T is for TOGETHER #AtoZ Poetry

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth

 

Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:

1. To celebrate my appreciation of life

2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi

3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.

 

The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge

 

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 T is for Together and Tulips

 

 

Together 

Writing is a solitary activity

sitting alone for hours

at typewriter or computer

with tablet or notepad.

Inside the author’s head

drumming up ideas

scenarios, settings,

a plot slowly forms.

Characters dance and

story line develops.

Everything comes together

to build tension and

create meaning.

To tell an engaging tale

and elicit smiles, or tears. 

A solitary pursuit evolves

Becoming society’s pleasure.

 

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Whether you hold strictly to writing everything by hand using pen and notepad, or you prefer to type everything directly into your computer/word processor, the process is a solitary activity. Do you later share the fruits of your labor or keep them tucked away from prying eyes?  

 

 

S is for SMILING BACK #AtoZ

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth

 

Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:

1. To celebrate my appreciation of life

2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi

3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.

 

The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge

 

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 S is for Smiling Back and Sunflowers

 

Smiling Back

From shadows,

smiling back at me,

clear memories

of frothy rapids

while tubing down

an apple-scented river. 

Company softball games,

cheering on my teammates

win or lose, celebrating

El Torito style. 

All too soon, highways

move me state to state,

major life changes

blinding me to loss. 

Above the clouds

endless open skies

ease me from the past; with

lazy eagerness, promises appear

of another new beginning.

 

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Do you need to understand everything the poet is saying to appreciate a poem? Or is sailing off in whatever direction a specific phrase sends you, like a word-association excursion, more to your liking?

R is for RIOTS AND REBELLION #AlohaFriday #AtoZ

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth

 

Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:

1. To celebrate my appreciation of life

2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi

3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.

 

The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge

 

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 R is for Riots and Rebellions (and incongruously . . .for this beautiful Rose)

Photo by Gail M Baugniet
Taken in the village where my father's great grandparents settled.

 

RIOTS AND REBELLION

 

Riots

Society on the edge

Politics, redefining lives 

Anger

Mankind engaged in war

Family structure, realigned 

Rebellion

Control in flux

Freedom, the goal 

Question not

what you see, but

the lack of change

 

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What emotions surface when one has no control over circumstances?