influenced by buying boxes to mail goodies to faraway boys.

#Verselove 2022 – Day 4

Hi, all:

I’ve decided, as much as possible, to participate in the remarkable space that is #VerseLove2022, put together by ethicalela.com . Each day in April (National Poetry Month), a prompt is provided by one of the participants. It comes in the form of a mentor text, and then a poem that the day’s facilitator has written based on that text. I need to send a thank you out to Joel Garza (@JoelRGarza) on Twitter for posting that he was going to take part, which sent me off to look at the event. The other expectation is to read other poems that are being written and posted, and give some positive feedback. Let me be clear that this is a humbling experience. The people taking part in this process can write! Among them is Kevin Hodgson, who is one of the people that helped me make the decision to create this blog years ago. (thanks, Kevin).

Please consider coming over and joining in, if that appeals to you. The poems and prompts would also be great to use with a writing class.

I will try to post each day’s poem here, as time allows.

Today’s prompt was to find a “seed” at the end of another writer’s poem, and to begin yours there. https://www.ethicalela.com/burrows-and-seeds/

I know there’s more to go with this one. I took my “seed” from Tammi, who wrote:

“Before we act/Before we love/Before we heal/ And the world just darkness.”

Before
Before we act,

We must prepare

must ensure that all is there.

Must check the boxes, dot the t’s

What would happen should someone see

Our fear?

Before we heal

we must first bleed.

Must see our wounds, and name our need.

Must cry for those we could not mend

Take that fear, and call it friend,

and live.

#Verselove 2022

Hi, all:

I’ve decided, as much as possible, to participate in the remarkable space that is #VerseLove2022, put together by ethicalela.com . Each day in April (National Poetry Month), a prompt is provided by one of the participants. It comes in the form of a mentor text, and then a poem that the day’s facilitator has written based on that text. I need to send a thank you out to Joel Garza (@JoelRGarza) on Twitter for posting that he was going to take part, which sent me off to look at the event. The other expectation is to read other poems that are being written and posted, and give some positive feedback. Let me be clear that this is a humbling experience. The people taking part in this process can write! Among them is Kevin Hodgson, who is one of the people that helped me make the decision to create this blog years ago. (thanks, Kevin).

Please consider coming over and joining in, if that appeals to you. The poems and prompts would also be great to use with a writing class.

I will try to post each day’s poem here, as time allows.

These are the first 3, with links to the prompts, in case you want to check them out.

April 1’s prompt was an acrostic poem https://www.ethicalela.com/verselove-2022-begins/

I dedicated mine to #EduKnitNight:

The prompt for April 2 was to write about core memories: https://www.ethicalela.com/core-memories/

One of the spindles I was thinking about in my April 2 poem

And today’s prompt was a borrowing – to find a line in another’s poet’s writing that started you writing: https://www.ethicalela.com/collaboration-inspiration/

I worked from a line in Kevin Hodgson’s poem from today about background sound stopping.

The space where some of these sounds are heard.

Watch for more poetry in the coming days. I hope some of you will be inspired to come and play with words.

Let the sparks fly.