Word Gardens

 

Self Taught

 

I’ve learned a few lessons
about luck and life.
Sometimes, even wishing
on a star can’t keep
things from turning ugly.
You take a punch or two.
Maybe end up in
residence at a hospital.
Take time to heal.

 

Other days turn out
sweet as apple cider.
You could be wandering
in the darkest alley and
wind up at the door to
a theater playing your
favorite movie.
When that happens,
walk in and
enjoy the show.

 

 

For the 8th challenge of the 2013 Our Lost Jungle Poetry Form Challenge, Khara House asked us to cultivate a word garden then grown a poem from it.

 

A word garden is simply a collection of words that resonates with the poet. For this challenge, we had to develop our garden quickly. However, this could be an ongoing exercise.

 

We were asked to collect a minimum of 100 words and put them in a jar or some other container. I took words from random pages I reviewed in books and magazines. I also used a few that I heard in conversation. We then had to draw at least 10 words from the container and write a poem that included all of those words. My 10 words were: luck, cider, ugly, star, alley, theater, residence, punch, movie and lessons.

 

I have never done an exercise like this before. I do have a list of word combinations that I keep as prompts. Sometimes, the words end up in the poem and sometimes they are just food for thought.

 

Do you have a word garden?  Have you done exercises in which you are given a list of words to include in a poem?

 

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Fall

 

 

It's fall! How do I know ? Here are a few of the ways:

 

• The temperature is in the 50's when I wake up.
• Pumpkin spice lattes are back in the coffee houses.
• The Plaza Art Fair was this past weekend.
• There are footballs in the air!

Pretty soon the trees will look like those in the picture. Enjoy this beautiful season!

 

Autumn Revelation

 

 

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OULIPO

 

 

In the Driver's Seat

 

Grief
holds on
with both hands.
Can’t be shaken loose.
Handles every curve and swerve.
Won’t let go in ice or
snow, wind or rain, sleet or heat.
The hitchhiker who takes everyone for a ride.

 

The 7th challenge of the Our Lost Jungle Poetry Form Challenge is OULIPO, a philosophy that combines poetry and math. Seriously? Yes, I wouldn't kid about something like that.

 

As Khara House explains, "OULIPO is an acronym for Ouvroir de Litterature Potentielle, or “Workshop of Potential Literature.” Devised by the combined efforts of a French mathematician (Francois de Loinnais) and writer (Raymond Queneau), OULIPO seeks to create literary works written under constrained writing techniques."

 

There are a number of techniques of which Khara gives a sampling. I chose the Snowball, perfect for a poet who grew up in Buffalo, N.Y. In my example, each line of the poem increases by one word. I had to be careful when I was counting because I started to fall back into counting syllables instead of words.

 

Have you ever written a poem using one of the OULIPO techniques?

 

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Sample

 



 

Sample-a representative part or a single item from a larger whole or group ..

(Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

 

I have a golf ball collection. Most have logos of golf courses, tournaments or colleges and universities. Others, like the sample above, are colorful and/or say something interesting. The balls in my collection are both new and used. It's always fun to find a ball that has an interesting logo.

 

Thanks to Kris Swanguarin for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt. Give us a sample of how this prompt inspires you by posting a link in the comments section of the blog post.

 

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erasure

 

For the 6th week of the Our Lost Jungle Poetry Form Challenge, the form is erasure.  The poet takes a previously written text and begins to erase text to create a poem. Color or images may be added for a visual effect.

 

I used a page from the book Kansas City Jazz From Ragtime to Bebop--A History by Frank Diggs and Chuck Haddix. I tried to keep the relationship of the words within each line accurate words in the picture, but the spaces between lines are more representative than exact.

 

I enjoyed this form and playing with some photos to go with the poem.  Here is the text:

 

hooked on the blues

 

pecking out blues on the old

upright piano

practiced on the sly

 

Seeing

great territorial bands

inspired to become a musician

 

straggling home in the early morning light

with pockets full of money

 

Finding work scarce

 

stranded in Tulsa

 

auditioning for the piano spot

"I can play those tunes."

 

"Man, we've got a cat here.

 

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New

 

 

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading,

 or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” — Confucius

 

 

I bought a new book this weekend! It's It Happens in the Dark by Carol O'Connell, the latest in her Mallory series. It just came out in August so it really is a new book.

 

Do you make time to read?

 

This week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt is New. So, what's new with you? Let us know by leaving a link in the comments on the blog post. Thanks to Kasie Whitener for this prompt.

 

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Ekphrasis

 

 

 

The topic for Week 5 of the Our Lost Jungle Poetry Form Challenge is Ekphrasis. This happens to be one of my favorite types of poetry.

 

Ekphrastic poetry is poetry inspired by visual art. I prefer a broader definition that includes any art form, but the task this week is centered on the visual. Khara House challenged us to look outside the picture in putting together this week's work. I tried to think about what could be there, but isn't, as well as what is.

 

Mist-ifying

 

Liquid curtain
shimmering in
the early light.
What do you hide?
Miles of moors
Howling hounds
Terrifying sounds
Waves of ocean
Foghorns blare
Ships taking care
The waterfall
roaring down.
Noise resounds.
A neighborhood
Residents rise
at dawn’s reprise.

 

 

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Basket

 

 

 

Rocking Horse

 

The rocking horse
moves back and forth
at a steady pace,
staying in one place.

 

The child on its back
travels here or there.
Transported to a
chosen destination
by imagination.

 

Who’s really being
taken for a ride?

 



This week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt is Basket. Write a poem or story, take a photograph or use any other art form to produce a piece inspired by the word Basket. Put a link to it in the comments on the blog post. Thanks to Carol Early Cooney for this week's prompt.

 

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