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Poetry Challenge 3!
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Poetry Challenge 3!
Poetry Challenge 3!
Hola, poets! Two summers ago, Leeli made a thread called the Poetry Challenge. Last summer, she made a second Poetry Challenge. This summer, I've been wanting to write more poetry, but I haven't had the motivation or ideas to do it. And I was thinking how the Poetry Challenges were fun, and then I realized that we've done them two summers in a row and haven't done one yet this summer, so (with permission that I got from Leeli) I'm making a Poetry Challenge for this summer!
If you haven't done this before, you might be wondering what the Poetry Challenge is. I linked the two previous threads up above, but here's a refresh of the guidelines too:
We all write as much poetry as we can in one week. You should aim to write one poem a day, although you can do more if you want (and don't stress if you can't write a poem every day). There will be an Announcer for each round, who before each round will post a main theme and an optional prompt (or two) for the poets to write about and take inspiration from. The theme should be something broad, something you could write a lot about; the prompt(s) can be anything, really--another theme, a poetry technique, a quote, whatever you want that you think would make a good prompt. Then, the Announcer and everyone else writes as much as they can in the following week, and posts it on this thread.
At the end of the week, everyone votes for their favorite poem, and after a week where you can vote, the poet with the most votes on their poetry becomes the new Announcer and can pick the next theme and prompt(s).
Some important things to remember: No voting for yourself, you can join/drop out at any time (although it's best to wait until the beginning of a new round to join), please don't choose a theme just because it's one you'd like to write off of, be nice, and have fun!
The purpose of this is to grow our writing skills and give ourselves a challenge! Like Leeli said, "It's a bit of a game, a bit of a prompt, and a bit of a competition all in one."
The first person who posts and says they would like to be the first Announcer can post the theme and prompt(s) for the first round, and we'll start soon, once we have at least five people who've said they'll participate.
I'm excited to do this!
submitted by Leafy, age No, not a cat
(July 23, 2019 - 2:43 pm)
(July 23, 2019 - 2:43 pm)
Here's my first-- I wrote it at like 10:30 pm my time because I felt like I should. It's an acrostic! I like it, but I feel like a lot of the wording is awkward because i was trying to make the acrostic work.
trust
there is no one i would rather
retell a story in which i
uttered the wrong words to
since i know you don't judge me for
tearing things up because you know i try to fix them
(August 28, 2019 - 9:50 pm)
Here's one for the "letter from your past self" prompt.
smile
Dear you,
it's strange / i know someday you/ will look at this and/
recoil at the/ words i/ scrawl today/... strange, how/
thay all say/ the world will be/ changed when you/
enter a new phase/... but im sure that/ you can stay the/
'eversmile' girl the/ adults praise you/ to be/... because/
we are/ proud to be the/ odd one out.
right?
And one for trust.
Au
muscles flexed, arms of goldenrod that
never let go--- metallic, iron-hewn fingers
are bound ever--- but
trust is more than a suncaught smile, a
face of glittering jewel; one that
comes from within, snaking into
words--- while your starlike appendage may
link our bodies, only my
trust can link our hearts.
(i pull away. and you do not come after me.)
(August 30, 2019 - 5:48 pm)
Here's one I wrote for the "Street Signs" prompt.
Red Octagon
Stop.
Stop telling me what to do!
I'll handle myself.
Your smug face,
sunburnt, glittering in headlights
painted with a single
crude verb
will not have any bearing
on my plans, my ideals,
my life.
All my dreams
are set in hard-forged iron
unbreakable and defiant.
Rules are meant to be broken
so don't even try
to impose yours on me,
you arrogant red octagon.
Here's one I wrote for "Trust":
The Golden Thread
You've been climbing
since the day you were born.
Step by step,
hand over foot,
you reached daringly, thrillingly,
for the stars.
Your ascent has always
enchanted me,
but for reasons unknown,
I stay rooted on the ground.
If one of us will go high,
the better to have the other
go lower, rooted in trust.
As you soar higher,
my arms will stretch wider
to break your fall.
If I trust you
to dart from crevice to crevice
never failing
you must trust me
to soften the hard ground
should you slip.
(You say you never do,)
but I need to be there anyway.)
The thread of trust
runs both ways,
filling each heart
golden, like the sun.
So keep climbing higher,
trusting that I'll catch you.
(September 1, 2019 - 5:29 pm)
I'm not sure if it's voting time or not, but I have two poems I wrote prior to today, so...
yield on right turn
a goldenrod flower with an
iron stem; sprung from the
earth, overlooked--- one that
dictates the way we go forth, one that
tells us to montions the
other forward; it sits there, always
catching the sun, always
planting another rock in the stream; it silently
directs the flow, for to better
see it off to the ocean.
melodic bond
i. sing a verse of promise, if only life was
steady as your voice; if only trust could be as
seamless as your gold-trimmed honeycords; but if you
give the guarddog a day off, the thieves will come.
ii. stepping in sync, hair-flipped glances and nonchalant
words thrown tenfold--- if only our hearts could
link, yet my chain is too rusty--- touch it, and it would
crumble
iii. crusted-over fingernails, all the grit that
sticks--- no scrubbing but your
golden-rimmed, gentle emperean auora can
wash away my scars--- and my tears.
(September 2, 2019 - 2:05 pm)
I'm hoping voting time can be tomorrow, because I have two poems I wrote, one from yesterday and one from today. I don't like either of them that much-- this theme was kinda hard for me-- but that's okay. I used the prompt for one of them (I think tomorrow I'll say something about prompts because I think I follow them differently than other people.)
movie boy
in movies
the boy will look at the girl with hazel eyes and a rougish grin
or maybe a sincere half-smile
and brown eyes
and he'll say
"do you trust me?"
and she looks back with green eyes
or maybe brown
and a terrified, lost-in-a-black-hole face
and says, with wide-eyed surprise at her own answer, "...yes"
or if it's a comedy, "no!" but she follows him anyway
or "no!" and she takes charge
look at me, perfect movie boy
tell me what to do while assistants adjust the tiny bit of dirt on your cheek
look at me, movie boy, with violet eyes like you care what i say
and let me feel the magic of falling into someone else,
of believing your eyes
of having someone to follow
hear me say "yes"
watch trusting you be what leads me to happily ever after
believe the signs
following road signs
is maybe the ultimate trust
if there was no dirty yellow metal telling me about a twist in the road,
i'd never know
it takes a lot of letting go to trust the signs
to believe the road won't try to trick you,
drop you to your death
i've never been given a reason to distrust the signsm
but even if i had,
better one accident than a lifetime of anxiety,
straining to look ahead
(September 2, 2019 - 10:22 pm)
(September 4, 2019 - 12:54 pm)
(September 4, 2019 - 1:34 pm)
I'm pretty sure it's voting time? I'm going with AJ's acrosstic.
(September 4, 2019 - 4:00 pm)
I'm voting for "melodic bond" by Luna Starr.
(September 5, 2019 - 7:09 pm)