The object of this challenge is to write a poem in no more than 10 lines (but you may write in fewer than 10 lines all the way down to a single American sentence). Choose your own form or write in free verse, if preferred. We are taking inspiration today from Rupi Kaur, using the reference: 'fill the empty parts...'
Copyright Rupi Kaur
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More examples of the poet's work may be viewed on Instagram @rupikaur. I look forward to reading a number of short poems. The link does not expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem, and a return to comment on poems linked later would be appreciated.
"I am my own muse, the subject I know best." Frida Kahlo
Greetings to all poets on Day 19 of Poetry Writing Month. By this time, I am sure that many a muse is feeling torn between exhilaration and exhaustion. For our challenge today, I am returning to one of my favourite prompts, the Micro Poem of between one and twelve lines in a form of your choice.
By way of inspiration, I have chosen the poem, aptly entitled, April, by Pulitzer Prize winner and U.S. Poet Laureate, the late W.S. Merwin.
April
W.S. Merwin
(1927 - 2019)
Writing in the Guardian, Jay Parini described Merwin’s mature style as “his own kind of free verse, [where] he layered image upon bright image, allowing the lines to hang in space, largely without punctuation, without rhymes ... with a kind of graceful urgency.” Although Merwin’s writing has undergone stylistic changes through the course of his career, a recurring theme is man’s separation from nature.
Do you have a recurring theme which continues to inspire you to write poetry? I believe that poetry is at its most authentic when the poet becomes, as Frida Kahlo puts it so eloquently, his/her own muse.
I do hope that your own muse will speak to you today as you return to your unique theme. In addition, as this is FRIDAY, a poem in 55 words would be welcomed.
The object of this challenge has always been to write a poem of between one and twelve lines, in a form of your choice, but for the month of October, I would like to expand on this idea.
First, as it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I am doubling the number of lines.
Back in August, I felt inspired to begin a new project, one that would take my poetry to a different platform. I did something, which for me, is quite out of my comfort zone... yes, I ventured into the world of social media and opened an Instagram account. Since then, I have been rediscovering some of my own poems, and I have fallen in love with "notebook" poetry. It has reminded me of how I first began to write my words down with a pen on paper, rather than as I do now, wholly in a word document. It had got to the point that a poem didn't gel for me unless I saw it developing on my monitor in Georgia font! Now I am taking my time, using a nib pen dipped in ink, and even illustrating a few pieces. This month is known as #inktober on Instagram where today's prompt is "Breakable".
I wondered if I might inspire others to return to the comfort of pen and paper. I do not expect you all to rush about looking for an ancient bottle of ink (like I did) but I would love to see a photo of your work written in your own handwriting, or some kind of graphic presentation of your poem.
This is not a stipulation of the prompt... merely a request. Let us all remember the joy of the process!
The object of this challenge is to write a poem of between one and twelve lines, in a form of your choice.
Our point of departure is the line: 'A poem lovely as...'
The object of this challenge is to write a poem of between one and twelve lines, in a form of your choice.
Our point of departure is the line: 'It doesn't matter' from Come, Come, Whoever You Are by Rumi.
The object of this challenge is to write a poem of between one and twelve lines, in a form of your choice. Our point of departure is the phrase "long-ago rooms" from the poem When You Come by Maya Angelou. Participation includes, but is not limited to, those who have taken up the challenge to write 30 poems in 30 days. All are welcome!
Greetings to all!
Today is the day we put the "mini' back into the Sunday Mini-Challenge, and return to the option of form poetry. The object of this challenge has been to write a poem in no more than 10 lines but since it is December, and Christmas is approaching, I am feeling generous and will extend the number of lines to 25. Choose your own form or write in free verse, if preferred.
This weekend, our frame of reference is 'The Final Twilight', quoted from Jorge Luis Borges. Follow this link to Poetry Foundation which offers insight into Borges' influence and where more of his work is available to read. I look forward to reading a number of short poems, from Saturday through to Monday. The link does not expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem, and a return to comment on poems linked later would be appreciated.
Greetings to all!
Today is the day we put the "mini' back into the Sunday Mini-Challenge, and return to the option of form poetry. The object of this challenge is to write a poem in no more than 10 lines (but you may write in fewer than 10 lines all the way down to a single American sentence). Choose your own form or write in free verse, if preferred.
The Mesh
Kwesi Brew
Ghana
This weekend, our frame of reference is 'The Cross-roads' quoted from Kwesi Brew's poem, The Mesh. Follow THIS LINK to AllPoetry.com where more of his work is available to read. I look forward to reading a number of short poems, from Saturday through to Monday. The link does not expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem, and a return to comment on poems linked later would be appreciated.
Today is the day we put the "mini' back into the Sunday Mini-Challenge, and return to the option of form poetry. The object of this challenge is to write a poem in no more than 10 lines (but you may write in fewer than 10 lines all the way down to a single American sentence). Choose your own form or write in free verse, if preferred.
This weekend, our frame of reference is 'A splash of rust and gold...' quoted from John Pepper Clark's poem, Ibadan. Follow THIS LINK to AllPoetry.com where more of his work is available to read.
I look forward to reading a number of short poems, from Saturday through to Monday. The link does not expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem, and a return to comment on poems linked later would be appreciated.
The Projectionist’s Nightmare This is the projectionist’s nightmare: A bird finds its way into the cinema, Finds the beam, flies down it, smashes into a screen depicting a garden, a sunset and two people being nice to each other. Real blood, intestines, slither down the likeness of a tree. “This is no good,” screams the audience, “This is not what we came to see.”
Today is the day we put the "mini' back into the Sunday Mini-Challenge, and return to the option of form poetry. The object of this challenge is to write a poem in no more than 10 lines (but you may write in fewer than 10 lines all the way down to a single American sentence). You may choose your own form or stick to free verse, if preferred.
This weekend, our frame of reference is 'This is not what we came to see...' quoted from Brian Patten's poem, The Projectionist's Nightmare. Follow the link given above to Patten's website where more of his work is available to read.
I look forward to reading a number of short poems, from Saturday through to Monday. The link does not expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem, and a return to comment on poems linked later would be appreciated.
Today is the day we put the "mini' back into the Sunday Mini-Challenge, and return to the option of form poetry. The object of this challenge is to write a poem in no more than 10 lines (but you may write in fewer than 10 lines all the way down to a single American sentence). You may choose your own form or stick to free verse, if preferred.
Today, our frame of reference is 'because it is my heart' quoted from Crane's poetic work entitled, The Black Riders and Other Lines, which consists of several parts, many of which are 10 lines or shorter. Follow the link given above for a full copy of the text.
I look forward to reading a number of short poems, from Saturday through to Monday. The link does not expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem, and a return to comment on poems linked later would be appreciated.
Beautiful that war, and all its deeds of carnage, must in time be utterly lost;
That the hands of the sisters Death and Night, incessantly softly wash again,
and ever again, this soil’d world:
For my enemy is dead—a man divine as myself is dead;
I look where he lies, white-faced and still, in the coffin—I draw near;
I bend down, and touch lightly with my lips the white face in the coffin.
Walt Whitman
Today is the day we put the "mini' back into the Sunday Mini-Challenge, and return to the option of form poetry. The object of this challenge is to write a poem in no more than 10 lines (but you may write in fewer than 10 lines all the way down to a single American sentence). You may choose your own form or stick to free verse, if preferred. For those who would like a bit of guidance, or further choice, I have provided a link to The Poet's Garret, showing a variety of sestets.
The subject matter for your poem is wide open, but bear in mind 'the sisters Death and Night' angle. I look forward to reading a number of short poems, from Saturday through to Monday. The link does not expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem, and a return to comment on poems linked later would be appreciated.
"one this snowflake (alighting) is upon a gravestone"
e.e. cummings
[For original typography of this poem, visit Harvard Magazine]
tumblr.com
Today is the day we put the "mini' back into the Sunday Mini-Challenge, and return to the option of form poetry. The object of this challenge is to write a poem in no more than 10 lines (but you may write in fewer than 10 lines all the way down to a single American sentence). You may choose your own form or stick to free verse, if preferred. For those who would like a bit of guidance, or further choice, I have provided a link to The Poet's Garret, showing a variety of 6 line poems (or sestets).
The subject matter for your poem is wide open, but bear in mind the 'one this snowflake' angle. I look forward to reading a number of short poems, from Saturday through to Monday. The link does not expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem, and a return to comment on poems linked later would be appreciated.
Today is the day we put the "mini' back into the Sunday Mini-Challenge, and return to the option of form poetry. The object of this challenge is to write a poem in no more than 10 lines (but you may write in fewer than 10 lines all the way down to a single American sentence). You may choose your own form or stick to free verse, if preferred. For those who would like a bit of guidance, or further choice, I have provided a link to Poet's Garret, showing a variety of 7 line poems.
The subject matter for your poem is wide open, but bear in mind the 'In a Grain of Sand' angle. I look forward to reading a number of short poems, from Saturday through to Monday. The link does not expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem, and a return to comment on poems linked later would be appreciated.
Today is the day we put the "mini' back into the Sunday Mini-Challenge, and return to the option of form poetry. The object of this challenge is to write a poem in no more than 10 lines (but you may write in fewer than 10 lines all the way down to a single American sentence). You may choose your own form or stick to free verse, if preferred.
For those who would like a bit of guidance, or further choice, I have provided a link to Poets Garret, showing a variety of 8 line poems.
The subject matter for your poem is wide open, but bear in mind the 'Eye of the Beholder' angle. I look forward to reading a number of short poems, from Saturday through to Monday. The link does not expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem, and a return to comment on poems linked later would be appreciated.
Since Grace's wonderful Sunday series of featured poets has come to an end, I will be providing a challenge on the second weekend of the month until the end of the year.
I have returned to the MINI angle of the prompt and combined it with the FORM challenges we enjoyed in the past.
The object of this challenge is to write a poem in no more than 10 lines. You may choose your own form (or go with free verse, if preferred).
For those who would like a bit of guidance, or further choice, I have provided a link to The Poet's Garret page, showing a variety of 10-lined form poems.
The subject matter for your poem is wide open, but bear in mind the 'Up Close & Personal' angle. I look forward to reading a variety of short poems, from Saturday through to Monday. The link does not expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem.