(4) WAYS TO FIND POEMS

(1) FILL YOUR JOURNAL/NOTEBOOK WITH WORDS, WORD IMAGES, PHRASES, SENTENCES, AND FRAGMENTS OF SENTENCES.

(2) EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITIES OF THESE WORDS AND SENTENCES.

(3) DEVELOP IDEAS BASED ON  YOUR THOUGHTS. IDEAS ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF ALL GOOD POETRY

(4) CAPTURE THESE  IDEAS IN YOUR JOURNAL/NOTEBOOK FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.


*** IN  THIS WAY, YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE AN EYE OUT FOR POSSIBLE POEMS.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

ALL ENTRIES ON THIS BLOG WILL BE SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!!!

 I AM OFFICIALLY WRITING A BOOK FOR NATIONAL NOVEL WRITER'S MONTH IN NOVEMBER  2014  (#NANOWRIMO) 

 I WILL ALSO PARTICIPATE IN  THE 2014 NOVEMBER PAD CHAPBOOK CHALLENGE.

For information on these two events please log on to nanowrimo.org and writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides
===========================================================
*** In order to get a comprehensive view of the prompt-to-poetry process of learning, please review the archives of the LET'S  TALK POETRY blog in chronological order. 

                                                SEE YOU REAL SOON!


***Most images on blog are courtesy of stockvault.net

PROMPT 30 - THE EFFORT

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

SPEAKING OF ASPECTS

first of all

i don't even know

why they would

bring up the

subject of astrology

and even speak on it

as if they had

some sort of experience

in the strength and

weaknesses of planets

of houses and aspects of

the lunar and solar cycles

in a birth chart

because believe it

or not gentlemen

i have studied

the  fine art of

deciphering

what these things

represent in your life

so this topic of

discussion could 

very well entice

me and i could

go on and on

PROMPT 27 - THE EFFORT

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
COME TO THINK OF IT


at first thought:

i mean really
what difference does
it make today what
went on yesterday
with my ancestors living
out their lives
i mean really
what can i learn from
following a paper trail
from the 1940 census in                              
marlboro county south carolina
that could affect me now
i thought                                                            

but
when i saw that
faded old piece of
wrinkled paper with names
in black and white that
showed my great granddaddy's
handwriting showing he
was quite literate
a minister a businessman
a property owner in
his day and time
with the types of
obstacles he had to face
and overcome
it made me confident that
given the not so terrible
conditions under which
i live unlike my forefathers
i can do whatever i
put my mind to do

so on second thought:

genealogy took on a
different meaning and
purpose in my life now
a source of
inspiration

PROMPT 26 - THE EFFORT

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
PLUGGED-IN


i feel a connection
to other people
when i look around
and see
they all have exactly
the same concerns as me

too much month
at the                                    
end of my money
sugar in my herb tea
instead of clover honey

food prices sky high
and here's the real keeper
cat food instead of tuna
is not really cheaper

and when it's all over
no matter what you worth
we all end up going
right back to mother earth

PROMPT 25 - THE EFFORT

===============================================
YESTERYEAR


that old farmhouse
you see
on route 2 box 586
where we all grew up
hard to believe
papa
built it himself
from the ground
but he chopped down
pine trees from the nearby
woods one cold winter season
before any of us was even
born
his huge hands covered
with frost from the storm of
'08
laid out the foundation
for our lives slab by slab by
slab and mama helped
though in a family way      
fixing his food
nursing his tired bones
hanging wash clothes out back
to dry watching
it all happen
from the kitchen window of
a raggedy one-room shack where
she peeped lovingly from behind
her patchwork lace curtain at
the man who would one day
become our grandfather

PROMPT 24 - THE EFFORT

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
...BITTER TWISTED LIES
(from "Still I Rise," by Maya Angelou)


so ready to go yet
choosing to stay
addicted to
your comely way
but more than that
your style your grace
your real sweet kiss
your baby face
behind the lights
your soft brown eyes
your late night love

your late night cries
they all are bitter
twisted lies
a hundred times
i let you go
yet only to return
my broken heart
so black and blue
yet still
it did not learn
each night this
true love slowly dies
inside your bitter
twisted lies
but now i must
be on my way
the night so long
before it's day
yet time itself
now justifies
to live for bitter
twisted lies

PROMPT 23 - THE EFFORT

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

THERE "HE" GO


Uncle JL had the gift or
however you look at it
being the one in
the family who could
see restless spirits or spooks
or haints as
they were called
in the southern backwoods
coming down the road
from the cotton field
one early fall evening
side by side with Papa
who did not
have the gift
right there Papa
he pointed
where boy i don't see
nothin
he runnin
in the house now
raising a ruckus
inside the girl's room
underneath the bed sheets
let my leg go Evelyn
one sister shouts                          
i don't have your
leg Adele
then who do
i don't know
in comes
Papa with his shotgun
taking aim
where he at boy pointing
there he go Papa
slippin out the
window
but you can't
shoot no...BLAM!!!

PROMPT 22 - THE EFFORT

...........................................................................
SKY'S THE LIMIT


on an overcast
afternoon the sky
a blue wispy smoke
the sun
high among the
clouds overhead
looking up
into the firmament
from my backside
on the lawn
i spy
the profile of
Shakespeare
his beard drifting
off to the east
followed by his head
now a stack of
fluffy pancake shapes
since they are dark
mud cakes
connected
by a tubular cord
umbilical in nature
pulling a huge dim-eyed
smiley face
so it seems
behind several smaller
versions floating beneath
and they all
dissipate
ever so slowly
merging into other
shapes

PROMPT 21 - THE EFFORT

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

VIRGINAL


as is my nature
i seek in all
things perfection in
mind and body
shape and
development in all
areas of life
to be                                                                
young and gifted with
the knowledge to
handle me
in a quiet way with
care and loving
affection at all times

ELEMENTS OF POETRY

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IMAGERY- A mental picture created by the poet that appeals to one or more of the senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch). These images can be simple, metaphorical, or strange and visionary descriptions of real life.


PERSONIFICATION- Describing  an inanimate object, thing or non-human as if it were human.

SHARING MY WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
In the weekend workshop PROMPTS FOR POETS, which I attended at Poets House in New York on 7/26 & 7/27 (see "Live Blog" posts on this site for those dates). The participants were given the following prompt:

PROMPT- Select a poem in a foreign language and translate it in English.

Among the choices on the table, I selected the following poem:

It was written by the 9th century Chinese poet/hermit HANSHAN, who called himself Cold Mountain, or Cold Cliff.

My effort:

A poem by Hanshan (Cold Mountain)
Translated by the Poet Outlaw



the atmosphere
up high is

where the
snow drifts

takes away
your breath

freezes on                                              

contact with
thin air where
swirling circles

of elevated clouds
float by and
birds of prey
are the

only things
that dare
to stand
on cold mountain


For more Sharing My Workshop Experience log on to jcdudleywriter.blogspot.com

PROMPT 20 - THE EFFORT

..................................................................................
AT THE END

just give me
one more moment
to hold
the love of my life near
to dry all
the eyes of sad
goodbyes and fear
not really knowing                              

if in the end
with my last breath
my last footsteps
on this unknown journey
if i will even care

ELEMENTS OF POETRY

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Metaphor- A comparison that likens two different things by identifying one as the other.  Ex: "all the world's a stage."



Simile- A comparison likening one thing to another by the use of like, as, such as, how, etc.  Ex: tears flowed like wine.

MY EFFORT AT PROMPT #13

#######################################################
LIVING IT OUT

the love of all things
writing has me holding
fast since a child
needing to put words
on paper
string and thread them
 like beads in meaningful
patterns
put words together like
puzzle pieces
perfectly fitted
making them create
something new
something to foster
this dream this
notion that i can
and do now
make poetry
like no one else  has

MY EFFORT AT PROMPT #12

###############################################################
on a sunny day
the earth opens up
her loving arms to embrace
the wonderfulness of all
creation

on a sunny day
young men and women
laugh and bask in
the rays of their dreams

on a sunny day
dark old voices
laugh behind their backs
at time wasted
dreaming idle dreams

on a sunny day
things are simple
now there is no
time to spare

WRITE TIME 5/14/2014

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
DIG INTO YOUR TOOLBOX AND BUILD A POEM THAT SAYS "YOU."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PROMPT #12 - Take the phrase "On a sunny day...," and write a poem. The phrase can be in the beginning, middle, or end of your poem.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Will meet you here, Wednesday, 5/21/14 on LET'S TALK POETRY, to share what I've been inspired to write.

WRITE TIME 5/7/2014

#########################################################
DIG INTO YOUR TOOLBOX AND BUILD A POEM THAT SAYS "YOU."
################################################

PROMPT #11 - Write a poem describing what happens when  you go fishing.
#################################

###################################################
Will meet you here Wednesday, 5/14/14, on LET'S TALK POETRY to share what I've been inspired to write.

SPECIAL "LET'S TALK POETRY" PROMPT

=====================================================
WRITE A POEM FOR MOTHER'S DAY
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

***Will meet here on Sunday, 5/11/14,  which is celebrated in the U.S. as Mother's Day,to share what I've been inspired to write.
===============================================

DIGGING INTO THE POET'S TOOLBOX

The TOOLBOX contains the following tools: pens or pencils, notebooks or paper, colorful markers, a laptop or tablet, a dictionary, thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary and any thing that helps you put words down.

Speaking of words! Lots of words, and a vivid imagination are a part of every poet's arsenal.

PENS - Find a pen that's comfortable for you. Try out a few. Pens are like shoes. Buy one that fits good. I have a collection of Uni-ball pens that I've been using for over 10 years.

Or if you prefer pencils. My favorite  #2 pencil is Ticonderoga, by Dixon. They call themselves "The World's Best Pencil."

Of course there's your LAPTOP or TABLET of choice and your SMART PHONE.

NOTEBOOK/JOURNAL - Your writer's notebook will be your treasure chest.  It is where you put notes observations, drafts, quotes, lists, letters, jokes, words, drawings, charts, secrets, stuff, and other things.

Like your pen, pick one that's comfortable for you: spiral, composition, wireless, or a 3-ring loose-leaf binder. It can be small, large, medium, extra small or all. In fact I use all of the above.

                       WRITE IN IT ON A REGULAR BASIS!

DICTIONARY
THESAURUS 
RHYMING DICTIONARY

These (3) books are a must. In addition to having a good paperback copy of each book, you can also use the ones built into your electronic devices. I use Webster's New World Dictionary, The Random House Roget's Thesaurus, and The Poetry Dictionary by John Drury. The rhyming dictionary is built into my laptop.

Using these tools you must write all the time. Practice, practice, practice!

(My weekly prompts posted on this blog, LET'S TALK POETRY, is an excellent way to keep you writing, so stay tuned).

In addition to writing all the time, you must also read, read, read! If you are going to WRITE POETRY, you must READ POETRY.

I read poetry throughout the day and night, subscribing to various sites that offer daily poems from various sources. Click on poets.org for starters.

Of course you can add any item to your toolbox that you like, because it it your personal storehouse for creativity.

So open up that toolbox and get busy. The world is waiting to read your poems!


                          THE BEST WAY TO LEARN IS BY DOING!!