Tag: nonet

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Rattle’s Ekphrastic Poetry Challenge

Throughout the month of September as we officially welcome the start of the fall season, I’m sharpening my awareness and appreciation of the art and nature around me. This week, I will share five ekphrastic poems that I’ve written in response to works of art. These five poems were all submitted for publication to various calls for poetry I found through Submittable.com in the Discover tab, and of the five poems, one was accepted into a poetry chapbook celebrating works of art in nature. I’ll share the poem selected for publication one week from today.

For the month of July, Rattle’s Ekphrastic poetry prompt was the piece below by Leslie Ann Aguillard. Find more about the artist here. My poem is beneath this image. I didn’t win or place with this nonet, but Rattle hosts a monthly Ekphrastic challenge that writers love, and we all win when we write. We just don’t all get that $15,000 prize for the big contest or the $100 for the monthly challenges……

Wrong Number Nonet

another wrong number again, truth

beginning to set in like knives

each piercing deeper into

memories of warnings:

he can’t be faithful

….don’t marry him!

she knows now ~ 

.

.

.

they were

right

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June 26: Family Photos ~ We Knew It Nonet

Ken standing near Neptune Park, St. Simons Island, Georgia, 1976

Before The World Came to Town

the St. Simons Island that we know

isn’t the touristy mecca

everyone else thinks they know

we knew its infancy

my brother and I

(before the world

came to town) ~

at its

best

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Family Pictures: Chasing Seagulls

Mallory, October 1987, Hilton Head Island, SC

Horizon Nonet

one

day we

just let her

explore the beach

chasing seagulls in

surf, taking flight of her

own , freedom not yet tasted

in a big world where horizons

beckon us to follow distant dreams

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Sleepy Time Nonet

Drifting Off

every night, my husband gives me a

magnesium cream foot massage

to help me get better sleep

before bed, we read for

an hour to unwind ~

bedwarmers, we

turn pages

drifting

off

With a hug of gratitude to the ladies at wholesomehippy, who make good sleep great.

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November 3

After a long weekend working in the yard taking advantage of the gorgeous middle Georgia weather, the best remedy for the sore muscles was a Sunday evening glass of wine in my favorite glass. It’s a ruby chalice that belonged to my parents, and I found it as we were cleaning out the house on the heels of Dad’s death back in June. Red was my mother’s favorite color, and so I brought this cup home with me for those wine nights when I need to unwind and relax. I like that there’s not another one quite like it that I’ve seen anywhere – – and that I can remember Mom as I kick back and take it easy at the end of a productive weekend.

Peaceful, Easy Feeling

I have half-filled my ruby chalice

with Sam’s Club Old Vine Zinfandel

the best affordable wine

here in front of the fire

Eagles music plays

my sore muscles

feeling peace

with each

sip

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Nothing At All Happened Nonet

This month, I continue writing posts from prompts in the Writing Down the Bones Card Deck by Natalie Goldberg, shared with me by my friend Barb Edler of Iowa. I’m continuing this month so that I can experience the entire deck of prompts. Today’s prompt: Begin the writing with “Nothing at all happened.” Or end it that way. I’ve chosen a Nonet and Reverse Nonet today, where each line 9-1 and 1-9 has that many syllables on it. I’ve also chosen a circular ending so that the same line that begins also ends the poem.

Nothing at all happened yesterday.

I did not drink any coffee.

I did not take a shower.

I didn’t brush my teeth,

did not take dogs out,

did not get up ~

stayed in bed

all day

long

but

then my

alarm rang

the day began

like any other,

coffee and shower

and toothbrush and leashes

the residue of a dream

hung thick in early morning air:

nothing at all happened yesterday?

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June Open Write Day 3 of 3 with Leilya Pitre

Leilya Pitre of Louisiana is our host today for the last day of the June Open Write. You can read her full prompt here. She inspires us to write poems about small acts of kindness. If you’ve ever curated a music playlist on a theme, you know there is excitement in the discovery of related verse – it’s an addictive cognitive hobby. Leilya has done that – curated a group of poems on a theme – and offers several model poems to use as inspiration. She shares these below:

She explains the process and urges us to write an etheree or nonet as our poetry form.

  1. Choose a small action or quality that you believe helps make someone a decent human being or good citizen. It may be kindness, honesty, fairness, patience, curiosity, listening, speaking up, sharing, helping, apologizing, forgiving, welcoming, learning, planting, voting, mending, repairing, thanking…
  2. Brainstorm what this word or act looks like in daily life. How does it show up? Who taught it to you? How do you practice or witness it?
  3. Write a poem celebrating or exploring this quality or act.
  • Nonet → 9 lines; starts with 9 syllables, decreasing by one each line.
  • Etheree → 10 lines; starts with 1 syllable, increasing by one each line.

A Gift of Dill Pickle Chip

I slide my dill pickle to the side

a rippled chip, algae-hued green

floppy, salty, puckery

knowing he’s eyeing it,

never having to

ask for this chip

he knows I’ll

offer

it

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#VerseLove Day 15 with Brittany Saulnier – Colors in Nature

Brittany Saulnier, our host for Day 15 of VerseLove2025, is the author of the short story LIGHT OUT in the anthology Just YA: Short Stories, Poems, Essays & Fiction for grades 7 -12. She is the co-creator of Read to Write Kidlit, a podcast dedicated to improving writing craft by talking with authors about their books.

She invites us to think of a recent memory where we were “in nature” and write a poem that highlights the three colors from our memory. You can read Brittany’s full prompt here.

All the Colors of Sunset

what do you call the shade of sunset?

sometimes it’s 14-carat gold

other times, it’s tangerine

or pink cotton candy

sunflower yellow

or lilac storm

….the best nights,

ruby

red

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March 19: 2:36-3:07 Lucky Me! A Proud Nana Nonet

Our hosts today for the fifth and final day of the March Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com are preservice teachers, students at Aquinas College. Come on over and read their prompt as they inspire us to write a nonet.

All I can do is daydream about spending time with my grandchildren, so that’s what I do most afternoons in the 2:36-3:07 slice of my day. I have photos of my family on my desk, and I think on the happy memories when I was rocking newborn Silas, playing Yahtzee with 15 year old Aidan, and pushing Saylor and Noli on the swings, catching River and Beckham at the bottom of the slide, and helping Sawyer put on his new rollerblades at the park. These are the days I look forward to in retirement, and while I can’t be there yet, I can surely daydream about it……..


I’m proud of my seven grandchildren

days steeped in workday retirement

daydreams to spend time with them ~

rocking, reading, playground

visits, traveling,

loving them up

proud nana

full time

fun

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Next Steps Nonet

Boo Radley and Ollie where the new house will be

today we take the next steps toward

building our barndominium

it’s all part of the process

in our retirement plan ~

simplify, downsize,

anticipate

ease in days

ahead

now