Showing posts with label Six Sentence Stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Six Sentence Stories. Show all posts

Saturday, November 4, 2023

Remembering: An Elegy For My Father

 

Christmas tree by Tessa Rampersad on Unsplash


Remembering the day when your turn came

I knew that things would never be the same.

You went over the top on holidays

Our home was filled with the spirit of praise.

I always remember those Christmas scenes

I catch glimpses of childhood in my dreams.


It's now been thirteen years that you've been gone

The grief is not as sharp but still as strong.

notes

https://dversepoets.com/2023/11/02/mtb-lets-lament-without-the-lachrymose/

Topic:

someone close to you

someone vaguely known e.g a neighbour

someone totally unknown except through deeds or writings eg a dead poet perhaps like the recently deceased Louise Gluck

a group of people (eg as in Gray’s “Elegy written in a country churchyard”)

Form: Must include these three elements, ordered thus:

lament –expressing grief and sorrow

praise – admiration of the deceased

consolation and solace

It can be written as 3 distinct sections/stanzas or melded together but keeping the order above

Style: The elegy can be written in any metre the poet chooses.

Those of you who prefer more stricture and guidance might like to try the Elegiac metre:

rhyming coupleted lines (AA;BB;CC etc though not separated into couplets)

written in dactylic hexameter and pentameter

The last two lines aren't in strict keeping with the form, but I wanted them there.

https://girlieontheedge1.wordpress.com/2023/11/01/its-thursdays-six-sentence-story-link-up-62/

The prompt word is turn. Since I can't play by the rules and my poem has eight lines instead of six, I won't be linking up this time.

https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/2023-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-4

Write a catching poem. 

You will find the word catch in the above poem.

Something has been vaguely steaming my ham for quite some time. It isn't a big deal, it's just one of those things that mildly perturbs me, so I'm going to get it out in the open. It has to do with my occasional use of multiple prompts.

A few years back, I used a lot more prompts in creating my work than I currently do. I believe this was partly because of ADHD and partly because of a lack of confidence in my abilities. Whatever the case, the prompts helped inspire me, as they still do.

One fellow, and I'm not going to name names, wrote an entire post about not understanding people who see the need to use multiple prompts.

These days if I use more than one prompt it's because the first prompt may spark an idea but I need more to help the idea manifest. So, I roll down my list of prompt sources until I find what I need to work my magic.

I'm explaining shit anyway because I'm sick of this foolishness nibbling at me.

My dude, what difference does it make how many prompts another poet does or doesn't use in the creation of his or her work? I'm not coming to your house, holding a gun to your head, and commanding you to use more prompts or else. I fail to see why someone else's process differing from yours would be cause for writing an entire dissertation on the subject. 

Anyway, I thought of this because I used three prompts in creating this poem, and I don't apologize for it. If anyone just can't understand why I would do such a thing or thinks the use of multiple prompts is akin to setting my neighbor's house on fire or strolling down the street naked with a strip of toilet paper clenched between my butt cheeks, perhaps consider that maybe this is a you problem. 

I have real problems to occupy me. I couldn't give a gnat's fart in a category five hurricane how many prompts someone who isn't me uses to accomplish their writing. 

Here's a tune that never goes out of style.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZH2bmbUTl4




Sunday, November 6, 2022

November PAD Challenge 2022: Day 6: Clickbait News and Toxic Trends

 

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

who should we sacrifice

to uphold our hallowed principles du jour?

will eight victims be enough

to satisfy the blood lust of today’s trendsetters

so quick to jump on the bandwagon

playing to the cause célèbre of the moment for clout?

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~


Image by Amy from Pixabay

prompts used

Prompt word: Play


Today's prompt: Write a poem using the words “eight”, “hallowed”, and “sacrifice”.


Write a news poem.

Also sharing with




Consider this deep progressive house mix for your poetry-creating background music. Here's the link in case you can't see the player.














Saturday, November 5, 2022

November PAD Challenge 2022: Day 5: A Perilous Energy

 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

these sabers are dangerous to rattle
to unleash this perilous energy
hoping to cry victory
in a war no one can win
is the definition of madness
bringing destruction and sadness

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~



notes and prompts used

You didn't really think you'd get through this month's batch of poems without there being at least one dystopian-themed verse, did you?

Here are the culprits of inspiration.


Participants were prompted to pen a peril poem. Challenge accepted!


The prompt word was Energy. I chose to use it, didn't refuse it, tried not to abuse it!

I enjoy prompts like Six Sentence Stories because they help me rein in my tendency to be voluminously verbose.

I first saw A Short Vision when I was thirteen years old and was impressed both cognitively and viscerally. This film is visually striking, culturally relevant, and, sadly, its message is still necessary. We are no closer to nuclear disarmament and seem to be perpetually teetering on the edge of blasting each other to Kingdom Come.

In a nuclear war, nobody wins.


Here's the link in case you can't see the player.

Thursday, September 22, 2022

30 Days of Haiga 2022: Knot of Tears

 


text

knot of tears wraps tight

I wish that I had gone too

on the day you left


notes

The Senryu was inspired by this week's prompt from Six Sentence stories. Yes, I know this is only a Three Sentence story.

https://girlieontheedge1.wordpress.com/2022/09/18/sundays-six-sentence-story-word-prompt-230/

Prompt word: Knot

One of my favorite songs is Albatross by Judy Collins. It contains the line "the knot of tears around your throat is crystallizing into your design." I've always felt that line described me.

I created the Haiga with Pixlr.com and a free use image from Open Clipart Vectors.

https://pixabay.com/vectors/mermaid-boat-love-parting-sailor-156773/

You are welcome to use the Haiga, but if you do, please credit Cara Hartley/Ornery Owl and provide a link back to this blog. 

Saturday, September 3, 2022

30 Days of Haiga 2022: Yellow Flowers

 

Click to enlarge

Text:

I

soul concealed within

observing yellow flowers

at the summer's end

II

we are forced to form

for but a while on the earth

wondering what's next

notes

You are welcome to use the Haiga on your blog or in publications, but please credit Cara Hartley/Ornery Owl and provide a link back to this blog.

I utilized the following in creating this work:

A free-use image by Susann Mielke on Pixabay

https://pixabay.com/photos/drip-yellow-petals-globules-water-1972411/

The Six Sentence stories prompt (the word Form)

https://girlieontheedge1.wordpress.com/2022/08/31/its-thursdays-six-sentence-story-link-up/

The Go Dog Go Cafe Tuesday Writing Prompt

https://godoggocafe.com/2022/08/30/tuesday-writing-prompt-challenge-august-30-2022/

Write a poem using the words “yellow”, “concealed”, and “timeless”.

I am also sharing this poem with:



So's ya know, here is how I'm gonna roll with comments on other blogs.

There are currently 7 participants ahead of me on the Earthweal link. I will comment on all their posts so long as their blog allows me to. I sometimes have trouble commenting on WordPress or blogs hosted by Wix or other non-Blogger platforms.

There are 43 participants ahead of me at D'Verse Poets. I can't possibly comment on everyone's work. I am currently working on two new projects including this one plus attempting to edit and format some works that I have been attempting to edit and format for months. Hence, I am an overly busy bee who has not yet even eaten breakfast. I will open up good ole Random.org and let them help me choose seven people's blogs to comment on.

And that, Fiends, is how I roll.

~Ornery Owl Has Spocken~


With apologies to Leonard Nimoy, Gene Roddenberry, and Mr. Spock himself. The wonderful, terrible idea came to me like a flash--like a vision. I just couldn't resist.





Sunday, August 28, 2022

Charity Sunday: Save the Colorado River #CharitySunday #8Sunday #SnipSun

 

Image by Brigitte Werner from Pixabay

Howdy Solks, I mean Folks! Today's featured charity is the Save the Colorado River project.


More about the charity in a minute. I wrote a poem specifically for this post and I am going to share it with you now.

The smell of death surrounds us as the rivers run dry

Life lost as fish lie stranded in the mud

Corporations don’t miss a beat when told

There’s a chance to build another factory in the wild silence

This year their profits could be twice what they made in the last

It’s impossible to imagine that people once revered the enchanted stars

I utilized four prompts in the creation of this poem. I will provide the links to those at the end of the post.

Now, about the Save the Colorado River project. Per their mission statement:

Save The Colorado’s mission is to protect and restore the Colorado River and its tributaries from the source to the sea. Save The Colorado focuses on fighting irresponsible water projects, supporting alternatives to proposed dams and diversions, fighting and adapting to climate change, supporting river and fish species restoration, and removing deadbeat dams.

They have a subproject which is close to my heart. I lived and worked in the Boulder area for close to 20 years.

https://savethecolorado.org/campaigns/boulder-creek-program/

Per the website:

Save The Colorado has an active program around protecting and restoring the Boulder Creek watershed in Boulder County, Colorado.  We have identified and committed to these efforts to preserve and protect the watershed.

I will donate a dollar to the Save the Colorado River project for every comment received on this post.

Following the post, you will find the necessary hoppy links. This is a Charity Sunday post, so that hop is at the top. Then, of course, I wish to share the links to the prompts that inspired the poem. Following that will be links to other hops I'm sharing the post with. 

I know some of you create separate posts for every hop, but I become overwhelmed when I try to do that. I have too many projects going on and my brain already operates like someone put it in a blender and pressed the Liquefy setting.

Here's some music to enjoy while you go hopping down the bloggy trail.


Here's the link in case you can't see the player, Player!

Here are the Hop Links. Visit 'em to find more great charities and stuff to read.






Prompt word: Beat







Sunday, November 28, 2021

November PAD Challenge 2021: Ankle Soup

 

Image by kzeomdceswk on Unsplash

running out of time as the money drips in and the reserves dry up

there is still no triumph as I trot through pelting dust to my grave

my brain has too many tabs open in place of morning papers and still I wonder why

my engine is running down, my wings have been clipped, but I can never be free 

the truth is, the price for striving to own the newest shiny object is too high

you are my witness as I split myself down the middle, leaving one half of me to slow down and make ankle soup from the pork hock in my freezer

~ornery owl~

prompts




Prompt: Money


Prompt: Write a "slow down" poem



Prompt: The picture



Prompt: Reserve



I hope that's all of them. It's so irritating when I have to come back and add one in after publishing.

Here's the cool 70s prog rock soundtrack that I was listening to while writing this poem.




Here's the link in case you can't see the video.

https://odysee.com/@TerminalPassage:c/sahara-subject-esq-%281972%29-sunrise-%281974%29:9?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)


Creative Commons License


This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

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Sunday, November 21, 2021

November PAD Challenge 2021: Duck for Turkey

 


Duck for Turkey

Turkey for Duck

Never feel like you are stuck

Lost and blue without a friend

If you're lucky enough to have a friend till the end

Be thankful to be just like Duck and Turkey

~ornery owl~

prompts



Prompt: Write an ekphrastic poem.
I kind of selected the picture after I wrote the poem.
Don't tell anyone.



Prompt: Lost


The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)


Creative Commons License


This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

Want more poetry?
Get it here!

Buy me a coffee

Or buy me a coffee here

Join me on Odysee

Join me on Patreon!
Subscribe for as little as $1 per month.

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Sunday, November 14, 2021

November PAD Challenge 2021: Autumnblings and All That

 

Image by dandelion_tea from Pixabay

This piece is as heavy as a Chevy and contains potentially triggering subject matter. If you would prefer not to read such poetry, this is your warning to give it a miss.

💧

I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in and found myself in a mess once again.

I wasn't blue this morning, but I am now, in spite of autumnblings and things I love. 

I don't mind taking steps down a meandering path, exploring nature in an introspective way; I'm just tired of the blues, the reds, and the pinks, and spending afternoons wrapped in a blanket of melancholy and remorse, my breath swaddled in a stabbing ache that spreads throughout my chest; I haven't a clue as to why I am an icy legend, never as light as a feather.

If I could alleviate this ache in my heart of stone by drinking an effervescent brew and setting a few enchanted candles alight, I would be fine every day.

As a morose teenager, I admonished myself that because my family life didn't consist of daily beatings leaving my body wrapped in a dark rainbow of bruises, and I wasn't being used as a blow-up doll by male relatives, and no one directly called me stupid or untalented or said in so many words that I was damaged goods or a waste of oxygen that I wasn't being abused and was a selfish brat for feeling unhappy when so many people had lives so much worse than mine.

The spectre of sadness, discouragement, and mistreatment unresolved refuses to acknowledge me; I look in the mirror and see a repulsive, broken husk laden with wasted potential. 

~ornery owl has spoken~

notes
Once again, the poem is autobiographical. Poetry is cheaper than therapy and I don't have to drive anywhere to do it. I just have to sit my ass down at my workstation, aka on my hard-earned adjustable bed, in front of my computer screen, and bleed from my heart.

Maybe this doesn't happen as much anymore, but there was a trend a few years back for people to begin comments on works such as this one with "I hope this isn't autobiographical..." and it really pissed me off.

Of course, nobody but a sadist wants other people to have experienced awful things. But beginning a comment on a work where the author has poured out their heart and soul with "I hope this isn't autobiographical" comes off as meaning "I hope you aren't going to upset anybody, and by anybody, I mean me, by writing something like this and having it be true." This admonition has the effect of making the author feel guilty for sharing their truth, thus shaming them into silence.

In my opinion, poetry must be allowed to bleed. Sure, I write silly poems and gratitude poems sometimes. But if I can't bleed out the darkness, it remains inside me and festers. It will come out somehow. Hemorrhaging it out through writing allows its release as opposed to self-medicating or self-harm, which was my means of dealing with the trauma within for two decades.

prompts

Prompt: Family life

Prompt: Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In

Prompt: Write a (Blank) That poem

Prompt: Write a prose poem


Prompt: Blanket



The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)


Creative Commons License


This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

Want more poetry?
Get it here!

Buy me a coffee

Or buy me a coffee here

Join me on Odysee

Join me on Patreon!
Subscribe for as little as $1 per month.

Get the latest literary happenings and slices of life in your inbox!