November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 30

The final Poetic Asides Challenge prompt for the month:

For today's prompt, write a lessons learned poem. If you've been writing to a certain theme, this poem might take a moment to step back and reflect on the BIG PICTURE. If you're like me and couldn't quite stick to one theme throughout the month, then this poem might be about real lessons learned (either this month or during your entire lifetime). Or you might just write a poem about going to school. Or to work. Or this blog. Or something else.

By the way, this is a "Two for Tuesday" prompt, so the opposing prompt would be to write a poem in which someone or something doesn't learn their lesson. Or how they're unable or unwilling to learn their lesson.

My poem was a lessons learned poem, a dialogue with myself on psychology and human nature that comes to the conclusion that we really haven’t come as far as we think we have. I’m already thinking of how to revise it later on, to expand on the ways psychology and human nature clash. It could devolve into a poem on what’s normal, from the psychology side, and from the ordinary person side.

So in it’s own way the poem covers both of the prompts, lessons learned, and lessons we haven’t learned yet. Of course, that’s my way of cheating. I really should write a lessons not learned poem that stands on its own. I might yet on the revisit/editing sessions in December.

Three haiku, one of which could relate to the prompt, and one tanka. The tanka could be a lesson not learned, because I manage to do the same thing over and over again, despite every sign of impending doom. Maybe it should be a lesson relearned?


11/30 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 3
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 46
Haiku - 38
Tanka - 56


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 29

The next to last Poetic Asides prompt:

For today's prompt, write a next steps poem. This might be a good opportunity to try writing a list poem. Or it might be a good time to write about your future plans. It might even be a good chance for you to write about spiral staircases. Who knows?

I wasn’t sure how to approach this one and finally wrote two poems, both introspective in nature. The first was about how easy it is to trap yourself in your own little world (and the steps to getting out), the second was about taking baby steps on the road to enlightenment in a “I want it all I want it now” society.

I’m not happy with either poem, they are too introspective, too narrow in focus and too me centric. I need to approach editing with an eye towards finding the universal and connecting the reader. Of course, that will be the editing goal for all the poems written this month. It’s easy to write about Me, I, and Myself, much harder to put the situation in terms We can understand.

One method I’ve used to shake things up is to look at a poem, if written in first person, change it to third person, and on the rare occasion, second person. It forces you to think differently about word choice and meaning. Sometimes it’s easier to get to the gist of what you wanted to say. Sometimes the poem won’t work no matter what you do, and the kind thing is to pull it from life support – hopefully stealing the good line or two to rework into a different poem.

Two haiku on the prompt, and two tanka, one on the prompt, one on the weather.


11/29 TALLY
Poems - 2
Haiku - 2
Tanka - 2

To Date Total
Poems - 45
Haiku - 35
Tanka - 55


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 28

Sunday Poetic Asides:

For today's prompt, write a "what really happened" poem. Use a real event (or an event from a popular movie) and spin it in another direction. Or use an event described in one of your poems earlier this month and spin it in a new direction. Or refute something that was never even in question. Or just poem any way that you can, because we're almost to the finish line.

I really liked this prompt, lots of ways to go with it. I finally settled on a subject I've visited before but didn't do justice to the first time around. I wrote "Pandora's Side Of The Story". I think the woman got screwed over on the whole letting evil out of the box thing, since it was all a big con by Zeus in the first place. So I wrote a rather lengthy poem telling Pandora's take on things. Her side is a bit different, as you might imagine, especially her thoughts on what leaving hope in the box really meant.

I like this prompt enough that I think I will revisit it in other forms. I've played with the idea before, poems telling the woman's side of the story – Lot's wife among others. It makes you think a little more on how we accept certain ideas as presented without delving a little deeper.

One haiku on the spitty, windy, snowy weather, and a tanka on the cat. It's getting easier to write a haiku that I'm happy with. That alone has made daily writing worthwhile.


11/28 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 43
Haiku - 33
Tanka - 53



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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 27

From Poetic Asides:
For today's prompt, take the phrase "Blame the (blank)," replace the blank with a word or phrase, use the new phrase as the title of your poem, and then, write the poem. Some example titles might include: "Blame the rain," "Blame the loud-mouthed jerk in the row behind us," "Blame the ref," etc.

Another fill in the blank title prompt. I reacted with relative disinterest, although I managed to write a short poem – Blame The Future, where I blame all my present day problems on things that haven't happened yet. Because it's more fun to have a futuristic scapegoat than a present day one.

I must be getting used to title prompts, because I didn't have a great deal of trouble with this one. Or the habit of writing to the prompt has taken hold and I can tackle whatever comes. Or maybe I just got lucky today.

Only one haiku, and one tanka, both on the season we're experiencing at the moment. Hey, when you don't know what to write about, write about the weather.


11/27 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 42
Haiku - 32
Tanka - 52


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 26

Post Turkey Day Poetic Asides:

For today's prompt, write an "on the run" poem. You can decide who or what is on the run and what might be causing them to run. For myself, I had to link today's poem to my poem yesterday. But you can run in any direction you want.

The prompt didn't inspire me to any great heights. I blame the post Thanksgiving torpor. It didn't help that work was so slow I was actually excited to see a client walk through the door to break up the monotony. But I made myself buckle down and think "on the run".

The main image I got was that of the two Corgis running pell mell down the fence line as they try and keep up with the Retriever on one side of the Doberman on the other. For every graceful Dobie bound there are three furious Corgi strides. Somehow, the short-legged twosome manage to keep up. It's one hundred feet from one gate to the back fence, and the Corgis and neighbor dogs run it dozens of times a day. No wonder they are in such good shape. So my poem is about the pure joy of two Corgis 'on the run' up an down the fence line.

One haiku, and one tanka, neither on the topic, really. But that's okay, they are getting easier to write. I start with a mental image of the weather of the day and go from there. Sometimes it's a nature poem, sometimes it's something a bit more removed from that initial thought process. Weather, animals, the look of the sky all serve for jumping off points.


11/26 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 41
Haiku - 31
Tanka - 51


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 25

Thanksgiving Day from Poetic Asides:

For today's prompt, write an animal poem. Your poem can mention an animal in its title or somewhere in the body of the poem. The animal doesn't have to be the main focus of the poem, but your poem should mention an animal somewhere in it. For instance, my poem from yesterday would've counted, because it mentioned a blue jay. However, I've written a new poem for today (as you should too).

This was actually an easy prompt for me, I write a fair amount of animal poems anyhow. Of course I had to write the usual cat and dogs poem as in cats and dogs, living together.

Then my challenge to myself was to find another animal to write about. I usually do bird poems, and didn't want to wax poetic on the Thanksgiving turkey. Instead I picked a bison.

Living on the plains bison imagery is all around, and some days you can stand out on the prairie and imagine the passage of thousands of buffalo through the grass. I have bison jewelry, bison bones and a bit of bison fur to be spun into yarn. With bison tokens all around me, it seemed the logical choice for a poem.

Animal haiku poems come a bit easily also. The tanka one was a bit harder to bring to heel.

11/25 TALLY
Poems - 2
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 40
Haiku - 30
Tanka - 50


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 24

Here we are on Day 24 with the Poetic Asides prompt:

For today's prompt, write a spaces poem. Your poem could involve white space, outer space, inner space, a parking space, the space between one day and the next, or something other type of spacing. Allow yourself enough space to play around.

Another good prompt for wide open interpretation. I played around in one poem with the idea of silence being a space in between the noises, and how that space could be welcoming or intimidating, depending on your mindset.

For fun I tackled another poem about outer space, and how the distance from Earth to other places looks deceptive from where I'm standing. Here on Earth, being Earth-centric, or an Earth-O-Phile.

It was easier to write a haiku based on this prompt, same with a tanka. I'm getting better at condensing an idea down to haiku form, then expanding it slightly to be a tanka. You'd think it would be the other way around, squishing a poem down smaller and smaller, but it's not.

11/24 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 38
Haiku - 29
Tanka - 49


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 23

Hey, it's Tuesday, and from Poetic Asides--

For today's "Two for Tuesday" prompt, write one of the following (or both if you're an overachiever):
1.    Write a form poem. This poem can cover any subject you want, but it should be written using a poetic form. Could be haiku, sestina, triolet, shadorma, paradelle, or some other poetic form. (Click here to see a list of 35 poetic forms.)
2.    Write an anti-form poem. This poem doesn't have to follow a poetic form, but it should communicate the poet's distaste for poetic forms.

I’m not anti-form at all, so option two didn’t interest me at first. Considering I’ve been writing a haiku and tanka a day along with the poetry prompt of the day, I felt like it would be cheating to do a haiku or tanka. I decided one form I wanted to do more with was a haibun. I’ve played around with a haibun or two, not with as much enthusiasm as I have with haiku and tanka. I would do a renga, but alas, I have no one to tag team with on such short notice.

Other forms I considered are an elegy, a kyrielle, and a villanelle. I usually like a trip down Form Road, because it forces me to think in terms I wouldn’t normally use. Always good for shaking up poetic lethargy.

So I ended up doing a haibun, than an elegy of sorts, and then another poem that has nothing to do with the prompt but followed on the heels of the elegy. I may revisit the prompt later and try a villanelle when I feel more like repeating myself.

One haiku and two tanka later...

11/23 TALLY
Poems - 3
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 2

To Date Total
Poems - 37
Haiku - 28
Tanka - 48


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 22

The Poetic Asides Prompt:

No, really, the prompt today is to write a poem that takes a stand. This could be a political stand, religious stand, personal stand, or I guess a poem about the ability to stand--or setting up a stand (think vegetable stand or newspaper stand, etc.). Whatever your thing, be sure to take a poetic stand today.

Of course the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about “take a stand” is resistance, rebellion, and downright stubbornness. At least that’s the way MY mind works. But what to rebel against? So many things. If I weren’t on a time crunch to get these prompt ramblings posted, I’d entertain ideas from our studio audience.

I really should know better than to try and force the prompt into my underlying themes. Mostly, the poem rebels and goes where it wants to with the prompt. But lately… the poems have been self-subjecting to the usual themes.

I got one poem that talked about how I see myself from the outside as opposed to how I know myself to really be. The two selves should really get together and have coffee sometime, but that didn’t happen in this poem, although self one came to a grudging realization that all was not happy in self two’s world.

Poem two took a stand against medications that are supposed to help you get better, but really just suck you into being dependent on them. My rebellion poem that ended up being more plaintive than rabble rousing.

Three haiku and one tanka, all on the recent snowfall we’ve had.

11/22 TALLY
Poems - 2
Haiku - 3
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 34
Haiku - 27
Tanka - 46


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 21

Sunday and Poetic Asides:

The prompt for today is to write a permission poem. You don't need my (or anyone else's) permission to write your poem today, but it should somehow involve the concept of giving, refusing, asking, etc. permission.

Another broad prompt that's intriguing in all the ways you can approach the topic of permission.
I jumped right in with a poem about giving myself permission to be myself—harder than you might think.

I wrote a second poem on the same topic but with a different slant, a Sunday-Come-To-Meeting talk with myself on not taking myself so seriously. Those were the poems that gave permission.

Next came a poem that refused permission. It didn't even ask before it went ahead and did exactly what it wanted to do. Of course, in the end, the poem got a bit anxious, and did what it professed it wasn't going to do. Ask someone else's opinion about what needed to be done. Pesky poems.

Three tanka and two haiku, one tanka on the prompt that I actually like better than the poems I wrote for the prompt. Somehow, summing up the prompt in the five lines of the tanka made it more immediate than the twelve line poems. That's the beauty of Japanese short forms. they force you to discard everything but the essentials.


11/21 TALLY
Poems - 3
Haiku - 2
Tanka - 3

To Date Total
Poems - 32
Haiku - 24
Tanka - 45

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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 20

Poetic Asides prompt for the day:

For today's prompt, write a "what's wrong or right" poem. As with any of these prompts, there are many ways to come at this one. However, since I'm in a hurry to hit the road, my mind is completely blanking on all of them. So, whether it's right or wrong--wrong or right--I'm just gonna get down to poeming. Have a great unsupervised day!

Another wide open prompt, which is both good and bad. The good is it leaves itself open to a wide variety of possibilities. The bad – a wide variety of possibilities. When faced with so much choice my brain tends to leap from idea to idea, never pausing long enough to develop any poem ideas.

One way to tackle it was to look at "what's wrong/right with ____?" and then filling in the blank and answering the question. Another way to approach the prompt would be to describe the flip sides of something, as "what's right/wrong about ______?"

Of course I did neither of those things, and instead approached the prompt as a success/failure ratio, where all my rights and wrongs get added up with a rather unexpected result.

One haiku and one tanka, neither on the prompt, but both on the weather. Again. 

11/20 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 29
Haiku - 22
Tanka - 42



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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 19

Friday. Poetic Asides:

For today's prompt, write a poem with a hole in it. The hole could be referenced in the poem, which could be about subjects such as hitting a golf ball in the hole, punching a hole in the wall, or even visiting a hole in the wall bar. Of course, with everyone flexing their concrete poetry skills lately, I'm sure at least a few poets might take a stab at writing a poem with an actual hole in the middle (maybe a doughnut-shaped poem?). Another possibility is to write a poem with a hole in its logic, but I'm sure you can find any number of loop-holes for attacking this prompt.

Another good prompt that was hard to wrap my head around at first. I know what I wanted to say, it was just finding the right way to say it. I made a false start that has a good line or two in it – another .5 poem that will need surgery as well as revision.

I had to run through the various types of hole and come up with the over done hole in the heart. That was my aborted attempt to say something new on the topic. I may still be able to pull it off, but not right now.

My second poem ricocheted off the idea of a hole in the universe, which, like the movies, zoomed in and became a bit more personal. I wrote on what it was like to be the hole in the middle of everything. And nothing.

The poems come a bit easier when I don't try and outthink them, or try and outwit the prompt. If I just relax and go with the ideas that come to mind readily, things go much smoother. Hopefully I can carry that method forward after November is done.

One haiku and one tanka, neither on the prompt directly – maybe covertly.

11/19 TALLY
Poems - 1.5
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 28
Haiku - 21
Tanka - 41



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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 18

Today’s public service message from Poetic Asides:

For today's prompt, write a lost & found poem. I suppose you could focus on either what's lost or what's found--or both. Or you could focus on how things change after something lost. Or after something is found. Or...I'm starting to lose my train of thought. I'm sure you've probably got the idea.

For some reason opposites always flummox me, at first. My mind naturally ping pongs from one extreme to the other so prompts like this should be right up my alley. I just have to give free rein to myself to consider everything on the spectrum, from lost all the way through found and beyond.

My poem for this prompt ended up being a see-saw, describing a rather noise filled mental state and lost marbles that eventually find themselves. A bit weirder and more metaphoric than usual, but half the fun of doing these prompts is allowing myself to explore other avenues of poem writing. I’ve discovered that no matter how hard I try, my poems always contain some underlying themes and ideas, so now I’ve learned to relax and let it happen.

I've also learned to not rush the ending. Some poems end rather abruptly it seems to me, but on a later reading, it seems they end in just the right spot. Of course, time and editing will tell.

A few haiku today, and a tanka or two.

11/18 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 2
Tanka - 2

To Date Total
Poems - 26.5
Haiku - 24
Tanka - 40

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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 17

It's Wednesday, and time for another Poetic Asides prompt:

For today's prompt, take the phrase "Tell me why (blank)," replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write the poem. Possible titles could include: "Tell me why 1+1=2," "Tell me why I'm wrong," "Tell me why my hand always gets stuck in the Pringle's container," etc. Get silly; get serious; get poeming!

Ah, the dreaded fill in the blank title poem prompt. I'm a little more okay with it than I was previously, although I did have to ponder a while on the phrase.

I thought of going with the phrase as is – Tell Me Why – and then moved on to variations on the Tell Me Why this or that until I stumbled across Tell Me Why You Love Me. At first I rejected it but my mind kept circling back, so I wrote a poem for that title. As Robert was saying in his lead up to the prompt, sometimes themes emerge slowly.

It was slow in emerging, because who am I to demand you tell me why you love me was my reasoning. I stayed with it and the poem that came about dealt with reasons and insecurities over why the narrator would ask this question.

Is it a love poem? Well, sort of. Like all my love poems, it's a bit prickly, like a balled up hedgehog. Does it answer the demand the title posed? Not in so many words, but that's okay too. 

There were two haiku and two tanka that could relate to the prompt, depends on how far you want to stretch your definition of Tell Me Why.


11/17 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 2
Tanka - 2

To Date Total
Poems - 25.5
Haiku - 22
Tanka - 38


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 16

Tuesday again! Already! Here is the prompt for the day from Poetic Asides:

It's a two-for-Tuesday prompt today. Here are the prompts:
1.    Write a stacking poem. The poem could be about stacking objects. Or it could be about stacking ideas, stacking the deck, stacking the odds against something happening, etc.
2.    Write an unstacking poem. Just the opposite of the first prompt. Unstack objects or tear down the obstacles stacked in your way, etc.

As usual, the Tuesday prompts are opposites. Which is good in a way, because either my poems format themselves neatly along those lines, or they contain both parts of the prompt in one poem.

My mind did the usual run through of the prompt and came up with stacking hay bales (but, alas I have no horses), stacking dominos, stacking bricks and pancake stacks. Unstacking became tossing hay bales off the pile, computer programs, and untangling skeins of yarn. Hey, I never said my thought process was logical.

Somehow I ended up with the image of stacking plates on poles and trying to balance the whole spinning mess and the resulting chaos. There are pieces of what I want to say in the poem, but it isn’t as clear as it could be. I know some time away before revision will help a lot with focus and ‘unstacking’ the meaning hidden within.

Two haiku and three tanka today, loosely related to the prompt.


11/16 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 2
Tanka - 3

To Date Total
Poems - 24.5
Haiku - 20
Tanka - 36



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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 15

Hey, halfway through the month and steadily poeming.

Here is today’s prompt from Poetic Asides:

For today's prompt, write a "just when you thought it was safe" poem. For instance, write a poem about the dangers of going off a diet just after hitting your goal weight, entering the water after it appears the killer shark has been caught (Jaws anyone?), or whatever else could offer a sneaky bit of danger. Of course, with only 15 days of poeming left, it's safe to assume you're going to finish this challenge--or is it?  

This prompt immediately conjured up all kinds of possibilities. It was harder to narrow down than I thought. I finally settled on the bliss of an anxiety free day, and the unrealistic expectation that the day would stretch into eternity. Of course when it doesn’t, things come crashing down again. 

The hard part of these prompts is how much detail and personal info to put in them. On one hand, the personal is one reason a lot of people read poetry – for that brief, intense glance into someone else’s world. How much of a glimpse do we let strangers have? If we don’t write honestly and forthrightly, it seems the poem suffers. 

I tried for a second one and have a half-realized idea that needs a lot more work before it grows up to be a poem. So it goes. 

Two haiku and three tanka today, none on the prompt, but most on the weather.

11/15 TALLY
Poems - 1.5
Haiku - 2
Tanka - 3

To Date Total
Poems - 23.5
Haiku - 18
Tanka - 33


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Corgis For Anonymous

Corgi Pics to break up the poetry monopoly, by Anonymous request.

 Maximus,thinking about treats

 Merlin, contemplating treats

 Merlin, post fetch

Max, practicing the Corgi Mind Meld

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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 14

Here is the Poetic Asides prompt for the day:

For today's prompt, write a crossroads poem. This could be a poem about a physical, mental, or emotional intersection. For instance, graduating college or getting a divorce often leaves people at a crossroads. Or finishing a ginormous project at work. Or even starting a poem. After all, that blank page (or screen) offers so many new possibilities.

Another prompt I wrestled with. I had to look up crossroads and read the definition to get a handle on it.

cross•road  n.
1. A road that intersects another road.
2. crossroads (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
a. A place where two or more roads meet.
b. A small, usually rural community situated at an intersection of two or more roads: asked for directions at a remote crossroads.
c. A place that is centrally located.
d. A crucial point.

Okay, that didn't tell me a whole lot that I didn't know. I started casting about for ideas and finally settled on 2b, a small, usually rural community situated at the intersection of two or more roads. Hey, that describes where I live, here at the intersection of an Interstate and a State highway. Okay, so they intersect out in the great big empty that is Wyoming, but any port in a poetry prompt.

My poem explored my on again, off again relationship with the place that I live, and the fact I never intended to stay here as long as I have.

Two haiku, one on the prompt, and one tanka, also on the prompt.
11/14 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 2
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 22
Haiku - 16
Tanka - 31


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 13

Today's Poetic Asides prompt:

For today's prompt, make the title of your poem a question; then, the poem should go about trying to answer the question. You can be direct in your answer or a little vague. Possible titles might be: "Why is the sky blue?", "Where are my car keys?", or "How am I supposed to go about writing a poem that answers a question that also happens to be the title of the poem anyway?" I mean, any question will do to get you started, then the fun part is poeming an answer.

Questions, questions, I have a thousand questions, except when I'm trying to write a poem based on a question. Then I got nothing. I finally reverted to existential crisis mode and played around with a Who Am I type of question.

Not really happy with either the prompt or the poem that came out of it, so I played around some more, asking questions left and right. My next attempt played with the question, Who Knew? It was a short poem, that isn't doing much for me at the moment. Maybe it will grow into something come editing time.

One haiku not to the prompt, and one tanka having to do with snow...


11/13 TALLY
Poems - 2
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 21
Haiku - 14
Tanka - 30


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 12

Poetic Asides:

For today's prompt, write a "forget what they say" poem. To do this, you could take a familiar saying and spin it on its head. Or comfort someone who's being told they can't do something. Or have the narrator of the poem pledge not to listen to the crowd. Or forget what I've said here, and do it your own way.

I’ve got to tell you, this prompt left me blank. I looked at it, mulled it over, and came up with nothing. So I closed out of it and left it for a few hours hoping things would improve with age. It didn’t. The fault was with me, everything I came up with seemed too mundane, or clichéd. So I stepped back from it again and tucked “forget what they say” into the brain recycler. Around and around it went, cozying up to those damned clichés again.

I finally took Robert’s advice at the end of the prompt and did it my own way, and wrote a poem about forgetting—the way I can forget who I’m talking to, who they are, where I’ve seen them before—and my frantic attempts to coax a name out of my befuddled brain, which usually ends in failure.

Speaking of endings, I haven’t been happy with the conclusion of most of the poems I’ve written for the Challenge. Then again, I suppose that’s something to address in the editing process. Note to self: Punch up those endings!

A poem, a haiku and a tanka later, Day 12 is done.

11/12 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 19
Haiku - 13
Tanka - 29


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 11

Here is today's prompt from Poetic Asides:

For today's prompt, take the phrase "No One Wants (blank)," replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write the poem. Possible titles include: "No One Wants to Tell the Truth," "No One Wants to Save Their Money," "No One Wants to Write a Sestina," etc. I hope everyone is ready to write a poem today!

These title poems are not my favorites. So I didn't expect much to come of it. I had to cast around a bit and hope something came to mind.

Something did. Rutabagas.

You heard me, rutabagas. My poem ended up being "No One Wants Rutabagas." Honest, that was what I came up with.

I hope tomorrow's prompt erases the horror.

No haiku, and no tanka today.

11/11 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 0
Tanka - 0

To Date Total
Poems - 18
Haiku - 12
Tanka - 28

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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 10

Today's prompt from Poetic Asides:

For today's prompt, write a love poem. Simple as that. Poets who've done the PAD challenges in the past know I always sneak this one in somewhere during the month. And if you're all anti-love poem, that's fine. Express your anti-love in a poem as well; it still counts toward this prompt.

I knew this one was coming. I like to think I can write a passable love poem, but somehow they always come out a bit... slanted. Some turn into manifestos, others grow snarky. Once in a while I get a pure, straight up love poem. Not this time, however. I got a slightly sideways love poem, one about comparisons – those things that my love is like, mostly – and a closing declaration that was a tad on the cynical side, but not in a bad way. I think that's possible.

I didn't think I'd get a second poem from the prompt but I did. A short piece about poetic requirements for love.

A little light on the Japanese forms today. Only one haiku and one tanka, neither having much to do with the prompt. Not that I'm out of haiku I think, just that the prompt took a lot out of me on the first poem write-through, and left me very little brain power to wrestle with haiku. 

11/10 TALLY
Poems - 2
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 1

To Date Total
Poems - 17
Haiku - 12
Tanka - 28


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 9

Hey, it’s Two for Tuesday. Here are the prompts from Poetic Asides:

For today's prompts, write one of the following poems (or both--if you're feeling ambitious):

1.    Write a slow down poem. Could be about reducing actual traveling speed or speed of living or some other interpretation.
2.    Write a never slow down poem. Some people love living in the fast lane and believe it's better to burn out than fade away. If you're one of these people or want to write about one of these people, then this is the prompt for you.

I like how the prompts are fairly broad and open to interpretation. My mind ping-ponged around the idea of slow down, relating it to vehicles and other forms of transportation, old age, brainpower, and rebellion as it relates to an overly fast world.

For my first poem I wrote about the disconnect between what the brain wants to do, and the reality of an older body. So it’s a slow down poem, with never slow down undertones.

The second poem started off rather strangely, even for me, and turned into a rant against the personification of Time. I recount pieces of my (fictitious) life and demand Time account for every nasty trick he ever played on me. 300 words later, I stopped—or slowed down and my rant against Time was over.

Only one haiku today, and no tanka. Must be the snow killing my productivity. Can't find any tanka to write about slush and sleet, at least not today.  

11/09 TALLY
Poems - 2
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 0

To Date Total
Poems - 15
Haiku - 11
Tanka - 27


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 8

Here’s you Poetic Asides poetry prompt for the day:

For today's prompt, write an agreement poem. There are a few obvious ways I see to approach this type of poem: 1. Write a poem in which there is an agreement made between two or more people, animals, or things; 2. Write a poem in which the narrator (or a character in the poem) agrees with everything--regardless of whether it's beneficial to the person (or animal); or 3. Write a poem that is a contract (or proposed agreement) with the reader (a la Billy Collins). Hopefully, we're all in agreement to write some poetry today.

This prompt was interesting enough that I again got two poems out of it. In the first, my attention turned to people that always agree with you, no matter what. What motivates them to blindly nod no matter what the circumstances? Why does bland agreement make other people so angry and discontent? So poem number one, tackling point number two is “A Thousand Times Yes”.

The second poem came quickly on the heels of the first, and is more of a fantasy based on the observation that the dogs and cats in my house seem to get along exceedingly well. Perhaps they have some type of secret agreement that went into effect the first full moon after the newest cat arrived. Perhaps it took place after months of negotiations, where dog and cat sat down at the table while I was at work and hashed out "Rules of Inter-species Cooperation”. Maybe they aren’t so amiable while I’m at work and it’s all a sham to keep me in the dark (Which would explain the odd tufts of fur I find around the house). Either way, it resulted in my second poem of 250 words, “We, The Undersigned, Do Solemnly Swear…”.

I managed to write four haiku, two that used the prompt—one mentioned cats, another cat and dog. I wrote one tanka to the prompt and one additional. It was a good writing morning.


11/08 TALLY
Poems - 2
Haiku - 4
Tanka - 2

To Date Total
Poems - 13
Haiku - 10
Tanka - 27


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 7

And here is today's Poetic Asides:

For today's prompt, write a Pro-something poem. Your poem could be pro-candy, pro-writing, pro-peace, love and happiness, or whatever else it is that you support.

This was a harder prompt than I thought, I ran through every 'pro-this and pro-that' I could think of, and nothing struck my fancy. So of course I had to go digging about in definitions to get some ideas.

pro    n. pl. pros
1. An argument or consideration in favor of something: weighing the pros and cons.
2. One who supports a proposal or takes the affirmative side in a debate.
adv.  In favor; affirmatively: arguing pro and con.
adj.   Affirmative; supporting: a pro vote.

pro  Informal  n. pl. pros
1. A professional, especially in sports.
2. An expert in a field of endeavor.
adj.  Professional:

What I came up with was a mixed poem about the desire to be a pro at everything, and the internal chaos it causes. It's funny, not matter how much one part of my mind wants to be 'professional' at everything, the rational part of my mind knows it isn't possible and calmly informs the over excited neurons to chill. Mostly, rational wins, but some days . . .

No second poem out of this prompt today. Just one poem, one haiku unrelated to the prompt, and a handful of tanka, also unrelated to the prompt.

11/07 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 3

To Date Total
Poems - 11
Haiku - 6
Tanka - 25


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 6

Today's prompt from Poetic Asides:

For today's prompt, take the phrase "Looking for (blank)," replace the blank with a word or phrase, use the new phrase as the title of your poem, and then, write the poem. Possible titles could include: "Looking for car keys," "Looking for love," "Looking for trouble," "Looking for the best line ever written," and so on. There are so many possibilities! I hope you have fun "Looking for a poem to write."

I knew it was too good to last. A title prompt. But I plunged in, determined to get past my title prompt prejudice and come up with a good poem. My first one was titled "Looking For Trouble" a small ode to all those little childhood indiscretions - like missing a curfew - that lead to a life of crime – or not.

I wrote a second poem called "Looking For Myself In Another Dimension" which is exactly as weird as it sounds. It's getting easier to pull two poems from one prompt – at least for the moment.

Also in the mix - One haiku that has nothing to do with the prompt, and four tanka that are looking for things, so they might be related to the prompt. Depends on how far you stretch the boundaries. From where I sit, they're pretty sproingy.


11/06 TALLY
Poems - 2
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 4

To Date Total
Poems - 10
Haiku - 7
Tanka - 22


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 5

From the Poetic Asides blog:

For today's prompt, write a metamorphosis poem. This is an excellent opportunity to use metaphors and/or show changes in a season, person, animal, plant, or whatever. (Hopefully, everyone won't turn themselves into Kafka-esque roaches.)

By all rights this should have been an easy prompt. I write frequently about change in all its guises, internal and external, but most of all, changes in myself and my perception of the world. Mostly these themes creep in unnoticed, so when I actually spotlighted the idea, everything froze.

The poem I wrote first has to do with changes in me, about how I learned to ride a bike, my brother, his bike riding, and how it proved to be the catalyst for a relatively chicken little girl to go to new places and try new things. The poem morphed into a moment in time when my boys learned to ride their bikes, and how hard it was to not be overprotective. There is that moment of change, from the 6 year old to the adult who now knows you can’t save kids from doing stupid things on bikes – all in the name of impressing their big brother.

I approached the topic for a second poem, thinking about when I looked at old photos of myself in chronological order, how amusing it might be to have a flipbook of them, so I could watch my hair grow shorter and longer over the years. Images are a powerful representation of change, and good ground to explore for further poems.

I managed to get a haiku semi-related to the topic, and 4 tanka, one of which came from the first poem I wrote, the rest not really related to the prompt. Tanka are getting easier, where haiku remain much harder.



11/05 TALLY
Poems - 2
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 4

To Date Total
Poems - 8
Haiku - 6
Tanka - 18


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 4

Today's Poetic Asides:

For today's prompt, write a containment poem. There are a lot of ways to contain things: Jails and prisons contain people; zoos and aquariums contain animals; and closets contain our clothes (and other "baggage"). Your poem can be about the actual container, the containment of things, or even the attempt to break free of containment. Of course, any other creative interpretation is encouraged as well.

Another interesting prompt with a multitude of ways to approach the topic. A quick look up of the term gives a few more possibilities.

Free Dictionary definition:
con•tain•ment (kn-tnmnt)   n.
1. The act or condition of containing.
2. A policy of checking the expansion or influence of a hostile power or ideology, as by the creation of strategic alliances or support of client states in areas of conflict or unrest.
3. A structure or system designed to prevent the accidental release of radioactive materials from a reactor.

Then there is also Containment Theory - In criminology, Social Control … proposes that exploiting the process of socialization and social learning builds self-control and reduces the inclination to indulge in behavior recognized as antisocial.

All interesting ideas to mull over, but not the direction I wanted to go. I leaned toward containment of emotions, and all the implied problems that brings to the table. Where as yesterday I had the title and then the poem, today I have a poem with no title. I then wrote another poem on the same topic, again with no title, but a shade more centered than the first. This habit of warm up poem first is not necessarily a bad one, it’s a bit new for me to close focus on a topic for two or several poems in a row. I’m kind of liking how the changes make me reexamine what I thought I was writing about.

My haiku and tanka didn't really relate to the prompt, but I'm not picky, I'll take whatever ones the Muse serves up.


11/04 TALLY
Poems - 2
Haiku - 2
Tanka - 4

To Date Total
Poems - 6
Haiku - 5
Tanka - 14

November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 3

The Challenge Du Jour from the Poetic Asides blog:

For today's prompt, write a location poem. The poem can be about a location, but it doesn't have to be. It could also just incorporate a location into the poem (like a love poem in Paris or something). This poem could also state your feelings about location in general.

This was an interesting prompt that left open a lot of possibilities. So many that I was stymied for a bit on how to tackle things. I had to let the idea percolate for a few hours because nothing immediately suggested itself as "Poem - Write Me!"

I finally wrote one poem titled, “Any Where But Here” but I wasn't completely satisfied with it. It wasn’t saying what I wanted to say using the imagery I used. It wasn’t enough. Too obtuse.

I approached again, using the same title as a jumping off point. I wanted to tackle the vague idea I had in the first poem – the discontent with where you are when compared to where you want to be. “Any Where But Here” as a title contained a lie, but it is a lie that doesn’t become apparent until the poem has been written.

It’s amazing the things you learn about yourself through poetry.

I managed to find a haiku, it actually came a lot easier than the prompt poem, as did several tanka. So there you have it, Day 3 down for the count.

11/03 TALLY
Poems - 2
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 3

To Date Total
Poems - 4
Haiku - 3
Tanka - 10

November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 2

Here's Day 2, Two for Tuesday, and the prompts from Poetic Asides:

1. Write a "ready to start" poem. Yesterday's poem closed the door or turned the page on the past events. Time to start looking forward.


2. Write a "not ready" poem, or even "never ready" poem. Sometimes, we're just not ready for the things that come our way.

For some reason my mind flipped to an interesting direction with this prompt. Since it is easier for me to write a 'not ready' or 'never ready' poem, I concentrated on writing a 'ready' poem. What was I ready for? Preparations, planning, all I could think about was some sort of pre-flight checklist like you run through before you fly.

So that is how my poem came out, it ended up being a 40 line poem about aeronautical preflight inspections – on one level.On another level it's about the preparations we go through before a new relationship can get off the ground.

Towards the end it could be construed as a 'not ready poem' – depends on how you interpret it. I also managed several tanka and a haiku that have a passing acquaintance with the prompt. 

11/02 TALLY
Poems - 1
Haiku - 1
Tanka - 3 

To Date Total
Poems - 2
Haiku - 2
Tanka - 7


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November 2010 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 1

Let the games begin!

Poetic Asides prompt:

    "For today's prompt, I want poets to take one step back and write a "closing the door" or "turning the page" poem. Feel encouraged to get creative with today's prompt (and the other 29 prompts--for that matter), but here's how I interpret this prompt: a poem that looks at where a person (or animal or thing) was and finds resolution with the fact that things won't be that way again."

So here I am again starting a Poem A Day Challenge. Why do I do this? It’s a good way to bring some new ideas to my poems. I can write every day and often do, but writing to a specific prompt- especially one that isn’t my own – keeps me from getting tunnel vision. It also keeps me from getting stuck in a rut and writing on the same topic until I’ll sick of it and have been writing drivel for three days and just haven’t realized it.

It’s also a time to participate in something a bit bigger than me and my little writing world. Face it, a lot of poets are quite happy with being social recluses, even on the Internet. The Challenge gives me a chance to emerge and blink in the sunlight for a while.

On today’s prompt I had to take a while to ponder the phrases "closing the door" and "turning the page", and figure out what they meant to me. What do I want to say about resolution, finality, or the ability to move on? Are we talking conflict resolution or resolution as in “the act of analyzing a complex notion into a simpler one”? When I think of closing a door, am I closing things out or am I closing the door to keep things in?

Does “turning the page” imply a sort of finality? "Closing the door" and "turning the page" can mean the same thing, or there can be some variables between them. I come back to Heraclitus’ quote: “You can never step into the same river; for new waters are always flowing on to you.” Then I thought of turning a page, getting a papercut, the blood dripping on a clean white surface just before my mind turned to cartoons, and the hall full of doors characters chase each other in and out of . . . 

That’s the way my mind started out wrestling with the prompt. Some days the idea for a poem pops right into my head, other days I have to worry it like a dog with a chew bone.

I’ve decided to try and write my tanka or haiku component with the prompt. This time, the prompt was a jumping off point that worked quite well. Here’s hoping the rest of the month is as productive.

10/01 TALLY

Poems -1

Haiku - 1

Tanka - 4