Weekly Poem Challenge

[Tinker]

Here you will find various prompts to hopefully jumpstart your poetic fingers into writing.   Try for daily writing time, but even a weekly poem is better than nothing at all

Setting up a regular routine for writing can result in a lot of poems written on the fly, often without fine tuning.  But it also can spark the beginnings of a new poem that can be honed later.  What the challenge does is, it inspires writing.   Any one can jump in when and if the prompt moves them.   If you are so inspired go ahead and share your prompted poem in the thread and identify which prompt you followed.  Of if it turns out a winner maybe share it in Member's Poetry where it will be commented on.

I will do my best to add the prompts and forms here in this thread in case someone here could benefit from a little nudge. Don't expect me to be punctual with the prompts  No judges here, just nudges.  

~~Tink

[Tinker]

Prompt ending 1pm Dec 24, 2017 is Write an Acrostic - prompt Sunshine

[Tinker]

Dec 24  Acrostic - prompt Sunshine

He Called Her Sunshine

She came into his life
Under the most ordinary circumstance
No preparation, no fan fare
Suddenly she was there
Heaven opened its doors
Inviting him to feel its glory
Naturally he accepted
Ending his grey existence forever.
                   ~~Judi Van Gorder

Winner WDC The Daily Poem Contest Dec 24, 2017

[Tinker]

Surprise, surprise the Dec 25, 2017 prompt is Christmas Night - form at the discretion of the poet

[Tinker]

Dec 25, 2017  Christmas Night   - form Tanka

this night long ago
sheltered in a plain stable
a King will be born
only shepherds and angels
will witness God's gift of hope
                  ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

Dec 26, 2017  The prompt at WDC is  write your own version of the 12 Days of Christmas in any form.  

[Tinker]

Dec 27, 2017  Write a Kwansaba celebrating the 7 principals of Kwansaa.

The elements of the Kwansaba are:

1. a celebration of family and African-American culture, a praise poem. A praise poem honoring the 7 principals of Kwansaa. (unity/family, self determination, collective work, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, faith)
2. a septastich, a poem in 7 lines.
3. measured by 7 words in each line.   (not syllables, words which was the 2nd hardest element to master)
4. written with no word exceeding 7 letters.  (I found this the hardest element to master.)
   
   Seven Principals
   
   We bond in blood, triple in love,
   each of us must carry our brother.
   You are not alone, nor am I
   our lame and beaten will chant praise
   Our goals diverse yet one in purpose
   born in His image we too create.
   Faith is an action verb, so act.
                          ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

December 28, 2017 Write about the worst travel experience you've ever had.  Form at the discretion of the poet.

[Tinker]

December 29, 2017 Write a Lantern, spelled Lanturne at Shadow Poetry.  The elements are simply a pentastich with the syllabic pattern or 1-2-3-4-1. 

#1
Words
bubble
from my soul,
magnum opus.
Art

#2
Deep
scarlet
is the rose
of love's cliché
paled..

#3
Ode
to urn's
Greek beauty
in magic words.
Keats

#4
Glare
of sun
on snow bank,
icey diamonds
spark.

#5
Spam
email
clutters box
intrudes on time
Dump!
~~jvg

WDC The Daily Poem Contest Winner Dec 29,2017

[Tinker]

For December 30, 2017 Write a "Chain" Haiku on any subject with in at least 4 haiku frames.   A "chain" usually implies a link from stanza to stanza, most often the last word of the stanza beginning the next stanza. 

pen to paper
black strokes on white plain
haiku at work

work of the mind
and heart to share in verse
one moment of grace

grace in nature
and human acts observed
wisp of the wind

wind and raindrops
fall upon a laughing child
to waken the pen
          ~~Judi Van Gorder

WDC The Daily Poem Contest Winner.  December 30, 2017

[Tinker]

WoW!  I had to copy and paste this challenge from WCD.  I might give it a shot later today, then again maybe not.
For Dec 31, 2017

Form:  Any verse or stanzaic form accept Free Verse.
Prompt:  I'm sure you all know what the Periodic Table looks like. It's that thing from high school science with all the chemical elements on PTable .    Your prompt for today is to write a poem about anything you like, but you must include at least 25 of the 118 symbols for the elements.
For example:
Her skin includes the symbols for:

He - helium
S - sulfur
K - potassium
In - indium

[Tinker]

For January 1, 2018 write Free Verse only poem about your hopes and dreams.

Well that's what resolutions are all about.  Happy New Year, my 2018 is good writing to you all.

Giddy Up

Hope spurs the mare
to ignore her roiling belly
and move forward.
Dreams are
the kaleidoscope 
of possibilities
that cling
to the saddle.

My hope
is to always mount up.
My dream 
is to fly the colors
               ~~Judi Van Gorder
 
WDC The Daily Poem Contest Winner January 1, 2017
 

[Tinker]

For January 2, 2018 write a poem inspired by this William Shakespeare quote, "Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt." 

Now that sounds like a challenge for whatever I might question I can do.   I hope a poem can come of it too. 

[Tinker]

For January 3, 2018 write a poem in any form  about some everyday task. Use imagination to expand awareness of the ordinary.   

I got lazy and resurrected an old one with a couple of minor edits.  My poems are never done.

Morning Brew

Breathe in the heady
aroma of coffee brewing.
Pour, then grasp the hot mug,
warming palms to heart
and peer into the dark, steaming, pool
to find the entrance to the day.

Slowly savor the smooth,
bittersweet
of the full bodied liquid,
and feel the burn
while it slides
down the throat.
Ahhh......
Good morning. . .
       ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

For January 4, 2018 write of poem of opposites using any poetic frame.

[Tinker]

For January 5, 2018     Write a poem about yourself in which nothing is true.  Form at the discretion of the poet.     

[Tinker]

For January 6, 2018  Write poem in any form inspired by the phrase "Don't look back"

[Tinker]

For January 7, 2019 Write a poem inspired by this Edgar Allen Poe quote:  "They, who dream by day, are cognizant of many things which escape those who only dream by night.".

[Tinker]

For January 8, 2019 Write a poem in any form other than Free Verse, inspired by the word "fallen".     Ooops, I missed the "other than Free Verse" until after I wrote this free verse poem.   I will leave it up and play with it today and see if I can find a form to fit the content for rewrite and entry into the contest.  Otherwise, what the heck, I still wrote a poem today.

Fallen

I can't lie
I fell in love
with his body
chiseled by muscle
accustomed to hard work
and athletic play.

A survivor
comfortable in his skin
adventure his mission
excitement at each turn.
He charged my soul.
Yep I fell hard. 

More than a half century
has passed
and time
and injuries
have shattered
his physical strength
leaving him
helpless 
and trapped
by a feeble frame.

We have fallen
into the unkind  
challenge
of aging,
Drained by fatigue
and pain, 
and still I'm in love
with our journey.
          ~~Judi Van Gorder

30 Lines
Free Verse

So here it is in a series of Badger's Hexastich stanzas. 
Unrhymed 6 line stanzas, syllabic 2-4-6-6-4-2

Fallen

Can't lie
I fell in love
with his chiseled body,
muscle cut by hard work.
He charged my soul
Fell hard!

Life spanned
eventful years.
Time's wear and injuries
shatter physical strength.
A feeble frame,
bed bound.

We fall
to the unkind
challenge of age and pain.
Fatigued yet excited
we trek the path
with love.
     ~~Judi Van Gorder

Winner  The Daily Poem Contest WDC Jan 8, 2018

[Tinker]

For January 9, 2018 inspired by last night's speech at the Golden Globe by Oprah Winfrey, the prompt is to write a poem entitled “Time’s Up.” It can be about any subject you want. It doesn’t have to be about sexual harassment and women’s equal rights. Wherever those two words take your mind, I would love to read about.

[Tinker]

Oops I missed a day.  For January 11, 2018  Write a poem in any form except Free Verse at least 12 lines.  Prompt:  the color orange

I know everyone is going to write about a sunset but I can't help myself.  Here is the image that came into my head but I need to torture it into some verse form.  A work in progress.
When reds slide to yellows in the evening sky and the sea glows like a squashed jack o lantern. those orange and purple moments bring a a satisfied sigh from deep within.

[Tinker]

Sapphic Ode Sonnet, is a misnamed invented form in 14 lines, made up of 3 quatrains followed by a rhymed couplet.  L1-L3 of each quatrain is iambic tetrameter and L4 of the quatrains is iambic dimeter.  Rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg.  

Sapphic Ode Sonnet, an Oxymoron

An ode, a tome of lofty praise,
a sonnet, lyrical little song
and Sapphic lines have dactyl maze,
verse form, named wrong.

Oh how I try to clarify 
the technicalities of verse
with small success, but still, I try.
It could be worse.

Iambic beat in fourteen lines
with rhyme, we sing the sonnet form.
No ode or Sapphic tones define
this frame, I scorn.

To touch our readers is the goal,
the name a minor rantipole.
                            ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

The prompt for January 16 is to find a poem in the archives written by another poet here at PMO and write your own poem using the same title.  Refer us back to the original poem 

[Tinker]

Prompt for January 17 is to write something inspired by the Edgar Allen Poe quote "believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see".

[Tinker]

Prompt for January 18 is to write in any form a poem about a supporting character from scripture or a history.

Son of Thunder

They call him Beloved,
         we can always depend
on his example of faith,
         of an Apostle, I've penned.
Caring for Mary at the cross,
         was he Jesus' best friend?
John walked in the light,
         teaching love will transcend.
                   ~~Judi Van Gorder

Entered into Lighthouse Contest, a short poem, 8 lines or less, subject a biblical character. This poem loosely falls under the genre An Encomium
. The "Sons of Thunder" were James and John, sons of Zebedee.  First disciples of John the Baptist, they became disciples of Jesus after His baptism.  John was the youngest of all of the Apostles. The Gospel of John, epistles John 1 & John 2 are written as if events were witnessed through his eyes. Originally attributed to him alone later determined to be written by others.

[Tinker]

Prompt for January 19, write a poem in any form inspired by "in a blink of an eye".

[Tinker]

Prompt for January 20, write a poem prompted by "running out of water". 

[Tinker]

Prompt for January 21, write a poem in any form prompted by "the dark side". 

[Tinker]

Prompt for Jan 22, write a poem in any form using the phrase "Let the light in" somewhere within the poem.

Let the light in, push darkness out
 

[Tinker]

Prompt for Jan 23, write a poem in any form that is a speech by either a King or a Queen.

[Tinker]

Prompt January 24, write a poem about being validated as a writer through publishing and/or contest submission.

Denial

Never have I tried to publish
other than to share on line.
When I write I accomplish
a joy and pride that is all mine.

I do enjoy when others read
the words I shape to show
ideas that scramble with speed
within this wonky world I know.

After years of writing in space
I'm challenged to ask for validation.
Stepping out of my secure place
I venture to promote my creation.

                 ~~ Judi Van Gorder

Used in Newbies Newsletter at WDC

[Tinker]

Prompt for January 27. Prompt Write poem inspired by "yes or no" using any frame.

 

"Everyone's going,
 yes or no,
Can I?"

Hating waiting,
"Puleeeaze ",
she pleads.
~~jvg

 

A Hadron

[Tinker]

Promp for January 31 is to write a poem from different person's point of view.  Write a Mask or Persona poem.   

One example would be Spoon River Verse, a subgenre of Persona Poem.  In Spoon River, the character speaks from the grave.

Another example would be Zimbabwe Child. I created this child in 2011 after reading a book about the devastation of Zimbabwe under the rule of Robert Mugabe. I was so moved I did a lot of research, actually donated to help a school for girls there and I have continued to follow events as they are reported. Recently (November 2017) I read that Mugabe finally resigned at the age of 93 and is now under military arrest. My first thought was, I wonder if "he" (the imaginary Zimbabwe child of my poem). 

[Tinker]

Prompt for February 2  write verse based on a nocturnal theme, evoking the moods of the night or late evening from dark, sinister, erotic, romantic, mysterious, frustrating or whatever happens in the night. The frame is at the discretion of the poet.

Six More Weeks of Winter

From his nocturnal den,
Punxsutawney Phil
momentarily 
emerged today
to see his shadow.
He returned to his night time
home to curl up
and sleep
for six more weeks.
         ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

Prompt for February 4,  write a poem about someone famous without actually mentioning who they are.   Frame at the discretion of the poet.
 

[Tinker]

Prompt for Feb, 5, write a poem in any form, prompt dancing under the stars.

[Tinker]

Prompt for Feb 9,  write a poem in 7 lines, in 7 words each line, about 1 of the 7 deadly sins. I kind of rewrote an old one to fit the form. The Third Deadly Sin Stack of paper slides off my desk, menial tasks to be sloughed to others. Sweater and boots kicked to the corner, a cup with a couple of spoons, a fork, two plates and an empty milk carton fill up the kitchen sink. Candy wrappers on top of old magazines. Need I go on? Sloth, my sidekick.                    ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

Prompt for February 12, write a poem in any form inspired by "singing angels"

[Tinker]

Prompt for Feb 13, We have a choicr, either write a poem entitled ‘Happiness,’ or one entitled ‘Loneliness.’ The poem must describe the sound, color, smell, and taste of whichever word you choose.

[Tinker]

Prompt for Feb 14,   "The Power of Connotation"     Write a poem about the changing seasons using connotations to inject fuller flavor into your composition.
 

 
 

[Tinker]

Prompt for Feb 20,  write a poem using these words in any form. scythe, fresh, bloody, dainty, screaming, deadly, discovery.

I hate this kind of prompt, but then again, I have written some poems that surprised me from just this kind of challenge.  
 

[Tinker]

Prompt for Month of March, Write a haiku chain for Spring...you may or not use some or all of these words:
lambs, Easter, daffodils, rejuvenation, light nights, yellow Spring Equinox

Work in progress any suggestions welcome.  Trying to comply with prompt and still not sound too sweet and ordinary and also not churchy.   Some things still up in the air for sure  bunny vs rabbit ;   last stanza, last line  not happy....   Any other ideas, I'm open.

Resurrected, Hallelujah!

brave new daffodils
push through hard ground of winter,
March wakes the Spring

Spring's new lambs wag tails
while they skip in the meadow
on carpet of grass

grass with tender blades
crushed under foot by folic,
hooves side step green snake

snake slithers slowly
to sun itself on warm rock
bordered by flowers

flowers in pastels
rejuvenate earth's forces,
draw doe, soon to birth

birth of Equinox
brings  more daylight, shorter nights
alert freckled  bunny

bunny burrows back
into safe underground home
waits for holiday

Holy Day dawns on
blue, and yellow Easter eggs,
renewal, Amen!
                 ~~Judi Van Gorder
  
 

[Tinker]

Prompt for Feb 25  Write in "shades of blue".  include at least 5 blue shades, navy, cobalt, sky, azure, periwinkle, aqua, baby,  powder, sapphire, cyan ,turquoise, marine, lapis lazuli, indigo,  use any frame your want.

Scent of Paris

A small sapphire mirror lay flat
on her dressing table
with beautiful bottles
arranged upon it.  
The center of attention
a tear drop, midnight blue, glass globe
with "Evening in Paris"
scrolled in silvery blue.

She'd dab just a touch,
while dressing in Navy polka dot,
ready to drive to the office
in her baby blue Buick.

Walking to her corner cubicle
she becomes one of many
in a sea of cobalt cubbies.
Still she would be that one,
with the scent
of Paris at midnight.
                ~~ Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

Prompt for Feb 27, this may be an interesting exercise:  From Writer's Cramp:  Today I invite you to write a “found” poem or story. Look around the room where you are currently sitting and identify five objects - you will use them in your story or poem. Bold them within your entry, AND list the items at the bottom.

Note: I've always understood a "found poem" to be found phrases from other writing. This invitation is to find items in your present surroundings... Hmmmmm

[Tinker]

Write a free verse poem about what you do for a living.

No One Wants to Pay the Insurance Bill

"Shit happens",
and then you die.
I calm the panic,
explain your options,
and help pay for recovery.

Prepare, prepare, prepare!
I'm here to help.
                 ~~ Judi Van Gorder


 

[Tinker]

March 2 Prompt for today, Write a Morningsong

March 2, 2018 6:41 AM

I woke to the rattle of hail
on the roof
power out,  generator on fritz
I can see my breath
Scrambling for kindling and paper
I start a fire, warm the house
and make coffee
on the woodstove
iPad dead, phone almost there
I sit and write my dawn song 
in thanksgiving
for this exhilarating morning.
               ~~ Judi Van Gorder

 

[Tinker]

Prompt for March 13, Write a 12 line or more poem titled Memory Lane using any frame.

[Tinker]

Prompt for March 20,  Write a poem in 12 lines or more inspired by this quote from Allen Ginsberg: “Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.”

The poem can be any genre and any style. Just go wherever the words take you

[Tinker]

Prompt for March 24  Write a poem using "anaphora" 

To Read a Poem

When a poet's scribbles touch you
When his pen writes from his heart
When his words are the super glue
When he dares to share his art
Then the reader's keenness deepens
and like magic poetry happens.
                   ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

Prompt for March 28  Write a poem in any form that includes some version of the following words:

path - despair - trace - consuming - beauty - pawn -  edge - madness