Poets United: Ella Wilson

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Rabu, 16 Januari 2013

Wonder Wednesday #17 Wonder...

Dear Poets,

I was thinking how do I end my last post here on Poets United-when wonder struck me. For one, I wanted to end on a wondrous note :D ! I have so enJOYed sharing prompts with you. All of your poems have inspired me, lifted and filled me with wisdom and insight. I will still be writing poetry. I have a busy family and some other artistic goals, I would like to play around with. I loved offering prompts and I will miss it, but I will be on the other end-writing poems when the inspiration strikes. Kim has graciously taken over and will be your new prompter on Wednesdays. I know she will guide us in new ways and it is always good to have other voices and ideas. I loved my time here.

For those of you, who don't know I have loved poetry since I discovered e.e. cummings, in the fourth grade. The wonder and magic in his words guided me. High school and college English, also felt like home, when poetry was assigned. Yet, I didn't write poetry for years. I collected quotes and circled words in books that I felt struck a nerve. Poetry wasn't part of my life, till Sherry dared me to write a poem and post it here, at Poets United. I was so nervous and excited. I felt like I had jumped into the deep end of the pool and wondered how would I fit in?! All of you were gracious n' kind and welcomed me. I have found poets to be like an extended family...a wonderful, warm family! Thank you for being so generous to me! Thank you Sherry for the dare ;D !

And now our prompt-yes wonder, but not the ordinary kind. I want you to think of the Seven Wonders of the World. Here are some examples:

The Original Seven Wonders of the World

The Colossus of Rhodes
The Great Pyramid of Giza
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Lighthouse of Alexandria
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

The Seven Wonders of the Modern World

Channel Tunnel
CN Tower
Empire State Building
Golden Gate Bridge
Itaipu Dam
Netherlands North Sea Protection Works
Panama Canal

Natural Wonders of the World

In 1997, CNN announced a listing of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World... Grand Canyon
The Great Barrier Reef
The Harbor at Rio de Janeiro
Mt. Everest
Northern Lights
Paricutin Volcano
Victoria Falls

The "New" Seven Wonders of the World

On July 7, 2007 (7-7-07) an organization announced a "new" set of the Seven Wonders of the World based on online voting from around the world... Chichen Itza, Mexico - Mayan City
Christ Redeemer, Brazil - Large Statue
The Great Wall, China
Machu Picchu, Peru
Petra, Jordan - Ancient City
The Roman Colosseum, Italy
The Taj Mahal, India

You do not have to write about these. What I want is for you to write about an eighth wonder. I see you are shaking your heads, lol! An eighth wonder is a place that is filled with magic, for you! It is your personal wonder, a place perhaps you escape to, that you find the most beautiful place on Earth. Maybe wonder for you is a state of mind, or seeing people being kind. Wonder is a gift and I would love you to share yours~

Thank you poets for being YOU, you all are the wonder that makes this blog a special place! A warm thank you to Robert Lloyd who built our home, to Mary for all she does, Sherry for your interviews and insight, Kim and Rosemary and all the poets who have contributed and made this place a wondrous venture! Thank you! <3

Sincerely,

Ella

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Rabu, 2 Januari 2013

Wonder Wednesday #15 Chicken Soup for the Soul

Wow, a whole new year, a fresh clean slate! Happy New Year Posts~ I love new beginnings, don't you?! January is a bittersweet month for me. I love the fresh start, but I have had a lot of bad things happen in this month. I won't bore you with these details, but I will share that I look for comfort in this month, more than most. This is why I wanted to start our New Year off with Chicken soup, but not the ordinary kind. I am talking the Jack Canfield's variety, the kind that warms our soul. If you aren't familiar with this type, you can view more here.

I thought we could write poems that inspire us, give our spirit a warm feeling, like we were enjoying soup on a cold day. Write poems that touch others in ways that only words can do. If you are uncomfortable with this form, then write about soup or cocoa on a cold day; that is fine too. Let's share some comfort and kindness. I think the world could use more of this, don't you?!

What do you think, poets? Are you ready to share the warmth of a memory or something profound that has happened to you? Maybe a kindness you performed for someone else or was given to you?

Funny, I had no idea what I was going to write about till just now. A woman, a total stranger, helped me when I was flying from Alaska to Maine. I was frail and had problems seeing, my vision was not quite restored to normal. I should not have been flying alone, but I was. I asked for her address and then lost it. Maybe if I am lucky she will see my poem, but either way I hope 'n pray she knows how much her kindness helped me and what it meant on that day. I will never forget her and I'm sorry I didn't get to write her a sincere, heart felt thank you! I did thank her over and over again and I think she knew how grateful I was, for all she done for me. She was my guardian angel...

I look forward to your poems! The theme is kindness; it is simple and must come from the heart. Please do not feel overwhelmed by the the prompt or what I have shared. YOUR feelings will come through your words ;D They always do...

Rabu, 26 Disember 2012

Wonder Wednesday

Wonder Wednesday will return next week. We are going to take a break and allow everyone, to enjoy their holiday season. We hope everyone is safe n' warm and enjoying time out with their loved ones~

We will return on January 2nd, with a bit of chicken soup for your soul. Yes, poems that will warm your heart or challenge you to make a wish. That is your hint, for now ;D

photo via ***

Happy New Year poets!

Rabu, 19 Disember 2012

Wonder Wednesday #14 Regifting

Hello everyone! Okay, I am teasing you a bit. We aren't writing about regifting. We are going to do something unique. I did mention we would do another gift type prompt. Do you remember?! We are going to post on our blogs, a poem or poems that we felt were a gift. Then link it here, so we can share this gift with others. It can be a poem that spoke to you directly, or maybe it made you gasp-it was so beautiful or unique. Maybe it was a poem or poems that you feel would please others. However you view this challenge, this regift will be one we all will like n' enJOY! Are you game for regifting?

Please, be sure to link the poet, who wrote the poem. It is a gift that keeps on giving!

Yes, you may use my photo!

"The only gift is a portion of thyself."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Pleasure is spread through the earth
In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find."
~William Wordsworth

"Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons." ~Ruth Ann Schabacker

Rabu, 12 Disember 2012

Wonder Wednesday #13 Postcards

I found a few postcards the other day. I thought about how some of us travel during the holidays. I know there is no place like home for the holidays, but as the temperature drops and winter arrives, we do long for a change. Well, here is your chance...
Today we are going to travel, the cheap way, with our poems. Your words will invite us to the location of your choice. BUT, we are not going to say where this location is. YOU will visit other poets and guess where they have chosen to travel, via their poem. I think it would be fitting to post the following day and announce your destination. YOUR words and photos(if you chose) will give us the hints. Think of it like the game CLUE. I think it would be fun to write a few, but the choice is yours.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
― Marcel Proust

“The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.”
― G.K. Chesterton

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.”
― Anaïs Nin,

Remember this can be a fantasy travel adventure. So, if you do want to travel to the Moon, Saturn, maybe Atlantis-you can. The journey is yours and ours to guess! Think of this challenge as an adventure!

Rabu, 5 Disember 2012

Wonder Wednesday #12 Scrooge

Yes, I am in a Dickens kind of mood. I am trying to find the holiday spirit-I do not have it yet. I think the thermometer is to blame. It is 73 degrees, at my house. It just doesn't feel right, unless cold air is blasting through my lungs, my breath clouds and crystallizes and I'm craving a cup of Hot Chocolate.

I am no Scrooge, but I do think this season does create moments of blue and bah humbug.
Operation crazy ensues all around us, no matter what holiday we celebrate. It reminds us, to share ourselves, try to brighten someone's spirit and do more, smile more, give more-I am thinking time.

Origins:

In his diaries, Dickens states that Scrooge stems from a grave marker which he saw in 1841, while taking an evening walk in the Canongate Kirkyard in Edinburgh. The headstone was for the vintner Ebenezer Lennox Scroggie, a relative of Adam Smith, who had won the catering contract for the visit of George IV to Edinburgh and the first contract to supply whiskey to the Royal Navy. The marker identified Scroggie as a "meal man" (corn merchant), but Dickens misread this as "mean man", due to the fading light and his mild dyslexia. ***more info

Yes, we are going to explore Charles Dickens book, "A Christmas Carol". For those of you not familiar, an elderly man is tight fisted with his money and mean to all he encounters. He runs a business with his partner and friend, Jacob Marley. Jacob is poor and has a large family; his son Tiny Tim is ill. He needs food, medicine to get well-things that cost money. Scrooge doesn't see the obvious, until three ghosts visit him and show him his ways and his doom n' gloom future. The story ends with Scrooge being a changed man. Yes, changed for the better.

We all struggle with bah humbug, at some point in time. I do not think it is exclusive, to only this time of year.

So, in Dickens style...I want you to pen a poem that celebrates the blah, blue, bah humbug. You can write about a neighbor, a friend, someone who you see shopping that just isn't into the spirit. In true Scrooge fashion, it would be great if you could show us an improved ending. In other words end on a happy note.

If you are really ambitious, you can write three stanzas, like the ghosts, who visit Scrooge. Yes, the past, the present and the future could be part of your poem.

^"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. "
-Charles Dickens

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. "
-Charles Dickens

"An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself. "
-Charles Dickens

***If you don't feel comfortable writing about a Toad, then write about a home of a Dickens character! This is suppose to be fun :D

Rabu, 28 November 2012

Wonder Wednesday #11 Bridge

I was looking through some photos yesterday and remembered this class I took online. I had made this piece of art and used a bridge. One person in the class thought, this was odd and posted her opinion, about my art. I tried to explain to her my view, how we continue to journey into the unknown. And how bridges symbolized many things that have happened in my life. She thought it was sad, that my life was a bridge. I didn't see it that way. I am a military spouse, I have moved a lot, but whether we travel or not, aren't we always crossing bridges in our lives. We reach out to make new friends, try new hobbies or take a class, expose ourselves to new things, through education, through our lives. We get a job, we change jobs, buy a home or sell a home. We have children or not and that changes our world, our view and we cross more bridges.

I think of bridges as connections to new people, experiences and views of the world.

The Simon n' Garfunkel song, Bridge Over Trouble Water, comes to mind. Bridges take us to where we need to go and sometimes give us new adventures.

*A photo of a bridge, back in my neck of the woods

" Bridges become frames for looking at the world around us. "
~Bruce Jackson

“Your problem is to bridge the gap which exists between where you are now and the goal you intend to reach."
~Earl Nightingale

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
Jim Rohn

Rabu, 21 November 2012

Wonder Wednesday #10 Gifts

I know what you are thinking... Gifts? Now, hear me out, hold on...lol I know this is the time of year a lot of us celebrate Thanksgiving. I think we probably all have done a thankful type of poem. This prompt is not just about any gift. No, it isn't.....
This prompt is about a gift from your heart, that you gave. Don't say I didn't warn you-there might be another gift prompt next month. Yes, highly likely ;D!

Yes, a gift that you gave, it could be time, a gesture of kindness, hope or a gift you purchased. This gift was so wonderful, it gave you a happy heart. The giving was the true treasure. Your gift reflected, the sentiment of caring, remembering and being thoughtful.

Some examples:

My aunt is sick, but I've been told she doesn't need any more material items. Gift cards to eat out and mail please her the most. I try weekly to send her mail. I might include some dried lavender, or a sealed tea bag, or a quote. It is the thought that counts!

My mom was given a gift at work, that I thought was beautiful. This friend had a large family and didn't have the money to give a fancy gift. She told my mom, after work to stop by her home. When mom arrived the friend gave her a glass wine carafe and said follow me. Mom's friend had a huge garden, filled with veggies, herbs and flowers. My mom is a gardener, too. She told her once a week, she could stop by and pick a bouquet. Every week this happened, she would also send me mom home with a few veggies. I thought this gift was so special, so did my mom.

Or you could share a poem about a heartfelt gift you are going to give!

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye. "
~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Love is, above all, the gift of oneself”

Jean Anouilh

“Each day provides its own gifts”

Marcus Aurelius

I look forward to your gifts, I mean poems.

Poets United