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Wednesday, May 27, 2015

So Noted


So Noted

I was embarrassed
when classmates asked
to borrow my notes.
They were hard to
read and only meant
for use by me.
They were keys that
triggered what had been said.
I kept that in my head.

That system no longer
works for me.
My memory isn't as good
as it used to be and
I can never find the keys.

This poem was written in response to the prompt "learning" on Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides blog. Robert provides a prompt every Wednesday.



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Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Playing in the Mud


Playing in the Mud

I hear the
squish, squish, squish
of shoes on
the tee box
and the fairway.
I hear "splat"
as the club
meets the ball.
I wipe an
inch of mud
off the club 
face after each
 and every shot.
Despite sun and
wind, No. 18
is as wet
as No. 1.
So tell me,
how does the
sand in the
bunkers stay dry?

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Thursday, May 21, 2015

Red Dust


Red Dust

Red dust on my socks
brings back visions of rocks
the likes of which I've
never seen before.

I'm back on the trails
taking in the details
of the formations
all around me.

They change with the light.
What a fascinating sight.
Glow in the sun and
darken in shadow.

I wish I was there,
but no need to despair.
I conjure them up from
the red dust on my socks.

Have you or do you plan to take a vacation to someplace new this year?

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Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Which Way?


Which Way?

Loss leaves us lost.
Magnetizes our inner
compass so we don't
know which way to turn.
Upsets our equilibrium
so we stagger instead
of walk with confidence.
We may ask for directions
but have to find the way back
ourselves.

Have you felt lost while you were grieving? How did you find your way?

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Thursday, May 14, 2015

Revisions



Revisions

I cut words that
spoke to me at first
but no longer fit.

Should I replace,
find a different space
or simply erase?

It's hard to let go
even when the change
is for the better.

What is your approach to making revisions? Do you enjoy it, hate it or accept it?

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Sunday, May 10, 2015

Reading and Writing...


Reading always has been one of my favorite activities so I'm happy that Elissa Field chose reading and its relationship to writing as the final prompt for the Wordsmith Studio's 3rd Anniversary Blog Hop. Thanks again, Elissa, for all of the work you've done on the blog hop.

What are you reading?
I have just finished or am in the process of reading A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver, Later Poems: Selected and New by Adrienne Rich and The Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman.

The first to relate to the genre in which I write and the third to my favorite genre to read.

What is your favorite genre?
My favorite genre is mystery. It all started with Sherlock Holmes. I can take my interest in him back to the age of 11 so I think I qualify as a lifelong fan. I'm not a snob, though. I enjoy reading non-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories involving Holmes and Watson. I like to see what other authors do with the classic characters.

A couple of years ago, I was introduced to the book Mystery Muses edited by Jim Huang and Austin Lugar. The editors asked 100 mystery writers to write about an author/book that inspired them to write mysteries. It's a great resource for classic and contemporary mysteries, both of which I enjoy.

Do you also have an alternate genre?
Biography or more broadly, non-fiction. If I was studying something in school or just took an interest in a person or subject, I would read as much as I could about them/it.

Are there alternative forms of writing or art that you have found inspiring or even dabbled in?
After I began writing poetry regularly, I found myself spending more and more time at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park. I wrote a poem inspired by one of the sculptures and found out a few months later that a poem inspired by visual art is called an Ekphrastic poem. Eventually, I began taking my own photographs and combining them with original poetry to create visual art pieces.

What music inspires your writing?
In 2010, I took a jazz poetry workshop and I was hooked by the end of it. I'm fortunate to live in an area that played a significant role in jazz history and to have the fabulous American Jazz Museum as a resource.

Do you have a favorite book, article or magazine for writing advice?
One of my favorites is Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. A favorite quote from the book is:

If  you read a great poem aloud--for example, “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley--and read it the way he set it up and punctuated it, what you are doing is breathing his inspired breath at the moment he wrote that poem. That breath was so powerful it still can be awakened in us over 150 years later.

What do you like to read? How does your reading enhance your writing?

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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

A New Season


A New Season

You haven't worked out.
You haven't practiced.
Who's going to pay
the price for that? Me.

Wait. I'm teed up too high.
Pop fly-I told you so.
OK. This is your
favorite club.
Don't look up yet.
I hate worm burners.
At least you can still pitch.
Finally, we're on the green.
You have to aim higher. Higher.
I've got no chance when
you hit to the low side.
Tap me in and let's go.

What? Water on the second hole?
I have a bad feeling about this.
Plop.

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