Patchwork Prose and Verse
Iron Sharpens Iron
today concludes
a month of
VerseLove
daily poetry writing
and brings a
Zoom Open Mic
to meet
those already
our friends
heart to heart
face to face
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
Glenda Funk is our host at http://www.ethicalela.com today for VerseLove, inspiring us to write poems about what a poem can do.
What A Poem Can Do
a poem reveals
flavor in every image
sounds of emotions
between heart chambers
poems beat honeysuckle
fragrances, wafting
up from printed words
seep through eyes, nose, ears, tongue, hands
inhaled, consumed, held
a poem reveals
real magical living thoughts
on a breathing page
poetry laughs, cries
a poem ~invisible
spirit ~ rises up
omniscient healer
poems perform miracles
swoop in deep, restore
take up residence
shadowy, tired souls
illuminated!
smooths salve over scars
~ poems, balm of Gilead
ink-cloaked physicians
Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?
Our host at http://www.ethicalela.com today for VerseLove is Jessica Wiley, who inspires us to write Self Love Poems according to a template.
Where I Care to Be
When I’m by myself in the peace of the moment
and I close my eyes, I breathe the golden silence
I’m somewhere
I’m everywhere
I’m nowhere
I’m anywhere
I’m over there
I’m elsewhere
I’m self-aware
I’m unaware
I’m wherever I want to be
and anywhere I care to be
And when I open my eyes
where I care to be
is right here
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Shaun Ingalls is our host to today for VerseLove at http://www.ethicalela.com, inspiring us to write Drift Poems – – to look at something, and look at it again in a different way, allowing our thinking to drift to a new perspective.
Getting the Drift
I’d just finished
a writing workshop
for a school-community partner
when she – my same age –
asked me
how many more years
I’ve got
It’s getting more common
with each new wrinkle,
this question
that makes me wonder:
to live?
or to work?
I’m not sure, I paused
how about you?
I U-turned her question,
to clarify
to get her drift
me? oh, I’m going to keep
right on working,
she fired back
I’m not one of those
to sit home in my chair and
wait my turn to die
Interesting,
I considered,
nor am I –
I’m waiting my turn
to linger over coffee
to travel more
to write more
to walk dogs more
to watch birds more
to adventure more
to read more books
to nap in the hammock more
to lunch with friends
to cook more
to live more
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “This applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. They minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”
Our host today at http://www.ethicalela.com for VerseLove is Amy Vetter, who inspires us to create Found Poems from any text. I chose a page from Tom Sawyer for my Found Poem.
Conversation
Conversation
beating hearts
heads together
voices
through the gloom
spangles of light
But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
Our host today for VerseLove at http://www.ethicalela.com, Linda Mitchell, inspires us to write Scientific poems by making an observation, asking a question, forming a hypothesis, making a prediction based on the hypothesis, testing the prediction, and making a new prediction based on the results.
Hummingbird Flutter Turbulence
tickling breeze in the clover
no wind – what could it be?
bird at the feeder?
hummingbird flutter turbulence!
stirring grass two feet beneath ~
awakening the earth
to the wonders of spring!
And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
Jessica Sherburn is our host for VerseLove at http://www.ethicalela.com today, inspiring us to write Found Annotation poems. These are also called Talking Back to the Text poems. You find a short passage of text to read and annotate, and talk to the text.
The Postcard Project
In Malaprop’s Bookstore
Asheville
I saw it.
The Postcard Project.
52 Weeks of Art Journaling
Via snail mail.
Perfect for my grandkids,
I thought,
Thumbing through,
Send a card weekly
and ask them
to create their own art
and ask their mama
to send me a picture
of their work.
Perfect.
I started with
A good deed.
“Nana filled the birdfeeders
In the garden,” I wrote.
“What good deed
did you do this week?”
I can’t wait to hear!
For this week, I might pick
On My Plate –
What did you eat today?
I’ll draw a tomato sandwich.
I wonder what the babies
Are eating.
They love Nutella.
Or maybe it’s our favorite
Music or song. I can draw
Abba singing
Slipping Through My Fingers
Knowing it’s for real.
I wonder what they are
Dancing to these days.
Maybe Five Little Speckled Frogs,
Eating the most delicious bugs.
Maybe I’ll draw a still life
of my Aleve bottle.
So many choices in
The Postcard Project.
Plenty to keep Nana writing,
Plenty to keep the babies
Writing back.
Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.
Our host for VerseLove at http://www.ethicalela.com today is Stefani Boutelier, who inspires us to write Metaphor Poems. I have the Metaphor Dice App on my phone, and my roll of the dice was bad data, delusional, touchdown. I checked the jumpstart option and went in a different direction.
False Start Replay
Bad data
is a
delusional
touchdown
that will flat
have you
optimistically
living
full-fledged lies.
Like when you
balance your checkbook
It’s a beautiful day
when you add that
extra few million
on top of
your regular
paycheck.
You come home
to a majestic
new mansion
with
mid-century modern
furnishings
and shiny faucet fixtures
roll up to your
four-car garage
in your spiffy new Porsche
and park
by the money tree.
You celebrate
your sudden success
as your private chef
serves you lobster
and a drink
with a little umbrella in it.
And you wonder……
you just wonder…..
how did I score this castle??
Bad data.
A delusional touchdown.
The hand roll
ruling:
“False start
on the offense.
Huge penalty.”
The refs revoke the play.
Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
Tammy Belko is our host today at http://www.ethicalela.com for VerseLove, and she inspires us to write All Things Cheese Poems, or poems about favorite foods.
Mississippi Pot Roast
Mississippi Pot Roast –
Eating in at our house
slow cooked, juicy, tender
au jus, ranch, and pepper
savoring the gravy
asking God’s rich blessings
thanking Him for dinner
loving every minute
feeling warmth and comfort
hanging out with my boys
mourning for the cow killed
(should I be a vegan?)
Genesis 1:26 – And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Our host at ethicalela.com for VerseLove today, Leilya Pitre, inspired us to take a walk to a place of comfort. Ill be adding haiku stanzas as I walk through the day and finishing this evening.
Comfort Walk (morning stanza 6:00 a.m.)
Old photo albums
bird and butterfly garden
places of comfort
morning writing time (7:30 a.m. stanza)
flanked by dogs in our big chair
peaceful solitude
strong cappuccino (noon stanza)
rich, bold coffee or black tea
sipping with a friend
early morning steam (five o’clock stanza)
vapors rising from farm ponds
quitting time drive home
violin music (dinner stanza)
pause, played in public places
tomato sandwich
As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
Common Threads 