The Thursday Think Tank - #8 Sultry

Sultry - hot and humid; very hot and dry; torrid; sexually enthralling; sensual excesses

What danger lurks beneath this prompt? Write something sultry. Tip toe the line of romance and lust. We are not asking you to go X-rated (please don't), but see if with a few simple words you can’t invoke a sense of desire or passion in your readers. A simple stare from a stranger can be sultry or the way sweat or rain runs down one's skin.  Sultriness can be found anywhere.  This prompt may be the most difficult yet for some and for others we may get a 1000 words in the next 2 minutes.  Embrace your inner romantic or stalker and show us some enticing writing.

The Life of a Poet - Susannah Bec

In our latest edition of The Life of a Poet we would like to introduce you to Susannah Bec. She is the amazing poet responsible for the blog “Out of My Ocean”. Susannah was one of the very first folks to actually throw caution to the wind and accept the concept and community of Poets United and for that we are forever grateful.

Poem of the Week (27 July 2010) - Lie(s)

This poem can be found at:

"In the Corner of My Eye"

Lie(s)

Her conversation begins with a lie
but the Other doesn't know it.
She answers fine to the question
How are you? She is not,
isn't fine at all. The Other is relieved
to hear the expected answer, the one
everyone gives with a smile. Fine,
just fine, fine physically, mentally,
emotionally, fine in every possible way.
The Other says Great to hear, me too.

~ Mary

The Poetry Pantry Is Now Open. Week 1

We would like to introduce you to a new section found here at Poets United. It is called the “The Poetry Pantry”. The idea behind this is to share your poems that you really enjoy and are proud of. It runs all week and will be refreshed with a new post each week on Sundays. This section allows you, the poet and blogger, to introduce people to your blogs and work you are proud of. It is a simple concept that again helps us interact with one another in the poetry community. Please share with us whatever poem you like. It does not matter where it comes from, if you want folks to read it please link it here. Below you will see the standard post format with this week’s linky. We look forward to reading your poems.

____________________________________________________

The Poetry Pantry

2nd Chance Poems or 1st time shares

Anything goes!! All Poems, all Poets, All Week!!

Do you have a poem you would like to share? Something that you just felt inspired to write and want others to read. Perhaps it’s a poem that didn’t get as much exposure on your blog as you would have liked. Maybe it’s a poem that you wrote a long time ago that you would like people to revisit. That’s what this section of Poets United is for.

Poetry Blog of the Week (26 July, 2010) - Catapult To Mars

Each week at Poets United we try to introduce our members and readers to a poetry blog found here in our community. We introduce each blog by giving a small snippet about the poet responsible for hosting this blog and the style of the blog. We also link to at least one of our favorite poems that can be found in the highlighted poet’s blog. Poets United is about reading, writing and enjoying one another’s poetry and this just one more way to show our support for one another. We hope you enjoy reading the highlighted blogs.

Catapult To Mars – This week we introduce you to a blog helmed by Gordon Mason, Catapult To Mars. This blog is unique in that it not only showcases Gordon’s poetry but it also shares with his readers other poetry from around the blogosphere. Even more unique than that is the fact that Catapult to Mars gives us poetry in three different languages, English, Spanish and Scots. You will occasionally find a standalone poem in English but any of those found in another language are preceded by or immediately followed with a translation. This is a courteous and much needed offering for those of us with a rusty foreign tongue or none whatsoever.

The Life of a Poet - Robin Netanel

Today we bring you “Live from New York”…oh wait I mean New Jersey, Robin Netanel. Robin is the latest poet we sit down with in our “The Life of a Poet” Interview series. Although Robin is currently residing in New Jersey she says that New York is where her heart lies. Robin is the poetess responsible for the poetry blog "The Not-So-Secret Writings of Just Another Someone". A wonderful blog filled with true to life poetry and short stories.

The Thursday Think Tank - #7 Sound

“One of the greatest sounds of them all - and to me it is a sound - is utter, complete silence”

~ Andre Kostelanetz

Sound is inspiration. A noise can incite so many different thoughts or feelings for a person. Take this week’s prompt and write about sound. Maybe the first sound you hear after you read this will be enough. Maybe you will look for something you deem a truly unique sound. The topic is wide and immeasurable and we look forward to reading your poems and hearing the sounds you describe in our heads. I wonder if you just heard the starter’s pistol I just fired…and they’re off!

....bkmackenzie

Barbara K. MacKenzie, known throughout the blog world as signed....bkm is a writer who on her profile declares "loves life.." and that is on life's terms.  She feels fortune enough to have been raised on a farm in central Minnesota surrounded only by the woodlands on four sides and the northern lights above.  This setting in growing up became for her a palette of imagination and a canvass for writing. 

A romantic at heart she works to bring the beauty and romance out in her writings but will often surprise her readers with the unexpected.  She currently lives in Northern CA with her husband, one cat and three dogs. Has one son and daughter both grown who remain the central part of her life.  You can read and experience her writings at Signed .....bkm.  She also maintains a blog for children's verse and writing at The Beary Thought of it

Poem of the Week (20 July 2010) - Where

This poem can be found at:

"Poetry with me ..."

Where


Everyone asks me where are you going?

What is it you will do with your life now?


I have no answers to these questions

Where am I going?

And what will I do with my life now?


Where is a relative space in time

What means nothing to me


Where did you go?

What are you doing?


Those are the answers that I want

I feel the cold it chills me


I have my dreams and my desires

Where is not important and what I do is less


Where is on a beach watching the waves come upon the shore

I miss what you were doing and regardless of me

Where are you?

What is it you do now without me?

By  flaubert

Poetry Blog of the Week (19 July, 2010) - Looking Both Ways

Each week at Poets United we try to introduce our members and readers to a poetry blog found here in our community. We introduce each blog by giving a small snippet about the poet responsible for hosting this blog and the style of the blog. We also link to at least one of our favorite poems that can be found in the highlighted poet’s blog. Poets United is about reading, writing and enjoying one another’s poetry and this just one more way to show our support for one another. We hope you enjoy reading the highlighted blogs.

Eileen T O'Neill

Born in Belfast, now living in Cheshire, Eileen is a hardworking mother to four great twenty-somethings and a dedicated wife to her husband, whom she often accompanies on business trips to interesting places around the world. She enjoys travel, good food, wine, music, reading and observing the beauty that is everywhere in the natural world.

Having originally trained and worked as a nurse, Eileen then put her career aside in order to be a mother and homemaker. However, Eileen has very recently begun to pursue a lifelong ambition – to write creatively, initially in the form of short poems, some of an observational nature, others simply based on the fun of playing with language and ideas. She has found great encouragement and support from a growing online community of like-minded enthusiasts and mentors, and this is building her confidence to extend her writing challenge even further, maybe into short stories or other longer literary forms.

Her family are all immensely proud of what she has achieved in such a short time already, and are amazed that this talent has apparently remained dormant all these years – but are so gratified to see it having the chance to blossom now. And they eagerly anticipate what may be coming next.

Eileen is also keen to provide reciprocal support to others in the Poets United community, as it is this which gave her the impetus and confidence to continue her writing, and to share it with the wider group. If you would like to find out more about Eileen, please visit the link below.

Words and Thoughts

The Thursday Think Tank - #6 Diamonds

“Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today’s Prompt is plain and simple, Diamonds. What does that word or object make you think of? Does it remind you of romance or perseverance? Do you think of how silly it is to place a value on rock or the troubles in Africa for mining them? Maybe it gives you visions of Marilyn Monroe prancing about or your wedding day. Whatever the word may inspire you to write I’m fairly certain you will all come up with wonderful poetry gems. Pun Intended.

The Life of a Poet - Robert Cameron Hazelton

The next poet we would like to introduce to you in our “The Life of a Poet” series is Robert Cameron Hazelton better known as “Bob”. He is the scribe behind the poetry blog “Average Poet”. Bob currently lives in the farm country of upstate New York where he was born and bred. He is a man who tries to understand the world from his own point of view. “I have always striven to be as original as I can in this cliché driven world” says bob. When asking him as to why he chose the name “Average Poet” for his poetry blog his response came threefold. “I am the average poet, I love to think and write. I feel until I have a book or some other type of poetical accomplishment I am average in every sense of the word. I believe in staying humble. Any time in my life that I have been boastful has led to either great disappointment or great embarrassment.” This seems to be more than an average man to me but who am I to say.

Poem of the Week (13 July 2010) - A Ray of Hope

I don’t usually introduce the poems selected each week. I like them to stand on their own and let the readers draw their own opinion. I had to break that rule this week to say something brief about this poem. I usually try to dig deep into a poetry blog and attempt to find a nugget. I avoid the recent “fresh ones” searching for something with dust. I could not do so in this case. I read and re-read this poem and just loved the emotion it exhibited. To me it was simple but struck deep, I find it to be a very touching poem and a must share so here it is.

This poem can be found at:

The Poetry of Alaurilee

Serving Hugs on a Platter and Tears in a Teacup

A Ray of Hope

We sit in this waiting room once every month

and pray for the news to get better;

hoping they'll be signs of remission
from this chronic Crohn's scarlet letter.

Racked with pain and weakness as well,
this sweet man I love perseveres.
He keeps on moving each and every day;
smiling eyes at the world while hiding his tears.

Today we have a bright ray of hope,
for the first time in over a year.
A new med is working its magic we think;
this faint ray of 'maybe' brings us a tear.

So we leave this office together today,
holding hands with hopeful hearts;
and long for just one more day,
when the pain stops before it even starts.

Alaurilee

Poetry Blog of the Week (12 July, 2010) - Signed.....bkm

Each week at Poets United we try to introduce our members and readers to a poetry blog found here in our community. We introduce each blog by giving a small snippet about the poet responsible for hosting this blog and the style of the blog. We also link to at least one of our favorite poems that can be found in the highlighted poet’s blog. Poets United is about reading, writing and enjoying one another’s poetry and this just one more way to show our support for one another. We hope you enjoy reading the highlighted blogs.

This Weeks Poetry Blog is:

Signed... ..bkm - The mysterious bkm helms this elegant little poetry and writing blog. The poetry and stories found on this site have that old Hollywood feel; it’s as if the prose presented here capture and manipulate an era gone by bringing it to the present. In addition to the poetry offered here, the photos chosen to ride along with the words and the overall layout of the site pull together nicely into a chic little blog. A prime example of the classic appeal that Signed…..bkm presents is the poem “A Lesser God”. This poem, to me, seemingly sets the stage for a silver screen bohemia version of Hepburn arguing the intellects of the day while sitting at a simple outdoor café. If that may be too big of a leap for some readers then I offer another example of the nostalgic air that the blog presents, the short story “A Man and A Woman”. It is a flash story that gracefully skirts around a French classic film and two lovers. It is a simply charming and enjoyable must read. Reading either of these two works will not be a disappointment and once you’ve been lured in by the style and appeal of bkm’s writing I am fairly certain you will move beyond these two pieces and explore the rest of the site. Signed…..bkm will leave you craving more after each visit.

The Thursday Think Tank - #5 How To...

"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

~ Harry S. Truman

Today's Prompt is to write a how to poem.  You may wonder what exactly is a how to poem.  Simply put, it is whatever you make of it.  It can be about how too enjoy your day, how to wrap a present, how to find love, how to be sad and so many other topics.  Just be sure to let us know how its done whatever it is you choose. 

Poem of the Week (6 July 2010) - Picture of a Man

This poem can be found at:

"Somewhere in the Universe"

Picture of a Man

Be I not what you envisioned a man?
Has your world dictated a role for me
That no young man shall be old of heart?
Nor have aging eyes at twenty three

Should I rave just like the drunkards do?
Would you then accept me in the clan?
Or if I speak with a closed and youthful mind
Be I not what you envisioned a man?

Must the masculine man make me look like your scum?
And throw scorn on the scum until I agree
To be the man I’m supposed to parade
When your world dictates a role for me

My youthful body remains unused
Though your world said it ought from start
But I’ve grown out of those childish games
This young man shall be old of heart

The blue in my eyes are engulfed by grey
More colourful than your hollow stare conveys
Don’t scorn the man you fail to see
In his aging eyes at twenty three

What picture shall you paint of men?
Be they not what you envisioned?

By Herb Alyètte

Poetry Blog of the Week (5 July, 2010) - Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea – Madison Reece is the poet that is responsible for Afternoon Tea, a poetry blog that captivates and enslaves her readers. Her ability to lure you in with short spice filled poetry is merely half this blogs lure. Madison’s simple layout is punctuated with perfectly selected photos that help to emphasize her prose. A wonderful example of this is her poem about a simple Sunday morning “Untitled”. Her sleepy narrative combined with the photo she chose is a perfect combination of passion and calm awakening. Madison’s poem is a must read that invokes a craving for more of her work. Start with this poem and it’s a promise you will spend an afternoon traveling her words and enjoying the many places they take her readers. Afternoon Tea is simply well worth your time and possibly a few scones.

Marian (runaway sentence.)

Marian writes poems and otherwise uses her words at her blog,

runaway sentence.

help me, erica jong
by marian

yesterday my name was snidely green
today it's guardedly optimistic: requiring external validation
my real name is mama mama mama
tomorrow it will be Bellowing My Poems From That Rooftop
my secret name
is tender roots
quaking
toward a half century
wondering
how i got here.

The Thursday Think Tank - #4 Children

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

~ Pablo Picasso

Today's Prompt is to write from the perspective of a child. Take anything you see, witness or have witnessed and imagine you are a child viewing it or experiencing it. Take those precious thoughts and place them on paper in any way you see fit.