Well, here we are. Another month.
Looking to poetry as refuge and escape again.
Glad you’re here…
This month’s theme is susurrus, or an image of thick woods, in whatever form we wish!
What I wish is that I’d been able to actually use the word susurrus —
what a beauty! — but I hope I conjured it up.
A Little Red Re-Telling
Liz Garton Scanlon
Red hood
Eyes bright
Deep woods
Near night
Basket laden
Lonely walk
Quiet cabin
Knock knock
Bed ridden
Nana dear
Winds rush
Stir fear
Brave girl
(Axe-strong)
Raises voice
So long!
All’s well
Wolf flees
Moon settles
In trees
And if you’d like to write with us for next month, the assignment is an etheree; theme is foresight again (or summer, or both); post for the July 31 Poetry Friday edition!
This month, my Poetry Sisters and I are taking another look back, hindsight being 20/20 and all that. I returned to March 2018, when we wrote ekphrastic poems based on this image from The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado:
In my post at the time, I admitted that I “had in mind a formal response but it didn’t happen.” Well, that sounded like a challenge to me. So, here’s the pantoum I didn’t write a couple of years ago!
Stones to Sand
Liz Garton Scanlon
Are you balanced or are you stuck
It’s not obvious from here
What is fate and what’s mere luck
Do you succumb or do you steer?
It’s not obvious from here
I’m at arm’s length, I cannot see
Do you succumb or do you steer
The stones to sand, the sand to sea
I’m at arm’s length, I cannot see
The waking dream, the beating heart
The stones to sand, the sand to sea
The what’s-been-altered since the start
The waking dream, the beating heart
The settled world, now thunderstruck
Oh, what’s-been-altered since the start
Are you balanced, are you stuck?
Now… before you zip off to read all the others, an announcement. Or rather, an invitation. After more than a decade of writing together and several years of monthly assignments, my Poetry Sisters and I wondered if any of you might like to play along? Here’s what we propose: Once we agree to our poetic prompts and calendar, we’ll share them with you and invite you to write and share, too. We’ll remind you once a month or so (via our various social media megaphones) and you’re welcome to tag us (or not) when you post.
Now, to that end, here’s what’s cooking for June, posting on June 26th, the last Friday of the month: The theme is susurrus, or an image of thick woods, in whatever form we wish! Join us?
Until then, here are a few more poems from this month’s prompt.
Stay safe and well, friends!
Hello, friends. This is it. April 30th. The close of National Poetry Month. The end of my daily haiku until next year.
I haven’t checked in much this week — except for the basic 5-7-5 — because of a heavy work week, but I want you to know that I have loved this. Even more than I usually do. The ritual has been meditative and cathartic, the connection with you all has been comforting and fun, and the poems that you’ve posted alongside mine have been inspiring. So, thank you.
And hey everybody, this has been a hard time. And it’s not over. Let’s stay in touch with poetry and with each other. Both things are pretty helpful. And in the meantime, stay safe and well, everyone. Stay safe and well.
Haiku 30
April 30
Leaves and lungs? Magic!
but we take breath for granted.
Make a show of it!
Our group project this month was a form — The Skinny Poem — and it’s a good thing, too. In these days of open-endedness, it can really help to have a puzzle to solve, a container to fill, a model to follow.
Yes, even when being creative.
As some of you know, I’ve been writing a haiku every day this month, in honor of National Poetry Month. It’s an annual affair for me, but wow did I cling to it like a life raft this year. This daily assignment that gave me both room to breathe and rules to follow.
So, speaking of rules, here’s the scoop on The Skinny Poem:
Eleven lines long.
The first and last line use the same words, although they may be re-arranged.
Every other line is made up of single words only, with repeating words on lines 2, 6 and 10.
I know. Math. Nevermind all that for now. For me what is funny (after all this talk of liking plans) is that all of my poems are but the push-pull of going by the book vs. going by the gut… of openness vs. answers… of leadership vs. resistance. (No surprise there, but sill. Funny.) Anyway, here are a few Skinny Poems, and then links to more below.
A Skinny Question
Liz Garton Scanlon
Which is greater, knowledge or
curiosity
(doesn’t
kill
cats)
curiosity
opens
windowed
hearts
curiosity
which is knowledge, or greater
A Skinny Equation
Liz Garton Scanlon
You want to think
answers
all
add
up
answers
can
be
proven
answers
you want to think
A Skinny Map
Liz Garton Scanlon
Maps followed or
ignored
like
horoscopes
exalted
ignored
like
leaders
revered
ignored
or followed, maps.
