Squaring Off

Stepping up to the plate,
confidence abounds
(the check is in the bank)
First pitch... a slider
(the car won't pass inspection)
STRIKE ONE!

Shaking it off
focus returns
(there's overtime and a tax refund)
Second pitch... a curve ball
(the water heater leaves a lake in the basement)
STRIKE TWO!

Staring at the pitcher,
doubt sees the final strike
(exhaustion weakens all reserves)
but the bat pulls up
(with a prayer to move forward)
Third pitch... a Hit by Pitch straight to the hip
(the omnipotent umpire has a wicked sense of humor)
and with a limping walk,
this batter becomes a base runner.


My take on this week's Monday Musings Word/Phrase Prompt...

Publication Announcement: PSH Yom HaShoah Issue

My poem "Das Tagebuch" has been accepted for inclusion in the Poetry Super Highway's special Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) Issue. I am especially honored to be included as I often feel like an outsider looking in when it comes to the Holocaust -- extremely sympathetic but not Jewish. :)

This online issue will but up during the dates of April 28 - May 4 and then "forever thereafter" in the Past Poets of the Week Archive. You can find it at: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/psh/

To read "Das Tagebuch" specifically, go to: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/psh/2014/04/april-28-may-5-16th-annual-yom-hashoah-issue/#fp29

Thanks to Rick Lupert for the opportunity to remember the Holocaust through poetry and for his tireless efforts "to expose as many people to as many other people's poetry as possible".

shalom

Monday Musings: April 28, 2014 - Word/Phrase Prompt

Prompt: Baseball

What to do: Write, film, compose, draw, paint, or otherwise express yourself based on the concept of "America's favorite pastime" - baseball. If you are open to sharing, just put a link to your inspired creation in the comments section of this post.

Prompt inspired by: The Lehigh Valley IronPigs and a full weekend at Coca-Cola Park. :)

Random Wisdom: Bob Feller - Baseball

"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is." ~Bob Feller

Black to Fade

Caught in the light,
darkness shutters--
fear curling like a fetus
crawls from kindness,
curling into itself
and away from the love
shining gently
on its shoulders.

Tighter, it draws upon
the memory of despair,
suckling on nothing
but a shadow cast
by the hope that seeks
its destruction.

Written for the Wednesday's Weekly Write prompt at Poetry, Music, Photography and More, a G+ Community.

Rush Hour

The morning birdsong
fills the city streets with sound--
nature's traffic jam.

My take on this week's Monday Musings form prompt - Haiku.

Monday Musings: April 21, 2014 - Form Prompt

Prompt: Haiku

What to do: Write a haiku. A haiku is a poem consisting of three lines. The first and last line has 5 moras (or sound unit like a syllable), and the middle line has 7 moras.
While not technically a syllable, I tend to think of a mora as a syllable to make it easier on myself. ;)

Prompt inspired by: Spring and my early morning visits to the outdoors with Milo.

Random Wisdom: Simone Weil - Accountability

“We have to endure the discordance between imagination and fact. It is better to say, “I am suffering,” than to say, “This landscape is ugly.” ~ Simone Weil

The Sun Rises

Tempers in a tempest flare
as shrieks like shrapnel
shatter watching windows
and innocence
crawls crying from the fray.

Eventually,
disdain dies down as day dawns--
reflecting its radiant beauty
in broken glass.


My take on this week's Monday Musings image prompt...

Monday Musings: April 14, 2014 - Image Prompt

Prompt:
Photo by Bing Wright, Broken Mirror/Evening Sky (Kodak Provia), 2012, Archival 
Inkjet Print, 70-3/4 x 56-5/8 inches

What to do: Write, film, compose, draw, paint, or otherwise express yourself based on the image above. If you are open to sharing, just put a link to your inspired creation in the comments section of this post. :)

Prompt inspired by: http://www.bingwright.com/
I find Bing Wright's photographs extremely inspiring. Thanks also to +Eva Trillian for introducing his work to me.

Random Wisdom: Todd Stocker - Storm Quote

“Joy weathers any storm: Happiness rides the waves.” ~ Todd Stocker

Tapping the Collective

Swirls of sound
in intonations,
unknown
yet not unfamiliar,
wash through form
making mesh of matter--
molecules now nothing more
than pigment-less paint
for the endless dream.

Special Delivery

Petite paper packets
like man-made chrysalis
protecting tiny time capsules
of life--
of sleeping little leaves
dreaming
of their days in the sun.

My take on this week's prompt...

Monday Musings: April 7, 2014 - Image Prompt

Prompt:

What to do: Write, film, compose, draw, paint, or otherwise express yourself based on the image above. If you are open to sharing, just put a link to your inspired creation in the comments section of this post. :)

Prompt inspired by: Burpee Seeds and the fact that Spring has finally arrived and there are little seedlings growing on my windowsill. :)

Random Wisdom: Horace Walpole - Garden Quote

“When people will not weed their own minds, they are apt to be overrun by nettles.” ~ Horace Walpole

Just Another Particle

Caught in a shaft
of unexpected sunlight,
I find myself
suspended
utterly immersed in beauty
and dancing as a dust mote--
small and insignificant,
held fast
by a warm and infinite
indifference.

Inspired by Mag 214

An Open Fibonacci

Why?
I
ask you
with respect
for your intellect
and elevated position.
Why do you allow those less fortunate to suffer?
In you, they place their hope and trust
and you turn your back
in disgust,
disdain.
You.
Why?

Thanks to my very talented friend Bekkie for pointing me to the  Fibonacci form. Check out her efforts at Picturesque Words...


National Poetry Month 2014 - A Commentary

Trying to prepare for a month of poetry was a challenge for me even before the powers that be decided to play with me a bit more than usual. Without a home computer (or a working water heater and a sick man and a very sick dog) for these last few weeks, I've found myself at the mercy of my own frustration -- not meeting my goals for myself and my writing -- and realize I need to let myself "off the hook" as forces WAY beyond my control wreck havoc on my well laid plans... not an easy feat for this little control freak but I am maturing. ;)

So... it's April and National Poetry Month. Rather than beat myself bloody over not getting prompts up, I've decided to refocus my efforts and let some already established sites do the hard work of inspiring others (at least for now). If you are interested in where I've gotten some of my ideas through the years, here are some of my "go to" links when I'm looking for inspiration. Enjoy!

Poetry Super Highway
PSH is currently featuring a Poetry Writing Prompt-A-Day for National Poetry Month.
http://poetrysuperhighway.com/psh/a-poetry-writing-prompt-a-day/

Poets&Writers
"The Time Is Now" offers a weekly prompt all year 'round for Poetry, Fiction, and Creative-NonFiction writers.
http://www.pw.org/writing-prompts-exercises

Writer's Digest
Currently running the 2014 April PAD Challenge.
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/poetry-prompts

The Found Poetry Review
Offers a weekly prompt.
http://www.foundpoetryreview.com/category/poetry-prompts/

Language is a Virus
Would you believe a random writing prompt generator?
http://www.languageisavirus.com/writing_prompts.html

A Promise Kept

  Post-it® Poem from April 30th on a 3x3 note. And that's it for this year! :) Thanks for following along...