Monday, April 29, 2013

Life of a Poet ~ Mario Cerroni


Kids, this week we are enjoying a visit to an intrepid photographer who shares both photographic art and his poetry on his site, PhotoDiction, Photography and Writings by Mario Cerroni.  We are invited to browse through his gallery, to enjoy his view of the world, and I promise, you are going to love looking at eastern Canada through this artist-poet's eyes.




P.U.: Mario, your photographs are often of sights you encounter in the Ottawa area, Canada’s capital city. Is that the place you call home?


Sunday, April 28, 2013

Poetry Pantry - # 148




Mallard Duck with Ducklings - UK




Greetings, Poets! Hope you all have had a good week.

At last the weather is more spring-like in my part of the world.  If you are in the northern hemisphere, I hope it is for you too.  And in the southern, you are heading onward into autumn.  I liked the picture above that I found in the public domain.  Spring is the season for birth and also of rebirth.  I hope it is also the season in which lots of wonderful poems are born!

This is one of my favorite spaces to post during the poetic week.   I hope you look forward to it too.  Link your ONE poem.   If you are involved with NaPoWriMo, feel free to share one of your poems here. Then visit other poets.  If you never visit other poets, eventually people will pass by your blog as well.  And I will too.  We ALL like comments, so if you link please DO spend time visiting others.  That is part of the fun as well.  We really like it if you link back to Poets United too, so we spread the Poetry Pantry word in the blogosphere.

Come back a few times on Sunday and Monday to see what's new.  Visit some strangers, and they will become new friends!  Making new friends and reading new poetry, what more could one want?

Also, don't forget to visit Poets United other days of the week.  For example, every Wednesday Kim posts a new "Verse First" prompt.  Hope you will join us there as well!  Sherry Blue Sky does a feature (it varies) on Monday, and Rosemary Nissen-Wade does "I Wish I'd Written This" every Friday!

If you are on Facebook, look for us there as well. Join our site.  It is one more way to stay in touch!

And now...here is the procedure, for those who are new here:  Each Sunday we start a new post with a New Mr. Linky for you. This is so that you can post a link to a poem in your blog. The link will close Monday at 12:00 p.m. (CDT), but you can still visit the links of those who have posted them.









Friday, April 26, 2013

I Wish I'd Written This



Tir na Blog

By RJ Clarken

The computer world
has its own tiny wee folk:
they're called the Pixels.

The Pixels' powers
are determined by magic
and pantone colors.

You can find Pixels
if a Vector Inspector
gives you a bitmap.

But please be careful.
Pixels are shy, and hide if
closely monitored.


                                 

Like me, RJ Clarken is participating in this year's April Poem A Day Challenge at Poetic Asides (which is part of Writer's Digest). I fell in love with this recent piece, written for the Challenge, and couldn't wait to share it with you. It appeals to both my sense of humour and my love of the magickal. (And oh yes, I do believe Pixels are real!)

A writer, photographer and graphic artist — as a poet she specialises in light verse. In fact she has a blog of that name; and a book of 'odd, off-beat and really quirky poetry' called Mugging for the Camera, which is available through Amazon. She has also been published in a number of journals. 

Penny Wishes, her children's book published by a small press a few years ago, is now out of print; but as she owns the rights, she says she might re-publish it herself — if she ever finds the time. In addition to all her artistic activities, she is a busy wife and mother.

A couple of years ago she was interviewed at Poetic Bloomings. Some of her poems are included, and she talks about the process of seeking — and finding — publication, which she went about in a very business-like way. You can also find her on facebook and twitter.

I have known her as an online friend and colleague for several years now, and can tell you that she is very supportive of other poets.



Poems and photos used in ‘I Wish I’d Written This’ remain the property of the copyright holders (usually their authors).

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Verse First ~ Voices




Welcome to Verse First, where simple notions prompt amazing poems.

Today's notion?

VOICES


Mary Oliver begins her poem, The Journey, with these lines:

                                                               One day you finally knew
                                                               what you had to do, and began,
                                                               though the voices around you
                                                               kept shouting
                                                               their bad advice~

In The Sun Watches the Sun, Serbian poet Dejan Stojanovic says:

                                                              We hear only our own voices,
                                                               still echoes returning to our emptiness


"Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night."

And of course, 'Til Tuesday gained fame with the lyrics, 

                                                               "Hush, hush

                                                                keep it down now

                                                                voices carry." 

Voices.

What do they say to you? What do you want to say about them? What influence do you want those voices to have in the world? 

Write a poem about voices. Post your work on your website, then use Mr. Linky to share it with us. Feel free to leave a comment below; and please support others in the  community by reading their work and sharing your comments.

Looking forward to some amazing poems! ~ Kim




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Monday, April 22, 2013

Blog of the Week ~ Magical Mystical Teacher


Kids, this week we're featuring Magical Mystical Teacher, a regular participant at Poets United. This poet writes sets of wonderful haiku, normally offering several per post. Beautiful landscape photos accompany many of the offerings, so the blog is also a visual feast.

This blog might also be named Magical Mystery Teacher, because the About page says the poet "is a teacher living in the USA". Now, I have a "nose for news" from my newspaper days, so I pored through the site trying to determine whether this is a man or woman poet. I  happened upon some haiku talking about an Old Poet putting down her pen, so I might venture a guess in that direction. Perhaps the Mystery Poet will let us know? Or perhaps the mystery is enjoyable for all concerned and should be maintained?

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Poetry Pantry - # 147


Baseball Players Practicing - Thomas Eakins, 1875 (public domain)

Greetings, Poets!   Hope you all have had a good week.
 


In the United States baseball season has gotten off to a good start.  Every year I try to be a baseball fan like I was when I was a child, but every year I seem to fail.  But I do certainly appreciate that baseball is many people's favorite spectator sport.  Perhaps in your comment today you could tell us what your favorite spectator sport is.

This is one of my favorite spaces to post during the poetic week.   I hope you look forward to it too.  Link your ONE poem.   If you are involved with NaPoWriMo, feel free to share one of your poems here. Then visit other poets.  If you never visit other poets, eventually people will pass by your blog as well.  And I will too.  We ALL like comments, so if you link please DO spend time visiting others.  That is part of the fun as well.  We really like it if you link back to Poets United too, so we spread the Poetry Pantry word in the blogosphere.

Come back a few times on Sunday and Monday to see what's new.  Visit some strangers, and they will become new friends!  Making new friends and reading new poetry, what more could one want?

Also, don't forget to visit Poets United other days of the week.  For example, every Wednesday Kim posts a new "Verse First" prompt.  Hope you will join us there as well!  Sherry Blue Sky does a feature (it varies) on Monday, and Rosemary Nissen-Wade does "I Wish I'd Written This" every Friday!

If you are on Facebook, look for us there as well. Join our site.  It is one more way to stay in touch!

And now...here is the procedure, for those who are new here:  Each Sunday we start a new post with a New Mr. Linky for you. This is so that you can post a link to a poem in your blog. The link will close Monday at 12:00 p.m. (CDT), but you can still visit the links of those who have posted them.









Friday, April 19, 2013

I Wish I'd Written This


Four Tanka
By Matsukaze


by evening
our outdoor-selves zipped
within thick
sleeping bags. near a fire
we speak mountains and mist



with his Giaconda smile
my reflection
ties a bushel of thoughts tight
with rubberbands
and silence



behind
dark curtains
a cool
room of stretched shadows
and his slow breathing



on this Nerudaian-evening
his voice,
whispering leaves as
he tells me of his departure--
in the distance a crying train.



I belong to several haiku and tanka groups on facebook, in one of which, Five Line Poems, I encountered this poet. There are many good poets in that group, but this man's work consistently delights me. So much so that I didn't pick out one special poem; I wish I'd written most of those I've seen, so I just went to the group and grabbed the most recent four.  (I thought I should give you more than one, as tanka are so short.)

He blogs as Matsukaze, at bamboo songs (tanka) and Blues for Haikai (senryu). You're liable to find some haiku there too. On facebook he posts under his own name, Orrin T PreJean, and his profile tells me that, among other things, he is a male alto counter-tenor.




Poems and photos used in ‘I Wish I’d Written This’ remain the property of the copyright holders (usually their authors).

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Verse First ~ Wake Up and Love!




Welcome to Verse First, where simple notions prompt amazing poems.

Today's notion is actually a command. Two, in fact. Let's see what you do with it.


WAKE UP AND LOVE


There will always be opposition
Evil will ever-exist
Fear and hatred? They will be present
Your role, your work?
Resist
Wake up
And Love

Go with it. Write about it. Pay it forward. Pass it on.

Post your work on your website, then use Mr. Linky to share it with us. Feel free to leave a comment below, and be sure to support your fellow poets by visiting and commenting. 

I look forward to reading some life-changing poems! ~ Kim



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Monday, April 15, 2013

Life of a Poet - Robert Cameron Hazelton

I have an Oldie-Goldie for you today, kids. Not old in years, but long in membership! Bob  Hazelton has been a loyal and faithful participant at Poets United from its very beginnings. He calls himself, and his blog,  an Average Poet, but we beg to differ. For this visit, we are flying cross-country to New York state. As we pull up out front, at Bob's, I hear guitar music, and there's Bob, in his back yard, playing some of his own tunes.



         



Poets United: Bob, so nice to sit down with you, finally! You must be the soul of patience, waiting so long for an interview! Your last interview, by Robb Lloyd, was in 2010!!!! Will you bring us up to date – where you live, who you share your life with?



Sunday, April 14, 2013

Poetry Pantry #146





Greetings, Poets!   Hope you all have had a good week.


Any golfers out there?  Wonder if Tiger Woods will be able to do it again.

This is one of my favorite spaces to post during the poetic week.   I hope you look forward to it too.  Link your ONE poem.   If you are involved with NaPoWriMo, feel free to share one of your poems here. Then visit other poets.  If you never visit other poets, eventually people will pass by your blog as well.  We ALL like comments, so if you link please DO spend time visiting others.  That is part of the fun as well.  We really like it if you link back to Poets United too, so we spread the Poetry Pantry word in the blogosphere.

Come back a few times on Sunday and Monday to see what's new.  Visit some strangers, and they will become new friends!

Also, don't forget to visit Poets United other days of the week.  For example, every Wednesday Kim posts a new "Verse First" prompt.  Hope you will join us there as well!  Sherry Blue Sky does a feature (it varies) on Monday, and Rosemary Nissen-Wade does "I Wish I'd Written This" every Friday!

If you are on Facebook, look for us there as well. Join our site.  It is one more way to stay in touch!

And now...here is the procedure, for those who are new here:  Each Sunday we start a new post with a New Mr. Linky for you. This is so that you can post a link to a poem in your blog. The link will close Monday at 12:00 p.m. (CDT), but you can still visit the links of those who have posted them.

 






Friday, April 12, 2013

I Wish I'd Written This

Constants
By Benedict St Quentin Fitzpatrick

Turning I saw you
once
so clear
shadows move the grasses
silent winds
sift the debris slowly
around your feet
the red earth
moist
crossed with signs of night
tracks that soften
and fade
still
you remain.


My online friend Ben is an Aussie poet whom I first encountered — like so many others — on MySpace, back in the day. It seems to me that his poetry just keeps getting better and better. 

I first knew him as a writer of beautiful haiku and tanka. As you see, he also writes longer poems. Many focus on the Australian landscape and his close relationship with it since childhood. I love them for this reason, and also because they are poems of understatement and deceptively simple language.

I also love the mystery in the poem I've chosen: its quiet acceptance of the ineffable.

If you're on facebook, you'll find this and other poems in his Notes there. Also he has started a poetry blog on Wordpress. 

Another of Ben's passions is archery. He lists his religion as Buddhist. I always think there is a Samurai-like quality in the clarity of his poetry. 


Poems and photos used in ‘I Wish I’d Written This’ remain the property of the copyright holders (usually their authors).

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Verse First ~ Colored

Welcome to Verse First, where simple notions prompt amazing poems.

Today's notion?

COLORED


Colored can be so very simple: Having color or being colorful…. colored hair… colored lights… colored contact lenses.

But it can be complicated and sometimes offensive when referring to a person of color or telling an "off-colored" joke.  Many a cheek has colored up in such situations. 

Colored can indicate exaggeration or bias. We all know someone who shares highly colored accounts of events. And remember the gal who see's the world through rose colored glasses?

Lastly, we cannot forget the Crayola references. We have all colored within the lines, outside the lines and up a storm.

If none of these notions appeal, here are some brightly colored photos to spark your creativity:


Trumpet Vine © Kim Nelson

Early Lilac Blooms © Kim Nelson


Red Leaves Clinging © Kim Nelson


Take this information, or one of the images above and create a poem. Post your work on your website, then use Mr. Linky to share it with us. Feel free to leave a comment below, and be sure to support your fellow poets by visiting and commenting. 

Looking forward to reading your poems! ~ Kim

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Monday, April 8, 2013

Poem of the Week ~ Broken Angel

Kids, it was late and I was tired and heading for bed, when this poem by Lorna Cahall of her blog by the same name, 





reeled me in and made me catch my breath in wonder. Check it out. It's this week's Poem of the Week: 




Broken Angel

There is a crack, a crack in everything. 
That's how the light gets in. 
Leonard Cohen


Your baby's breath rests
in a cracked crystal vase
against the frosted pane. 
The color of your sacrifice is white. 


You are our way through
the tormenting wilderness.
You, the broken one, offer 
us our Resurrection. 



And all your angels come
bruised and broken, they come
together, an ocean of salt tears 
and holy mineral healing. 



They will all rise up in you, 
through you and we will all 
find our angels with you, 
through you, together.


written for an anthology that seeks submissions
responding to violence against women


Lorna, thank you for this most beautifully written poem about the rising spirit of women, who together heal from abuse and bind up each others' wounds. And thank you for your faithful contributions to Poets United.



Sunday, April 7, 2013

Poetry Pantry #145


Carina Nebula



Greetings, Poets!   Hope you all have had a good week.



This is one of my favorite spaces to post during the poetic week.   I hope you look forward to it too.  Link your ONE poem.   If you are involved with NaPoWriMo, feel free to share one of your poems here. Then visit other poets.  If you never visit other poets, eventually people will pass by your blog as well.  We ALL like comments, so if you link please DO spend time visiting others.  That is part of the fun as well.  We really like it if you link back to Poets United too, so we spread the Poetry Pantry word in the blogosphere.

Come back a few times on Sunday and Monday to see what's new.  Visit some strangers, and they will become new friends!

Also, don't forget to visit Poets United other days of the week.  For example, every Wednesday Kim posts a new "Verse First" prompt.  Hope you will join us there as well!  Sherry Blue Sky does a feature (it varies) on Monday, and Rosemary Nissen-Wade does "I Wish I'd Written This" every Friday!

If you are on Facebook, look for us there as well. Join our site.  It is one more way to stay in touch!

And now...here is the procedure, for those who are new here:  Each Sunday we start a new post with a New Mr. Linky for you. This is so that you can post a link to a poem in your blog. The link will close Monday at 12:00 p.m. (CDT), but you can still visit the links of those who have posted them.






Friday, April 5, 2013

I Wish I'd Written This


The Mad Yak

By Gregory Corso (1930 - 2001)

I am watching them churn the last milk they'll ever get from me.
They are waiting for me to die;
They want to make buttons out of my bones.
Where are my sisters and brothers?
That tall monk there, loading my uncle, he has a new cap.
And that idiot student of his--
I never saw that muffler before.
Poor uncle, he lets them load him.
How sad he is, how tired!
I wonder what they'll do with his bones?
And that beautiful tail!
How many shoelaces will they make of that!



I think many poets are concerned about animal welfare, and from that point of view it might seem obvious why I'd wish to have written this. But look again — there is actually no suggestion that the mad yak and his relatives are ill-treated. What is described is normal domestic use of these animals, and the title implies that the yak is insane for questioning the norm. I'm not even absolutely certain that Corso really has an issue with it.

What he does is to anthropomorphise the yak very convincingly, so that I, as the reader, believe these are its real thoughts. It's a wonderful example of that advice always given to writers: 'show, don't tell'. The poem does not mention or describe any emotion, yet we know exactly what its narrator the yak is feeling at any point.  (Which makes me think Corso probably does have reservations about the way human beings utilise domestic animals.) I'd like to have such masterly ability to influence my readers! In fact I'd like to be able to write a political poem that was something more than a rant. I find that so difficult that I've pretty much given up trying to write them.

Speaking of political poems, one might also choose to see the exploitation of the yak as a metaphor for the exploitation of people by the State and/or industry. I'm not at all sure Corso didn't intend that too.

Corso was the youngest of the 'beat poets' which also included Ginsberg, Kerouac, et al. I found the Wikipedia article at the link on his name (above) enthralling, and much more informative than I have room for here.

You will find more of his poems at Poem Hunter and numerous books at his Amazon page.



Poems and photos used in ‘I Wish I’d Written This’ remain the property of the copyright holders (usually their authors).

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Verse First ~ Body




Welcome to Verse First, where simple notions prompt amazing poems.


Today's notion?

BODY


Body... What are we talking about here? Could be a variety of things. Could be a human being, a person, or just the trunk or torso of said person. A body can also be a group of people organized for the same purpose, like a legislative or religious body. Or, it could be a corpse. (Yikes!)

Body also refers to a mass distinct from other masses, like a body of water; or similarly, it can identify a collection distinct from others, like a writer's body of work.

Body can refer to the main, central, or principal part of  a given object, such as the nave of a church, the enclosed part of a vehicle, or the sound box of a musical instrument. That leads us to another meaning: The fullness or resonance of a musical tone.

Then there are the culinary references. Body refers to the richness and flavor of tasty dishes and fine wines, and can also imply denseness, fullness, or firmness of texture.

So many possibilities! 
Body. What do you think? 

Write a poem about it, p
ost it on your website, then use Mr. Linky to share it with us. Feel free to leave a comment below, and show your love by visiting and commenting the other linked works. 

Can't wait to read every body's work!  ;-) ~ Kim


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Monday, April 1, 2013

Life of a Poet ~ Akila

We all enjoyed our last trip to India so much, I decided we needed to make a return trip, this time to Hyderabad, in southern India, where Akila can be found penning her poems at Novel Ideas! Hold onto your armrests, for we're touching down, and there is a world of color and beauty waiting for us right outside the aircraft's door.




P.U.: Akila, So nice to be sitting down with you! Tell us your story, kiddo, maybe starting with childhood?



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