A Salute to #wschat

A Salute to #wschat

It's been three years

since Not Bob

introduced us to

the Twitter chat.

Many of us thought,

"What's that?"

Now, I can tell you

what it has become.

A "woohoo" when you

share good news.

Commiseration for

the rejection blues.

Laughter, especially

from the back of the class.

The option to wear or

not wear pants.

A chance to sit in

on author interviews.

Watching the same movie

and tweeting your review.

Time for us

to get together,

talk about writing,

learn to get better.

Happy Anniversary, #wschat!

Remember, we have

 the list if you need a name

for your cat (or band).

Thanks to Janice Sheridan for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt: Homecoming--Our 3rd Anniversary. Click on the prompt link to learn  more about Wordsmith Studio. Thanks to Khara House for the anniversary badges!

Weekly #wschat Twitter chats are held Tuesdays at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m Eastern time. You don't have to be a member to join in the chat. Just search  #wschat to find the chat feed and include the same hashtag in your tweets.

Links

Johnson County Library Poem-A-Day Program

Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day

Author Page

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Books

Books

Trapped between

the covers.

Held captive by

the stories.

Led up and

down the pages

by the flow of

words and the

worlds they create.

After I feel both

the joy and sadness

of reaching the end,

I choose another

from the stack

and begin again.

Thanks to Kasie Whitener for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Trapped.

Links

National Poetry Month

Author Page

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Night Vision

Night Vision

What do you see

when your eyes are closed,

when your mind

should be at rest?

I see those I've

lost at their best

mingled with those

they never knew.

Why do I put them

 together? They are

 and always have been

worlds apart.

When the alarm sounds,

I ignore it and

try to hold onto

my impossible dream.

Thanks to Sarah Turnbull for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Subconscious Visions. 

Links

Cultures Without Borders 2015

Author Page

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Cornered

Trapped where the walls meet.

If you choose to escape, then

turn and walk away.

Thanks to Dana Dampier for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Confinement.

Links

Cultures Without Borders 2015

Author Page

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Perception

A few ducky activities taken during one photo shoot:

Thanks to Rebecca Barray for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Perception.

Links

Cultures without Borders Group Show

Author Page

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Hats Off to the Doctor

Hats Off to the Doctor

Walking through the library stacks,

I found a cat that wore a hat,

a fish or two of red and blue,

an elephant that heard a Who.

The Grinch that stole the holiday?

I still encounter him today.

The places that you said I'd go?

I've been to more than you would know.

It took nearly a lifetime, 

but I've become quite fond of rhyme.

Thanks to Janice Sheridan for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Children's Books. What is your favorite children's book or series?

Links

ARTSPEAK RADIO presents

Author Page

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Frozen in Time

Frozen in Time

Frozen in time--

the day I

last saw you,

speaking eloquently

to so many friends.

Laughing and smiling.

Looking healthy, not

months away from

the final slide.

The years add up,

but I still

see you clearly.

Frozen in time.

Frozen in my mind.

Thanks to Dana Dampier for this week's Wordsmith  Studio Creative Prompt-Frozen. The prompt is posted each Thursday. Last Thursday, I went to the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park on the grounds of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. It is one of my favorite places to write and take photographs. I took several pictures of the ice in the pool that is part of the sculpture One Sun/34 Moons by Walter De Maria. When I got home, I checked the prompt and knew I had a choice of several photos. I started working on the poem a little later.

Links

ARTSPEAK RADIO presents

Author Page

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Survival of the Fittest

Survival of the Fittest

Stay alert, keep moving.

Watch out! That was close.

Every few seconds,

someone is eliminated.

One gets hit on the legs,

another on the shoulder.

Who will be next?

Should I chance

a look at the clock?

I hear the whistle.

Gym class is over.

I place the

red rubber ball

on the rack.

Thanks to Sarah Turnbull for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Elimination. Who remembers playing dodgeball with those red rubber balls?

Links

ARTSPEAK RADIO presents,

Author Page

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Hindsight

Hindsight

If I had known

what I didn't

would I have done

something different?

Would I have done

what I couldn't or

thought I shouldn't?

Would I have

gone in another direction?

North instead of South?

East instead of West?

Would all the rest

have changed

if I had known?

Thanks to Kasie Whitener for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-If I Had Known.

Links

ARTSPEAK RADIO presents, Sonie Joi Thompson-Ruffin and Bill McKemy

Author Page

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Now Showing

Now Showing

What show will play

in the sky tonight?

What pictures will

stars form with light?

Will a meteor shower

be all the rage?

Will the moon

take center stage?

Will wonders appear

before your eyes

or  will a curtain of clouds

refuse to rise?

Thanks to Rebecca Barray for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Star. What's your favorite show in the sky at night?

Links

ARTSPEAK RADIO Presents, New Year's Eve with Friends

Author Page

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Fogged In

Fogged In

Bogged down

by the fog,

damp and dreary.

Hard to see what's

in front of me.

When the sun

shines again,

I'll have a new

appreciation

of the view.

Thanks to Rebecca Barray for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Fog. 

Links

ARTSPEAK RADIO Presents, 7 Writers Writing

Author Page

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The Passage of Time

The Passage of Time

I hear each

tick of the clock.

See a hand sweep

past the seconds.

Sunshine turns

 to moonlight.

The leaves are

blowin' away.

Will I build

another dream?

Will we walk

together again?

I hear each tick

of the clock,

marking the

passage of time.

Thanks to Sarah Turnbull for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-I Spy. This was kind of a "prompt scavenger hunt."  Click on the link to see the instructions. My prompts were: clock, the line-"we accordingly walked together to the parking lot from" from Hot Money by Dick Francis and the CD "Time and Love" by Laura Nyro. [Note: Since I still listen to music the old fashioned way, I picked up a stack of CDs, shuffled them three times and pulled one out.] 

Upcoming Events

ARTSPEAK RADIO Presents Artists Danny Orendorff and Laura Isaac

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Stowaways

Stowaways

Gum on a shoe or

mud when it's wet

Hair on clothing

from us or the pets

A price tag we

forget to remove

A piece of tape

that sticks like glue

The feelings we hide

inside but can't let out

no matter how hard we try

Thanks to Kasie Whitener for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Stowaway. 

Upcoming Events

ARTSPEAK RADIO presents Editors Adam Finkelston, James Meara, 

and Author/writer, Patrick Dobson

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Pathfinder

Pathfinder

How do we get to where we are?

Are we led to the water to drink?

Are the steps controlled by what we think?

Do we wish upon a star?

Will that get us very far?

Do we aspire to be like someone else?

Does that help us find ourselves?

Does it matter what we do?

Is everything planned for me and you?

How do we get to where we are and

where do we go next?

Thanks to Janice Sheridan for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Freedom. Do you believe in destiny? Do we control our own fate? How have you found your way?

Upcoming Events

ARTSPEAK RADIO Presents InterUrban ArtHouse with Nicole Emanuel

November Local Life: Meditations on the Beauty of the Everyday

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Fishing for Words

Fishing for Words

After sunrise, I rise.

Coffee ready,

I sit and sip

as a steady stream

of words runs

through my mind.

I wish I could hook

them one at a time.

Create the perfect line,

the perfect line,

the perfect line

until I finish.

Instead, I scratch

down what I can

then revise and revise.

I tire and go to sleep,

only to rise and start again.

Thanks to Rebecca Barray for the Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Finish. What projects have you finished lately?

Upcoming Events

ArtSpeak Radio Presents Deborah Shouse and Ron Zoglin

Art Opening

November Local Life: Meditations on the Beauty of the Everyday

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Silent Scream

Silent Scream

Who's there?

Don't stand and stare,

run, run, run, run.

No use, I can't get away.

Scream, scream.

I open my mouth,

but nothing comes out.

That's when I know

this is only a dream.

Thanks to Dana Dampier for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Nightmares and Dreamscapes. Can you scream in your dreams? Do you have recurring dreams?

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Enter the Forest

Enter the Forest

Enter the forest.

What do you see?

Miles and miles

of twisted trees.

What do you hear?

Howls and screeches

that sound too near.

What do you feel?

The presence of something

that's not quite real.

Leave the forest

or do you?

Thanks to Elissa Field for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Wicked Wording This Way Comes. Do you have a poem, short story or book you like to read every Halloween?

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Modern Curses

Too many keyboards/keypads

Too much sitting

AND way too many selfies

Thanks to Sarah Turnbull for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Curses. What is your favorite story that involves a curse?

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Collaborative Story

Jessica quickened her pace. The cool air encouraged the increased speed. I'm surprised more people aren't out. She stumbled on a tree root, took a step off the trail to regain her balance,and came face-to-face with a hole in the rocks. It looks like a dog's head.

Thanks to Kasie Whitener for this Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-A Dark and Stormy Night. The challenge is to contribute to a scary story. I started it, now it's up to you to help finish it by contributing a few lines in the comments. What happens next?

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Here are a couple of other collaborative projects I'm involved with:

Slavic Arts Festival and Reading: A Celebration of Eastern European Culture

The Beauty of the Everyday 

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The Phantom of the Opera

from Amazon.com via Google Images

The Phantom of the Opera

Before Andrew Lloyd Webber

wrote The Music of the Night,

a silent phantom

gave me a fright.

Even on a small screen

in black and white

the face was startling:

a damaged nose,

high cheek bones,

eyes that glowed.

A scream rose 

in my throat

and I cried out,

"Mom!"

Thanks to J.lynn Sheridan for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Shivers. When I was a child, there was a program on Saturday called Silents, Please, that showed silent movies. It introduced me to the work of Lon Chaney and the character of the Phantom. Little did I know that years later this story would be set to music and become a worldwide sensation. Yes, I did go to see the play.

What are your early memories of fright night films and scary stories?

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