Prompt 1/1/13 : The Little Things

Well, mostly. Today, I'd like to throw out a somewhat timely prompt:

Think and write about a particular gift which you've received.

What did the gift look like?  Smell like?  Taste like?  Feel?  Sound?  Paint a picture of this gift you've been given AND let us know why this thing is so significant to you.  Is there any special meaning attached to this thing?  Has it unexpectedly grown in significance over the time during which you've owned it?  What might someone else overlook about this that you absolutely adore?

In order to help you with this, try writing 5 metaphors to help explain what this gift means to you to other people.  A metaphor can be thought of as:

Noun + State of being verb + Noun

Now, if you get stuck writing, try using one of these as a jumping off point to write your poem!

Good luck and happy writing!

December 3rd Prompt and Poem - It's in the Music

Recently, I attended a memorial walk for an acquaintance who had passed.  I was listening to a conversation that another friend of his was having.  One word stuck out: "Searching."  Ideas flooded into being; I brought out my notebook and began to write.  I listened to a song with the same title as the word which had just been used.  For reference, this is the song I was listening to:

This is the piece which followed:

Searching

There is a song called "Searching" by an artist
named Joe Satriani. It's a song that starts
off with a slow pulse - like a question at rest.
Chords kick in and a driving solo begins like
the notes are trying to find their home - wide
vibratos and a bass which wants to find its place
between the high strung, tight singing strings and
those loose enough to make rock roll. Suddenly,
the guitar swings wildly, matching the frenetic
pace of the bass, and I realize that the music
is matching emotions, and I wonder if this
is what the music inside of his mind sounded like
when he searched for an answer - a reason for being?
an idea to hold onto? beauty? a melody?
Was he searching for a string - vibrant, sonorous - enough
to stitch his heart back together -
when a man's hands close like life could
never fill them again, the reason is rarely the moment -
the reason is rarely in the hands - the reason
seems to be nothing - nothing found from the
search - no thing strong enough
to hold hands open anymore - what were you searching
for?
       I can't find anything but upset in the waves
that continue outward - music only exists in the moments
we hear it, but its reverberations can be heard
in the echoes of instruments and in their phrasings like
"I'm sorry for your loss" or "I remember when..." because
not everyone has fingers nimble enough to
pluck out notes, but we all have a heart
strong enough to be tuned and sing out your
praises - and, honestly, I never knew you
well enough to even begin to understand why
the beats of all these hearts sound so somber,
but I have to believe that this
is the only way your song could have ended -
it was always in your hands, and this note - this
note
        is trying to make all the songs we're singing
find harmony because one day those songs too will end, but
our search will continue, and
one day
we may find
the strings to complete this symphony.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Music is a very powerful force in our lives, so I want to ask you to tap into that power.

Find a song (it can have lyrics, but instrumental ones can provide for more interpretation) and write a poem about what it means to you.

What connections does this song have?  How do you feel when the music plays?  Do you feel that the song is saying something other than what you can hear?  Are there any stories which go along with this song?  I have a tendency to attach potent memories to songs, so bring up your past if you'd like, and tell your story through a song.

Feel free to post what you come up with hear and a link to the music which inspired it!

Additionally, there may be a fund set up in honor of the subject of this poem and to help his family. I will update with any further information as it becomes available for anyone who may be interested in learning more.

Thank you and happy writing!

November 26th Prompt - For The Love

I have been on an absolute kick with regard to love.  This is possibly because I've been looking through old notebooks and noticing how much my pen used to be obsessed with the idea.  I had filled many pages with the idea, and I kind of like it.  Love is one of the driving forces behind the universe it seems; it's everywhere. But sometimes we forget it.  Or it gets misplaced.  Sometimes it sneaks its way into our other pieces of baggage; you know, the ones which we glean from past relationships or ones that will never really be.  Sometimes we forget how powerful this word is and why it should be saved and used only when we truly mean it.  These thoughts are what lead into today's prompt.

Write an epistle (poem in letter form) to someone whom you love (or loved).

Granted, this is a difficult topic, so I'm going to open it up a bit and encourage you to write to the very first person who comes to mind.  What does love mean where this person is concerned?  Is it a feeling of concern for their well-being (like a guardian or parent)?  Is it a feeling of platonic, amazing friendship?  Is it a difficult to describe, deep seated attraction type love?  As you'll notice, these questions revolve around what type of love you're trying to express.  Keep this in mind: There are several different types of love.  Which do you feel strongest in your life right now?  Which felt strongest to you at some point prior to this?  How would you describe your thoughts/feelings?  As always, be specific, and don't hesitate to put pen to page.

Love is a strong emotion and well worth writing about, so be sure to have fun writing and good luck!

November 12th - Prompt: Thankful

Yesterday was Veterans' Day, and we all have someone to thank on that day. This is certainly not all we have to be thankful for, however. And this energy, the energy that accompanies a "Thank You" is the energy that I want to tap into with today's prompt.

Write an epistle (a poem in the form of a letter) to someone or something for which you are thankful.

This letter does not have to solemn - remember that the energy of a thank you can be one of happiness and joy - someone has given time for you; this is something to be joyous about! Of course, you could also write a thank you poem to your favorite forest, to the city streets whose traffic speaks at all hours of the night, to your friend, mother, brother, sister, father, or other family; you could write a thank you to whomever you would like - set your pen free and see what it fetches from its well of ink!

Good luck, and happy writing!

Prompt: October 22nd Success

Everyone has dreams or goals or desires.  Everyone has something that he or she would absolutely love to achieve.  Problematically, we don't always know the "correct" path to walk in order to achieve those goals.  This, however, is not necessarily important.  When beginning to write a poem, I will generally have an idea of the concept I want to write about, but more often than not, what I end up with is not what I started with.  This is okay.  It's called the journey, and it leads to discovery.  But let's get back to the prompt at hand.

I want you to think about something you really want to achieve.  I don't want you to care about the how or the why of getting there or what you want to achieve; I just want you to have a solid picture of a goal in your brain.  Do you want to make more money?  Do you want to find love?  Do you want to make a new friend?  Ask a girl out?  Ask a guy out?  Be asked out?  Win a competition?  Something, anything so long as it is something you want.  Got that image in your head of what you want?  Good.

Now, write from the perspective of already having achieved this thing you have in your mind.

How does it feel?  What are you doing?  Let your mind go, and let your emotions wander with it.  Write about how you feel now that you've successfully achieved this thing you want.  Be creative, have fun, and write!

Good luck and have fun writing!