Gotta Be Quick

Day 16 – 2020 Creativity Project

Today is one of the days I work as a Copy Editor. It is a limited engagement with a few hours, but when I am on, it is demanding. So this is rushed.

I finished the poem in the wee hours to read at the memorial service, and it was approved without change. Got the awe-inspiring stamp!

I have thought for a while that I could do poems on demand, and this proved my hypothesis. There is this raw idea I have been noodling – but I am a coward.

I have been faulted as not living up to my potential, if I could believe I had any, maybe I could achieve it.

I need to color my hair, pick out clothes, finish proofing the magazine, so this is a done deal. If the person who requested the poem approves, I will post it sometime soon.

I just hope while I am reading tomorrow at the service that I do not stumble over my own words too severely. The other poets who will be read are superstars from times ago.

Yeah, you all take care. God Bless.

Somewhat a Block

Day 15: 2020 Creativity Project

It was a day! Awakened by a dear friend who requested I write a poem and also read it in public. No pressure, right?

If you think that, I have not made myself clear. It is after 11pm, and I have not begun. I almost skipped this website entry, and it is a commitment. Anxiety.

I did go to town with my son for lunch and necessity shopping. While the whole time, the resistance to doing the poem built.

I know I can do it. I write all the time. I am afraid of disappointing my friend and embarrassing myself in front of a gathering. I committed to it, though, so do it, I must. How do I write something outstanding? It must be more than just a poem, it must reach hearts, every heart. No pressure, right?

How do I stand up and present what I created? I am not a compelling speaker, I rush. This is important, though, and therein lies the fear, fear of such failure I lose face.

I did not get to so much today. I did no art, I ate disgracefully, but I read The Raven and Lenore by Edgar Allan Poe. The hope was that reading them aloud would prime whatever it is that writes poems. I also read stories in the latest issue of GRANTA, which is my all-time favorite magazine, each issue a book, glorious. Reading is supposed to calm me. Sometimes it makes my inferiorities bolder for me to see.

I share this because creatives struggle sometimes. Making something out of thin air is magic, hard to master.

I am going to do this poem. I am going to present it. God help me, even if I do not believe I can.

Eleven Haiku and Other…

Today is a day where I tried to catch up reading some periodicals. I cleaned part of the cupboard and wrote several haiku as well.

I write a lot of haiku, it is like singers singing scales, a warm-up. Although often it turns out haiku are the full product.

I have been thinking of working some other forms, but forms are complicated at times. I like what I know. Most of us are not incredibly fond of change, even though it is a constant.

Anyway, here are some haiku from my journal, I decided not to inflict my handwriting on others today.

The village remains
Empty, all humans are fled
The owl sings who songs.
______________________________
Pleasure greater than
Life’s intermittent agony
Is the goal we seek.
______________________________
The rain leaves imprints
On all the drabbest fallen,
For Winter prevails.
______________________________
We are here awhile
Our time fast slipping away,
Swift moments, hours, days.
_______________________________
Not today will you
See that fragile hurting face,
My smile is in place.
________________________________
Why can we not be
Happy with the small pleasures
But have to chase more?
__________________________________
Feeling guilty when
There exists no right reason,
Always in the thoughts.
_________________________________
No, I will not go
On my own so far from home,
I’m meant for this place.
__________________________________
The smile lit his eyes
A brighter glittery hue,
Inhibition flew.
__________________________________
Fear like crocodiles
Can tear into everyone
Without fair warning.
___________________________________
When love gives a nod
Calling you out for its own,
Never run away.

If you are not writing haiku, you should. The form is excellent for expressing an emotion or image. Questions, leave a comment.

A lot of the pictures I use I take on the property. It is mostly fallow now and somewhat overgrown. This field often used to contain wild turkeys. I have seen none recently, but they probably still visit.

I am still exploring art in the hope of regaining my former skill. The piece below is based on a dog toy, but I took a bit of poetic license, so it lacks reality. I never was fond of still-life. I am a bit of a fantasist.

A Prompt: Write some haiku, draw a picture, take photos, bead, dance, do anything creative. Let your muse run loose.

All the best to everyone. God Bless. Remember happiness is a state of mind, you can choose more of it in your life if you are lacking.

2020-01-14_Dragon Toy

Suggestions, Perhaps?

Respectful Restriction

Gates open and close,
Allow entrance and exit,
But they also lock.
Sometimes there is no going
Through barriers facing us.

Neighborly fences
Can save us torturous pain,
Where parties respect
Limits that secure freedom
And borders are not breached.

The gates of morning
Let in the nourishing sun
Lighting life each day,
Night swift falls, portcullis like,
Calling us to wangle sleep.

We live between gates
Though we believe we are free,
The beginning, birth,
The conclusion, death, and yet:
Eternal resurrection.

In this beautiful
Time we spend between the gates
We should live – alive,
We should be real, with the gates
Of experience thrown wide.

We are who we are
And we can create our lives,
Miracles abide,
Even in the dark, some gates
Guide us to places we belong.

Sometimes people wonder about inspiration. I took the photo this afternoon. I picked it randomly from a selection of several. Afterward, I determined to write a “GATE” poem. You just roll how you roll.

Photo/Tanka Art…

2020.01.11 Opportunities