Anna J. Small Roseboro is our host of VerseLove today at http://www.ethicalela.com. On this Good Friday, she inspires us to write about our favorite day of the week!
Octagon window in the early morning, mirroring the moon
Our host today for VerseLove at http://www.ethicalela.com is Andy Schoenborn, who inspires us to write Tumble Down Poetry by writing first a paragraph about shoes in prose, and then….
“Once your paragraph is written, look for naturally occurring repetition, alliteration, striking images, and moments of emphasis fit for enjambments.
Then play with the structure and form as a poem tumbles down the page.”
My shoe paragraph:
I traded my fifteen dollar clearance Merrills I wore through Europe in 2019 for a more stylish pair of On Clouds when I went to San Antonio, Texas in February. They came with a whole new odometer, set at zero steps, ready to count miles like a new car. My running shoes years back were easier to tally the 500 mile lifespan in training runs and races – these, not as easy. They’re my new traveling shoes. They have built-in air flow to let my feet breathe, and I can feel my breath-taken toes taking me to new places and enjoying the sights up through the mesh topscreens. Traveling shoes. There’s nothing like them for seeing the world.
These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.”
Stacey Joy is our host for VerseLove today at http://www.ethicalela.com, and inspires us to write Goghohka poems. She writes, “The Gogyohka is a form of verse developed…. in 1957. The idea behind the Gogyohka was to take the traditional form of Tanka poetry (which is written in five lines with 5-7-5-7-7 syllable counts) and liberate its structure, creating afreer form of verse. In the 1990s, Kusakabe began his efforts to spread Gogyohka as a new movement in poetry, and there are now around half a million people writing this form of verse in Japan.”
Today I write from a place of growing, which a year ago was a place of wondering. Could I be a writer who writes every single day? I celebrated a year of daily writing at the end of February 2022 and began another year. I stumbled across a book by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Gabriella Barouch, entitled maybe while in Asheville, North Carolina last week. I was mesmerized, and this book has become my Year 2 inspiration to get me over the hurdles that will inevitably come. It’s worth the read, it’s worth the purchase, it’s worth reading every morning as I get dressed and start the day.
maybe by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Gabriella Barouch
The Journey of a Year of Writing Begins with a Single Word
Susie Morice is our host today for VerseLove at http://www.ethicalela.com , inspiring us to use the news to write poetry of place, time, era. I found an article in this month’s Georgia Magazine for today’s poem.
In the book Poemcrazy: freeing your life with words by Susan Goldsmith Woodridge, I felt a deep sense of connection when I read about how Wooldridge’s younger brother had made fun of their dad’s tacky blue socks – nylon, with two black stripes around the top and, upon his return to college, found his dad’s ugly socks hiding in his suitcase. The next time he returned home, he hid them in the house until they were found by his parents and returned during the next family gathering, even once making an appearance next to a rubber chicken in his honeymoon getaway car. Twenty-five years later, they are still exchanging these socks that they hide until one finds them and returns them. It brought back memories of my parents, who, up until my mother’s death, took turns hiding a Where’s Waldo figurine around the house for the other to find.
Process
We all do quirky, bold things that break the ice and bring us closer together. Think of a time that you’ve done something quirky – – with friends, with family, with students or even complete strangers. Let’s share our quirky exchanges today and whatever emotions they bring – in whatever form of poetry we choose.
Though we posted on social media a lot, i didn’t ask permission to use her image on my blog, so i drew a duck instead.
Silke with Squeaky in Berlin, Germany, May 2019
Quirky Quackers
in Berlin, Germany
with tour guide
Silke /Zilkuh/
who said we could
call her Silky
“like my hair”
she joked
and smiled
and laughed
by the wall
but group rules
were no joke
she had a little duck
named Squeaky
she’d squeeze
all through the crowded
streets so we didn’t
waddle off
people stopped and stared
at this grown woman
little duck
held high
squeaking
leading a team
wondering whether they, too,
might better get in line
we were her ducks
in a row
until it was time for
pair-square-quads
we grabbed a partner
and then another pair
and quacked by fours
to be sure all her ducks
were safe
swearing we would never
use these quirky tricks with our
own groups of touring students
then secretly rushing off to buy
our own squeaky ducks
Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Margaret Simon is our host today at www.ethicalela.com, inviting us to write etymology poems, or definito poems. I chose the word Quirky for today, since I will be the host tomorrow for Quirky poems.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Chris Goering, songwriter from Arkansas, inspires us to write songs of our origins today at http://www.ethicalela.com as part of VerseLove! For my poem, I consulted my 23 and Me Report to see where in the world I came from. Since I was born in Georgia, I changed the lyrics of Georgia on my Mind to reflect my DNA Report. Now I understand the constant pull to travel and see parts of Europe. My roots are calling. With a nod to the one and only Ray Charles……
Europe On My Mind
London, Dublin
The whole strand through (the whole strand through)
23 and Me
Keeps Europe on my mind (Europe on my mind)
I sing now Ireland, Grandma
Your red hair explained (image of you)
Comes as understood
As Celtic knots of strength
Family roots extend to me
Tree leaf traits wave tenderly
In cradled branch of oak I see
My heart beats back to you
Oh Scandinavia! Germany, France, too….
Footprints I feel (footprints I feel)
Now I understand, too
Why travel’s on my mind (travel’s on my mind)
Family roots extend to me
Tree leaf traits wave tenderly
In cradled branch of oak I see
My heart beats back to you
Woah, Europe, Europe
Footprints I feel (footprints I feel)
Now I understand, too
Why travel’s on my mind (travel’s on my mind)
23 and Me
Keeps Europe on my mind (Europe on my mind)
Genesis 9:19
These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
Common Threads 