Why Poetry - Verse First ~ A Place in The Universe

why poetry

not the lilting turn of

words shinning

your spine

like a tardy school boy

down a favorite

tree

nor the flush of rightness

rising up

your hairline

to the very crown

of you

but this - a father's memory

like a wallet lost

and found,

a man at dusk

slowly

disappearing

on the horizon  -

these most ordinary of things

like an oxygen tent embracing

you for death -

some stranger with kind steady eyes

looking into yours

one who’s seen it all before

and will again and again

when even the whisper of you

is no more



posted for Poet's United Verse First

Deliberate - Trifecta: Week 77

in the nursing home

my gums are rotting

I gasp for breath

bones break brittle

and skin tears

at the slightest

touch

my voice is gone

and you do not think

I can think

but I see everything

you do

and wonder how you

can continue

with each deliberate mercy

torture you

inflict

I have spent the last 10 years

complaining about

a failing body

to whoever would listen

but that was nothing

compared to this

how I wish I would have fallen

40,000 feet in an airplane

have it all over in one

fiery crash

than linger here

waiting to ascend

40,000 feet

up to some imaginary heaven

which you in your false compassion

continue to believe

exists

posted for Trifecta



Now on to this week's one-word prompt which was suggested by our own Christine of Trudging Through Fog via our Meet Your Fellow Trifectans meme.  If you haven't linked up there, we invite you to do so.

Christine has challenged us with:

DELIBERATE
1: characterized by or resulting from careful and thorough consideration <a deliberate decision>
2: characterized by awareness of the consequences<deliberate falsehood>
3: slow, unhurried, and steady as though allowing time for decision on each individual action involved <a deliberate pace>

Remember:

• Your response must be between 33 and 333 words. 

• You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post. 

• The word itself needs to be included in your response. 

• You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above. 

• Only one entry per writer. 

• If your post doesn't meet our requirements, please leave your link in the comments section, not in the linkz. 

• Trifecta is open to everyone. Please join us. 

Motherhood for Poetry Pantry on Poet's United

Motherhood

This toughest of professions

open beak begging furiously

skyward gulp-

ing

all you can give

and still more

outgrowing nest and home

mad giving beyond reason

stellar in its diminishment

generation after generation

a mother’s life never

her own

until it flies

heart breaking into a thousand

twinkling jeweled stars

on distant black shores

posted for Poet's United

Motherhood Onomatopoeia in 33 words -- Trifextra: Week 67

Motherhood

Open beak begging

skyward gulp-

ing

all you can give

and still more

a mother’s life never

her own

until it flies

heart breaking into

a thousand

twinkling stars

on distant

black shores

posted for Trifecta

This weekend we want you to give us 33 words (exactly) that include among them at least one example of onomatopoeia.  When looking for a good page to link to in order to help describe the device, we stumbled upon our very own Apoplectic Apostrophes' post on literary devices.  Check it out if you need help remembering how onomatopoeia work.

Good luck!

Blood - Trifecta: Week seventy-six

“Blood of my blood” the supreme viral condition

of the human race

Beautiful candor we are born into

this tribalness

naked on the outside

we are clothed in rules

of engagement

and the naming of things -

Blood of my blood

I say to you

the world is an ocean

just waiting

to wash us away

I am 8 years old

father of a friend

balding head, basketball belly

smirking about the black player on his

favorite team arms so long

fingers drag the ground when he’s standing

upright

He said there once was a boy, when he was young,

who buried kittens up

to their necks in the ground

and used the lawnmower

on them

I am 28 years old in the adolescent wing

of the long term psych ward

“They’re gonna eat you alive” the supervisor

said shaking his head - the torture of small

animals leading to the killing of them stopping just before

the neighborhood kids start disappearing

paper cups with meds QID BID every shift

lift up your tongue let me see

promiscuous manipulators screaming in rage

not getting their way

monitored continuously a danger

to themselves and others just

batshit crazy

everyone said

the hardest days were always

when the families came

to visit

posted for Trifecta

Do you want a chance to win some free stuff? This week we’re giving three of you that chance. And just what could you win? How does a free notebook and pen sound? (You’re writers—it should sound great to you, we hope!)

Up for grabs is a Moleskine Cahier Extra Large Ruled Notebook. Modeled from traditional notebooks used by historical artists and writers, Moleskine products are often lauded for their simple but strangely alluring designs. Something about these books sparks the imagination, and whether you put words or art onto the pages, for sure you’ll get a result you’ll like.

But unless you’re planning on making origami, a notebook is nothing without a writing utensil. So with each Moleskine we’ll throw in a Sakura Pigma Micron 03 Pen. Pigma Microns are pens of choice for many sketch artists, and with archival-quality, smear-resistant ink that doesn’t bleed through most paper, it’s a perfect choice for writers as well.

Three winners will be chosen through three random drawings of all the participants for this week’s Trifecta Challenge. That’s three chances to win, and all you have to do is participate in this week's challenge. Good luck!

BLOOD (noun)

1

a (1) : the fluid that circulates in the heart, arteries, capillaries, and veins of a vertebrate animal carrying nourishment and oxygen to and bringing away waste products from all parts of the body (2) : a comparable fluid of an invertebrate

b : a fluid resembling blood

2

: the shedding of blood; also : the taking of life

3

a : lifeblood; broadly : life

b : human stock or lineage; especially : royal lineage <a prince of the blood>

c : relationship by descent from a common ancestor : kinship

d : persons related through common descent : kindred

e (1) : honorable or high birth or descent (2) : descent from parents of recognized breed or pedigree

Remember:

• Your response must be between 33 and 333 words. 

• You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post. 

• The word itself needs to be included in your response. 

• You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above. 

• Only one entry per writer. 

• If your post doesn't meet our requirements, please leave your link in the comments section, not in the linkz. 

• Trifecta is open to everyone. Please join us. 

This week's word is blood.

Ballerina Goddess - Mag 167

Young Woman Picking the Fruit of Knowledge, 1892 by Mary Cassatt

Settle that whole muddied water middle you

and clarify yourself

hands not your hands until you

think their work

into being

suckling dance edge of

paper delineation

all that’s flat turned over

beyond dimensional

comprehension

line to shape to knowledge

unfurled unformed to formed

like Rodin birthing solid stone

a ballerina goddess head swaying in a

clear sky

feet in the clouds beneath

scuffling the map of a universal

split god infinitive

creating all worlds

posted for The Mag

dedicated to the enjoyment of poets and writers, for the purpose of honing their craft, sharing it with like-minded bloggers, and keeping their muses alive and well.

Instructions

1) Write a poem or short vignette using the picture featured in this post as your inspiration. Feel free to take the image to use for your post. 

2) Link back to Magpie Tales from your post.

3) Sign up in the Mr. Linky list, linking directly to your post,AFTER you've posted.

 

Superhero Origin in 33 Words - Trifextra: Week 66

Kwai Chang Caine

You no just 
strike, strike, strike

must control self with

breath and

mind

not old man in head

saying “snatch stone from hand”

always moment after

enlightenment

eagle catches mouse  - no thought!

Hiya!


posted for Trifecta

This weekend we're having some fun with the prompt, some super-powered fun, that is. We're asking you to write the origin story to the superhero of your choice in exactly 33 words.

This weekend's challenge is community judged.

• For the 14 hours following the close of the challenge, voting will be enabled on links.  
• In order to vote, return to this post where stars will appear next to each link.  To vote, simply click the star that corresponds with your favorite post.
• You can vote for your top three favorite posts.
• Voting is open to everyone. Encourage your friends to vote for you, if you wish, but please don't tell them to vote on a number.  The numbering of the posts changes regularly, as authors have the ability to delete their own links at any time.
• You have 14 hours to vote.  It's not much time, so be diligent! We'll send out reminders on Twitter and Facebook.

Door - Trifecta: Week 75

Nearing the end

surrounded

on all sides

by a door

of consequence

this broken down bit

of machinery

once meant for something

intimate

and important

dusted around now

and forgotten

in plain sight on a counter

it once helped

to build

posted for Trifecta

On to the weekly, one-word prompt (we seem to be having trouble not hyphenating. . .) which is judged by the community this week.  In case you are a bit rusty with the rules or if you're brand new here, please click through to our instructions for more information on how to play along.

This week's word is:

DOOR

1: a usually swinging or sliding barrier by which an entry is closed and opened; also : a similar part of a piece of furniture
2: doorway
3: a means of access or participation : opportunity <opens new doors> <door to success>

Please remember:

• Your response must be between 33 and 333 words.

• You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post.

• The word itself needs to be included in your response.

• You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above. 

• Only one entry per writer.
• If you know your post does not meet the requirements of the challenge, please leave your link in the comments section, not in the linkz.
• Trifecta is open to everyone.  Please join us.

This week's challenge is community judged.

• For the 14 hours following the close of the challenge, voting will be enabled on links.  
• In order to vote, return to this post where stars will appear next to each link.  To vote, simply click the star that corresponds with your favorite post.
• You can vote for your top three favorite posts.
• Voting is open to everyone. Encourage your friends to vote for you, if you wish, but please don't tell them to vote on a number.  The numbering of the posts changes regularly, as authors have the ability to delete their own links at any time.
• You have 14 hours to vote.  It's not much time, so be diligent! We'll send out reminders on Twitter and Facebook.

Winners will be posted in the comments section of this post shortly after it goes up.  Please check back here in a bit to see who won! 

hyphen - Trifextra: Week 65

not sins

but laws

the loving bonds

tying us all

together

animals

politique

well-regulated

casting stones

slinging judgements

who amongst you not breaking

municipal code 3789 subsection 5

or another

just like it

posted for Trifecta

This weekend we are bringing you back to class with a little refresher course on compound modifiers.  We are talking about two words that combine together to describe something.  Such as a well-rounded individual or a one-way street or a lightly-oiled pan.  Here's a fun Trifextra trick: conventionally, if the compound modifier comes BEFORE the word it modifies, it requires a hyphen and counts as one word.  If it comes AFTER the noun, it doesn't need a hyphen and counts as two.