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Poetry Challenge!
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Poetry Challenge!
Poetry Challenge!
So, last summer, I made this thread called the Poetry Challenge. Lots of people joined, and it really took off. It died eventually, but since so many of you are interested in doing it again, I’m rebooting it!
For those of you who haven’t participated, here’s how it works:
Each round will have a main theme and an optional prompt. The theme should be a broader topic since we’ll all be writing a lot of poetry about that one theme. The prompt can be anything, really; a topic, a poetry technique, a random sentence that pops into your head. The person who posts the theme and prompt will be the ‘announcer’ for that round. They can participate in the challenge as well.
Each round lasts a week. Once the theme and prompt have been posted, everyone starts writing. The goal is to write and post a poem a day, but if you miss a day or two, or even six or seven, it’s okay. The purpose of this is to challenge ourselves and improve our writing, and of course, to have fun. So no stress. :-) Of course, if you're extra inspired one day, you can write and post more than one poem.
At the end of the week, everyone will place a vote for the most inspiring poem. Once everyone has voted, the announcer will count the votes and announce the winner, who will then become the announcer for the next round.
Make sense?
The first person to post is the Announcer for the first round. As soon as they post the theme and prompt, we can start.
submitted by Leeli
(August 8, 2018 - 9:18 am)
(August 8, 2018 - 9:18 am)
heavens
when i look up i am always mesmerized, by
skies, paraiba tourmaline, with sleepy peony clouds
smoky star clusters among the orange glow of distant light pollution
the earth turns, slowly,
i could watch for years and years
i never really
wondered about the
existence of
God
maybe because
i see Them everywhere
in cold churches, my heart skips a beat
monstrance gleaming, candle flames
i love to sing from my soul as the words ricochet off the walls
settling back down in my heart
it's such a strange feeling and
it's easy to imagine the stone statues looking on
with kind eyes, despite the white irises
i could kneel on the marble for
years and years.
the ceiling is painted ultramarine blue
cobalt, with metallic star-shapes
i think back to a painting on another roof
where a man's finger almost touched, centimeters, millimeters, away
my burning bush is all creation and
i
could stand in awe
for years
and
years.
(September 3, 2018 - 11:05 pm)
Whoa, that's cool. That's really cool.
(September 4, 2018 - 10:22 am)
Not sure if I totally have the same views as you about God but this is a beautiful poem and I LOVE that you used the singular gender-neutral them for God.
(September 4, 2018 - 5:54 pm)
Thank you guys! Yeah, I've heard people in my religion say that we should refer to God as He, but it's never something I've agreed with.
(September 4, 2018 - 10:16 pm)
Wait...why not? You're a Catholic, right? I thought it was just something that you were supposed to refer to God as He, not gender-neutral. (And I don't believe in that, anyways.) I thought you meant the trinity or something when you said them.
I don't know if I should even talk about this, I'm not technically religious and I feel like this is awkward. :/
(September 5, 2018 - 10:37 am)
I am Catholic, yes, but a good point I always bring up (that my mom came up with, who also agrees with me) is that we believe humans were created in God's image. So God can be neither male or female in my opinion.
(September 5, 2018 - 7:36 pm)
I agree with you on that, and your poem is absolutely beautiful! Your writing never fails to stun me.
(September 6, 2018 - 12:21 am)
I suppose that makes sense in a way...I never thought about that. But I will still continue referring to God as being male. (I am not baptized, do not go to church, and do not pray (my mom is Catholic but my dad's an Atheist) but my mom has me do Bible study and we go to a Catholic co-op and tons of other things...I believe in the Christian God, I'm just not technically a Catholic.
(September 6, 2018 - 7:34 pm)
I really like this.
(September 5, 2018 - 7:28 am)
Day 1: for the prompt "out of one's element"
untitled
it's always easier inside my head
i always act the right way
say the right things
but when i try in front of them
and everything falls apart
people can react and respond and reconsider
i never planned for that
so what can i do
but go back to my shell
and hide
Day 2: for the prompt sounds
Vibrations
vibrations in the air
that's all it is
but is it really?
or is it what forms your mornings,
the sound of birds waking you,
car horns honking,
coffee being poured,
the steady beep of your alarm?
is it your personal peace of mind,
soft instrumental music floating delicately through your mind,
the crackling of wood in the fireplace as you're mesmerized by flying sparks
the creak of an old rocking chair when you sit in it for the hundredth time?
is it the soundtrack to your photo albums
the waves you can hear crashing on the beach behind your stationary silhouettes,
the laughter of your best friend as you stand together,
the cries of your baby sister as you hold her for the first time?
all these beautiful treasured memories, mornings, and moments
captured by simple vibrations in the air
(September 4, 2018 - 5:41 pm)
nostalgia lurking at the bottom of my playlist (pt. 1)
i like how sound is
intertwined with memory
a havana beat
tastes like sweet air
as we drive beyond fields of
cadmium green
checkered vans tossed in the backseat
our hair,
wind-whipped and set ablaze;
i find that
old familiar roads walked one thousand
times over still seem ethereal and new in the
right light
(September 4, 2018 - 11:59 pm)
Ugh, this is so good.
(September 6, 2018 - 12:24 am)
nostalgia lurking at the bottom of my playlist (pt. 2)
it's funny how a certain chord can
leave you so messed up
strobe lights, translucent neon circles
shifting and swimming across the walls
like a bokeh background
the music was too loud
and
my friends
left half an hour ago
i don't even like to dance,
except when I'm alone
i shouldn't
have
come
(September 5, 2018 - 12:03 am)
I love this one too, because I feel like I can really relate.
(September 5, 2018 - 1:56 pm)
Okay, I meant to write something for this about half a million times, and here I am for the half a million and first. I tried to do both prompts, I guess? Here we go.
on missing pieces
starting when i was little,
when i found the first little pieces strewn about,
found their little matching niches
snapped
them into place.
at first it was hard i looked up and down and all around
i could see the thousand different colors,
i had no idea where they went,
a thousand questions swirling in my head,
my naive brain trying to remember dozen pieces.
some looked like they should fit,
looked exactly the same, even
and yet, they refused to
snap
into place.
i grew confused-- why wouldn't they fit?
but the longer i stared, the more they
snapped
into place, as i began to see
the unspoken laws thet determined where we went.
as i grew older, i finally completed the outline,
the frame for the rest of the surroundings.
but each day there were new questions,
each day another impossible piece,
as peninsulas grew and shrank,
an ever-changing landmass,
following rules i never seem to understand,
at its center an ever-shrinking pool of mystery
as no-one knows what is yet to come.
the same questions parade through my head now:
where does that one go?
where does this one go?
are these two really connected?
where is the piece that looks exactly like that?
is that one missing?
where do i fit?
will i ever finally
snap
into place?
(September 5, 2018 - 4:24 pm)