When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. Wendell Berry, The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry [recommended]
they’re paralyzed on the Atlantic seaboard under
the weight of snow drifts, the detritus of blizzards;
stark bare branches of oak, elm and maple
etch dark veins into an icy-gray cast-over sky
on the West Coast we’re breaking out magnolias
and blades of tender young grass are unfurling;
the near-sping temps us to wrap ourselves
in its perfumed and congenial blessing
along the stretch of Big Sur the sea strikes stone
and the air explodes, bright and wet with spume,
the green patinated-brine salts our mouths;
above us cloud turrets mimic white-capped waves
standing here, consumed by this seeming infinity,
our hands and eyes and mind conspire
to imitate nature in the most apt way, using
our sketch pad, pen and colored pencils
a quick wingless flight into that dancing sea and
we surface with visions grasped tight in our fists,
our eyes are blinded by a palette of colors, our
pencils bear witness to the gift of another morning,
another kind of beauty; undulating, animated
and so unlike the silent white majesty of snow
Despite all the rocky news about climate change, deforestation and other environmental tragedies, nature in her many aspects speaks to us of joyful things. How does nature inspire joy in you, inspire your creativity and perhaps even your sense of peace. Tell us in your own poem or poems.
Share your poem/s on theme in the comments section below or leave a link to it/them. All poems on theme will be published on the first Tuesday following this post.
No poems submitted through email or Facebook will be published.
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, March 4 by 8 pm Pacific Standard Time.
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 a language other than English but please accompany it with a translation into English.
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 byNorthern 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.”
“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
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
“Alas! a woman that attempts the pen, Such an intruder on the rights of men, Sucha presuptuouos Creature, is esteem’d, The fault can by no virtue be redeem’d … How are we fallen, fallen by mistaken rules? Ad Education’s , more than Nature’s foods, Debarr’d from all improve-meats of the mind, And to be dull, expected and designed … -Anne Finch, The Poems of Anne Countess of Winchilesea, ed. by Myra Reynolds as quoted by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, Shakespeare’s Sisters, Feminist Essays on Women Poets
Thanks Gary W. Bowers, Irma Do, Jan Goldie, and Anjum Wasim Dar. Thanks also to Cubby (Sonya Annita Song) for her contribution. Please welcome her warmly. She is new to Wednesday Writing Prompt. Special thanks to Irma Do and Anjum Wasim Dar for the added value of the photographs and to Anjum for her artwork as well. Appreciation to Clarissa Simmens for sharing her Shakespeare homage. They’ll be shared in a separate post.
I’m tickled to see that folks are commenting on one another’s poems and visiting one another’s sites. That what it’s really all about. Bravo! Readers will note that links to sites are included when they are available so that you can visit. If there’s no site, it’s likely you can catch up with the poet on Facebook.
Enjoy this unique collection and do join us tomorrow for the next Wednesday Writing Prompt.
To Scratch or Not to Scratch
To scratch, or not to scratch, that is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The itch and burn of abusive mosquito bites
Or to take arms against a sea of irritation
And by opposing end them:
To scratch, to rub, no more;
And by a rub to say we end
The frustration and the maddening,
Relentless shocks that flesh is heir to?
‘Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.
To scratch, to rub – to rub, perchance to slake:
Aye, there’s the bub,
For in that rub of satiation
What doubts may come
When we have abandoned
This self-restraint must give us pause.
There’s the inanity that creates confusion
Of such simplicity:
For who would bear the jolts and pangs of bites,
The insatiable lust,
The sleepless nights,
The pangs of irate skin,
The obsessive thoughts,
The insolence of the unbitten,
And the spurns that impatient scratchers
By the self-righteous take,
When he himself might his liberation make
With a sole finger?
Who would itchiness bear,
To shake and tremble
Under a tortured skin,
But that the dread of something
After the scratch,
The possibility of greater itch to come,
From whose scratch no human can deny,
Puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear the itch we have
Than scratch to others that we know not of?
SONYA ANNITA SONG is a poet whose rhymes are loved by both adults and children. Her writing style for children is delightfully whimsical with a natural flow meant for reading out loud. Sonya’s goal as a children’s author is to create engaging rhyming picture books that children and parents will have fun reading together. One of her favorite memories as a child is going to the local library in the summer and bringing back shopping bags full of books to read. Books were, and still are, passports to incredible destinations full of joy and wonder, and Sonya hopes all children will discover the marvels of reading just like she did. Children’s site: http://www.sonyaannitasong.com; Poemhunter: http://www.poemhunter.com/sonya-annita-song/ . Clipped from Cubby’s Amazon page.
dj b.ill.e shex
how sharper n a SERPENT’S tooth
n one bare bodkin
[Dies.]
4sooth
singe my white head
4 b n old
2 b r naught
poor tom’s acold
ah words words words
r’t naught th point
o band o bruhs
time out
a joint
Recycling Shakespeare for a Better World – A Haiku Sonnet
In this brave new world
Plant a heart of gold, harvest
A bouquet of friends
Faint-hearted farming
Doesn’t yield food for the soul
Cold comfort hunger
Break the ice – Be brave
Be fancy free with warm words
Of love and welcome
All our yesterdays
Are meant to be composted
Nutrient wisdom
Silence can kill with kindness
But regretful words do not.
This was a fun and challenging prompt initiated by Jamie for The Poet by Day Wednesday Writing Prompt. She writes, “Fe, foh,and fun… Take a spin with Shakespeare and write us a poem using phrases of his that have come into common usage.” I honestly didn’t realize that all these phrases came from Shakespeare’s work! I’ve really only read “Romeo and Juliet” and some sonnets so seeing all these common phrases attributed to his work was quite a surprise. Check out this link if you want to see what Shakespearean works the phrase I used came from.
And of course, I had to do a sonnet to further honor The Bard. To give it a bit of my own flavor, I chose the Haiku Sonnet form. Again, I never new there was such a thing until I saw it in this website here.
Learning new things and new ways of looking at the world is one of the best gifts I’ve gotten from writing and reading poetry. What do you think of this recycled Shakespearean piece?
Neither a borrower nor a lender be!
As luck would have it, in this brave new
world I managed to break the ice,
discovering that brevity is the soul of wit.
The fellow refused to budge an inch, this
was cold comfort as conscience does
make cowards of us all. I, with bated breath,
In one fell swoop, decided to play it fast
and loose, set my teeth on edge
and with a heart of gold, proclaimed,
ill wind blows no man to good!
You have eaten me out of house and home,
For goodness sake! Good riddance!
I am more sinned against than sinning!
In my heart of hearts, I had to conclude
the game is on. Love, is blind filled with
forgotten yesterdays. I gave the devil
his due, for much ado about nothing.
“O God, O God, how weary, stale,
flat, and unprofitable seem
to me all the uses of this world.”
“My tongue will tell the anger of my heart,
Or else my heart, concealing it, will break.
And rather than it shall, I will be free
Even to the uttermost, as I please,
in words.”
Who’s there? unfold yourself ‘ Oh ’tis the road, out of frame, once in grace, wore an inky metaled cloak …
With memories sweet- on it trotted Arabian horses, held by leather
reins, with mirth in riding, jingling bells Would lift the learning loads and stay on the beat- but
something is rotten, makes me sick
at heart- behold in silence it lies So defiant in dilapidated defeat! it seems to be there, still serving in retreat- Though gone is the tar crush and concrete;
Ah Old Harley Road, I speak with reason, You have the best on you, treading You are replete with learning homes
words words and words, But، Ah there’s the rub- The craters humps and dilapidation- Oh Lord, what are we learning in this precarious condition? That is the question-
While yet the memory of good times be green ,me thinketh, Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer, the slings and jumps of outrageous travel- The heart aches, thousand natural shocks that the flesh is heir to-or to take up arms against oceans of ditchy trouble, Or by opposing, clean sweep them…?
Who would bear the whips and scorns of time immemorial, the laws delay, the repairs astray, the rains decay ; all is not well, tis an unweeded garden- do we continue to grunt and sweat on a weary road? tis but my fantasy, as foul deeds will rise’, beware the
Ides of March…
Oh Fair Poetess, soft you now , Ah there’s the bump..OUCH…! Angels and ministers of grace defend us’
ارے یہ تو اکھڑی ھویؑ سڑک ھے زخمی کبھی گہری شاھانہ پوشاک پہنے ھوتی تھی
میتٹھے سہانے سفروں کی یادیں سمیٹے ، گھنٹی بجاتے تانگوں پہ بچوں کو سکول پہنچاتی تھی
اب خاموشی میں لپٹی اطاعت سے بچھی ھے گر چہ اڑ چکا ھے تار کول ، غایب ھے بجری ساری
دلاؑیل سے بات ھو تو سوال اٹھے ، جھٹکے دھکے کھا کر گزریں، کیا حاصل علم ھو ، روحانی یا کتابی
جب تک اس پہ گزرے وقت کی اچھی یادیں باکی ھیں دل تھام کہ اٹھایں غلیل ،مرہم پٹی سب کرواین سرکاری
کون کرے انتیظار،قانون پہ انہسار، ھو بارشوں میں خوار ملک مشکل میں ،کھرپا درانتی نا مالی، پھر خزانہ بھی خالی
اے شاعر معصوم انجم مہینہ مارچ کا سخت ھے بچنا زرا یہ لو ، کھایؑ اک اور ظرب کاری speed breaker آیا آیا او
“POETRY PEACE and REFORM Go Together -Let Us All Strive for PEACE on EARTH for ALL -Let Us Make a Better World -WRITE To Make PEACE PREVAIL.” Anjum Wasim Dar
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 byNorthern 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.”
“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
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
“…you have to stitch and cherish and nourish and never have the chance to flourish!” Amirah Al Wassif
Amira’s exquisite poetry and prose have the lilt of Arabic and although I know many American editors would be tempted to edit into more standard straightforward English, I am loath to do so. This is perhaps because from childhood my ear is used to listening to English lyrically spoken by family and friends for whom Arabic was a first language. It is my pleasure to bring this young intuitive talent and her unique perspective to you here today. Enjoy! / J.D.
To Be A Brilliant Woman in the third world!
to be a brilliant woman in the third world you have not to be! so, if you want the basic tips kindly listen to me put your mind in a box be ready to say every moment “agree” announce your eternity silence stop whirring like a curious bee act as a bird in a cage never dream to get free don’t consider obedience as a guilty it is honor getting down on your knee and about your gifts very enough to know all the electrical appliances, kind of dishes and how to make the tea? nobody cares about gifts it is not necessary, it is too wee don’t try to laugh aloud it is perfect to be a tree and understand that argument is so dangerous the best for a woman is to flee!
to be a brilliant woman in the third world you have to obey! your family, your husband, your neighbor, your president whoever he or she!
you have to stitch and cherish and nourish and never have the chance to flourish! you have to silence not crying whee! in your success or if you finally could see! in the third world all you have to be is not to be nobody cares about your gifts enough having a degree in the obedience lessons or cooking puree!
For Those Who Don’t Know the Chocolate by Amirah was published in the last issue of The BeZine. The theme was A Life of the Spirit. What is more indicative of that life than a compassionate connection to the suffering of others. The video below is beautiful done and you can read the text HERE.
AMIRAH: I think I fall in love with poetry since my childhood, this magic made me more sensitive towards everything including the very small details. Poetry appeared firstly in my writing in Arabic, then I found myself sinking in a harsh conflict, I felt that I am in need to write with this fascinating language which touches my heart and my mind, I love English despite I am not a native writer but I saw my passion in it, writing poetry by any language, of course, it achieves the poet goal, when it will exist but in my case, I adore writing poetry and many kinds of literary arts in English although I have 5 books in Arabic, I found my enjoyment and my own voice and world when I started writing in English, poetry came to me without realizing from me, it absorbs my spirit and gave me a mysterious kind of beauty, I feel it in many ways, I can say it is one of the poetry secrets, when it covers your body and your soul without permission, without noises.
JAMIE: Why is poetry so important to the global community?
AMIRAH: I believe in poetry power, and I want to say without using repeated expressions, poetry language reveals what behind our minds, it makes us more harmonic with each other, it unites the people around the world, the politics, and the religion don’t have the amazing ability which poetry haswe need more and more from poetry, we need to focus on beauty signs, we need to create it. I believe in the marvelous ability of the poetry in pushing the people to taste life twice and to make our darkness colorful.
JAMIEWhat poet do you find most inspiring and comforting and why?
AMIRAH: There are many inspired poets for me, including Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, Charles Bukowski, Pablo Neruda, Jalaluddin Rumi, Indian poet Tagore, Gibran Khalil Gibran, Maya Angelo, Robert Frost, and others. There are many inspiring poets for me.
The piece of poetry that pierces my heart intelligently inspires me and I can not stop thinking about it, that kind of idea that feeds my hungry spirit.
JAMIE: What do you hope to accomplish with your own poetry?
AMIRAH: I want my poetry to have an aesthetic sensitive taste and a human impact in the real world
AMIRAH AL WASSIF is a freelance writer (28 years old) from Egypt. She has written articles, novels, short stories poems and songs. Five of her books were written in Arabic and many of her English works have been published in various cultural magazines. Amirah is passionate about producing literary works for children, teens and adults which represent cultures from around the world. Her first book was published in 2014 and her latest illustrated book, The Cocoa Book and Other Stories is forthcoming.
Mom and me, Christmas, late ’80s, San Francisco, California
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 byNorthern 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.”
“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
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
“Write till your ink be dry, and with your tears
Moist it again, and frame some feeling line
That may discover such integrity …
William Shakespeare, Two Gentleman of Verona
E tu Brute
He did not beware
the Ides of March
And thereby hangs a tale
As luck would have it
It beggared all description
In my mind’s eye:
Is this a dagger I see before me? Good riddance, you said
Fight fire with fire
You cried havoc, and he
Dead as a doornail
Cold as stone
Oh, woe is me
When sorrows come,
they come not as single spies,
but whole battalions Short shift …
You sent him packing
and more fool you
Fe, foh, and fun … Take a spin with Shakespeare and write us a poem using phrases of his that have come into common usage. If you need a bit of help, you’ll find some HERE. You can mix your own words with Shakespeare’s or stick strictly with his. Your choice.
Share your poems on theme in the comments section below or leave a link to it/them. All poems on theme will be published on the first Tuesday following this post.
No poems submitted through email or Facebook will be published.
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, February 25 by 8 pm Pacific Standard.
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 a language other than English but please accompany it with a translation into English.
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 byNorthern 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.”
“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
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
AMIRAH AL WASSIF 
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 