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“Swallowed Whole,” a poem … and your Wednesday Writing Prompt; U.K. Poet, Anita Lubesh, Raising Money for Breast Cancer Research

Illustration courtesy of Frits Ahlefeldt, Public Domain Pictures.net.

“I suspect there will never be a requiem for a dream, simply because it will destroy us before we have the opportunity to mourn its passing.” Hubert Sibley, Jr., Requiem for a Dream

Our scripts poorly written, poems stillborn.

Our music silent. Impoverished souls.

Victims of that

glib dreamscape of Madison Avenue

and Wall Street parvenu, preachers too-

We have lost our muscle and

they have built for us an iron lung.

Using it well, they line their pockets

with the gold of crippled spirits –

While we, the pedestrian heroes of

blue Mondays, stale “Pastor says” Sundays,

and Christmas at the mall, where

manufactured dreams are sold –

we buy-in, shop dead, and

are swallowed whole.

© 2011, Jamie Dedes

WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT

In this week’s poems tell us about values gone awry.

Share your poem/s on theme in the comments section below or leave a link to it/them.

All poems on theme are published on the following Tuesday. Please do NOT email your poem to me or leave it on Facebook. If you do it’s likely I’ll miss it or not see it in time.

IF this is your first time joining us for The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, please send a brief bio and photo to me at thepoetbyday@gmail.com to introduce yourself to the community … and to me :-). These are partnered with your poem/s on first publication.

PLEASE send the bio ONLY if you are with us on this for the first time AND only if you have posted a poem (or a link to one of yours) on theme in the comments section below.  

Deadline:  Monday, December 10 by 8 p.m. Pacific.

Anyone may take part Wednesday Writing Prompt, no matter the status of your career: novice, emerging or pro.  It’s about exercising the poetic muscle, showcasing your work, and getting to know other poets who might be new to you. This is a discerning non-judgemental place to connect.

You are welcome – encouraged – to share your poems in your first language, but please accompany it with a translation into English.

ATTENTION U.K. READERS

a note from Anita Lubesh (As It Comes, a new era)

“I like to try and raise awareness and money for a good cause, namely breast cancer, and because I am a survivor of that, I am always willing to give something back ….

I’M SO CLOSE – HELP ME MAKE MY FIRST JustGiving £1,000! Let’s beat cancer sooner. Would you support me in raising funds – every little bit helps – even the price of your next coffee?”

In aid of CR

Hi.  I’m using the run up to the holidays, calling on friends here and the writing community at WordPress for support to ask if you can either donate a small amount by using my donation button below (any country) or text BGON64 to 70070 (for those here in the UK) to give whatever you can (even the price of a solitary cuppa) to help Cancer Research and Breast Cancer Research.  As a breast cancer survivor, I can sincerely say that your help is more than appreciated.

Cancer Research is not government funded and is responsible for a high percentage of the major breakthroughs we have seen to date.  Without you and me, those breakthroughs will not happen.  Regardless of the amount or where you live in this world, your generosity will one day give the gift of life.

On the JustGiving page, you will find verification.  It will also tell you all about my story, reasons and action plan I’ve used and for the foreseeable future.

Thank  you very much!

Anita

JustGiving - Sponsor me now!

 

ABOUT

Testimonials

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Twitter

Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded.  I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers. My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read by Northern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”

 The BeZine: Waging the Peace, An Interfaith Exploration featuring Fr. Daniel Sormani, Rev. Benjamin Meyers, and the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi among others

“What if our religion was each other. If our practice was our life. If prayer, our words. What if the temple was the Earth. If forests were our church. If holy water–the rivers, lakes, and ocean. What if meditation was our relationships. If the teacher was life. If wisdom was self-knowledge. If love was the center of our being.” Ganga White, teacher and exponent of Yoga and founder of White Lotus, a Yoga center and retreat house in Santa Barbara, CA

“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.” Lucille Clifton

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zero at bone and marrow, a poem . . . and you next Wednesday Writing Prompt

At Montauk Point, Long Island, NY – circa 1972.

This is why you were born: to silence me.

Cells of my mother and father, it is your turn

to be pivotal, to be the masterpiece.

I improvised; I never remembered.

Now it’s your turn to be driven;

you’re the one who demands to know . . .

Mother and Child, Louise Glück in The Seven Ages [recommended]

And he …

He was a old soul

with new story, zero

at bone and marrow

adhering to Conrad’s dictum

with little shocks and surprises

in every sentence of his book

wearing Truth as his dermis

seeking tears, not blood

And he, like all good art,

marked me for the better.

© 2018 photo and poem, Jamie Dedes

WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT

Our children often surprise us and always delight us.  Write a poem about one of your children or other child in your life.

Share your poem/s on theme in the comments section below or leave a link to it/them.

All poems on theme are published on the following Tuesday. Please do NOT email your poem to me or leave it on Facebook. If you do it’s likely I’ll miss it or not see it in time.

IF this is your first time joining us for The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, please send a brief bio and photo to me at thepoetbyday@gmail.com to introduce yourself to the community … and to me :-). These are partnered with your poem/s on first publication.

PLEASE send the bio ONLY if you are with us on this for the first time AND only if you have posted a poem (or a link to one of yours) on theme in the comments section below.  

Deadline:  Monday, December 3 by 8 p.m. Pacific.

Anyone may take part Wednesday Writing Prompt, no matter the status of your career: novice, emerging or pro.  It’s about exercising the poetic muscle, showcasing your work, and getting to know other poets who might be new to you. This is a discerning non-judgemental place to connect.

ABOUT

Testimonials

Disclosure

Facebook

Twitter

Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded.  I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers. My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read by Northern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”

 The BeZine: Waging the Peace, An Interfaith Exploration featuring Fr. Daniel Sormani, Rev. Benjamin Meyers, and the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi among others

“What if our religion was each other. If our practice was our life. If prayer, our words. What if the temple was the Earth. If forests were our church. If holy water–the rivers, lakes, and ocean. What if meditation was our relationships. If the teacher was life. If wisdom was self-knowledge. If love was the center of our being.” Ganga White, teacher and exponent of Yoga and founder of White Lotus, a Yoga center and retreat house in Santa Barbara, CA

“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.” Lucille Clifton

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“Shoes on the Danube” and a commemorating poem by U.K. poet Frank McMahon

“In memory of those who lost their lives during the Arrow Cross rule, the ‘Shoes on the Danube’ memorial was erected on April 16, 2005. Created by film director Can Togay and sculptor Gyula Pauer, it takes the form of 60 pairs of shoes cast in iron and anchored to the ground. Different styles and sizes can be seen, showing that nobody was safe – not men, women or children. Today, candles are placed in the shoes, flowers are laid alongside them. . .” A History of Shoes on the Danube Bank, Culture Trip

Shoes, pointing in all directions
as if they could not decide which
way to go. Ahead the river,
wide and fast, its shore empty of
boats. And people. The shoes, fissured,
soiled, heels broken; children’s clogs. As

they stood in their final sunlight:
prayers? Huddles of comfort? Piss and
shit leaking onto ancient leather.
Hurled backwards, no funeral flowers
save the smoke curling from the guns,
downwards, where the Duna receives
them, cold, reddening as it flows,
mere dross and cargo. A flask of
spirits opened, a cigarette
lit, safety catches on, the world
more Judenfrei.
Shoes, now again
pointing in all directions.

© 2018, Frank McMahon

Originally published in November 2018 in the Anthology Persona Non Grata, Ed. Isabelle Kenyon.

Photo credits: Memorial courtesy of Nikodem Nijaki under C BY-SA 3.0 license; plaque courtesy of Tamas Szabo under CC BY-SA 3.0

FRANK McMAHON has professional career in Social Work in the UK. He’s had poems published on line in The Poet by Day, The BeZine, I am not a Silent Poet, Fly on the Wall, in Riggwelter; in print in BrittleStar,The Ceannon’s Mouth, Persona Non Grata, The Curlew and Cirencester Scene. His first radio play was produced this year on Corinium Radio. Frank is currently working on two more radio scripts. He just finished first draft of children’s novel and is awaiting publication of a short story.

ABOUT

Testimonials

Disclosure

Facebook

Twitter

Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded.  I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers. My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read by Northern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”

* The BeZine: Waging the Peace, An Interfaith Exploration featuring Fr. Daniel Sormani, Rev. Benjamin Meyers, and the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi among others

“What if our religion was each other. If our practice was our life. If prayer, our words. What if the temple was the Earth. If forests were our church. If holy water–the rivers, lakes, and ocean. What if meditation was our relationships. If the teacher was life. If wisdom was self-knowledge. If love was the center of our being.” Ganga White, teacher and exponent of Yoga and founder of White Lotus, a Yoga center and retreat house in Santa Barbara, CA

“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.” Lucille Clifton

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In March, Flowering … and your next Wednesday Writing Prompt

“The worst thing you can do is censor yourself as the pencil hits the paper.  You must not edit until you get it all on paper. I you can put everything down, stream-of-consciousness, you’ll do yourself a service.” Stephen Sondheim

an exercise in stream of consciousness

Redwood City, City Hall
In March, flowering

It’s so palpable, I can
pick it, I think, from
a break in the concrete,
like an intrusive dandelion
Pluck it, from the air,
like a feather
. . . . March!

It’s a good month here,
anything not in bloom is in bud
The Peninsula will strum a rainbow
with extra green on St. Patrick’s Day
The clover in Wendy’s front yard
is mutant, half the span of a hand

at the old place, the deer come down
in season, waiting for the apples
They owned that tree and
Their hunger is honest, don’t you know
a bit of Henry Miller there
They only eat on empty
Human take note!

I need a joke for the poetry reading ~
Did you hear the one about Descartes?
He walked into Milagros near City Center
The waiter asked if he wanted salsa
“I think not,” said Descartes
and promptly disappeared

How about the one on Dante?
[a Robert Pinsky fave]
Dante at the Dodge Poetry Festival:
“I have three poems to read.”

brilliant verse
[first self-deception of the day]
Paces to the rhythm of my steps,
[lost amid the scattered thoughts
and my craving for coffee]
Husband #1 – poor guy
would have rolled his eyes and said  …
“Mind like a sieve!”
That might be why I left
Or did he leave me?
Can’t say I remember,
having abandoned marriage
and domestic suffocation
……..to breathe like this!
during early morning walks
in March, flowering

© 2013, Jamie Dedes

WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT

“As we take, in fact, a general view of the wonderful stream of our consciousness, what strikes us first is this different pace of its parts. Like a bird ‘s life, it seems to be made of an alternation of flights and perchings.” William James

As a writing technique stream of consciousness was named by May Sinclair – appropriated from William James’ idea – in her review of Dorothy Richardson’s Pointed Roofs in which the technique was used. It was brought to us, perhaps most infamously by that prodigal Irishman James Joyce, and by the French Marcel Proust, the American James Thurber and the English Virginia Woolf among others. Though more a novelist’s tool than a poet’s, one March I decided to experiment with stream-of-consciousness as I went digging for a poem on my morning walk. Now I pass the challenge to you.

Share your poem/s on theme in the comments section below or leave a link to it/them.

All poems on theme are published on the following Tuesday. Please do NOT email your poem to me or leave it on Facebook. If you do it’s likely I’ll miss it or not see it in time.

IF this is your first time joining us for The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, please send a brief bio and photo to me at thepoetbyday@gmail.com to introduce yourself to the community … and to me :-). These are partnered with your poem/s on first publication.

PLEASE send the bio ONLY if you are with us on this for the first time AND only if you have posted a poem (or a link to one of yours) on theme in the comments section below.  

Deadline:  Monday, November 26 by 8 p.m. Pacific.

Anyone may take part Wednesday Writing Prompt, no matter the status of your career: novice, emerging or pro.  It’s about exercising the poetic muscle, showcasing your work, and getting to know other poets who might be new to you. This is a discerning non-judgemental place to connect.

ABOUT

Testimonials

Disclosure

Facebook

Twitter

Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded.  I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers. My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read by Northern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”

* The BeZine: Waging the Peace, An Interfaith Exploration featuring Fr. Daniel Sormani, Rev. Benjamin Meyers, and the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi among others

“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.” Lucille Clifton