Common Threads

I’m reading Kyle Vaughn’s Lightning Paths and working through the daily prompts. Today’s exercise is writing a Haiku, one of the most popular forms of poetry and one of my favorites for its brevity of form and economy of words. Modern Haiku writers often write outside the traditional 17-syllable form of 5/7/5 across three lines to include 3/5/3 or 4/5/4…….as Vaughn puts it, “very short/short/very short.”

Haiku

how does one write
in just seventeen syllables
something so profound?

I’ve been reading Kyle Vaughn’s Lightning Paths and completing the daily writing exercises. Today’s prompt is a ghazal, a poem written in at least five couplets, generally on lamenting or loving something on a theme. There can be abrupt shifts between couplets as well.

Here is a ghazal that I wrote back on July 20, 2020 when Mo Daley hosted our Open Write group at http://www.ethicalela.com. I’m sharing it again, thinking about the passage of time since I wrote this poem.

I’m Going Back!

since March 13th, we’ve stayed home: Covid 19
four months and one week later – today – I’m going back!

today begins a new chapter: 2020
new challenges and opportunities I seek – I’m going back!

we’ll mask up and sanitize all the way to ‘21
cautiously distance and crowdsurvey peek – I’m going back!

will outings be safer in 2022?
surely by then we’ll be past the peak – I’m going back!

my 5-year grant term will close in ‘23
I stand boldly with literacy, cheek to cheek – I’m going back!

I’ve been reading Kyle Vaughn’s Lightning Paths and completing the daily writing exercises. Today’s prompt is a Landay, a poem that is short with only two lines. The first line consists of nine syllables and the second line has thirteen. Often these deal with themes of war, suffering, love, nature, beauty, or death.

Last Breath

we circled you as you slipped away
held hands, prayed together as you drew your final breath

I’ve been reading Kyle Vaughn’s Lightning Paths and writing through the daily exercises. Today’s prompt is to write a poem about a tragic event that you are trouble by, to speak truth and shed light or to share feelings about the way it impacts you.

Freak Accidents

freak accidents are
most troubling, those you wonder~
could we turn back time?

I’ve been reading Kyle Vaughn’s Lightning Paths and writing through the daily exercises. Today’s prompt is to write a poem about a significant loss.

Echoes

I used to call her
  ask for advice
     tell her about my day, ask about hers
        talk about dogs, kids, things

she always knew the answers
   even before the questions 
       when no one else did

she held Dad together
    like no one else could

I miss her 

Made with

I’ve been reading Kyle Vaughn’s Lightning Paths and writing through the daily exercises. Today’s prompt is to write a poem – a small one, between two and ten lines, that at first presents something dark, negative, and unwanted but resolves into something positive.

In memory of my friend and co-worker Tim Zellner, who died in November 2022

He fought the good fight
In the end, his cancer won
Now he's in Heaven

I’ve been reading Lightning Paths by Kyle Vaughn and participating in the daily writing exercises. Today’s challenge is to write a poem that is the opposite of the Resume and Part of Me poems of the past two days. Instead of defining ourselves through our experiences, this poem calls to define ourselves by what we are not.

Lack of Tact

Apparently, my 
tendency to tell the truth
means I'm "not tactful"

I’ve been reading Lightning Paths by Kyle Vaughn and working through the daily exercises. Today’s prompt is to write a poem in which you choose something that may seem insignificant that is actually a big part of your identity.

The Roots

a baby in a cloth diaper 
    pinned up
sitting in the middle
of a desk
surrounded by stacks of books
her father speaking 
Greek and Hebrew roots
in his seminary studies

a love of books 
   of words
     of language
       of learning
is rooted in those days
    back in Kentucky
       in 1966

I’ve been reading Lightning Paths by Kyle Vaughn and working through the daily exercises. Today’s prompt is to write a poem that addresses who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and what you might want to project about your hopes, dreams, and future. Today, it’s about identity.

Adventuring Nonet

each day is a brand new adventure
packed full of the wonder of life ~
seize and savor each moment
praying, working, playing
giving thanks for our
many blessings,
abundant
riches,
gifts....

I’ve been reading Lightning Paths by Kyle Vaughn and working through the daily exercises. Today’s prompt is to write a poem focusing on prefixes and suffixes to denote states of being or actions and their relationships.

Red Letter Days

She's the red-tailed hawk sitting
    on the wire
      checking my seat belt

She's the redbird feeding
    at my window
       greeting me from Heaven

She's everywhere ~ reminding me
    in flashes of red
       that she's still right here