A Death Song by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Poem of the Week Poet: Paul Laurence Dunbar Born: 27 June 1872, Ohio, USA American Died: 9 February 1906, Ohio, USA

Advertisements

The Erotes: Anteros

Form: Ivorian Sonnet 20 The Erotes: Anteros, god of requited love A tumult of emotions around me And I prayed love was something you’d see Like revealed cards my hand was out on show

Arabian Sonnet Notes

Arabian Sonnet Created by: Jose Rizal M. Reyes Meter: Decasyllabic or pentameter Structure: 2 quatrains and two triplets Rhyme Scheme: aaaa bbbb ccc ddd

Exam Hell

Form: Couplets Months of work coming to a final test, three-hour papers in hot rooms, it’s no jest. Classics, linguistics, fine art, all for me,

Adieu

Form: Ballad Once it was you who ruled my pen And like a child I obeyed you The words at play within my dreams

Spirituality and Transitional Changes

The path of a Pagan is to open oneself to spiritual truth and not rely on blind faith. Paganism is to face life candidly and with an open heart and mind. Being curious about the world around us empowers us to see life with a heightened perspective and enable us to make tough and powerful decisions when life offers choices and to do so with a clear perspective.

The Edge of Twilight – The Journey

The Edge of Twilight – The Journey The sun had barely risen above Woodland Trails when Bel and the Old Fox gently woke the sleeping Young Vixen. The elegant figure of Zuzu was sat in the parlour sipping tea and waiting.

Restoration

Form: Gwawdodyn hir Like tears it comes to ease guilt and pain And wash away the last teary stain So exhausted I can sleep again

Down Behind the Dustbin by Michael Rosen

Michael Rosen is a children’s novelist and poet with over 140 books to his credit. He was Children’s Laureate June 2007 and June 2009. He is also well known as a television presenter and political columnist.

Je t’Aime Til my Dying Day by Enigma

The music of Enigma is fantastic for generating ambience for meditation or spiritual dedication. For me, je t’aime til my dying day inspires a few thought processes for both spiritual and Tantric meditative experiences.

20th Century Avant-Garde

Surrealism is the channelling of the sub-conscious that unlocks the power of the imagination. It is the belief that the conscious, rational mind represses the power of imagination and creativity with perceived reality and the taboos of society. The psyche within sub-conscious thought acts as a revelation, exposing the incongruities of everyday living, life and the world around us, and by doing so inspires conscious revolution. As with Romanticism this emphasis was on the power of personal imagination, but Surrealists believed that revelation could be found in the everyday world. The interest in primitivism and myth combined with tapping into the unconscious mind inspired many later movements and styles that remain influential today.

Late April

Form: Epistle Oh sweet I need nothing more than you to make my world complete and I wait in this emptiness until that

Australian Sonnet Notes

Australian Sonnet Notes Meter: Consistent meter Structure: Three quatrains and a couplet Rhyme Scheme: abba cddc effe gg

Living in Hell

Form: Free Verse No warning, just attack my senses. Anger and rage

The Marriage Portrait

Form: Ballad Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Cunera van der Cock by Frans van Mieris the Elder, 1657/8, oil on vellum inlaid on oak. Currently located in the collection of the National Gallery, London, UK

Beyond the Dawn

Form: Raven’s Rovi Sonnet 21 As her voice lingered there upon my ear My eyes wandered slowly into her eyes Where the infinite of love knows no fear

Whisper of Wisdom

Form: Arabian Sonnet I heard his whisper on that darkest night So clear it touched my soul with purest light I didn’t think to fight or take to flight

Bas-Relief by Carl Sandburg

Carl August Sandburg was a poet, biographer, writer and editor. He won two Pulitzer Prizes for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. As a major figure of American literature, Lyndon B Johnson at Sandburg’s death in 1967 said ‘Carl Sandburg was more than the voice of America, more than the poet of its strength and genius. He was America.’

Teasing Rays of Sunshine

5 Minute Free Write Prompt: What’s the weather outside your window doing right now? If that’s not inspiring, what’s the weather like somewhere you wish you could be?

Through the Windowpane

Form: Free Verse Prompt: Your favourite book in 75 words

Terracotta

Form: Free Verse Sir, can it be that your living flesh so ruggedly defined like the chiselled marble statue of David in the V&A

Letting Go with Love

What does it mean to let something go? Simplistically, it means to release something back to its origin or to the universe. It’s not quite that simple, of course, as first one must identify what to let go of and understand and/or accept the reasons why.

An Hymn to Humanity by Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley was the first published African-American poet. She was transported to America from Africa after she was sold into slavery at the age of 7 or 8.

Mild Is the Parting Year by Walter Savage Landor

Poet: Walter Savage Landor Romanticism English 1775 – 1864

I Come from There by Mahmoud Darwish

Poet: Mahmoud Darwish Palestinian 1941 – 2008 Mahmoud Darwish was a poet and author and is regarded as the Palestinian national poet. His work, which often used Palestine as a metaphor for the downfall of Eden, resurrection and birth amid the anguish of dispossession and exile, has received numerous awards.

The Edge of Twilight 8 – Old Fox Returns

The Edge of Twilight 8 – Old Fox Returns It was late in the evening when the Old Fox returned. He entered Bel’s kitchen and was immediately hushed by Bel. ‘Let her sleep,’ Bel whispered, nodding her head towards the Young Vixen sleeping in the chair by the fire.

Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky

Title: Pictures at an Exhibition Date: 1874 Composer: Modest Mussorgsky Movement: Romantic Born: 21 March 1839, Karevo, Russia Russian Died: 28 March 1881, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Love

Form: Quatrains Love, a state of contradiction and such, a world of deep joy, yet agony too. Is it enough or could it be too much?

Kisses of Seduction

Form: Free Verse In those eyes of innocence I saw your supplication as a graceful goddess offering her hand and I see your face in all the beauty of love

Take It to the Bridge

Form: Epistle Hello, my sweet distraction of love and how you distract me as my mind searches for words and all my thoughts lead to you

Bloody Dysphoria

Form: Free Verse Those nights I longed for the pain yearned for it desired it

A Presentiment by William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant was a poet, journalist and editor of the New York Evening Post. His family genealogy can be traced to passengers on The Mayflower. His poetry is thoughtful and meditative in character and he is considered one of the leading American poets of the Romantic era.

Bounce

Form: Raven’s Rovi Sonnet 20 A man cannot feel love that never was Nor can he lose his soul to a closed mind Although he may search for it just because

Haiku

Haiku Prompt: a ring

William Morris

Artist: William Morris Born: 24 March 1834, Essex, England Nationality: English Movement: Pre-Raphaelite Died: 3 October 1896, Middlesex, UK

National Pride?

Form: Free Verse Empty promises hidden in bare-faced lies our government turning another blind eye

Fairy Song by Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist and poet. Her first critical success in writing came in the 1860s. Early in her career she used the pen name A M Bernard, under which she wrote novels involving espionage, revenge and cross-dressing for teens and young adults. An abolitionist and feminist she remained unmarried. She died from a stroke two days after her father’s death.

FA Cup Final 2008

Form: Quatrains My lads are both Portsmouth boys, and today they are full of football joys. Portsmouth have won the cup to their loudest cheers

The Erotes: Pothos

Form: Ivorian Sonnet 19 Pothos – the god of sexual longing, yearning and desire

Erté

Artist: Romain de Tirtoff (Erté) Born: 23 November 1892, St Petersburg, Russia Nationality: Russian-French Movement: Art Deco Died: 21 April 1990, Paris, France

Re-connecting with the Sacred Mother

Over recent years I let my spiritual connection between myself and Mother Earth drift. No excuses, it happens whatever path one walks. I don’t beat myself up over this, never have and never will. I am aware when the time comes, and I need to reconnect with my spiritual psyche and personal priesthood I will be guided back.

Making a Mesh of It

Form: Ivorian Sonnet 18 It’s when we touch, I catch the lust of night And feel the wildfires of want spark alight The play of my hands is moulding your flesh

The River

Form: Balassi Stanza Skies of dusky pink clouds Where the nightfall enshrouds The river of floating dreams

Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day

I walk a lonely road The only one that I have ever known Don't know where it goes But it's only me, and I walk alone

The Edge of Twilight 7 – The Young Vixen’s Surprise

The Edge of Twilight 7 – The Young Vixen’s Surprise The next morning a small group of foxes made their way through the Dark Forest. The Young Vixen and stood with Bel and the Old Fox as Vanda and the cubs disappeared with two muscular dog foxes.

October Chill

Form: Gwawdodyn To walk along the forest path now Amid the vibrance of every bow

Amanda’s Dark Sonnet

Amanda’s Dark Sonnet Meter: Decasyllabic or Iambic pentameter Structure: Two septets with the first word of each septet being alliterative Rhyme Scheme: Aabbcca Abbccdd

Ballad of Another Ophelia by David Herbert Lawrence

Ballad of Another Ophelia Date: 1915 Poet: David Herbert Lawrence English 1885 -1930

Vincent’s Chair

Form: Balassi Stanza In silence he is gone Yet his paint whispers on His presence in lines drawn

Raison d’être

Prompt: Why creative writing Oddly enough moving away from introspective writes to creative ones is starting with an introspective write. Such is the way of the writer, I guess.